I have been pulling out weeds in the hot, very dry sun. There seems to be no end. The grass is drying up and becoming dormant, and the flowers and vegetables seem to need water every day lately. The weeds however seem to thrive.

We plant flowers and crops for us and our livestock. We try to push back, pull out, chop down and spray the weeds to keep them in line. Let’s take a look at the field’s edge.

Upon looking closely, I find that weeds can be beautiful.
The mullen plants on the edge stand stately and are beginning to flower at the top with beautiful yellow flowers. The prickly thistle that can spread so quickly, scratch our animals and keep them from eating the pastures, have gorgeous purple flowers. Even the dreaded burr plant has pretty purple spikey flowes at this time. Queen Anne’s Lace is not good for livestock and can clog a field when not mowed down frequently. But look at the beautiful lacey flowers! This clump has striking pink dots in their centers.

There are many other weeds with flowers of all colors and shapes. Also some weeds that do not flower have very fascinating shapes and subtle shades of color and texture.

These too make a contrbution to ideas, colors and patterns for my batik.