I have never taken the time to truly appreciate the nature in the world around me. I look at plants and admire their beauty—just enjoy the sight and move on. I never bother to identify the plants I see every day. You could show me almost any plant and I would not know anything about it.

I decided to walk around my neighborhood to look for something to catch my eye. For the most part I felt like I was just looking at grass. Possibly different types of grass, but all green straight leaves growing from the ground. That is what I see when I view nature, it all blends together. Nothing is unique on its own; all the trees and plants becoming a singular attraction.

When I looked at the all grass around me—I noticed that there were patches of purple sticking out through all the green. With a closer look I saw fuzzy rounded leaves with small purple flowers scattered throughout. The leaves, that made up the majority of the plant, were soft and stacked on one another. It is interesting how when I looked closely at the plant—I was able to see it in its entirety, every small aspect.

I figured out that the plants formal name is Glechoma hederacea, also known as ground ivy. According to my mom it is called a creeping Charlie—weird name but it makes sense. It creeps out of the grass and comes out of nowhere; suddenly making itself known. It is considered a weed; an undesirable plant. I think of weeds as ugly terrible plants that ruin lawns, but ground ivy is a pretty purple plant that ruins lawns.

I am just learning about a plant as simple as ground ivy, which covers many lawns. This is something that I probably should already know, but it is one of many plants that I know nothing about. Maybe instead of seeing nature at first glance I should look deeper into the plants that cover this world. Nature can be beautiful as a whole, and in the singular plants that make it.

-Madison Smith-Collins