Plant, weed, or wildflower?

Is it a plant, weed, or a wildflower?

 

It is interesting how quick we are to come to our conclusions on any given plant to answer this question.  We will rip up "weeds" we find in our yards only to go out and buy plants that are not suited for our given environment. 

 

Know I love flowers, plants, and attempt a food garden nearly every year - but I find myself more and more confused about how to classify what something is.  I'm all for natural, many really interesting plants are native to my area and require very very little or even no care.  These are wonderful because they save me water and time.  I have a relatively large yard, larger than most in my little corner of the world.  I will happily water my garden every day during the peak of summer, but I just can't bring myself to do so for the rest of my yard.

 

I regularly pull or chop down a few "weeds" that are full of thorns - but I also leave the wild blackberries (which are full of thorns) alone because the fruit is amazing.

 

Last fall I took a guided hike through a section of state forest.  They guides were wonderful and knowledgeable about native plants - and I recognized many of them as "weeds" that have long been a part of my lawn.  It is an interesting dichotomy.  Now they are some invasive species of plants that can do harm to our little patch of ecosystem, and ironically many have a native doppelganger that make identification tough for a novice like me. 

 

I love my non-native plants, my wildflowers (whether purchased or transplanted), and I am beginning to rethink, rediscover, and love my "weeds".