To be fair I think the idea is more to highlight the importance of certain plants for wildlife which is something I think most of us would agree with and we shouldn’t be distracted by a few silly quotes taken out of context. I view Chelsea as art, interesting to look at but a lot of it is not my taste.
I don’t have a lot of weeds myself that I deliberately plant but each to their own. I am sure I will enjoy watching it on tv and see some gardens that I love.
I think too many people expect it to be like real life/gardens, but it is theatre, often far removed from reality. I have always loved it, would be there like a shot again, if I was more physically able.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
I used to teach English conversation to some Belgian scientists, some of whom thought they should only grow weeds in their gardens to attract, feed and shelter wildlife until they came to my place for lunch and found all sorts of pollinators and beetles on the clematis, hardy geraniums, phlomis, roses, echinops and so on. They counted 4 different bees on one sedum Autumn Joy flowerhead and saw all sorts of birds on the feeders and in the shrubs and trees - warblers and marsh tits, not just sparrows and blue tits.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I want flowers in my garden. If a weed has a pretty flower and doesn't try to take over then it can stay, if not then it's in the bin. My flowers attract insects just as much, if not more, as the weeds.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
To my mind the issue is when people automatically see 'weeds' as negative, unless they are in wild areas, there's almost no middle ground.
This is not to say there isn't a better choice of ornamental plant in place of a weed but oftentimes I've known people that view being weed free as the main goal, spending their time and resources to create quite sterile environments . They'd prefer bare earth over say dandelions, daisys and forget me nots , which seems a shame to me.
Has somebody actually see a bee on a dandelion flower? I left with purpose the dandelions in front of the house, but never saw one. Also, while walking through the nearby park, the bees were all over the "weeds" around the park but I didn't see one single insect on dandelions just 5 meters far.
I think, if we have the space and/or inclination, we can leave a bit of the garden/lawn to weeds perhaps.
I cut my lawn last week and left a strip of dandelions along the fence and around the bottom of the bird bath. There were bees on them as I was mowing.
There’s also creeping buttercup in the lawn which I also leave along with lots of clover.
My neighbour doesn’t do anything in her garden so the weeds generally are left to their own devices (which is where most of mine come from).
The neighbour on the other side has a front lawn which is about 80% dandelions.
Most of the perennials I have in the front and back have been put there with all kinds of pollinators in mind. I have newts now, hedgehogs, slugs and snails are left to do what they want.
I think councils could make more of an impact if they cut grass less often and used less weed killer.
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I have always loved it, would be there like a shot again, if I was more physically able.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
This is not to say there isn't a better choice of ornamental plant in place of a weed but oftentimes I've known people that view being weed free as the main goal, spending their time and resources to create quite sterile environments .
They'd prefer bare earth over say dandelions, daisys and forget me nots , which seems a shame to me.
I ♥ my garden.