Its that time of year again when commercial TV is full of adverts for weedkillers. Sprays that make your lawn 'lush and green', stuff that kills the weeds with one spot. you know the kind of ads I mean. You probably also know the cheery songs and jovial voice overs that accompany them. All of which is designed to persuade us that weedkillers are nice, useful things and weeds are evil entities which blight your perfect lawn or drive.
In reality weedkillers are poisons designed to kill plants. Herbicides. The more effective they are, the more poisonous and potentially dangerous they are in turn. They are like any pesticides in that they can have highly harmful side effects on humans if not used very carefully. These effects are outlined in several useful books on the subject, however the best in my view is "Poisoned Harvest : A Consumer's Guide to Pesticide Use & Abuse" by Christopher Robbins.
However the deeper issue here is why people have become so obsessed with creating an artificial, sanitized environment around themselves and their children. Astro-turf lawns, weed-free patios, block paving... it all amounts to one thing, namely destroying the nature in your garden. What is needed is a reality check to all of this, a change in perception. Weeds are simply flowers that you don't have to fork out to buy. Is there really that much difference between a dandelion and a marigold apart from the price of the the latter? Surely a garden is more interesting when it has wildlife in it than blandness. Certainly more interesting for children. Here are my youtube videos on this subject:
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