Weedy Tendencies

Many years ago, three young geography undergraduates were reduced to (badly controlled) giggles when introduced to the concept of Weedy Tendencies. I had never heard the phrase before and, to be honest, have never heard this exact phrase since. A quick trawl of the internet, however, reveals that others have researched the characteristics of the ‘ideal weed’. For instance:

“By studying ruderal and agricultural weeds invading empty niches, Herbert Baker began to identify characteristics associated with invasiveness, which resulted in a list of traits describing the ‘ideal weed’ (Baker 1965, 1974)” (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-023-05397-8). Of course the key word here is ‘invasiveness’.

Memories of the definition of ‘Weedy Tendencies’ are clouded by the urgent need to appear focussed and stay silent in the lecture theatre, but I do remember that weedy characteristics included the ability to produce massive quantities of easily transportable seed (thistledown seems so romantic until it grows into a socking great thistle, and the heavier Sycamore seeds even come supplied with wings) or come with roots which can regenerate the plant after the hoe or hand has removed all evidence of leaves and flowers. How many times have I dug up the top end of a dandelion’s massively entrenched tap root, only to give up and move on, knowing that new leaves will be back before I am.

Above from left to right: the dreaded dandelion root, some catsear and a sycamore seedling. You know you didn’t plant them.

Of course invasiveness is not all bad: it’s sometimes a pleasure to get ‘free’ plants, to dig up spare plants to pass on to others or to feed the compost bin with the ones that you pull out. But - warning klaxon - many compost bins don’t get hot enough to kill off the roots of couch grass or bindweed.

So what is a weed? Yes, yes, we know it’s a plant in the wrong place. But we suspect that the definition of ‘wrong place’ is changing as awareness of climate change, the importance of biodiversity and the delights of No Mow May, June and July (right) alter the definition of the ‘garden’.

Terroir South’s garden is definitely not a nature reserve. It is a garden which functions as a controlled space, a place of peace, visual delight, variety, relaxation and shelter. It is a transition zone between ‘indoors’ and the world beyond (be that urban, agricultural, woodland or wilderness) over which we have no control.

But we now realise that gardens can make a serious contribution to urban biodiversity and habitats. Even one small garden can make a difference, but a row of gardens can provide sufficient habitat to support a huge range of wildlife from hedgehogs to holly blue butterflies.

So, as with many gardeners, we have added biodiversity (above) to Terroir’s list of what we expect from our garden.

But it’s all so subjective. How do we choose what plants to keep and what to weed out? There was a time when invasive herb Robert and cleavers were signs of neglect, a blemish on the garden environment. Terroir now welcomes herb Robert as a garden invader; he adds colour, form, diversity and a hint of the countryside beyond.

Above: herb Robert and wood sorrel decorate the front door step.

But cleavers/sticky Willie/goosegrass? Visually and culturally, it still seems incredibly ‘weedy’, something signalling neglect. The tiny white flowers are delightful but you need a magnifying glass to appreciate them; the burs are annoying or fun, depending on how old you are. We feel guilty pulling it up (and, oh boy, is it easy and immensely satisfying to grab great handfuls of the stuff). On the other hand it is impossible to eradicate completely so we always tolerate a small amount. Would we be more tolerant if cleavers was more colourful? Dandelions are frowned upon but a few of their bright yellow, nectary flowers can always be tolerated.

A farmer, or a lover of the perfect English lawn, knows exactly what a weed is – something which interferes with the ‘crop’ (and no, we won’t digress into a discussion on monocultures). It’s far harder to be a gardener where choice and variety is everything. Unwittingly we make value judgements all the time.

Below are some of Terroir’s decisions on invasive plants.