What is it about volunteer plants sprouting up as seedlings in our yards and gardens that gives me such a thrill ? Is it that they mysteriously show up, unaided by human hand, in unexpected places...leaving us to wonder just how the seed got there in the first place ? Maybe it's that little feeling of gratitude: our garden was chosen as the perfect site for this particular plant. Now, I do spend an inordinate amount of time ripping out volunteer grasses, mints and bindweed gone wild, but I still feel surprised and honored when something totally unexpected shows up. This little Dill plant was hiding amongst a thick patch of weeds next to the strawberries , down in the Fenced Garden. A bird was almost certainly responsible for delivering the seed ( or seeds ) from my neighbor's Dill Forest that takes over her garden every Summer. But still. Its tender pale stalk and feathery bluish leaves were instantly recognised for what it was, and carefully weeded around.
