A while back, I said that something common has low value. I was thinking about this again recently while in my garden.

It is the time of year to pull the dandelions and wild carrot out of my flower beds again. They are not bad flowers; in the right arrangement they can be quite pretty. The bright yellow dandelion is a spot of color after a tough winter. The huge umbels of wild carrot (or Queen Anne's lace) are lovely in a floral arrangement. The only problem is the flowers are too common, too abundant. The little peeps of color of a violet come at the same time as dandelions, but they are more valued because they do not spread as easily. The flowers of a dill plant are quite similar to the wild carrot, yet I plant the dill as I rip out the other.

I never rip the dandelion out of my yard because they are pretty and I do not mind the children picking masses of them for bouquets. I do try to get the flowers picked or mowed before they go to seed, though. As for wild carrot, it is insidious. I pick it willingly knowing that there is enough of it around that I'll never get it all. I do stick it into a few floral arrangements every year too. Just to show that common does not mean pretty.