The first hint that a plant is good for you, is if it’s defense mechanisms are good at making you want to leave it alone! Sadly most gardeners feel removing said plants is better then using their qualities, creating a large gap in knowledge which separates your average gardener from a herbalist, IE, those who want it to look pretty, vs those who can live off the land.
Take for example Echinacea, most of us know it is an immune boosting plant, however, if you’ve tried harvesting one, you know you’ll need gloves for the spines and heavy duty to snips to break up the spiny flower once dried.
As per a thread on this site, ‘Sticky Weeds’ , bedstraw or its official name Galium Aparine should be removed asap as it will spread and cause havoc. Here’s a thought, you about you learn how to control it and use the benefits of the plant, instead of throwing out the baby with the bath water? Like most ‘weeds’ we’ve been told to remove, this ‘annoyance’ holds medicinal properties. Galium Aparine is a natural cancer fighter, yet whens the last time you’ve seen this as an ingredient?
Do yourself a favor, find out what’s growing in your yard, and see if it will help you before removing it! And in doing so, you’ll more then likely uncover a wealth of knowledge that will help you for years to come 🙂 The earth gives us what we need, let’s use it!
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