imho, many 'wildflowers' or native ornamentals are regarded as weeds by many. That just means that they're tough and resilient, all those good adjectives. Most are very attractive, and will draw local birds, butterflies, etc. I remember in Hawaii seeing 'Bird of Paradise' flowers growing in the ditches!!

Nancy.

This year I tenderly nurtured a bunch of tiny seedlings, thinking they were Forget-me-nots.

By the time I realized they were weeds, they had already bloomed! Seeds everywhere.

Renee

Same problem. I have spikey leaves coming up densely in a single area and I don't know what they could be. I let the liatris go to seed there last year. Spring before that I scattered hundreds of seeds in the area and nothing came up then. I'm thinning them out and waiting to see what they are.

All my weeds look better in the garden, because they get water throughout the summer. Instead of blooming for a few weeks and then turning brown (we have dry summers) they bloom all summer! Some are prettier than others, but I leave a few in the back to bring in ladybugs and other beneficials. Even the wormwood (my least favorite) has seeds the chickadees like, in the winter...so I'll probably leave a few in a more 'natural' area.

Here's the fiddleneck weed, which brings in tons of ladybugs and looks very cute, in the back of the cottage garden. {{gwi:644024}}From Lavender's Garden

And here's the little white daisy weed...not sure which one. In the horse pasture, with no extra water...and that's Lucky mugging for the camera, with Chance behind him :) {{gwi:644026}}From Lavender's Garden

And by the garden, where it gets water from the sprinkler. {{gwi:644027}}From Lavender's Garden

One man's trash is another man's treasure. One gardener's weed is another gardener's must-have. It's all a matter of perspective. You could end up with something you don't want, but then it could turn out to be somethng great. This is part of the fun, right?

If I have a plant that I don't recognize, I usually just let it grow until it flowers. At bloom time weeds are easy to recognize. I then pull out the weed I have been monitoring along with all of its little friends since weeds usually travel in gangs!

Pulling an unfamiliar plant early risks killing a plant that you may want.

While some wild flowers (AKA weeds) are very pretty, one really should learn which are invasive in your area. We have a problem with oxeye daisy which some people actually plant! It's somewhat similar to shasta daisy and was brought to North America from Europe as an ornamental plant but it destroys pastures as livestock won't eat it and it's very difficult to eradicate without chemicals. We weed whack it to prevent it going to seed but it also spreads underground. Too many people don't even try to control it so it comes in with hay or by birds or wind. Getting worse each year in many places.

Here is a link that might be useful: oxeye daisy, a noxious weed

Darn oxeye daisy! My mom surprised me with nearly 30 pots of "flowers" last spring. I asked alot of question due to the fact that none were in bloom and they were all small. She couldn't tell me much other than their color so going on that morsel of info i planted them. When they began to bloom i was horrified!! WEEDS! She confessed to getting them from a roarside field and potting them in her old nursery pots! Not only were many that oxeye daisy but also that tall, stringy purple wild aster. These spread like wildfire and even tho i yanked them all out and threw them in the garbage i fear some will pop up this spring.

Well, I'm just letting everything grow, have plenty of the 'real' weeds to keep me busy... :)

Hi, I am new here.

I always allow a few weeds to grow in my garden if they are pretty enough. Have poke weeds growing at the edge for the birds. And I always let a weed grow before deciding if it can stay, so I have learned which ones have stickers and must go. Last year I had wild goldenrod come up and one that is tall like goldenrod but has tiny daisies on it. Found another that grows in a small short bunch that has miniature daisies on it. This year I have alot of them coming back.