| I can’t say what it is about weeds that l have always loved? Perhaps it is quite simply because they are misunderstood like some animal species. Whatever your opinion or view is on weeds, they are everywhere, and they are here to stay. Twenty-five years ago, l used to forage for weeds to feed the enormous number of rabbits l had in my commercial breeding operation. Knowing about them made everything easier because it meant that l wouldn’t accidentally kill an animal by feeding the wrong weed. Most weeds are harmless, not all. Of course, some are and can be deadly. The fact is that people don’t like weeds because they don’t belong where they usually appear or are out of place. Many a time, gardeners especially don’t want them because weeds tend to grow quicker and easier than many ornamental flowers. Weeds have a way of surviving. They are ONLY considered weeds on the domestic level because, let’s be honest, when we are out walking in the countryside, how many people are bothered by the presence of weeds then? There are advantages and disadvantages to having weeds in your gardens and yards. They do have a lot of benefits that many people tend to ignore, and this series will highlight that. |
| The Beauty of Weeds Companion Plantings Shelter Encouraging wildlife Fertilising and enriching the soils Providing and active Mulch/Soil protection Attracting pollinators and good insects Repelling pests Food source for animals and humans Serves as decoy crops Great for wildlifing the garden Soil conditioning |
| Rosebay Willowherb Chamaenerion angustifolium |
| Rosebay Willowherb is a perennial flowering plant, a weed to some and an attractive country flowering bush to others. I find it an attractive plant, and it is pretty prolific in these parts of Kent. It is invasive but ‘pretty in pink’ as l joke with those who ask what it is. Here in the UK, it is known as Willowherb, while it is known as Fireweed in other parts of the world. You can buy the seeds for this plant at specialist sellers to grow in your gardens or your wildlife gardens and or meadows as well as for a white flowering variety called “Alba”. Whilst wonderful to look at and have in a garden, control should be exercised with the native pink as they can become troublesome if left unmanaged, and it will spread rapidly through the season. However, the good news is that it can be removed from the soil quickly, whether through forking the soil or pulling up from the ground directly when the ground is wet. Another method is cutting the plant regularly through the growing period. It is not too keen and will not survive this action. It is pretty adaptable at self-sowing due to the way the seeds drop and are carried away by the wind, and each plant has the potential of dispersing through this method up to 75,000 seeds. It is easily spotted and found growing on disturbed grounds and wastelands, woodlands, roadsides, pathways, grassy banks, and gardens. It’s great for pollinators with its nectar and is loved by moths, butterflies, honeybees, and bumblebees. It is in full flower from June through to September. Rosebay Willowherb can easily attain a height of up to five feet tall with a spread of between three to five feet and has hardy, determined and long-reaching and spread easy roots. It can also overwhelm the growing space of neighbouring plants. |
| I hope you enjoyed R is for Rosebay Willowherb and I’ll see you again soon. The Autistic Composter |
Earthly Comforts 
It has pretty flowers and I think a bit of herbs/ wild plants give a better look to the garden.
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They do Sadje, l love having a mixture in the gardens – here in Willow it couldn’t work but on the allotment it will 🙂
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Did you hear about the allotment?
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Hey Sadje, oh yes, did you not see my Yay post? Basically l was granted the allotment last Thursday. Suze and l were there on Friday then again on Sunday, lots of work, will write about it all soon 🙂
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That’s great news Rory. No I didn’t see the post as the reader is messing up. I don’t see some posts from some bloggers and none from some. I think I’ll lodge a complaint with WP.
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You should do, there are still a few glitches in WP that shouldn’t be here.
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Yes, very vexing.
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I love weeds/wildflowers, too! Great pictures!
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Thanks Kristian, yeah weeds are just wild flowers in the wrong place 🙂
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Interesting! Thank you for sharing, Rory! I don’t remember having seen these growing in the States during my foraging days.
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Hey Betty, American willowherb is slightly different in its look that the British one. So maybe you were seeing it, but not seeing this particular genus of it?
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That’s certainly possible, Rory. Also, it could be called by another name over here. I’ll see what Professor Google has to say about that. 😊
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Ookies and dokies too, let me know 🙂
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Hey Rory. According to Professor Google, Rosebay Willowherb is known as Fireweed in the states. I remember reading about Fireweed in my weed books (foraging guides), but never found any while foraging. They are edible.
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Yes, they are edible that is true.
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Wildflowers are the best! The bees certainly seem to like those. Very pretty!
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Hey Angie and that is the truth – wildflowers and weeds are adored by pollinators and yet people want to get rid of them all the time.
Fools.
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Most animals know how to self-medicate. Some farmers in Australia are now allowing a few weeds to grow in certain areas for sheep to access ‘at need’. They’ve reported a very low incidence of poisoning (none since the lambs that where raised on the site became adults in the same location), and rarely need to use commercial worming concoctions.
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Hey Cage this is so true. A person only has to watch wild rabbits or hares feed and see that they too are all too aware of eating the right plants for medicinal purposes.
Animals have a natural forager’s instinct.
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Alaska has that fireweed and I guess also Oregon?
Says it gets its name fireweed because it’s known for bringing life back after a fire.
From US Fish and Wildlife Service:
https://www.fws.gov/story/fireweed
Sounds like it likes colder areas if it’s in Alaska and Oregon lol 😄😄
It says in England it can also be known as Bombweed because it took over after WWII bombings in London ?? Is that true?
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Hey Trisha, yes that’s true.
Willowherb loves waste grounds, so bomb craters, derelict buildings were commonplace during the second world war and willowherb took root quickly.
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Nature is so wonderful to provide food even in such devastating circumstances!
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This is so true Betty. Nature always tries to help, but industry finds ways of knocking its help down.
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