In the garden of life, what have the weeds taught you?

There is a great book where I learned this… it’s called, “Paradise Lot.” It is written by a guy named Eric Toensmeier, who is well known in permaculture circles for having written “The Edible Food Forest” and “Gaia’s Garden.” Eric and his partner deliberately chose a poor property to revive. It even had lead in the soil, bare ground, and a few tenacious weeds. But weeds, he explained, are often able to get nutrients where other plants can’t. They might, for example, have a “tap root” (think dandelion, thistle, burdock, dock, comfrey)… so these plants can dig down deep in hard packed soil to find nutrients and they bring them up closer to the surface, which allow other plants with shorter roots to get those nutrients, too. Several of those plants also are “nitrogen fixers.” Nitrogen is needed by all plants, but some plants, like clover, vetch, comfrey and beans, are able with the help of bacteria, to make more than enough nitrogen, and can feed it back into the soil for other plants to use. Many weeds, also, are fabulous pollinator attractors… clover, milkweed, catmint, thistle, dandelion… loved by bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. He (Eric) and his partner in only a few years were able to reduce the lead by planting certain plants and turn the tiny property into an Eden, producing lots of their food, and now with safe levels of lead in the soil. I came away from this book with a much deeper respect for how every bit of life on our planet has a purpose and role, whether we, as humans, understand it or not. I guess that also goes for ourselves as individuals… whether or not we understand our own purpose, we have one.