Winnie-the-Pooh’s melancholy friend Eeyore is often quoted as saying ‘Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.’

The line was actually written by Disney Inc. for Eeyore in one of its animations.

I am not a fan of the Disney makeover of Winnie-the-Pooh. I prefer the original books.

A. A. Milne first began to create the characters, stories and poems in 1924. E. H. Shepard superbly illustrated Milne’s innocent narratives with simple pen and ink drawings.

Together they only produced four modest books – ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ and ‘The House at Pooh Corner’ as well as two volumes of children’s verse, ‘When We Were Very Young’ and ‘Now We Are Six.’

The books told light hearted stories and poems from the point of view of the child, often featuring a menagerie of toys and their owner Christopher Robin.

I first got to know Winnie-the-Pooh by reading my father’s boy-hood copy, of ‘When We Were Very Young.’ It is a well-read scruffy edition with a faded blue fabric cover. Three generations of children in our family have enjoyed it.

This photograph shows my bottom garden which is overrun with the invasive weed, oxalis. Sometimes known as wood sorrel it has a pretty yellow flower and lush green leaf. Oxalis is virtually impossible to eradicate due to its tuberous root system which can lay dormant in the soil for years.

There is not much I can do about it so I have decided to live with the oxalis and enjoy my cheerful meadow of yellow flowers.

The original Eeyore may not have actually said it, but I do agree… weeds are flowers too.

JT