In May 2011, after four years of life on McNutt's Island, we moved to Montreal. This blog remains, though, as a (sort of) daily record of our time on the island, and a winding path for anyone who would like to meander about among its magical places. For additional perspectives and insights I recommend Greg's book, Island Year: Finding Nova Scotia (2010), and my Bowl of Light (2012). I'll continue to post once in a while. If you do want to read this blog, one option would be to begin at the beginning of it (which is, as we all know, in blog-world, at the end), and read forward, concluding with the most recent entry. It's a journal, really, so it does makes more sense if you read it that way. But, you know, read it any way you like.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

fancy lace

Queen Anne's lace is one of the most common field flowers in North America, but somehow I'm only beginning to get to know it. I planted these seeds in my little wildflower garden two years ago. Now the garden is filled with what I think of as Acadian lace. It's one thing to admire it along a roadside but something else to watch it up close every day. I never knew it had so many lovely stages of development.
Its tiny flowers blush pink as they open.
I have only seen the small wild bee sipping nectar here, and small flies. The larger bees don't seem to visit.
Each fully opened flower -- made up of a myriad of tiny blossoms -- has a dark red heart at its centre. It fades away as the flower matures.
They have a graceful sculptural quality. Strong wind does not affect them, as they only bend and sway.
And they have a delicate sweet fragrance. I never knew that. These flowers remind me that the more I look the more I see.

2 comments:

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

ONe of my favorites too - and they fill in nicely in the garden.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

I love Queen Anne's lace, it's my favorite weed. I hate when we have to mow the fields and it is all taken down.

Nice photos...