They’ve cut down all our trees, but we still have–in delightful profusion–these little white wildflowers all over the place. The bees love ’em–bumblebees, honeybees, and our tiny native bees.
This plant is called “boneset,” because it was once believed that including its leaves in splints facilitated the healing of broken bones. The leaves can also be used for making tea, said to be a remedy for coughs and colds. I think I’d like to try that, if I only knew how. But what would happen if I did it wrong?
Whatever its practical use, this is a pretty plant and it’s obviously good for the bees. It makes a nice backdrop for writing about Lintum Forest. Our Lord’s handiwork is always an inspiration.
And now I’d better go out and re-fill the bird feeder.
When I lived in Fort Worth, I always loved the Texas wildflowers that sprang up everywhere along even the major highways — blue, red, orange, yellow, white — they were so small and yet so gloriously beautiful. And so easy to see because there weren’t any overshadowing trees. Maybe now that your own trees are down the wildflowers will be your compensation.
Speaking of wildflowers, my mother always loved buttercups but always complained that after she left New York City she never saw any buttercups anywhere, not even in wildflower-strewn Texas. (Yes, there are places in NYC where flowers grow!) Finally, one year I saw a patch of buttercups in a park that was just across the street from where we lived in Ohio … but that was a year after she’d died. It was a very sad moment for me. I wanted so much to show her the buttercups…. (Sorry, I didn’t mean to get maudlin.)
If we can’t respond emotionally to the beauties of Creation, our souls need special blessing.
The boneset info was most interesting. We planted Vincas in our front porch area and every year they come back covering an even larger area. This year they have filled up the whole area like a super bouquet from Heaven, even growing out of the cracks between brickwork! When we get our first freeze we will have to pull them up but then we have pansies planted to take their place during the winter.
Does anything bloom in the winter? I thought Arkansas was too far north for that.