the happy cactus

During my daily walk I have with our beautiful dog Winston, I noticed there are loads of weeds sprouting up from the pavement which seem to create a beautiful tree line the entire length of journey. Each weed cluster seems to vary in height, thickness, species and how close they grow together. Now, I don’t know who has said that weeds are bad, an ugly unwanted species that needs to be pulled out or poisoned but I am of the opinion that they are beautiful. I am sure it’s the big companies who sell pesticides and the companies who say that weeds have no place in the landscaping society. Fun fact: a weed is categorised as a plant that is undesirable or unwanted, and they are usually perceived in a negative way however they do have many advantages.

Personally, I am in awe at how beautiful some of the weeds truly are. Take the thistle, with its prickly sharp angular leaves and spike encrusted stem for example. Has anyone actually stopped to admire just how beautiful the thistle flower is when it blooms? The rich purple’s and vibrant warm yellows against the deep green of the plant really does enhance the colours. Has anybody really stopped to take stock of just how intricate a dandelion is, with its long thin stem reaching up to house a small yellow flower that entices a flurry of bees? Granted they do not smell all that tolerable. How about we talk about Cobbler’s Pegs with their pristine white petals and simplistic yellow centre that eventually morphs into long black barbed seeds that hitchhike to better fields. One thing all of these weeds have in common is their durability to thrive in dry, infertile and somewhat inhospitable areas. These so-called weeds can live on minimal water and barely any nutrients. According to my dear horticulture friend, all weeds play an integral part in the regeneration of biodiversity and enrich the soil for future growth.

If we can shift our thinking from perceiving weeds as being a nuisance to weeds playing a major role in regeneration, then we can embrace the natural beauty of something that is supposed to be bad. In all the beautiful botanical gardens I have walked through over the years, none of them house any weeds present in or around the landscaping space. I like to think weeds are very similar to our experiences that we would prefer not to have gone through at all. All experiences, the good the bad and the ugly, are what shape us into who we are as people. If you took away all the negative aspects of your life and you were only left with good experiences, I don’t think you would be a very well-adjusted person and sport any resilience or compassion. Just like the weeds that are required for regeneration, so too are the bad experiences or the uncomfortable moments in your life that help you to develop into a better person. Everybody needs weeds in their life. Sometimes you cannot admire the weeds for what they have taught you at the time, but when you stop and look back you realise how much the fertilised the soil around you. You don’t always get a choice in whether you can pull the weed out before it takes root or before it flowers but you do get a choice in how you look back and count your blessings.

By changing how you perceive your hard times, how many weeds you had, your moments of growing and stretching you to your limits, you can try to remember that weeds are required to fertilise the soil for future crops.

Big love x