By every August, the front garden is pretty untidy. The weather has been too hot, too dry, too wet, too buggy since mid-July, and my daily work sessions in the flowerbeds have dwindled from every available morning to once a week if I am lucky.
I have said before that I enjoy weeding, and I do, but once I start to miss my regular weeding sessions, the weeds take note and begin ramping up their activities.
Weeds often are described as “plants out of place,” growing where they aren’t wanted. Weeds compete with garden plants for water, light, soil nutrients, and space.
Some garden weeds are beneficial. Joe-Pye weed and dandelions provide nectar for bees and butterflies. Other weeds provide habitat for beneficial insects, or, like common milkweed, serve as larval hosts for certain species of butterflies. Some weeds produce edible greens or fruit.
Whether they provide food or habitat, have medical or cosmetic properties, or can do something amazing, like adding nitrogen to the soil, there se...