Define "weed"!

According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, a weed is "a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially : one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants."

In my garden, a weed is a plant I didn't plant and don't want on the property. There aren't many in my garden.

There are a lot of vigorous plants on the wrong place.

Let me explain.

For me as an Ontario teacher, June is the month in which I wish I had time and energy to garden. Instead I am helping kids catch up and calm down, setting exams, marking them, doing paperwork and more paperwork, tidying the classroom, going to end-of term meetings, and hauling stuff home in preparation for moving to a new classroom in September. The first two days of July are shock recovery.

The third day of July is garden shock day.

The weeds, as I said, aren't too bad. There is a lot of Beggar's Tickseed, which will later produce lopsided yellow daisies, and, later yet, the burs we used to call Devil's pitchforks. There is Deadly Nightshade, with its pretty purple and yellow flowers, red berries, and foul-smelling vine, all of which are poisonous. There is Manitoba maple, a tree which I might allow in places on a farm, but which is too weak and sprawly for a city lot. There are an assortment of thistles, not, unfortunately, the Scotch thistle, which can grow so large it becomes a sculpture. There is an assortment of unattractive annual greenery which is not difficult to deal with.

The really shocking stuff is the plants which are very desirable in their place, but which tend to take over the garden.

Start with the vines. Deadly Nightshade is a weed. Crown Vetch I planted. Some 25 years ago my mother wanted a little ground cover for some bare spots in the flower garden. The label on the tiny leguminous plant said "ground cover" and showed a picture of delicate leaves and pretty mauve flowers. It did not mention that the stuff grows three feet tall, spreads rapidly by seed and rhizome, and is ineradicable. It is properly used as ground cover on the steep slopes of highway cuttings. Its one advantage on a city residential lot is that it stays greener than grass in a hot summer. I would like some of it on the "boulevard" between the sidewalk and the street, but nowhere else. It does not care what I would like.

Virginia Creeper and wild grape come courtesy of the birds, and we encourage them, up to a point. They camouflage the Bouvier fences and the stark railings on the deck. Unfortunately they are also now camouflaging two garden benches.

Golden Hops is a lovely bright yellow-green vine that we have growing on a trellis. . . and a fence. . . and the support for hanging baskets. . . and the plants sitting on the back porch waiting to be planted. Silver Lace Vine is camouflaging some ugly wire mesh fence, a gate, several trees and bushes, and some unidentifiable objects I suspect are squirrel-gnawed bulk birdseed containers that need a trip to the dump.

Why did the American South import Kudzu when it had Dutchman's Pipe!!?!! When I was a child, neighbours used the beautiful broad-leaved vine to shade their verandahs. So I planted some here, but didn't maintain the supports properly. Unable to climb beside the verandah, it sent out runners 15 - 20 feet in all directions, coming up to climb any other plant it finds. Near the front of the lot it meets a variety of Bindweed, whose small morning-glory flowers would be delightful if it weren't for the strangling quality of the vine it grows on.

The last vine I want to mention is a variegated mint. It is a nuisance in that it takes over space I had planned for smaller, prettier flowers, but it is easy to prune and smells and tastes wonderful.

Enough for one day. Tomorrow I'll talk about some more of the nice plants in the wrong places in my garden. If I find the camera, I'll take some pictures.