Another Useful Weed..umm...Wildflower!

I am finding so many reasons to not weed the gardens nor cut the grass!  Today, I found another "weed" that  could possibly be helpful!  Most folks would call me a bit daft and, well, I suppose it would be futile to argue with them since sometimes I ponder the same thing.  While I was hauling some old boards down to the burn pile, I nearly stepped on a familiar weed that seems to be the bane of folks that desire the perfect lawn.  These things pop up seemingly overnight and will be a foot tall all the while waving their sparse flowers in the breeze.  I am talking about Lyre-leaf Sage.  Perhaps you..like me..do not recognize the name but you..like me..would definitely recognize the plant.

The Lyre-leaf Sage has a crown of leaves right at the ground and usually have a single stalk that shoots up in the middle.  This hairy stalk has whorls of tube-like flowers growing from it.  These blooms can be white, lavender, purple or blue.  A prolific seeder, the plant can be seen growing on the sides of most country lanes or out in pastures.  (I am one of those fortunate ones that has them growing right in my lawn!)  Actually, I have no problem with the Lyre-leaf Sage growing in my yard as I have always looked at them as wildflowers and not weeds.  The term sounds so much happier!  Wildflowers!  A person just cannot help but smile when thinking of open fields of wildflowers! (I cannot say the same about folks who think these are all weeds.  They probably do not do a lot of grinning when trying to eradicate them from their well-manicured lawns.)

The thing that I find interesting about the Lyre-leaf Sage is that for years it was believed to be a topical cure for cancer.  One of the common names for it is actually Cancerweed.  According to lore, Native Americans found many uses for the plant.  A few of these remedies have shown to have some credibility.  Personally, I have no clue if the weed..er..wildflower has any cancer-curing properties but it would sure be something to keep in mind.  The Native Americans are also said to have used the plant to heal sores and wounds.  A salve made from the root would be applied to the injury and a tea made from the whole plant was used to treat colds and coughs.

Now, see!  If this is not a perfectly legitimate reason to quit weeding the gardens, I do not know what would be!  Also, stop mowing that grass!  Think of how many potential cures are being shredded by those blades! Wildflowers!  Yep..beautiful wildflowers!  Medically useful wildflowers!