| 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 |
| Blue Bugle Ajuga reptans |
| Images my own |
| Ajuga reptans are also known as bugle, bugleherb, bugleweed and common bugle. Reptans in Latin come from repto, which means creeping. Wildflower to some and invasive weed to others pending your geographical location. Blue Bugle is a perennial and covers the grounds in Gazen Salts Nature Reserve where l volunteer, which isn’t that unusual as this wildflower is often found in woodlands and shaded moist environments. I have seen it growing locally in the town of Sandwich’s gardens. It is quite a lovely plant to add to a wildlife garden or meadow and can be used in shaded but fertile soils to act as carpeting ground cover. Be mindful when planting that it can be invasive. Bugle flowers between April to July and can grow to a height of just over 20 cm. It is favoured by many insects ranging from moths and butterflies to bumblebees and hoverflies. |
| I hope you enjoyed B is for Blue Bugle and I’ll see you again soon. The Autistic Composter |
Earthly Comforts 
Looks very pretty. I don’t think we have this here.
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Hey Sadje, l think you may be right – l know it is native to Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia only so it probably misses you.
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Our climate is not favorable for it.
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No, sadly not.
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🥲
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It seems to have many benefits 👏👏
I looked up what can used for 😮
My climate is not good for that either lol 🔥 🌵 ☀️
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No, but there will be lots of others things coming and some might be 🙂
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