1. a wild plant growing where it is not wanted or in competition with cultivated plants
2. any wild plant
3. informal: marijuana*
4. informal: a leggy, loosely built horse**
* Please be assured I’m not talking about this definition.
** Huh… Who knew?
Most of the time, when I think about weeds, I’m thinking in terms of definition #2. I’m not a gardener, so weeds are not very often in competition with something I’m trying to grow. And because I’m not a very good gardener, weeds often grow better than things I have planted. Some of the most successful plants around our home are wild ones.
While I don’t choose for those to be my most successful plants, I’ve come to accept it, and even celebrate it. We’ve been living in this house for more than a decade, and many of the plants I have put in have long since died. So I choose to enjoy the “wildflowers” that grow in our garden.
Well this year, there’s a new flower to our party. I discovered it in a large “empty” pot in the side yard when I was emptying the trash a few weeks ago, and I began checking on it on a regular basis. I found myself charmed by it because while it is wild, it is beautiful. It’s a vine, with lovely little white flowers on it.
As the weather started heating up a little, I began watering it. And then I moved the pot over to a spot that got less than full sun all day, as it seemed to grow a little wilty in the heat. It had found a place in my heart, and I was feeling a little protective of it, hoping it would survive our heat.
But then the other day, I was in the backyard, in the far corner, with my son. He had been playing a little solo hockey on the concrete in our yard, and had sat down in the shade, on the low wall of the planter, to rest. I saw him sitting there, and took the opportunity to be with him, joining him in the shade, chatting with him. And that’s when I saw it. Another one of those lovely weeds with the little flowers. And then another. And another. Truth is, it’s all over the back and side of our house. I just hadn’t noticed, because I rarely have need to go over there.
I have lamented the loss of many a-plant over my time in this house. And I have always celebrated beauty, wherever I see it. I guess I just wasn’t seeing all the beauty there was to see.
Light Expectations 