Weeds

Weeds

One of the pleasures of our Montana spring is watching the garden bloom. Because we have a rather long winter with the possibility of snow way into June, our growing season tends to be short. However, the cool, wet weather does not deter the perennials from sprouting out of the ground saying hello to spring.

Along with the new growth comes an army of weeds. I am amazed that weeds need nothing but moisture and sun to flourish. Left unattended these weeds will overtake the flowering plants sucking up all the nutrients and destroying the hard work of the gardener. At best weeds are plants growing in the wrong place.

For me the biggest culprit of the weed world is the Canadian Thistle. For some reason this weed loves our garden. As soon as the snow melts it is the first plant to pop out of the ground. By the time the rest of the garden awakens this thistle has already marked its territory. It likes to hide among the peonies, daisies and the lilacs so you can't see it grow. I did find one hiding in our hedge that had grown four feet tall with a foot long root!

I am reminded of the words spoken by God in the first book of the Bible. After Adam and Eve had disobeyed, God told them the consequences of their action.

To Adam he said, “You’ll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you’ll get your food the hard way, planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk….”

I wonder what our garden would be like if these first gardeners had obeyed. I know for sure that I would not have to hunt down and with glove in hand extracting the prickly Canadian Thistle. Then I could sit on the patio and enjoy the rainbow of color blooming in our own little Garden of Eden.