What is a weed?

If a wild flower is where you don't want it, it's a weed.
If a weed is where you are happy to see it, it's a wild flower.

I've always understood a weed to be a plant growing where you don't want it to be.
As you say it's subjective.

A Weed is a flower in the wrong place by Ian Emberson

A weed is a flower in the wrong place,
a flower is a weed in the right place,
if you were a weed in the right place
you would be a flower;
but seeing as you’re a weed in the wrong place
you’re only a weed –
its high time someone pulled you out.

A weed is a plant that slugs and snails don't want to eat.

A weed is all the above plus it grows profusely without any help or encouragement!

And crowds out the flowers that aren't weeds!

I like this quote:

But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else. In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit. Weeds are people's idea, not nature's. ~Author Unknown

I have a gardener to cut my grass and hedges. He always asks if I want weedkiller using. I say I do not have any weeds, just wild flowers. He's only been doing it for a year, so hopefully he'll get the message soon!

I do sometimes feel a bit guilty as I pull up buckets and buckets of ferns, primroses and bluebells, only to switch on Gardeners World and find them planting the damned things delightful plants. They all grow everywhere in my garden and I have to keep them to manageable levels or they would swamp everything else.

A weed is a plant that slugs and snails don't want to eat.

That did make me chuckle - because it's so true

I purposefully have ferns, primroses and bluebells in my garden. Love them. As my biggest fern unfolds the DGC call it the seahorse plant, the ends of the fronds look just like a tiny seahorse.

I might grow a weed garden.
I wouldn't have to lift a finger!
Ah, but they wouldn't be weeds if I wanted them there, would they?

I like ferns, primroses and bluebells in certain areas of the garden and have just planted a fernery of fancy ferns (and our natural ones) but they all reproduce like mad and it's difficult to get other things going where they are thick on the ground. I'm also trying to get rid of bracken in the churchyard but don't want to use spray. We've strimmed it and I am going to pull the regrowth every few weeks. Will it give up eventually?

Bob Flowerdew says you can kill almost anything by cutting or mowing it down to ground level repeatedly, so the answer to your question rubysong is 'yes'. The bracken should eventually die off.

The best thing to keep bracken under control is cattle tampling it, apparently.

Loving the posts!

durhamj, my mum had scarlet pimpernel growing at the side of her lawn that the gardener who mows and weeds for her wanted to pull up. He called it a weed. She said firmly: "It's a pretty wild flower. Leave it."

A very timely thread

GD was asking me the name of the tall pink flower that grows in abundance at the side of the road. I can't remember but I'm sure GNetters can help me out please. No doubt it will be termed a weed but GD and I like it.

Rosebay Willowherb ?

agus is it cosmos? They are definitely not weeds

Cranesbill? Common mallow?

Rosebay Willowherb it is dusty. my mind went completely blank when she asked me. Thanks for letting me know. GD is under the impression that Granny knows everything and I hate to disillusion her . I will let her know when I see her tomorrow.

I have cosmos in the garden so know it's not a weed Gknot.

Got it thanks Ana

I have scarlet pimpernel, bags, and speedwell. How else are we to teach our grandchildren about wild flowers if the gardeners think they are all weeds in a lawn? This year I have very little lawn left. It's nearly all clover.

The only weeds I really don't like are dandelions. They spread like wildfire and are all over the garden and patio this year. Hard to get rid of as well!