I was hanging out in the garden last night. It was soooooo beautiful that I didn’t want to go in. (Besides, I had dishes to do.) I was picking up sticks from the storms, doing some deadheading when I happened to look at a big clump of ornamental grasses. And what to my wondering eyes should appear? Weeds! Lots of big, tall, weeds — with big, fat seedheads.

Needless to say, I spent the rest of the night weeding. The whole time, I kept trying to figure out how it happened. I had put down a thick layer of mulch and weeded kinda sorta regularly throughout the summer. I mean, weeds can sneak up on you and all. But these things were more than a foot tall! Guess they outsmarted me by growing up in the grasses, which gave them cover.

I’ll be spending the weekend weeding. (I know I have to get those weeds out of there before they go to seed.) But I’m wondering if anyone’s got any great weed-prevention practices? Do you put newspaper under your mulch? Do you weed every week? Or, at this stage in the game, do you just let them go?

During a walk about the yard a few days ago, I discovered an interesting weed growing in a group of sunflowers beneath the bird feeders on the deck. No mystery plant, this. I recognized the distinct leaves right away from popular cultural iconography. I bet you will too.

Actually, I wasn’t shocked to find cannabis. It grows wild in ditches and fields throughout the Midwest. I’ve even seen it growing in state parks near my home. And it’s been a guest here before.

When we first moved in three years ago, I wanted to build some flower beds, so I called Gopher State One Call, which is a really great organization that will come out and mark all the underground utilities so you don’t hit one of them as you try to dig a nice hole for your new spruce tree.

The guy who marked the lines turned us in to the sheriff’s office and we got a visit from a nice deputy who asked us if we knew what we were growing beside the house. We actually hadn’t noticed it and could honestly say we didn’t.

We pulled all that up (it was in my soon-to-be flower bed anyway), but I’m tempted to let this new plant grow.

Cultivating pot is illegal in these parts, of course. But what if I don’t water it or weed around it? Does that count as cultivating? If I allow it to grow, is it the same as “growing” it? Would you pull it up or let it grow?

Even if I don’t pull it up, I won’t be smoking the “ditchweed” as it’s sometimes called. George Weiblen, a University of Minnesota professor found no detectable levels of of THC (the psychoactive component) in wild cannabis. His study is here if you’re interested.

I guess I could try to make a hemp rope out of it!

Didja know that Gandhi’s favorite food is growing in your own backyard? No, it’s not creeping charlie or dandelions, though both are edible. (Creeping charlie is a member of the mint family, surprised?) I’m talking about purslane, a little leafy succulent plant that sprouts between your patio bricks and cracks in your driveway.

My path to purslane appreciation started this spring. Little red and green sprouts had taken over the one of my garden beds. As I planted my snap peas, I thought I had pulled them all up. But I was wrong, so wrong. The little succulents multiplied faster than crab grass. A week later, I had twice as many sprouts and twice as much weeding to do.

Later in the spring, my girl crush, Lynne Rossetto Casper interviewed botany professor Dr. Peter Gail, an advocate of eating weeds. During the depression, his family was extremely poor. A concerned neighbor showed his mother how to prepare purslane. He and his siblings would harvest this nutrient-rich weed for dinner. (A 1986 study showed that purslane is high in Omega-3’s, Vitamin C and Vitamin B.) When Lynne said it tasted like spinach, my ears perked up. I’m a big fan of greens, but despite my best efforts, my spinach always bolts before I can harvest more than a serving or two.

“Gee, I wish I had purslane in my backyard,” I remember thinking, “I should really Google that…”

I soon forgot about purslane, but purslane did not forget about me. It thrived on our patio. It sprung up alongside the driveway. It crept between the cracks in our sidewalk.

“Grrr… What is this stuff?” Brian growled as swept the patio tile for our 4th of July party.

“Dunno,” I shrugged, “Just throw it in the compost bin.”

Then, Sunday morning, I finally put two and two together. Brian was playing Super Paper Mario while I was looking for ideas for lunch in Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. As I flipped through the salad section, I was struck by a drawing of some greens. The plant looked really familiar… Purslane… Purslane… a succulent with slightly salty, slightly sour taste… popular in Asia… used like spinach during the Depression… Purslane…

I jumped off the couch and ran out to the patio. I bent down and pulled a few leaves from the stubborn succulent plant sticking out between the tiles. Purslane? I took a bite. The plant had slightly salty, slightly sour taste.

“Purslane!!! Whoo-hoo!!!”

I hopped online for a little insight and few recipes, and found a world of purslane enthusiasts. In fact, the only country not in love with purslane is the United States. Most of us Yanks treat it as weed, not an edible plant. However, in New York, purslane is currently the little darling of haute cuisine and widely available in farmers markets. Who knew?

Monday, I tossed some purslane in a Tupperware container with some snap peas, mustard greens, thai basil, cashews and leftover chicken. It was a fantastic lunch. I made my coworkers try it.

“This is a weed? This is tasty!”

I guess Gandhi really knew his greens.

Are your a fan of purslane? How do you prepare this persistent little plant? Are there other weeds that tickle your palette?

(Note: I once knew a new age herbalist in Portland, Maine. She believed that certain medicinal plants would appear when people need healing. I *did* notice a ton of it growing outside the Subway restaurant on Washington Avenue. It certainly gives new meeting to the slogan “Eat Fresh.”)

I took a summer solstice tour of my garden. A slow stroll, kinda checking things out. Most of my plants (give or take a few) are growing like gangbusters. So are the weeds.

I have an impressive crop of wood sorrel. (It’s lookalike, clover, is doing nicely as well.) Deadly nightshade is thriving in the boulevard garden. And the creeping Charlie? Boy, I had no idea it could worm it’s way into a thick mat of groundcover the way it has.

I’m not a chemical kind of gardener. So I’ve got to get on my hands and knees and weed, weed, weed. And I know I’ve got to do it now, before the buggers flower and form seeds. But instead of just jumping in, I’m trying to figure out if there’s one best way to weed.

Should I take a whole day and just go for it? Or should I nibble away at it? Should I move bed by bed or select one type of weed and eliminate it from the garden before moving on to the next?

I’m looking for advice here (and perhaps a bit of commiseration). How weedy is your garden? What are you going to do about it? Weed haters of the world unite!

Last week, Tracy at Timberglade wrote a great post about volunteers — you know, plants that appear in your yard uninvited. Thistle, dandelion, creeping charlie, some volunteers make horrible guest, but other volunteers can be keepers if they mind their manners.

Here are a few uninvited guests turned welcomed additions in our yard:

	Wood Sorrel As a kid, I was fascinated by wood sorrel’s teeny tiny yellow flowers. I’d pick little bouquets for my My Little Ponies. It’s edible for ponies and people alike, so I’m happy to keep a plant or two in the garden.
	Clover (any variety) Bees really like it, so we leave patches of it in our lawn. And again, it has a goofy connection to my childhood — My friend Shiloh and I would dissect the blossoms and try to suck the nectar out of the petals.
	Catnip! This herb popped up between our ferns. With four cats, it sure comes in handy. Mr. Puff freaks when we rub it on his scratching post — Meeeee-ow!

(I must admit, Tracy has more photogenic volunteers in her yard than I do. Wild geranium, wild columbine and dame’s rocket, is it possible to have volunteer plant envy?)

So, what uninvited guests do you keep in your garden?