Weed by Any Other Name: The Virtues of a Messy Lawn, or Learning to Love the Plants We Don't Plant

What is a weed, really? Nancy Gift defines it as a "plant out of place" and makes an argument for creating places for nature to spring up more spontaneously around us. She comes to the defense of dandelions, clovers, plantains, morning glories, and other plants that gardeners often try so hard to eradicate. Their intrinsic beauty, usefulness, and easiness to grow are all appealing under this lens. Gift doubles down with recipes, like for dandelion wine and garlic mustard pesto. Not all plants belong in our garden—Gift offers advice on getting poison ivy well out of your life, for instance. But all plants are worth paying attention to, and often bring messages about the state of our soil and places.

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