“It’s a weed Jim, but not as we know it”.

I think I mentioned before that I am not a gardener. But unfortunately, I am having to get the hang of it. My experience with gardening is very limited, but the little I did do was in a cold, wet and predominantly cloudy climate, called England.

There, I suspect every single seed had to draw on all of its own resources, cross all of its hypothetical fingers and hope that one day, the elements would combine to allow it to bud and sprout. From there it could grow it’s first and all important one or 2 inches. From then on, our tiny plant would know it now had a chance to have some kind of life.

This is how I remember weeds in England.

weeds uk Its a weed Jim, but not as we know it.

How I Remember Weeds

Things are a little different here in Brisbane. I love the semi-tropical climate that we enjoy. Thing is, so do the weeds. About six months ago, (it was the 13th of September 2008 at 3:15 p.m.) I was doing the weeding at the front of my house. It was the first tidy up following winter.

I used every macho gardening tool known to Australian mankind to destroy all wild growth. They do love their tools here. And when I’d finished, not a weed was in sight. I then drenched the surrounding area in “Round-Up” – a highly effective and hugely popular weed killer here. And my work was done.

OK, I have probably made a small mistake as I didn’t formulate some kind of maintenance plan. You know how time flies don’t you? Since that day we have had a regular cycle of torrential rain and blistering sunshine, as is the way of a semi tropical climate. Anyway, I took a wander down the other day to carry out a preliminary inspection with a view to thinking about possibly perhaps do some more weeding.

This is an Australian weed…..

weed2 Its a weed Jim, but not as we know it.

A 10 foot weed in Just 6 months.

They grow everywhere. This one grew in a pot!

weeds3 Its a weed Jim, but not as we know it.

A potted weed.

But still, they are only weeds. This thing on the other hand, I’m told, is probably an Angels Trumpet.

weeds4 Its a weed Jim, but not as we know it.

Angels Trumpet - Do Not Eat!

This plant is no angel and I can’t tell you about it here. It’s so bad is has to go into Australia’s Bad things category. So I’ll save the Angels Trumpet for another day.

For now, something tells me it’s time to grab those macho gardening tools again.