weed

noun \ˈwēd\

Definition of WEED: a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially : one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants

After visiting a friend who is in process of embarking upon a small garden, I feel the need to go back and talk a little more about weeds.  I took this picture from her driveway and thought I recognized the vine as bittersweet (which had a choke hold over the porch in our first house).  But I didn't remember the purple and yellow flowers or the red berries produced afterwards.  So I asked my sister, a landscape designer (and overall encyclopedia of information), and she confirmed that this is bittersweet, but more specifically called "nightshade".

Nightshade is an invasive, hard to kill, fast growing vine that really should be completely removed from your yard.  The berries are poisonous to people and animals, and it can grow under vinyl siding, around outdoor wiring, and choke other plants.  I "googled" removal of nightshade to see what the online recommendations are from various garden sites and each one included using an herbicide.  Well, I am still not in favor of using chemicals in your yard, though apparently nightshade is so vigilant nothing short of biochemical warfare will eradicate the plant.  Even so, I do remember that we were able to calm the bittersweet in our first house by removing the plant down to the root to the best of our abilities.  Once in a while we would see a young vine pop up, but we were careful to pull it out right away.

It is important to recognize weeds like nightshade so that you can take proactive measures to control them in your yard.  If it gets as severe as the photo you not only run the risk of losing the desirable plants that may still be living under that mass of vines, but you may lose your vinyl siding, clapboards, outdoor wiring from the street to your house, etc., and the problem will compound as the summer growing season continues.

On the other hand, weeds like milk weed are not so worrisome.  While I do not have any milk weed in my yard, I have seen it in others and realize that they do have value by providing nourishment to butterflies and may be beneficial if you enjoy watching the lovely creatures thrive in your garden.  The photo to the right was taken at a friend's backyard.  There is no landscape plan or garden and I was just looking at the mass of wild plants (mentally planning what I could do with all that space) and was charmed by the butterfly (monarch?) that was working its way through the weeds.

Another weed that I like is the Virginia creeper.  This vine produces dark blue berries and, as I remember, the leaves turn red in the fall.  We had a very small patch of Virginia creeper along a shared fence in our last house in Massachusetts.  I was warned by the neighbor who shared the fence that it was poison ivy and not to touch it.  I saw the five leaves (versus three) and told her it was just Virginia creeper, but she was insistent that she had broken out in a rash after touching it and therefore it was poison ivy.  But, as I have previously mentioned in an earlier post, you can get rashes from all kinds of plants; and though I reassured her several times she was still a non-believer.  Not to say that Virginia creeper is a highly desirable fence vine as you can be sensitive to it and its berries are poisonous to humans, but I liked it and was satisfied that my neighbor was so afraid of it she had no intention of removing it.

In closing, I would just add that weeding is an ongoing activity that cannot be avoided in any garden.  I included Webster's definition of a weed to illustrate that there is no clear answer to the question, "How do I know if it's a weed?" when working in your garden.  I think any plant that causes damage (like the bittersweet) definitely falls into the "weed" category, but other plants such as johnny jump-ups, violets, milk weed, etc, you must use your own definition.  If it impedes your enjoyment of your yard and lawn, well, then pull it.