My weedy garden!

Once in a while you come across something that piques your interest enough that you spend quite a bit of time just pondering it.  Why are some plants called weeds? Today as I was out wandering around the hillside, I came across what Pop used to call "Wild Okra".  He hated it when this plant would suddenly sprout up in one of the fields.  If you did not get rid of it quickly, the seeds would spread and soon your "Wild Okra" would take over the cultivated okra and everything else!  If the plant came up anywhere else, he would leave it be as it is a pretty thing when kept in control.  Pop would have taken a hoe to my plant, I am sure, as it is only a few feet from the vegetable garden!

This plant is not one that you really want to just grab ahold to and pull out of the ground.  The stalks and leaves are covered with prickly fibers that can leave you covered with scratches.  Some folks are allergic to these fibers and will remain itchy for quite some time.  The root system is another problem when trying to remove the plant!  You can yank all you want and that thing just does not want to let go!  I think those roots are either a mile long or have some secret holding power! Those roots get the best of me each time I try to remove it from the garden. But I have this all under control!  It is a case of if you can't beat them..join them!  A new flower garden will just have to be created to accommodate the Wild Okra plant!  You see, unlike Pop, I adore these weeds! Just look at the loveliness of the bloom!  Plus not many flowers can boast of a blooming season that lasts from early spring to the first frost without at least a little help from the gardener. Most cultivated plants need to be tended to keep them in bloom.  Our garden plants need to be fertilized, watered and trimmed...not these!  I have never done a thing to keep the Wild Okra healthy..why I have even run it over with the lawnmower a few times and yet, it comes back with a vengeance!  I figure if I cannot rid it from the yard, perhaps I had just better embrace it as a welcome addition!

This year, there are actually two healthy Wild Okra shrubs on the hillside that have not met the blades of my mower.  One is out back behind the shed and the other is near the veggie garden.  When I mentioned to Michael that I wanted to create a garden around the little bush, he looked at me as if I was a mite daft.  Why would I dig a garden there? When I explained the difficulty that I have in removing the plant, he assured me that it could be done.  Now..I just need to decide where my Wild Okra plants will find a permanent home..and notice..I did say plants!  He promised to dig the one behind the shed as well!  A new flower garden is in the planning stages!  Pop would just be shaking his head at me in disbelief.  Weeds!