Weeds: In Defense of Nature's Most Unloved Plants

Why are weeds so widely vilified, even despised? And why can the same plant be considered beautiful in some places but be deemed a menace in others? Both an argument for and a beguiling meditation on the very nature of weeds, Richard Mabey presents a stirring and passionate defense for some of nature's most unloved plants. Combining natural history, botanical science, and his own travels, Mabey considers how “botanical thugs” destroy whole ecosystems, and he champions the cause of those that have begun to help green over war zones and derelict cities. This book challenges the notions of both culture and agriculture and truly make it so you will never look at your common garden weeds the same way again.