Allow the forces of nature to roam

                         By Melanie Waters

 "In the corner of his garden, there's a patch he used to keep
All to himself, to allow nature to creep
There are no trimmed edges
or prim, proper hedges
He left his earth still and alone
Allowed the forces of nature to roam
He said that you don't always have to be tidy and neat
Just watch the beauty of opportunity grow at your feet
He said just watch the earth produce its own glory
And I watched...and held on to his story
My grandad was right
Add water and light
Behold the sight
There are poppies and flowering weeds
Buttercups and oat coloured reeds
Daisies gingerly lift their heads
Dandelions roar from muddy beds
Purple thistles and strange grasses
Colours that alight and ignite masses
Dark ferns and heathers
Dandelion clock feathers
Birds foot trefoil, a four leafed clover
My grandad's story is not over
He may have gone, I may have cried
But the beauty he predicted never died"

Before the last freak snow storm we had in march Ian and I decided on sprinkling the wildflower seeds we bought at the entrance of the garden. I was pleasantly surprised to find that those little seeds had survived ! Wildflowers attract beneficial insect and lure them into the garden.

Some people consider many wildflower species to be weeds and they remove them or even worse spray them with pesticide. The problem with this is that some of these so-called weeds are in fact native plants that are a part of the area's ecosystem and removing native plants simplifies said ecosystems. Desertification is often a result of spraying an area. Most people don't have a weed problem they have a people problem. Weeds have often been classified as 'a plant that interferes with the management objectives of a given area of land at a given point in time'. Personally speaking, I find one of our species biggest problems is one of perspective, we see the world as a landscape of natural resources for our exploitation. With this perspective we see that weeds get in the way of our efficient use of natural resources.

Gardening with the principles of permaculture ultimately means trying to keep in harmony with the land and trusting that there's a consciousness there. I'm glad that our garden isn't purely about survival or profit because it gives us so much flexibility in experimentation. We can choose to leave the "weeds" and see if they have a significant impact on surrounding plants. So far the only weeds we have really been plucking out are grass.

Native vs. non-native

It's difficult to identify native plants and wildflowers to non-native ones. Even defining what is non-native is hard because some plants we are used to seeing year after year are in fact invasive, non-native ones. An example is Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense). Non-native plants are seen as a danger to an area because often times animals won't eat or use the plants because they are unfamiliar with them. 

Now that our garden has so much growth I can walk around and spend much of my time trying to figure out most of the plants that weren't planted from our seeds. This is a great website if you are ever interested in finding out what plants are what when they catch your eye.

Another amazing thing about "weeds" is that some common everyday ones you see are edible ! Here's just a few:

Chickweed (Stellaria media): Delicate and high in vitamin C, chickweed leaves taste like spinach. Steam young leaves, or use leaves and flowers in soups, salads and stir-fries.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): Best harvested in early spring before the plant flowers, young dandelion leaves have a tasty, mildly bitter flavor. With high levels of iron, potassium and beta-carotene, dandelion stimulates digestion and aids the liver. You can also eat the roots—scrub and slice them, then sauté in sesame oil and soy sauce. 

Lamb’s-quarters (Chenopodium album): The leaves taste like spinach and are supernutritious—they’re loaded with calcium, beta-carotene and vitamin C. Eat them raw or cook them into casseroles, grain salads and egg dishes.

Nettles (Urtica dioica): This classic spring green, known for its stinging hairs, sounds intimidating to eat (and gloves are necessary when collecting), but the leaves lose their sting when cooked. Usually added to soups or steamed like spinach, nettles are high in immune-boosting iron, beta-carotene and vitamin C, and help alleviate allergy symptoms.

Happy growing !