WHAT do you think about weeds? Many gardeners regard them as a real pain, particularly when everything is growing so fast. Others have a more favourable attitude, seeing them as beautiful plants in their own right and, sometimes, with medicinal qualities and good for supporting wildlife.

I think we need a balanced outlook. Many weeds are tough and highly successful, being able to grow in inhospitable places, like crevices or even through tarmac. Some annual weeds, like hairy bittercress (which can be eaten on salads), multiply at a huge rate once they start flowering and, although they can be taken up fairly easily, will quickly colonise an area of ground. Some, like bindweed, can quickly twine themselves around your precious plants. Others, such as Japanese knotweed, are dangerously invasive.

One person’s weed is another person’s pretty wildflower. If you aspire to a pure green lawn, you might not want to see the pretty flowers of clover, dandelion and daisy growing. They can take over but they will also provide important pollen and nectar sources for bees at times of the year when few other plants are flowering.

Ragwort is common and regarded as toxic to livestock and horses but is also the main source of food for the caterpillars of the day-flying cinnabar moth. Some people see wild foxgloves as weeds whilst I enjoy having a few around the garden.

Nettles can give us a pretty unpleasant sting. However, they are a really important food source for caterpillars of a number of butterflies and moths that are in decline in the UK. They also have medicinal uses and make a tea which some people enjoy drinking. Soaked in water, they make a really useful nitrogen-rich plant food.

So, what is the answer? There are varied views but most people do tolerate some weeds in their gardens or certainly may have areas where some of them are permitted to flourish. Many are leaving parts of their lawns with longer grass and with areas where weeds can flourish for parts of the year. This doesn’t have to look untidy. Areas close to planting beds can be mown and even attractive paths can be mown through longer areas of grass.

I think we all have some responsibility to do whatever we can within our own spaces to support wildlife and pollinators at a time when we are facing a climate emergency. So, perhaps, let a few weeds grow in some areas.

It is estimated that if we add all the UK home gardens together, they make a space equivalent to a fifth of the size of Wales; so a huge habitat for wildlife. We need to garden with wildlife and this is what many people are now doing.

Weeds, of course, are not the only consideration if you want to help wildlife. Being a little less tidy in the garden, having a source of water, however small, devoting less space to hard surfaces and growing a variety of flower types throughout the year will all help support wildlife.