Wild flower of weed?

Many ‘weeds’ are edible and important sources of food for insects & caterpillars. Wild meadow flowers can colonise the garden as a ‘weed’ as gardening expert Cathie Welch explains

My garden is full of ‘weeds’ as I teach the subject to my students, that’s my excuse anyway! The most important thing is to identify the ‘weed’ you are dealing with and make the decision if it is allowed to stay.  

Ephemeral weeds such as Cardamine hirsuta (hairy bitter cress) have many lifecycles in a season and is delicious in salads! 

Annual weeds complete their life cycle in one growing season and seed prolifically such as Geranium robertianum with it’s delicate pink flowers and feathery leaves.. 

Biennials complete their life cycle in two years with a period of winter chilling in between (vernalisation). These include Dipsacus fullonum (teasel) which has beautiful lilac flowers loved by bees and prolific seeds loved by finches! 

Perennial weeds can cause real problems like bindweed, ground elder, Pentaglottis, brambles and creeping cinquefoil but they have beautiful flowers loved by many insects. Nettles are the food source of some of our loveliest butterflies! 

Wild Flower Meadows: There has been a huge decline in wild flower meadows over the years and we all need to try and have an area in our garden where we let the grass grow long and allow the wild flowers (weeds?) to thrive. They are not easy to establish and you will need to manage it. Often one plant such as oxe-eye daisy or wild carrot can take over at the detriment to others. I add to my meadow areas every year but only the plants that want to grow will flourish as so much depends on the soil type and weather.  

A Note from Cathie… I teach courses to cover most subjects and weeds form an important part of our lives as gardeners. I will be talking at Greenhills Estate, pictured, for a fundraising event by Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in June. Please ask if you would like to know more.