Weedy by design

Are “weedy” species and a beautiful garden mutually exclusive?

One of the key tenets embedded in me by my teachers was that a plant should serve more than one function in a garden. Weeds fit the bill.

Take Achillea millefolium - Yarrow, a plant that you will see growing on roadsides throughout NZ. It has an umbrella shaped flowerhead; a landing pad for beneficial insects. Deep roots mine minerals from the soil. It’s a perennial and feeds the soil as it breaks down. In my opinion, it looks beautiful planted under an apple tree in my garden. And best of all, if you get injured in a sword fight it’ll help staunch the bleeding.

That last point comes from a tale I was told that yarrow comes to us from England via Rome. Apparently Roman soldiers used it to heal wounds and took it with them to Britain.

It’s a weed that serves multiple functions adding to the aesthetic, health and productivity of my garden.