Reflections on Wildflowers 4

After the Fourth of July, exquisite blossoms of Queen Anne’s Lace began nodding in the breezes and were particularly prominent along the edge of the wild tangle of trees, brush, and weeds behind my barn. To my way of thinking, few flowers rival the intricately constructed blooms of Queen Anne’s Lace. I always include them in my arrangements of cut flowers, and they are star performers in such rôles. Throughout the next three weeks, more and more long stems culminating in doilies of white embroidery came to decorate my flower beds, where I permit many to grow, and to ornament the brambly zones of my property.

Bee Balm, Painting by L. A. Simonsen, in Wild Flowers

Adapted by Asa Don Dickinson from Nature’s Garden

By Neltje Blanchan (Doubleday, 1917, 1926)

Also in early July, the Scarlet Pimpernel opened its tiny salmon-red blossoms beside a drainage pipe near the road in front of my house. I refrain from touching the plant because I am told that its sap can cause a rash. The color of the petals catches the eye and inspires the appreciation. Scarlet Pimpernel is said to spread easily, but mine has not done so, perhaps because I routinely mow the grass close to the drainage pipe. Even though the flowers are minuscule, they may be seen from a distance, thanks to their extraordinary color.

Oswego-Tea, Photo by Russell Tinling Pansie

In Norman Taylor’s Wild Flower Gardening

(D. Van Nostrand, 1955)

At the same time, Wild Bergamot, or Bee Balm, suddenly bloomed in a sunny corner of a disorderly band of growth on high ground above my creek. The shape of its lavender flowers (Mine were lavender, not red.) reminded me of coconut macaroons! What a treat to discover such splendid color bobbing to the pranks of capricious zephyrs! Wild Bergamot can be purchased for flower beds, but, as its name implies, it can be wild. I suspect that mine was originally among the seeds of wildflowers that I scattered years ago in a vain attempt to start what I hoped would be a spectacular summer display. Almost none of the seeds grew! In years since, I have thought that the Red Clover, Oxeye Sunflower, and Wild Bergamot might have been among the hapless seeds that I so carelessly tossed over a grassy spot near my orchard.

Morning-Glory, Painting by L. A. Simonsen in Wild Flowers

Adapted by Asa Don Dickinson from Nature’s Garden

By Neltje Blanchan (Doubleday, 1917, 1926)

How there came to be a thriving Morning Glory vine in the midst of my vegetable garden is beyond me! Yet there it was with big blue flowers spreading across a corner of my flower border.

Morning Glory Blooming in a Sunny Corner of My Vegetable Garden

Then there appeared one of my favorite wildflowers: the Spotted Touch-Me-Not! Amid masses of light green foliage in the far corner of my land, the mottled orange trumpets faced the morning sun from their location along a thicket bordering the creek. Every year, I watch for the leaves because I want this loveliest of wildflowers to spread. After the bloom cycle, I have tried to help the seeds to scatter more broadly but to no avail; I have realized that the plants must seed themselves without my intervention. This year, I have more billowing clusters of Touch-Me-Not blooms than I have enjoyed in recent years, so they must be gradually spreading, much to my delight!

Spotted Touch-Me-Not, One of My Favorite Wildflowers

With such spectacular displays of wildflowers, I echo these lines by Robert Browning: “God’s in His heaven— / All’s right with the world!”