16/04/2026
With the most recent winter being very much on the mild side, we noticed that many garden weeds are doing exceptionally well this spring and many never really disappeared at all, instead carrying through, unphased by the few cold snaps we had.
As gardeners, we do our fair share of weeding and often find ourselves having to balance aesthetic appeal with ecological considerations but where possible, we do our best to leave certain weeds be, especially in parts where they may not be too visible or where weeding would leave the soil bare, and we try and encourage our customers to do the same.
Many so-called weeds are actually vital wildlife plants because they flower early or late in the season, produce nectar and pollen when other plants are scarce, and give shelter and food for insects, birds, and small mammals. For example, stinging nettle supports caterpillars of peacock, red admiral, small tortoiseshell, and comma butterflies; dandelions feed bees, hoverflies, and finches; creeping thistle is used by bees and butterflies, and its seeds are eaten by goldfinches; cow parsley and other umbellifers feed hoverflies, beetles, and caterpillars; and bramble provides blossom for bees and berries for birds such as blackbirds and thrushes.
If you can, resist the temptation to purge your garden of weeds completely this season - it’ll greatly help the already scarce and hard-pressed wildlife in our city! 🐝🦋
