How Do Weeds Grow Coloring Sheet

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Learning about How Do Weeds Grow is made possible by: Award-winning science curriculum by Apologia, and Make math simple and effective with CTCMath for grades k-12.

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How Do Weeds Grow (If You Don’t Plant Them)?

Have you ever pulled weeds from your garden and then—just a few days later—noticed brand-new weeds sprouting up again? It can feel like a never-ending battle. My kids and I were just out in our garden, pulling weeds from around our pollinator plants… and then it rained. Boom—more weeds!

Why do they grow so fast? And how do they even get there if no one plants them?

Let’s explore the surprising way God designed weeds—and what they can teach us about His world, and even our own hearts.

What Is a Weed?

Let’s start with the basics. What exactly is a weed?

A weed is simply a plant that’s growing where it’s not wanted.

That means a weed could be a flower. It might be pretty! But if it’s growing in the wrong spot—say, in the middle of your vegetable bed or between the sidewalk cracks—it’s considered a weed. Even in my own garden, I sometimes pull out flowering plants that are taking up too much space or stealing nutrients from the flowers I intentionally planted.

How Do Weeds Grow If You Don’t Plant Them?

If we don’t plant weeds, how do they grow?

The answer goes all the way back to God’s design on the third day of creation. Genesis 1:11–13 tells us that God created plants to reproduce by spreading seeds—and each seed would grow into more of the same kind.

But how do those seeds get from one place to another? Through a process called seed dispersal.

Seed dispersal is how seeds travel away from the parent plant so they can grow in new places. Seeds can be carried by:

• Wind – like fluffy dandelion seeds or spinning maple “helicopters”
• Animals – seeds stick to fur or are eaten and dropped later
• People – seeds can hitch a ride on our shoes or clothing

When a seed lands somewhere with good conditions—sunshine, water, healthy soil—it might start to grow, even if no one planted it. That’s how weeds suddenly appear in your garden, sidewalk cracks, or even out in the wild.

It’s an amazing design from our Creator—but it’s also a reminder of something else.

After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world—and with it, the ground was cursed. In Genesis 3:18, God said, “The ground will produce thorns and weeds for you…” Weeds are one of the results of sin’s curse. But when we pull weeds and help good things grow, we’re actually taking part in restoring God’s earth. What a beautiful job that is!

What Is an Invasive Plant?

Now let’s talk about another type of weed: invasive plants.

God created every ecosystem—forests, deserts, mountains, rainforests—to have just the right plants and creatures living in harmony. But when a plant grows in a place it doesn’t belong, it can take over and cause harm.

That’s what makes it invasive.

An invasive plant is a plant that doesn’t belong in the ecosystem where it’s growing. It might look pretty, but it can crowd out other plants, hog all the nutrients, and disrupt the natural balance.

A native plant, on the other hand, is a plant that does belong. It supports the ecosystem, helps pollinators, and grows well in that region’s climate.

People sometimes bring plants from other parts of the world because they’re beautiful or useful, but those plants can become invasive when they spread where they shouldn’t. That’s why it’s important to learn which plants are native to your area—and help protect them.

How Can We Keep Our Days Free of Weeds?

Weeds don’t just grow in gardens. They can grow in our time too.

Just like weeds can crowd out the flowers you want to grow, certain activities can crowd out the good, joyful, God-honoring things in our days.

Here are some “native” activities that are healthy and good for your life:

• Studying God’s Word
• Reading a good book
• Exploring outside
• Drawing, painting, or creating
• Spending time with kind, encouraging friends

Now here are some “invasive” activities that might start to take over:

• Watching too much TV or videos
• Playing too many video games
• Spending time with people who aren’t kind or uplifting
• Filling your mind with things that aren’t good or true

Psalm 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless…” Some things aren’t necessarily bad—but they can still take up space and time that God wants to fill with better things.

Let’s be wise gardeners of our time. Let’s plant good things, and pull out the weedy things that don’t belong.