"Meet me at the Gates"

"Meet me at the Gates", this was a name given by my Grandfather to a plant that he loathed. He was forever pulling, digging and cutting them out of his gardens and lawn. Granddad had an impeccable yard, so full of flowers and a lush green lawn. I was always in awe when I entered this veritable fairyland. He worked in it daily calling it "Mother's garden" in honor of Grandmother even though she only ventured into the gardens to pick flowers for her dining room table. I remember well how she always wore her apron, large sun hat and white gloves as she snipped the long stems of roses, daisies and lilies. She would carefully place each in a large flat flower basket for the trip back inside. He would be all smiles watching her as he reached down to pull another weed.

The "Meet me at the Gates", the bane of his garden, are better known as Spiderwort or Tradescantia. The stems, leaves and flowers of the Spiderwort are all edible and many claim the plant has medicinal properties as well. I have not been tempted to eat it myself because if you break a leaf, it oozes a thick, gooey sap. "Cow Slobber", another nickname for the plant, is just not that appetizing to me! It is an unusual plant that only blooms early in the morning closing its blossoms against the heat of midday. Strange because it is not a shade loving plant, it grows best in full sun. I love to have Spiderwort mixed in among my other flowering plants, its bright blue or purple flowers blend well with everything from roses to petunias. I, also love that it is such an easy plant to grow having only two major requirements, sunshine and water, to bloom all summer. It has become a favorite even though as a youngster I was taught that it was a weed. Granddad probably would not be too happy knowing that I plant these "pesky weeds" in the gardens. He would tell me that if I give them an inch they would soon "Meet me at the Gate"!

This brings me to another thought..Are we all weeds until we prove that we are flowers? If we never make the effort to bloom and show our worth to the world should we be considered the bane of the "garden". Ahh, just a thought. Anyway, back to the garden, there is something magical about being in the garden at the break of day, the light is soft, birds are singing to the rising sun and dewdrops glisten like diamonds on every new flower. Take a walk early some morning, if you are fortunate enough to find a Spiderwort, you can marvel at the beauty of this simple, three-petal jewel. It will definitely be worth a second glimpse.