Master Gardeners

What is a weed? Plants such as dandelion, horsetail, cat’s ear, fireweed, Scotch broom and Himalayan blackberry all come to mind. Some of these, like dandelion, horsetail, cat’s ear and fireweed, are just “a plant out of place.” They are growing where we don’t want them, but they often aren’t causing harm.

Some of the others listed, however, are plants that Washington has deemed noxious weeds because they are invasive, nonnative plants that threaten agricultural crops, local ecosystems, or fish and wildlife habitats. Scotch broom and Himalayan blackberry are both examples of noxious weeds.

Generally, our response to weeds is to pull them out and put them where they will never bother us again. Reasonable. In the case of noxious weeds, it might even be legally required that we control some of these species on our properties.

Now, consider this: it might be better for our planet if we left some of these weeds in the ground, provided they aren’t on the Washington State Noxious Weed List.

Our pollinators, which are in decline, use the flowers of weeds just as they use the flowers of cultivated plants for their nectar and pollen. Many of our “weeds” may even be supplying a necessary food source when our ornamentals are in short supply, such as in early spring or late fall. So, resisting the urge to pull every dandelion that grows in your borders or lawn may be a very good thing. It also may be a very hard thing to do.

Some gardeners will be delighted to learn that leaving a few weeds is a good thing. It’s less work! Some gardeners will be upset that the high weed-free standard that they have always maintained is not always for the best. I must admit that I am among this group. But with effort I am learning to resist the urge to pull. In my garden, I still keep the vegetable rows free of weeds but my walkways are now weedy. I have clover, dandelion, selfheal and hen’s bit, among others.

Saving our pollinators isn’t always easy. It isn’t always pretty, but it is what we have to do. It takes effort to learn a new way of doing things. We just have to measure this new way of gardening against the loss of our pollinators, and in the process remember that we owe our beautiful green world, our food supply, our flowers, our trees and their fruit, our forests, and almost everything that grows on our earth to pollinators.

For more information on this and other relevant gardening subjects, please attend our upcoming lecture series, “Through the Garden Gate,” this coming January through March. More information will be published at extension.wsu.edu/mason

For more information about noxious weeds, go to extension.wsu.edu/mason/noxious-weed-program

■ Erika Stewart has been a WSU Master Gardener for 14 years. She is a frequent speaker at “Through the Garden Gate” and an active worker at Catalyst Demonstration and Food Bank Garden