Creative Weeding and Other Everyday Experiments in the Garden

Weeding is a mundane activity that nonetheless affords the opportunity to reorient garden practices in a manner that is more open with regard to relations between humans and non-human beings. Based on a critical analysis of what constitutes a weed and the psychological and political significance of weeding, as well as a consideration of the agency of plants generally, I argue that a more creative or experimental approach to weeding may help to unsettle otherwise habitual and unreflective practices. Enabling individuals to become more open to new ways of doing things in the garden and new ways of thinking about non-human nature, may in turn contribute to the efficacy of collective responses to environmental change.