Me and My Cow Parsley Seeds :-)

The last post prompted my husband Jack to insist I share this photo of me :-)

Several years ago I first noticed this exuberant, large leaved plant growing along the road I commute on every day. It kept growing, and growing and growing!  Finally these huge umbels developed looking just like gigantic Queen Anne's Lace.


I was in love.

It was easy to look up.  Just query "9 foot tall plant looking like Queen Anne's Lace on steroids"! Heracleum maximum , giant cow parsley.

Another description I saw was " looks like Queen.Anne's Lace with an attitude".

I stopped later in the year and gathered the seed which I threw everywhere around my house hoping in would be happy somewhere.  One plant grew. (and grew, and grew...)

It comes back every year and there is a younger plant now growing near it.  The dryness of my property keeps it in check.

Update, July 2015:  Finally, a new plant seeded itself next to the house!  It was hiding behind a pile of kayaks and when I put them in the newly built shed, there it was!  I go around each fall flapping the giant seed head like a fairy wand hoping it would find additional spots.  This year the original plant was short.  I wonder why.

Old Photo: Tall Lady and Her Tall Bean Plants

How many photographs have been taken of people in gardens standing next to their successful plants?  I find them  enjoyable, getting a contact high from the pride and pleasure they were feeling at that moment.  

The same happens with photos of people interacting happily with their dogs. You know for that tiny moment when the shutter snapped that the person you are looking at was feeling good.  

Art of the Bean - circa 1878 Japanese Ink Drawing

Behold the bean.  This is what art helps people to do...to be able to see what is in front of them every day in all its wonder.   This image from the Library of Congress did not have much information attached...the date followed by a question mark, a description as an ink drawing,  and a cross indexing into the Japanese collections.  I tried reading the artist's signature and looking it up in a variety of spellings -  with no luck.  

At the bottom of this post is a full sized image so you can pretend you are an ant and take a nice relaxing walk up and down the stems and beans.  Enjoy the gentle undulations over the ripening beans!