Once Considered Weeds, These 7 Plants Are Garden Beauties – And Good for the Ecosystem

The simplest definition of a weed is any plant growing where it’s not wanted.

But for years in gardening, that usually has included any wild plant growing alongside the cultivated varieties from the garden center. This meant that most wild plants were considered weeds no matter how pretty they might have looked in the garden.

That’s changing.

“There is a big push to have the gardening public use more natives in their gardens because of their natural adaptation to our climate and particularly their support of native insect populations,” said Brian Maynard, a University of Rhode Island professor of plant sciences and the treasurer of the Rhode Island Wild Plant Society (RIWPS).