Flower or Weed..a Matter of Perspective
A friend posted the following on Facebook, and it made me think…
At the time that I saw her post, I was sitting outside of my workplace in the car. I was getting ready to leave to go meet a client, but looked up at the small grassy area in front of me. What did I see? Dandelions blanketed the entire area. Truthfully, I hadn’t noticed. Dandelions are everywhere, and most people see them as a nuisance. People try to get rid of them by whatever means possible, whether it be weed killer, pulling them by hand, or just mowing them down. The last thing anybody wants on their perfectly manicured yard is a bunch of yellow weeds everywhere!
A Different Perspective
As I snapped a quick picture of the yellow flowers, I took some time to really “see” them. What is so ugly about a pretty little yellow flower? If this were a field of sunflowers, we would be marveling at their beauty. Sunflowers, dandelions…flowers, weeds. What makes one flower better than the other?
I can already hear the seasoned gardeners grumbling about all of the differences. I’m no master gardener, but I know there are some “weeds” that are harmful to the other flowers around them. Certain ground covers can take over entire flower beds. Some people consider beautiful morning glories to be nothing but glorified weeds, because they tend to spread a little further than some wish they would. One year I noticed some really pretty vines growing at my house, and they were growing rapidly. I let them grow as they curled around the wrought iron railings on my porch, and they looked so cool! That is, they looked cool until I noticed that they were also wrapping themselves tightly around the other flowers that I had planted..and killing them. Someone told me it was bindweed.
I don’t know if that’s the proper name for them, but that it is exactly what they were doing. They were binding my other flowers. I had no choice but to pull all of those vines in order to save the flowers that I had actually planted. Now I know what to look for, and I pull them as soon as they start growing. Well, I pull MOST of them. There is an area in front of my house where I have no other flowers planted, but I do have a tall shepherd’s hook in the ground. Last year I decided to let the vines grow around that hook. They twisted around the pole and cascaded down the side, and they looked great! Even a very pesky weed can be beautiful if it’s in the right place.
The Most Beautiful Bouquets Ever
Every September, around Labor Day, we would throw a huge birthday party for my grandma. She lived to be 105, so these parties were extra special. My dad was lucky enough to have his mom throughout his entire 82 years, as she passed away just seven months before him. Dad loved nature, and he loved wildflowers. He made beautiful centerpiece bouquets for grandma’s birthday, using wildflowers that he found while driving around the local lake.
I suffer from seasonal fall allergies, so these bouquets brought a bit of misery with their beauty for me…but also joy. Joy from seeing the proud look on my dad’s face, joy from seeing my grandma’s reaction to her son’s efforts, and joy in knowing that all of these bouquets were put together from what many would consider to be a “bunch of weeds”. A bunch of weeds that got a chance to shine, thanks to my dad!
So, What IS a Weed?
A weed is nothing but a plant that is growing somewhere that it is unwelcome, a plant out of place. You’ve heard the saying “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”? The same can be said for weeds. One person’s weed is another person’s flower.
Next time you see a yard full of dandelions, take a moment to think. Take a moment to see the beauty in it. Flowers are a lot like people.
Here’s a thought…while you’re taking a moment to think about all of the beautiful flowers that are considered to be weeds, use that same analogy with the people you see in your daily life. Some are just growing in the wrong spot for now, but given the chance to shine..they are just as beautiful as all the rest!
