Unexpected Beauty

If you aren't too meticulous about weeding, wonderful things pop up.  Here is a bunch of petunias (I think) bravely scraggling through a crack in the driveway.  If I had weeded too quickly, I would have missed these pretty girls.  The nasty clump of grass needs to go, I know.

Last year I planted one squash and one zucchini in a sunny space in the front yard, and they both fell victim to poor drainage, squirrel attacks, or both.  This year I let a interesting sprout grow in a planter by the front door, and I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a wayward offspring of one of those squash/zucchinis.  Rather odd, but I love accidental plants.  Here is another suspected squash:

And here is my favorite "volunteer" of them all - cilantro!!!!

I've planted cilantro in a backyard garden and found it one of the more temperamental herbs to grow. Nothing like hardy basil, oregano and dill which withstand drought, soggy soil and bird/squirrel attacks. But for the second year in a row, several clumps of cilantro have popped up in the front yard.  I've snipped enough to freeze a small bag for later use, assuming I remember that I have it and can find the bag in the freezer. How did those seeds get there, I wonder?

For the second year in a row I'm letting this guy run wild for a little while, but I suspect it is a true weed.  Doesn't it show promise, though?  I don't have the heart to pull it up by the roots just yet. Maybe it has some blossom or fruit inside, waiting to come out.

This is a tiny front yard, mind you, just a block from a major thoroughfare that you can use to reach the heart of downtown Atlanta in about ten minutes by car, slightly longer by bike.  The Marta tracks run parallel to the road and can get you downtown even faster.  There is constant demolition and construction going on somewhere nearby, but if the machines pause you can hear the sweep of the Marta trains whipping downtown and back.  But here we sit on the porch and listen to birds, squirrels, various bugs, and occasional frogs.  There are huge brown hares spotted scampering in underbrush, and cats sometimes bring the bodies of cute bunnies to the porch (bad cat!) along with dead rats (good cat!).

There is a metaphor in not over-weeding, isn't there? When we try to correct everything, make everything perfect, we may miss something wonderful.  There is a different balance for every garden - if we had neglected weeding entirely, we would have missed the herbs, fruit and flowers.  If we hadn't had to cut down to massive oaks due to a fungus, the incredibly rich soil made up of  a century's worth of fallen leaves wouldn't have been surprised by the sudden flood of sunlight that has made it magically fertile, at least for a few seasons.  The obvious analogy is the parable of the wheat and the tares (weeds) found in Matthew 13:24.  A man sowed good seed in his field, but during the night his enemy came and sowed weeds in among the wheat. When the servants asked if they should dig up the entire lot, the man said no, don't sacrifice the entire wheat crop for the sake of the weeds.  Wait until they are grown, then the desired plants can be separated from the undesirable ones. My garden experience adds another parable - I am reaping where I did not sow.  These are wonderful things worth pondering on a cool morning, sitting on the porch, listening to birds and bulldozers.