It grows in my garden. At first, it looked like a weed. My wife wanted to pull it out. But I always tell her — wait, let’s see what it is. If a plant doesn’t bother my roses or other flowers, I let it live its full life cycle.
We destroy so many plants that I think it’s time we became kinder to them. And now, it has bloomed, and I took a photo of it for you.
I look at this picture and think — if I hadn’t protected it, it wouldn’t have bloomed, the bee wouldn’t have come, and the pollen wouldn’t have been collected, and so on. It sounds romantic, but the older I get, the more I feel like caring for nature.
Freedom to weeds! 🙂
by Silver7tone
4 Comments
It’s a Common Mallow, _Malva sylvestris_. I think of them as being like a hardy version of a Hibiscus – beautiful, and I agree with you 100%.
Weeds are also a great indicator of what will grow well in your garden. If Wild Strawberries appear, Strawberry cultivars will do well. If violets appear, Pansies will do well. If Bluebells appear, then domestic Hyacinths will do well.
Check out r/NativePlantGardening ! You’ll find some like minded people who appreciate the beauty of the “weeds” that are native to our local ecosystems. I still grow roses and daffodils and some irises and lilies, but more and more of my garden is made up of gorgeous native plants that I might have called “weeds” before I knew what they were. Poppy mallow, a relative of the plant in your picture that is native to my area, features prominently in my front garden. People have asked me what the beautiful little magenta flowers are several times!
Wherever you live, there will be plants native to your area that will make beautiful additions to your garden! And, since they are native to your climate, they’ll require minimal care and support your local pollinators! If you like gardening and also want to care for and help restore nature, the two can go hand in hand!!
some type of Mallow – there are a bunch of cultivars, zebra mallow is pretty common in garden centres… this is somewhat darker in colour – guessing it’s probably a Malva Sylvestris
Likely *Malva sylestris* var mauritiana, because of the deep purple flowers. The wild ones are more pink.