Two for Thursday

I know, another one! 

But I had some pictures of "weeds" I wanted to identify, so I decided to go ahead and post them here for your enjoyment.  

Annual Mercury is a common weed. It's not useful, unless you enjoy diarrhea...so for constipation purposes it can be boiled and eaten...if you're brave. Supposedly it has a taste similar to spinach. But that's not why I'm letting it grow. I was just honestly curious about the flowers. 

Now this one, I will be removing the greenbriar once it dies back. I'm not a fan of thorns and there isn't a real beneficial purpose for this that I've found. The leaves are pretty though and I was hoping it might turn out more interesting than prickly. 

White Vervain is thought of as a weed but is actually a wildflower. My picture is lacking, there's pretty little white flowers all over her but the sunlight isn't being helpful in this instance.  

Summer grape, wild grape....it's a grapevine with no grapes to speak of. She's taking over the east side of the house and now is starting to grow in the back. Since I can't find anything harmful about it, I suppose it will be allowed to continue to snake it's way over the house. It'll hide the asbestos siding. 😉

Wild violets, they're slowly making their way to all the garden beds with my hearty approval. While I haven't seen flowers from it yet, I love the leaves. The spider was a bonus, I didn't even realize he was in the picture,  lol. 

First, yes I know morning glories aren't weeds, but to someone who doesn't know what they're looking at,  it might appear to be just another annoying vine. I happen to love morning glories and am ecstatic that my seeds finally took off. If they bloom soon and self seed, they'll be giving my grapevine a run for it's money next year!

I'm not a bit sorry about the bee, lol, I struggle hard to get them sitting still for even a minute.  As for the dayflowers,  most people consider them weeds. Interesting fact, they're immune to most weed killers and the seeds can germinate at random even 4 years or more after the fact. You're not getting rid of them, and with those beautiful blue flowers,  bees and butterflies...why would you?

Our entire side yards are pretty much full of these babies. No good for eating,  too small, but still pretty and the leaves are much nicer than grass growing everywhere. It really adds some class to the flower beds as ground cover too. 

This baby has it all. Aphids, flies, bees, wasps, butterflies.  They love this vine. Milkweed,  what I always called it, is harmless and yes many think it's a pest, but it provides a food source for a multitude of insects,  including traveling monarch butterflies.  

I love clover.  The little white flowers, bees just love them and they smell divine! Seriously,  walk through a patch of clover and take a big whiff,  it's so fragrant!  Weed my eye!

Now I found this little guy again, and finally found out what he is. He eats milkweed sap. Which, while toxic to most insects, is his protection,  much like the monarch butterfly. 

Cool huh?

And last but certainly not least,  my orb spider buddy. Most people aren't fan's of spiders, and since I'm allergic...yeah, I don't get close and personal.  But! This guy eats the bugs I don't want in my flower beds. He keeps the pests to a minimum.  He is a good gardeners friend.  

So there you have it, my list of "castoffs" who have found a loving home here  (except the greenbrier). Maybe this is a lesson in evaluating your perspective.  What is a pest to one person is a welcome sight to another.  If you look for the worst in things, you'll always find it.  

Same is true if you look for the best 

🤔🙂😊😆❤🌞