Sunday poem and pictures
From Auguries of Innocence
by William Blake
TO see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
I've just got back from worshipping in my church which has a huge aisle, the meadow, and vast cathedral ceiling, the forest, and a chorus of angels, the birds, and everywhere is the altar decked with wildflowers. It rained all night and everything is wet and delicious.
These are just some of the wildflowers of Oregon - the ones that grow on my land. I can't take any credit for growing these as they just grow themselves. (Click to enlarge.)
First, here's our most prolific wild-flower, taraxacum officinale - oh, all right, they're dandelions - growing in the meadow. I hate mowing them down but we have to as they harbor ticks.
The only Oregon wildflower that I bought and planted is the dicentra (common name is bleeding heart) which I planted in partial shade on the edge of the forest.
Dicentra is related to the native Oregon aquilegia (below) which I covered in more detail a month or so ago.
Spirea douglasii (common names are meadowsweet or hardhack) grows in swampy areas near the creeks.
Leucanthemum vulgare (oxeye daisy) needs sun so it only grows in meadows or along the sides of roads.
Aster chilensis (common name is blue aster) also needs sun and only grows in clearings. Unfortunately one of its favorite places is on the hump down the middle of our half-mile long drive-way between the wheel-ruts. The truck has enough ground-clearance to miss them but they get mowed down regularly by the station-wagon - then they just pop right back up.
Epilobium augustifolium grows to over four feet tall in profusion wherever a fire has cleared some forest hence its common name - fireweed.
There are dozens of different kinds of wild penstemon (I have no idea what its common name is or even if it has one.) The only one that I have found on our land so far is a little purple one that only grows 3 inches high. It also only grows in clearings. When we first moved here, the land around the house had only been cleared for two years when the house was built. There were a few penstemons growing along the side of the driveway. Now, three years later, they are starting to form dense mats of purple in any open space and I am hoping that they run riot over any land that I am not cultivating.
Last - the foxglove. This flower is not native to Oregon but was introduced as a garden plant and went wild. When it goes wild it reverts to it's original colors ranging from white to purple. It is now so common that some people think it is a native. Like those other non-natives, Scotch broom and buddleia, (butterfly bush) it is an invasive problem plant. Broom and buddleia are bad for our forestry industry as they choke out saplings. Foxglove is a problem for farmers' livestock as it is poisonous. (The original heart drug, digitalis, was first extracted from it.)
by William Blake
TO see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
I've just got back from worshipping in my church which has a huge aisle, the meadow, and vast cathedral ceiling, the forest, and a chorus of angels, the birds, and everywhere is the altar decked with wildflowers. It rained all night and everything is wet and delicious.
These are just some of the wildflowers of Oregon - the ones that grow on my land. I can't take any credit for growing these as they just grow themselves. (Click to enlarge.)
First, here's our most prolific wild-flower, taraxacum officinale - oh, all right, they're dandelions - growing in the meadow. I hate mowing them down but we have to as they harbor ticks.
The only Oregon wildflower that I bought and planted is the dicentra (common name is bleeding heart) which I planted in partial shade on the edge of the forest.
Dicentra is related to the native Oregon aquilegia (below) which I covered in more detail a month or so ago.
Spirea douglasii (common names are meadowsweet or hardhack) grows in swampy areas near the creeks.
Leucanthemum vulgare (oxeye daisy) needs sun so it only grows in meadows or along the sides of roads.
Aster chilensis (common name is blue aster) also needs sun and only grows in clearings. Unfortunately one of its favorite places is on the hump down the middle of our half-mile long drive-way between the wheel-ruts. The truck has enough ground-clearance to miss them but they get mowed down regularly by the station-wagon - then they just pop right back up.
Epilobium augustifolium grows to over four feet tall in profusion wherever a fire has cleared some forest hence its common name - fireweed.
There are dozens of different kinds of wild penstemon (I have no idea what its common name is or even if it has one.) The only one that I have found on our land so far is a little purple one that only grows 3 inches high. It also only grows in clearings. When we first moved here, the land around the house had only been cleared for two years when the house was built. There were a few penstemons growing along the side of the driveway. Now, three years later, they are starting to form dense mats of purple in any open space and I am hoping that they run riot over any land that I am not cultivating.
Last - the foxglove. This flower is not native to Oregon but was introduced as a garden plant and went wild. When it goes wild it reverts to it's original colors ranging from white to purple. It is now so common that some people think it is a native. Like those other non-natives, Scotch broom and buddleia, (butterfly bush) it is an invasive problem plant. Broom and buddleia are bad for our forestry industry as they choke out saplings. Foxglove is a problem for farmers' livestock as it is poisonous. (The original heart drug, digitalis, was first extracted from it.)
posted by Joubert at 7:49 AM
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