Good for a laugh!

[Melroche]

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you nursed a weed and gave it ideal conditions to live in? This photo is from the first year we lived in Brantford. I had moved all of the perennials from my huge garden in Madoc to my mother-in-laws garden to over winter while we got settled in to our new home. We planted everything and what I thought should be my blazing star was not and in fact was something that I didn't recognize..being that it was so early in spring..I thought I would just let it be and see what it was. I thought perhaps it was something my mother had dug up by accident - It kind of looked like it might be by cupids dart...but the foliage wasn't quite right. It got bigger and bigger and I became more intrigued. It had soo many buds on it I was astonished...turns out it was a wild aster - a weed...boy did it LOVE my newly amended soil lol. Thought I'd put these pictures in here for you all to see.

[maryjanej]

Very nice show Melroche
I actually dug one out of a ditch to plant on my property on purpose, I actually like the colour and the show it gives and bees really like them too.

Mary-Jane

[maryjanej]

Here's a couple of pictures of mine in the back row not has big as yours are lol...

Mary-Jane

[growitall]

In gardening terms, a "weed" is any plant in a place where you don't want it... But a more useful definition for "weed" is an introduced (that is, nonnative) species. Your plant is (likely, without having keyed it out) a native aster that came up in your yard from wind-blown seed. Many native plants make excellent garden subjects!
(Be aware though others are invasive.)

[RubyTuesday49]

I know they are a weed in a forml cultured garden but I had them in my "wild flower" garden up North. I also was able to transplant wild; "Indian Paintbrush", Lupin, yarrow and several others. Some plants/flowers I've seen growing in the wild look lovely but when you put them into a structured garden, they seem to loose some of their charm.