Editor, The Smithfield Times:

I would like to present a different point of view concerning the grass and weeds along Route 17 (“Roadside weeds hurt IW’s image,” Sept. 9).

Many people will call the native plants along the road weeds. It is all a matter of how you look at it. There are many lovely flowers growing naturally in nature, i.e., Queen’s Anne’s Lace, Asters, Yarrow, Columbine, Swamp Milkweed, Coreopsis, etc. Many of these have been cultivated and are in our gardens.

Rather than mowing, I would like the county to sow wildflower seeds along the roads. Or, let Mother Nature take her course.

My husband and I had to take an emergency trip to New Mexico this past July. Tennessee was alive with wildflowers (some would call weeds). It was absolutely beautiful! So were Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.

More important than beauty, the flowers and grasses are important for birds, butterflies, bees and small critters. For more information read “Native Plants for Southeast Virginia and Hampton Roads Region.”

As a horticulturist and landscape designer for 35 years, this is my point of view.

 

Diane Roselius

Smithfield