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Friday, April 30, 2010

More Wildflowers: Joe's Run

This patch of green doesn't really catch the eye, does it, when you're just driving past?




But just look closer and this is what you might find:

Bellwort drooping its lovely flowers above barely visible woods betony...

and wild phlox, mouse-ear chickweed and violets, along with...
bluets and wood betony...

that look quite pretty together, and with cinquefoil too (the little yellow flower below).


Hiding beneath the others you might find henbit (the little purple flower below)...


and if you look on the other side of the road, you'll discover golden ragwort and wild geranium running riot in a field.

All to be seen by just stopping the car for a moment, getting out, and looking closely at what is all around. It just doesn't pay to be in a hurry at this time of year, does it?
About wood betony: the plant goes by many other names, including lousewort because Europeans believed that cattle that went near the plant would get covered in lice. One legend about a variety of betony says that when Veronica saw Jesus carrying the cross, she wiped the sweat from his face with a cloth that was scented with betony. The cloth later bore the imprint of his face and was considered a miracle.
Veronica was the confirmation name I took as a child, because I admired her bravery in facing the scorn of the crowd to do an act of mercy and compassion. But until recently I did not know the connection to betony, and the story makes me want this little wildling in my gardens at home.

5 comments:

  1. Yes, Sue, wildflowers give us as much joy as the flowers growing in our gardens, and they take a lot less looking after.

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  2. Last year you posted an experiment in drying ramps, how did that turn out? Would you mind posting an update? I promise I'll subscribe to your blog and read it if you do!

    Love sets Fire.
    Potter.

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  3. You're right, Weaver. I used to try to transplant them but now I'm content to see them where they grow naturally. It's less work for me too, as you say.

    Potter, they came out beautifully! We dried them this year in a dehydrator, first chopping them up into 1" or less pieces. I have a quart and a pint of them for this year, which should do us well. I use them in all kinds of recipes and the flavor is wonderful, not overpowering, and I don't smell for days :-)

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  4. I love the little wildflowers. I want to lie down and roll around in them and wrap myself in their wildness.

    Jai

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  5. I know exactly what you mean. I love to walk in the woods, just to see what I can find.

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