Excluding the formally designated “invasive species” plants, it’s often rather arbitrary what people collectively label as “weeds” in the U.S. Dandelions didn’t used to be viewed as such, but now they are. In Ontario, Canada there seems to be a different category for these particular plants, where they are allowed to abound everywhere. This makes for quite pretty sites, the round, yellow blooms dappled over expanses of greenery.
In my front and back yards, to different extents, I selectively weed out some plants and not others. I cull assorted ones back but not completely while removing certain other types wherever I see them. As I’ve previously written (here: https://practicalpagan.blog/2022/07/28/radical-acceptance-of-letting-go-of-my-grass-lawn/), the grass in my yard is going to eventually die off anyway. Hence, I’ve been enjoying observing what hardy greens are naturally replacing it that I can accept and live with. Crab grass, for example, is, well, a grass of sorts and something I can tolerate while many other people around me seem to passionately dislike it.
I’m working more with nature here instead of battling it on so many fronts. And, frankly, I don’t care how “eccentric” that makes me seem to my neighbors. Like the assorted “weeds” in my yard, I’ve long been viewed by a good share of people as not belonging. I feel a sense of relief and peace over allowing many of the “weeds” before me to grow and be, their presence adding to my property, not somehow taking away from it.
In this place I call my home, I am a steward just as much as– if not more so– an owner.
The Practical, Fanciful Pagan 
This is such a beautiful post. Something was niggling in my mind as I was reading it. I looked up a few words and they just didn’t work and then I said, “aha analogy”. So, I did a little research. Analogy – A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification. “an analogy between the workings of nature and those of human societies.” Kate Douglas Counseling The comparison you made between the weeds and yourself and the sense of belonging hit home not only for me but possibly other family members. Accepting the weeds as they are could very well be used the same as accepting ourselves the way we are (perhaps, the way God intended). Thank you, Sean. I’ll probably be referring back to this one in the future. It’s a keeper, perhaps the same as you.
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I agree with your wise words about accepting ourselves, the way Gods (for me, the gods) intended.
You are so kind and generous with your compliments here. Thank you.
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You are very welcome.
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Our dear blogger is most definitely a keeper! Hi dmok…I’m meandering my way back to a wee bit more online; it is nice to see you are still around, and still a gentle and generous reader.
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I’m glad to see you back, Jazz. It’s taken me a while to get back into the swing of things. Thank you for your kind comment. Hope to see more of your posts.
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And you, Sean, are very generous with yourself and you are so very welcome.
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Thank you for this lovely post.
You know, I think, I call myself a “master of twisted analogies.” Yours, on the other hand, is clear and beautiful.
“Weeds” are clearly culturally defined. Grasses, flowers, plants, etc.–what is ugly to many in one little culture bubble is useful and even beautiful to others. I find it grossly ironic that so many plant-beings native to Northern New England are considered weeds or are rejected for not being beautiful enough, or the right color & etc. to fit in (to the specifically selected and cultivated garden). Yet native plant-beings are hardy, helpful, and often aesthetically lovely. Not to mention incredibly low-maintenance. Thinking of oneself as a steward of the land on which one’s home is built is a wonderful open-door to a much-needed paradigm shift about lawn, park, and garden aesthetics.
You wrote, “I’m working more with nature here instead of battling it on so many fronts.” Yay, you! (Both for the yard and garden, and of course for the person.) I’m engaged in this learning process too.
I wrote some about my yard on your other post about your lawn. Aside from my ongoing and seemingly necessary battle with invasive knotweed (neither native, pretty nor useful, and dangerous because it chokes out everything else), my space is wild. LOL wild enough that I watched a bobcat take down a full-grown buck on Friday just 10 yards or so from my house.
I’ve had fun with various plant ID apps on my phone to discover what is actually growing. (You might enjoy trying one such as iNaturalist or LeafSnap.) I discovered that the shiny greenery beneath the white pines is wild wintergreen; wild blackberries and raspberries surround the perimeter of the woods; and the scores of gangly beings that spring up even in the cracks of the driveway are wild asters that can be clipped back so they bush out and bloom more. And it’s an ongoing treat to look at the variety of tiny wildflowers I haven’t yet identified; they pop up in random patches throughout the season.
RE Crabgrass: Your post inspired me to read about it…expected (and sad) that I had to alter my search term to “crabgrass HISTORY” to find anything other that links to how to get rid of it from your yard! Crabgrass has a fascinating history, and was imported into the U.S. in 1849 by the United States Patent Office as forage for cattle, sheep, hogs and horses. But it was a staple crop for human food (and still is in some places). !!! Check out this fun website: https://www.eattheweeds.com/crabgrass-digitaria-sanguinalis-2/
Your analogy to we humans who’ve been marginalized for various reasons is so very apt. Like those beings considered “weeds,” so many folks who have so much to teach and give and enrich our lives are overlooked at best or actively sought out for elimination. Like dandelions. And the culture-bubbles who do this (aside from the harm they cause the “weeds”) rob themselves of the rich magnificence and nourishment these beings have to offer.
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Jazz,
I forgot what a wonderful writer you are. All I can say is “WOW”! It sounds like you live a very exciting life and I can’t imagine seeing a bobcat taking down a buck or being that close to see it at all. You have a way of writing that makes what you write about seem so real as if you’ve painted a picture that makes it so clear for the reader to see. Thank you for sharing your experiences and your writing.
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Thank you 🙏🏻 and YOU are truly a “gentle reader” (do you remember reading old-fashioned books in which the author would often write a sort of letter to their audience in a sort of preface letter? They seemed always to say, “Gentle readers…”) You’re the best audience for a writer’s usually giant black hole of insecurity because your comments are always thoughtful and so very positive!
My life is totally NOT exciting these days. Deadly dull, at least on the outside, and very isolated (except for the wildlife and occasional zooms! One of the major ughs of physical limitations and starting from scratch in late middle age.
Google tell me I should feel extremely lucky to have even seen a bobcat at all because they’re so reclusive. I felt horrible about the whole thing! I’m so freaked by any harming and killing beings, I make myself crazy even saving spiders and house flies 🤣. It was kind of exciting to see a bobcat though. Much less scary than the bears I’ve seen hiking and way less scary than the mountain lions I’ve encountered in Vermont (a Catamount) and Arizona!
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Ah, “gentle reader” – This quite likely comes from a biblical phrase I heard a very long time ago. “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.” also referred to as the Golden Rule. As we know too well, parents do not always treat their children with kindness or respect. As children, we are powerless to do anything about this. Hearing this phrase made me realize I was powerless against what others said or did, but I did not have to react in kind which empowered me. It also made me take the time to think before I spoke. I had the power to be gentle (kind). For me, I know no other way to live. Quite frankly, it saved my ass on many occasions. I do remember those “preface letters”. Your writing evokes a sense of similarity in upbringing that is quite uncanny. It is a very easy thing to be a good audience for your writing. You say it like it is. Thank you for including me in your community.
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You are a good person.
What you said about your power certainly resonates in harmony with how my own sense of personal ethics developed. 🙌❤️🌀✨
You might (maybe) enjoy reading about the history of what’s commonly called The Golden Rule” in our society. It predates Christianity by thousands of years and is central to many faith traditions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule
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