|
  Want to know which are the most successful plants in my garden? The ones that grow lustily every year, whatever the weather? Almost certainly the same ones that are thriving best in your garden too, namely weeds. A weed is a plant hero, an adaptor and a survivor, coping with any weather and outperforming all plants around it 知道哪些植物在花园菜园里，总能经久不衰？ 无论天气如何转变，每年都生长旺盛？ 几乎可以肯定的是——杂草。 杂草是植物中的英雄，是适应者和生存者，能应对任何天气，并胜过周围的所有植物。 Some plants did not start out as weeds but were introduced as garden treasures. The most famous of these is Japanese knotweed, introduced in 1825, now officially Britain’s most problematic weed and illegal to plant. 杂草不见得天生就是杂草，而是作为花园菜园奇珍植物引入的。 其中最有名的是日本虎杖（Japanese knotweed），它于1825年被引进，现在被正式列为英国最头疼的杂草，如今种植日本虎杖也成了非法行为。
日本虎杖
日本虎杖
日本虎杖 Some simply become weeds in a particular garden because they do so well. Anything that self-seeds runs the risk of that designation, as do perennials that creep out sideways like the Lysimachia ciliata 'Firecracker’ in our Jewel Garden or the shuttlecock fern that is now swamping my Damp Garden, both of which plants started out as carefully nurtured treasures 有些植物，则因为在某个花园菜园里长势良好而被变成了——杂草。 任何有自我播种的植物，都有可能被演变成杂草的可能，像花园菜园里有入侵性的宿根植物一样。 像花园里的缘毛过路黄（Lysimachia ciliata）"鞭炮"，或现在正在吞没湿地花园的荚果蕨（shuttlecock fern），这两种植物一开始都是我们精心培育的珍品。
缘毛过路黄
荚果蕨 But do not despise weeds. They are the best adapted, most successful plants in your garden and are expert at making the most of your soil. Study what weeds you have and where they are growing, and you will learn a lot about the plants that are likely to do best in your garden. 不要轻视杂草。 它们是花园菜园中适应性最好、最成功的植物，是土壤的专家，能够充分的把土壤发挥到极致。 详细研究花园菜园里的杂草，和它们生长的地方，就能了解到哪些植物更适合你的花园菜园。 遵循朴门永续农业的关键词：活用生物资源。
A rash of docks（Rumex obtusifolius）, mare’s-tail（Equisetum arvense L.）, ox-eye daisies（Leucanthemum vulgare Lam.）, creeping buttercup（Ranunculus repens L.） and rushes（Juncus effusus L.） says you have a poorly drained, heavy soil. 大量的钝叶酸模、问荆、法国菊（滨菊）、匍枝毛茛和灯心草说明你的土壤排水不良，土质很黏重。
钝叶酸模
问荆
法国菊（滨菊）
匍枝毛茛
灯心草 Chicory（Cichorium intybus L.）, bindweed（Convolvulaceae）, silverweed（Potentilla anserina L.） and greater plantain（Plantago major Linn.） are a sure sign of compaction. 菊苣、旋花类的植物、蕨麻和大车前草都是土壤板结的明确标志。
菊苣
旋花类植物
蕨麻
大车前草 If your soil is acidic, then you will host dandelions, stinging nettles and sorrel. 如果你的土壤是酸性的，那么花园菜园将会是蒲公英、荨麻和酸模的繁殖天地。
蒲公英
荨麻
酸模 Salad burnet（Sanguisorba minor）, campion（Silene latifolia subsp. alba Poiret）, charlock（Sinapis alba）, poppies（Papaver rhoeas） and nodding thistle（Carduus nutans） indicate an alkaline or limey soil with a pH above 7. 多蕊地榆、白花蝇子草、白芥、罂粟和垂花飞廉，表明土壤呈碱性或pH值高于7的石灰质土。
地榆
白花蝇子草
白芥
虞美人
垂花飞廉 Nettles（Urtica fissa E. Pritz.） are also always a sign of high levels of phosphate and nitrogen, and will always grow in damp areas where animals and humans have congregated. 荨麻总是高浓度磷酸盐和高氮的标志，并且总是生长在动物和人类聚集的潮湿地区。
荨麻 Daisies（Bellis perennis L.）, wild carrot（Daucus carota L.） and mullein（Verbascum thapsus L.） grow on ground low in fertility. 雏菊、野胡萝卜和毛蕊花，往往生长在贫瘠的土壤上。 You should celebrate if you find your garden overcome with chickweed（Stellaria media(L.)Cyr.）, henbit（Lamium amplexicaule L.） or pigweed（Amaranthus retroflexus L. ） because they are a sign of rich, fertile soil. 如果你发现花园菜园里有繁缕草、宝盖草或反枝苋，应该庆祝一下，因为它们是土壤丰富肥沃的一个标志。
繁缕草
宝盖草
However you arrive at it, weeds are there in every garden and take up an awful lot of a gardener’s time and energy. Yet many are beautiful. Dandelions, buttercups, ground elder and daisies all have lovely flowers, especially en masse (which, alas, they so often are). All are the ideal plant for the soil and situation if not for our carefully constructed scheme of things. 无论如何，每个花园菜园里都有杂草，将占用我们大量的时间和精力。 但是，许多杂草还是很漂亮的。 蒲公英、匍枝毛茛、羊角芹和雏菊都有可爱的花朵，特别是成群结队的出现（唉，它们常常是这样）。 如果不是为了我们精心构建的花园菜园计划，所有这些杂草都是土壤和环境的理想植物。
The good news is that the more weeds you have the healthier and better conditioned is your soil. Secondly, the greater the diversity of weed types, the greater the range of chosen plants that you will eventually be able to grow. 好消息是，杂草越多，土壤就越健康，条件就越好。其次，杂草类型越多，说明你最终能够种植的植物选择范围就越大。 A wide range of weeds will also attract a wide selection of insects and do much to contribute to the holistic balance of your garden – which is the very essence of successful organic gardening. 多种多样的杂草也会吸引多种多样的昆虫，并为花园的整体平衡做出很大贡献，这正是成功实现朴门永续有机园艺的本质。 Weeds can also make a good green manure. Cut the flowers off before they set seed, use the top growth for thecompost heap, and dig in the roots for a mass of organic material to enrich the soil structure. 杂草也可以成为一种很好的绿肥。 在它们结籽之前把花剪掉，用植株上面的来做堆肥，根部挖出枯死后，买入土壤里，分解过程会释放大量的有机物来丰富土壤结构。 Some modern weeds have been cultivated for their edibility. Many people eat young nettles in spring as a vegetable (like spinach) or as a soup. I personally find them delicious and they are exceptionally rich in iron. And in the past, ground elder（Aegopodium L.）, chickweed（Stellaria media(L.)Cyr.）and fat hen（Chenopodium album L） have all been gathered and even cultivated as vegetables. Who knows what prize veg will be rampant weeds in a few hundred years’ time? 一些现代杂草因其可食用性，被人工培育出来。Chenopodium album L 许多人会在春天，把嫩荨麻当作蔬菜（像菠菜）或煮汤来吃。 我个人觉得它们很好吃，而且含有特别丰富的铁。 在过去，羊角芹、繁缕和藜都被收集起来，甚至作为蔬菜栽培。 谁知道几百年后，当下什么样的金牌蔬菜会变成泛滥的杂草昵？ |
|
|
