Wanted: dead or alive. One woman's love-hate relationship with weeds.

UNTIL I WAS 14, I WAS CONVINCED THAT MY PARENTS DECIDED TO HAVE children just to have help weeding the garden. My sister and I spent hours pulling weeds from the vegetable garden, perennial borders and front lawn. Instead of discouraging us from gardening forever, this chore familiarized us with hundreds of varieties of plants, taught us patience and--for the sake of expedience--made us reconsider the definition of a weed.

A weed is a plant out of place. Some are merely a nuisance, while others are noxious. Noxious weeds are non-native, ecologically damaging plants that crowd out native plants, harm animal habitats and increase erosion. These noxious devils, such as …