It isn't much of a stretch to see where the weeds figure into the scheme of things. Having a garden to tend gives me a frequent opportunity to contemplate their existence. I put them into categories: Some have shallow roots. I pull them out, throw them away, and they are gone. Others come out easily, but have left seeds or small roots behind and eventually reappear. Then there are the ones that are difficult to get out of the ground at all. They break off, leaving the whole root to grow back in a short amount of time. If I want to get rid of it completely, I have to dig down and disturb everything in its vicinity to get the whole thing out. Some take poison to get rid of. Some aren't really weeds at all, just plants growing in inappropriate places.
One of the banes of my existence is bind weed (also known as wild morning glory or creeping jenny). This noxious weed has roots that go down as many as 20 feet. It spreads mainly by those roots, under barriers, sidewalks, small roads, but also by seeds from the innocent looking flowers. Indeed, it is not unattractive as a groundcover, with the lacy greenery and the delicate white flowers with the deep red veining. But beware! Once this lovely little specimen makes its appearance in the garden it requires a great deal of diligent effort to keep it from choking out everything else. For me, this weed represents pride. Attractive, yes, but destructive and so very hard to get rid of.
