Could Ken Thompson be the Sun-tzu (the Chinese general from 400 BC who said, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.") of the gardening world? I have always felt that the classification of "weed" was situational, if not downright prejudiced. I would like to read this book.

Does exploiting weeds happened to cover eating them? I love to occasionally nibble on some wood sorrel. It makes weeding much more enjoyable. I keep clover in the vegetable garden when it is not interfering with a crop.

This book sounds like the perfect companion to Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs by Whitney Cranshaw.

As a California transplant, I've been stymied by the variety and stubbornness of unfamiliar weeds, in particular, no less than 5 invasive vining types in my yard. Will this book help me?

Does this book also address what pesticides do to the environment? Meaning do they just kill the weeds or could they potentially get into the drinking water? Or other dangers? I have many dandelions in my yard and other green high something that seems to grow faster than the more attractive grass on my lawn. They seem to keep multiplying despite my best efforts. Recently someone was telling me about a small hand tool that you insert into the ground that takes out the weeds or dandelions by the roots. How do you keep the dandelion petals that blow off in the wind from blowing off, assuming that it is these petals that cause them to multiply. This looked like a good book that might address some of my weed challenges.

My question about weeds is how do you know if you have grass growing among the weeds? We live in a townhouse with a big slope and we've got either a dirt yard or a full weed yard - even after using a lawn service for a year!

We could really use this book! We often comment that the only reason our yard is green is because the weeds are green. If they were purple, we'd have a most colorful yard! Our grass patches are greatly outnumbered by hardy weeds that are much too comfortable in our yard and I'm ready to identify them and finish them off.

I found your blog through the Homestead Gardens site and when I saw this book I immediately thought of my daughter. She recently bought a home whose yard had been professionally landscaped. One of the first days I was there she wanted to start pulling what she thought were weeds. I tried to help a little but found myself seeing plants that I was not sure were weeds at all. She said yesterday that she fears she pulled plants out that weren't weeds and left in the ones the were! LOL Would love to get a book like this as a house warming gift but also to give me some idea too of what to look for.

Obviously, "you can't judge a book by its cover" when figuring out what are weeds and what aren't.

The admirable Chesapeake Bay maven Tom Horton wrote a column several years ago about his solution to the lawn maintenance problem: he converted his lawn to a natural growth area. I don’t remember if he planted specific ground covers or just let the yard go by itself. I read he’s since moved from Baltimore to the Shore, so I’m willing to bet that his former yard is no longer in ground cover; it’s either all dandelions & crabgrass or the new folks have killed everything and replanted a grass lawn.

Weeds prevail. Careful nurturing of good grass to crowd out the weedy invaders is heartbreakingly unsuccessful. In this part of the country you must either constantly conduct chemical warfare with 2,4-D (Agent Orange) and its allies, or hold off on them till the weed cover is so extensive you kill all with Roundup and start over. Chemical warfare either way.

It wouldn’t be so bad if going natural resulted in some sort of plausibly scenic wild grass ground cover. That way you can sit on the patio with a martini and be proud of your contribution to the natural ecology. But the climax forest of the suburban yard is crabgrass; no way to impress the neighbors.

If we lived further north (or south) we could be smug about lush lawns and mild maintenance, but in this Maryland “transition zone” it’s a battle unless you love dandelion tea.

baltimorean (above) is hoping that a digging tool can remove dandelions. it can't, generally. The dandelion has a deep tap root that will break off when you try to remove it. The remaining stubs will multiply into new plants, so the cure is worse than the disease.

Once the white petals have formed, the dandelion's done its job and sent seed flying. So have your neighbor's dandelions and they will drift over onto your lawn with a fresh supply of plants.

In general, mechanical removal of weeds doesn't work unless there are just a very few isolated ones. Pulling them up just disturbs the soil allowing new dormant seeds to germinate. You are plowing the ground for them. Plus, you're probably missing the nearby tiny new weed seedlings which will soon present themselves.

But it's good mental therapy to destroy a few of the b$#&@#s. Good luck

Weeds can be very tricky! I know I've made some weedy areas worse by trying to dig the weeds up. For example, every time I try to eradicate Bishops weed, I think I am just cutting the roots so that they form several new plants.

To me, the worst weed of all is Adenophora (ladybells). I actually planted this on purpose! Now it spreads and seeds itself everywhere. I don't know what to do. I am definitely going to look for this book.

mldissinger@comcast.net

I love weeds. I'm always digging on the internet to find the name of a weed that suddenly shows up in my garden. If I don't know wahat it is, I let it grow until it flowers. Then I decide if I like it enough. If I do, it stays. Would love to have this book as a reference - to get more information than just the name.

I've heard the difference between a weed and a flower is whether or not you actually planted it in your garden. It's sort of like "one man's junk is another man's treasure". Hey, if you like it, let it grow. I would love to read this book though as I have a hard time killing any living plant. If I think it might be a flower of some sort I feel awful pulling it. This may give me some guidance at least.

Debbie, I wish you had chimed in earlier!!!! I already gave away my copy! But you could purchase one, and put a penny in the pocket of the author!--Susan