In addition, the leaves are collected and dried in summer and then smoked with apparent pleasure. Now a totally new use -has been found for mullein. It is planted in gardens for the blind for the pleasure its velvet leaves convey to the sense of touch. There is much to be said for weeds. Indeed if they did not exist, we should have to invent a substitute.
Bare soil is vulnerable to destructive effects from wind and water.
Weeds are nature's first aid to begin curing injured landscapes that have been stripped of their protective vegetation. Weed seeds lying unsuspected in the soil are ever ready to provide a quick first cover for exposed earth. As weeds grow up, the shaded earth becomes cooler and less hardy plants can get established. As weeds grow and die, they add organic matter to the soil. And when in a year or two, they give way to other plant communities, they have performed an essential function.