What the Weeds Tell Us About Finding Wonder
And how it lives right beneath our feet...
This weekend, I bent low enough to see the stems of the pennywort growing in my rain-soaked North Florida lawn. It rained almost every day for 11+ days here this September.
Other than the ants thinking my house and studio were Noah’s ark, it was magical to see how the deluge changed my growing food forest.
When the rains broke, I was treated to mushrooms popping up in all the places I least expected them. (Alas, none were the edible variety though.)
I’m a nerd. I freely admit it.
Sunday I spent hours slowly creeping along the different micro-climates in my yard engrossed with my plant identifier app studying all the new growth.
Every shoot and sprout tells a story.
Disclaimer: PLEASE do NOT take my observations here as fact. You need to do your own research before you EVER eat or use anything wild. I mean quadruple-check it. I forage for curiosity more than anything.
I found…
Mulberry Weed: Not edible and will be added to the compost tea. It grows in shaded, moist soil. So I know that part of my yard is good for plants that like those conditions.
Scarlet Spiderling: I’m letting it grow in one area because it is a favorite among the butterflies. And a yard cannot have too many butterflies. The limit does not exist.
Asthma Spurge: Definitely getting rid of this one. Mildly toxic to the touch, it tells me the soil it is thriving in is chalky and alkaline. To grow vegetables there, I’d need to add rich organic matter and look for plant varieties that prefer drier environments.
Chamberbitter: (P. Uranaria) It thrives in sandy soil and has medicinal properties according to many culture’s folk medicine. Some sites/apps list it as toxic and poisonous to humans, but multiple academic university sites list it as nontoxic and in certain cases beneficial. It does contain latex so those with allergies should stay far away. This one is probably one of the most fascinating to me. 1
No, this isn’t a blog on foraging or gardening. 🧑🌾
But the natural world is so full of metaphors and lessons about the wonder that lives right beneath our feet.
The things we root out and discard because they are unknown or foreign to us, may be hiding troves of treasures.
Weeds grow in the garden because the soil needs something.
Instead of throwing our garden weeds away, we can toss them in a bucket of rainwater or natural well water. Cover and let it steep for a few weeks— it becomes a natural fertilizer that gives the land back what it needs most. Make sure it’s not treated water because the chlorine from most city water will kill off the microbial party before it gets started.
(Here’s a good article about weed tea: https://www.littleecofootprints.com/2015/09/weed-tea.html )
A Pennywort for Your Thoughts
Most people where I live see Dollar Weed (or Pennywort) as an annoying yard invader. And if you want a pristine lawn of non-native grass, it is indeed a force to be reckoned with.
But a weed is simply a plant growing where you don’t want it to be.
I see a plant that puts out prolific runners and grows by expanding and multiplying its roots.
You could say it grows in communities. It reminds me we can be both uniquely rooted and beautifully connected at the same time.
I see magical umbrellas that might shelter villages of teeny fairies. My sketchbook and imagination have now entered the chat. What stories could we tell about them?
I see free salad greens packed with raw nutrition. (I do not use pesticides on my garden or lawn.) 2
I see an invitation to harvest and add them to my pennywort patch. Yep, I actually cultivate them in a pot.
I see soggy soil telling me my plants that like well-drained conditions would not flourish there.
Weeds whisper stories held by the land. They can be a road map of what lies beneath.
I mean how often do we berate ourselves for not being enough, when perhaps we are not planted in the right conditions to thrive to begin with?
The world is loud and fast these days. Sometimes so loud it drowns out the sound of our creativity. And life moves so fast it disconnects us from ourselves when we try and keep up with it.
What if we bent low to embrace the wild, displaced parts of our creativity with curiosity and compassion?
Seeking to learn from them what we need most. Rather than root out what rattles us or fight back out of sheer frustration.
What if we saw the tender shoots of unknown things and learned first what they were, what they offered and, the stories they held? Instead of just plucking them out of fear or impulse.
What if we took the things we’d normally discard and looked instead for ways these very things might nourish us?
What if we studied the ground beneath our feet and let it tell us its story of wonder?
This is what I mean by finding everyday wonder.
Friends, it is e v e r y w h e r e. Waiting to be found. Even in your own backyard or local park.
And this fall we are going on a adventure here to help you find it.
Wondertober Starts October 1!
During October, I’ll be sending out 31 one-word wonder prompts for our Autumn gentle art challenge. Fall themed of course!
All the details are coming tomorrow in a separate post (09.25.24)
So appreciate every single one of you!
Thank you for being here and sharing this wild beautiful journey.
Gratefully,
I have a little patch of dirt that I claimed for my own "experiments" this year. My husband said that I had a pesky milkweed and I said "so?". It grew into a beautiful sunflower. I've let nature be in my little patch and it has been a beautiful surprise every week.