My Autumn Weed Bouquet
Our neighborhood is mostly evergreens with a few deciduous trees mixed in. The view from my back window is over a slope leading down to the river and it has very few trees and lots of shrubs and grasses. The grasses are what most people would call “weeds” and in between those grasses there are a few wildflowers like yarrow and asters. The river is lined with willows, the shrubby kind and not the trees. For what it’s worth, I find the view from any of my windows beautiful and refreshing.
As the winter snows have already started, I’m seeing fewer and fewer short plants as they get buried and mashed down by the snow and ice. There are still a few plants surviving so I took the opportunity a week or so ago to cut some of the autumn weeds for a bouquet to have indoors. It was pretty late for gathering much but I still managed to create a bouquet that makes me happy. Once again, it is a matter of perspective in determining whether a plant is a weed or something amazing to look at as part of an autumn bundle in a vase.
My husband and I debate about the definition of a weed, an on-going discussion in our family. I say a weed is something growing where you don’t want it to grow, like in a flower or vegetable garden or in the middle of your manicured lawn. But, if the plant is growing, like most of those in our yard, in a natural landscape, I try to leave it as part of the habitat.
In my eyes, my autumn weed bouquet is as pretty as any flower shop bunch of roses.
Invite your children to gather some of your autumn weeds to be indoors as part of your nature display.
Other Entries of Interest and Inspiration
Winter Weed Gallery – from my archives, showing lots of winter weeds