Queen Anne's Lace

What would summer be without the fields of Queen Anne's Lace?  I have always loved this flower but this year they seem even more special to me.  They are so delicate and if a little breeze comes by they move slowly back and forth.

I even love the name -- it gives this flower dignity to me and history and brings images of tea being served in a castle garden.  Isn't life wonderful!

[please note that the field picture came from Richard Bowman because I was unable to get a good perspective from my camera].

"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting to grow sharper." - W. B. Yeats

Queen Anne's Lace

Walking up the hill every morning allows me to view each season of wild growth.  Summer brings Queen Anne's Lace.  Oh how I love to see these lacy plants growing along the side of the road - or in the little cove that I pass each day.

As a child I remember reading a book about a girl (of course) who lived near a field of Queen Anne's Lace.  I didn't know what in the world it was -- but just the name alone and the description of the lacy flower made me want to have some.

Its taken me many years to get to that point but I'm oh so delighted to share my summer with this beautiful plant.

Oh, and here are a few 'facts' about Queen Anne's Lace that I've gathered.  Its called a 'Wild Carrot'.  It is biennial in that it lives for two years.  It will spend the first year growing bigger and then bloom in the second year. I suppose this means that I won't see these beauties next year, if this is their second year.  Caterpillars of the Eastern Swallow Butterfly eat the leaves.  Bees and other insects drink the nectar.

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." - Henri Matisse