I am in the "confused by the difference between wildflowers and weeds" camp. I grow a lot of things on purpose that other people call weeds, and I call wildflowers. On the other hand, I have so much goldenrod in my yard that I always pull it out of my gardens, and I thus consider it a weed. Technically it is also a wildflower. Anyway, I have a LOT of it that is stunted, because it is a favorite target of whatever it is that goes around to plants and puts a milky colored frothy sticky substance with some kind of baby bug in it. The baby bug then eats at the plant while maturing. I have found this goop on a wide variety of plants but there is more on the goldenrod than anything else put together. Hence I have significant insect damage on a native weed/wildflower. But not knowing if you call that a weed or not, I am not sure if I invalidate your theory or not. I have even seen creeping charlie with some sort of big lumps in the stem that suggested a creature had attacked it and laid eggs. Certainly creeping charlie is a weed. Alas, it did not spread enough to wipe out my creeping charlie. But it was really freaky looking. Marcia

Thanks Franeli, I looked it up and no Polemonium viscosum is not it.. Flowers to big and too many leaves along the stem...flowers way to big...do you know what the flowers look like on a heath aster? Very very tiny? Well these are probably even too big for the flowers on this plant...you only see them because the come in clusters giving the impression that it is one from a distance. Can anyone think of any other families besides Asteraceae that have aster-type flowers? I'm trying to think of another way to help explain the tiny globe of the florets...hmmmm how bout an ornamental Alium which bears a globe only 20 times smaller? Sheesh I love the mystery :) Vera

A "weed" is simply any plant growing where you do not want it, and most of what we call "wild flowers" can be "weeds". It does look very much like "Chenopodium" (that is the latin which should always be italicized or in quotes) or commonly goosefoot, lambs quarters, pigweed, and some others. A "weed"? I know people that grow this as a green manure crop and others that spend a ton of money each year spraying it to eradicate it. I have not seen any kind of flower, attractive or not, on this plant.

yes, it totally could be. This house had a well tended garden, but in the last couple years I think the owner had some health issues, and we all know how fast weed can take over. I was curious so I let it go, one of the few I did let go. I can't see the leaves at all, they are under the cover of the hosta, and I don't think they are very attractive. But, that particular yellow colored bloom and flower shape seems to look nice to me with the lupine. I'd like to try and emulate that look with something with nicer foliage. If anyone has any suggestions as to what my bloom with the lupine and resemble that sort of color and light, airy, flower, I'd love to hear them. Thank you linaria_gw!