Eena runs a juke joint in my weedy garden. She throws her blossoms open like flying yellow platforms where insects gather and gossip until the gong of morning rings them to the shadows.
Oh, I adore evening primrose! And what a beautiful connection you make with Scheherazade! I always thought that evening primrose seeds were dormant until you disturbed the ground and I am such a hopeless gardener that it never occurred to me that you could actually plant them!
Your post was a breath of warm air on a difficult day. Thank you.
I think, as gardeners, we may be peers. 😅 If you can find some oenothera seeds, I recommend dropping them in sunny soil ("plant" being an overstatement) and forgetting them. I'm happy to send warm air - not too hot.
Oh joy. As an accidental gardener myself, I sing for those of us who have no idea what we're doing. Hooray for the grace of plants that outlast our neglect on the one hand and our misplaced efforts on the other. 😂
What's the old line--something like, "A weed is just a flower growing in the wrong place"? Although this also sent me scurrying back to the essay "Weeds Are Us," by Michael Pollan, where he contrasts that view with another: "a weed is an especially aggressive plant that competes successfully against cultivated plants." (A wonderful essay in a volume full of wonderful essays, Second Nature, a book I have even used in a class on political thought.) He actually opts for something closer to the second view: "My own experience in the garden has convinced me 'absolute weediness' does exist--that weeds represent a different order of being...." (Taking issue, in what follows, with Thoreau.)
Which is of course neither here nor there with respect to your lovely and aromatic evening primrose. Thanks for the enjoyable post.
Haha! I think your comment is right on point. I haven't read "Weeds Are Us," though I might read it aloud to the primrose. Why not? It was a revelation when I first heard that "A weed is any plant where you don't want it," though I suspect my Biology colleague who specializes in cheat grass would prefer a definition involving native and invasive species. I feel this is one of those times when both definitions are right. Now, off to smell the flowers ... :-)
Tara, I very much enjoyed your gentle, imaginative piece about flowers in gardens. It's almost my favourite thing in life, so a sweet interlude for me indeed on a winter's morning in the South. Thank you.
Thank you, Pauline. I'm glad this gave you pleasure. I've had a few occasions to be in the South in the winter, and blooming flowers and fragrances are an extra treat that time of year. Mmm!
The best discovery -- one you knew but have forgotten! And how sweet that she is a fragrant native that will multiply and naturalize. Can't wait to hear how she's doing across the seasons!
Yes, she is a happy plant. In my mother's (cooler, more moist) climate, she lost her fragrance. But seeds from the same plant produced the familiar fragrance here. Evidently, she knows her place. I think I'm going to make her a role model. ;-)
How beautiful! I'm such a huge fan of this primrose, and her companion primrose moths. I had never seen them before moving to Maine, and was completely delighted by the way these pink and yellow moths could be, actually, camouflaged because they match the buds & blossoms 🤣 Thanks for sharing :)
I have not seen a primrose moth yet, but I will try to find out if we have them here. The one with epaulets was a dark grey with one large reddish spot on either side. I haven't matched it yet online. Thank you for giving me the primrose moth to watch for. Glad you enjoyed this little ode to a favorite flower. :-)
Ah, my fellow poet, you saw behind the screen of the final draft. That last line, "Who am I to judge ..." came to me halfway into the writing and started out in another spot, but I decided pretty soon that I wanted to end with it, so then the question was simply: What will be the lead-up to that? The relationship of servant and royalty seemed about right. 😅 Thank you for such a close and sympathetic reading. :-)
Aren’t all weeds flowers? I have convinced myself they are and I let them grow, leave them to make and fill my garden with wild beauty… perhaps that makes me a lazy gardener but I can’t pull them… the seem to beseech me of their place!
Haha! You’re right - most weeds do flower. In our area, prickly cheat grasses flourish, so I try not to let those go too far, but Oenothera is not prickly. I took no great risks, did I? :-) I wonder if Oenothera does best in arid heat. Do you have humidity? (My mother has more humidity than I do and milder temps, and for her, the plant bloomed but had no fragrance. You, too?)
That is very strange. Evidently, evening primrose has its own ideas.
It does look like cheat grass and goose grass are similar for putting out a bajillion sticky seeds on a single stem. And if goose grass jabs at flesh, they might be cousins. A slope of oenothera is definitely nicer in every way.
It's one of the plants that makes hot summer nights worthwhile. It flourishes when others languish. There are never too many reminders of this push-and-pull of life.
This is like finding a twenty dollar bill in the pocket of your ski jacket, but better! Maybe I'll try randomly sprinkling the poppy seeds I have to see if they surprise me later.
I am excited to see a new Enchantment project in the works!
Yes! It's just like finding money in pockets. 😂 I'm sending good soil vibes for your poppies ... 🌺 July tends to be a hot one here. Enchantment will be just the thing for summer swoon season. 🌄
And then there is the moonflower, Ipomoea alba, which my old guy insists has aphrodisiac properties. For several years I tried to get some to start since he is still interested in aphrodisiac properties at age 94. Last year, I cracked the code and was wildly successful in my efforts to start and grow moonflowers. I gave him several starts and when they started to bloom, the pheromones floating around in his house were exuberant.
I have lost the battle with weeds in my perennial beds, so I like this take. I'm hoping to get some lupine established, and I got foxglove to germinate for the first time, so those would be fun if they got established where I planted them. Very Middle Ages, wizard's garden, kind of plant.
The main enemy here is bittersweet, which is more invasive than almost anything else I've seen. It doesn't look as destructive as bindweed (which I don't see here), but it is woody and seems to be stimulated when you uproot it. So that's going to be a long-term project. In a single year it effectively colonized several portions of the yard -- the previous owner (who sold his house almost exactly a year ago to the people who sold it to me) had never seen it before, and now it's everywhere. I'm trying to focus on the bee balm, which has a lovely red blossom, and my Mexican sunflowers, which are thriving. Calendula and zinnias too.
Your lupine will bring a nice mountain west vibe if it gets established. Sounds beautiful with foxglove. You’ve been busy with planting! I looked up bittersweet and it sounds formidable. I hope you can get rid of it completely.
I love when an unexpected flower blooms like an old friend. I always take it as a sign. Something spiritual.
I feel just that way! Oh, was it welcome. ... Like the first sound of a bird unheard before in the neighborhood. :-)
Oh, I adore evening primrose! And what a beautiful connection you make with Scheherazade! I always thought that evening primrose seeds were dormant until you disturbed the ground and I am such a hopeless gardener that it never occurred to me that you could actually plant them!
Your post was a breath of warm air on a difficult day. Thank you.
I think, as gardeners, we may be peers. 😅 If you can find some oenothera seeds, I recommend dropping them in sunny soil ("plant" being an overstatement) and forgetting them. I'm happy to send warm air - not too hot.
“ What is a window, what is a door, but a thing to open?” Beautiful. Your winged and floral post is a garden for this non-gardener.
Oh joy. As an accidental gardener myself, I sing for those of us who have no idea what we're doing. Hooray for the grace of plants that outlast our neglect on the one hand and our misplaced efforts on the other. 😂
What's the old line--something like, "A weed is just a flower growing in the wrong place"? Although this also sent me scurrying back to the essay "Weeds Are Us," by Michael Pollan, where he contrasts that view with another: "a weed is an especially aggressive plant that competes successfully against cultivated plants." (A wonderful essay in a volume full of wonderful essays, Second Nature, a book I have even used in a class on political thought.) He actually opts for something closer to the second view: "My own experience in the garden has convinced me 'absolute weediness' does exist--that weeds represent a different order of being...." (Taking issue, in what follows, with Thoreau.)
Which is of course neither here nor there with respect to your lovely and aromatic evening primrose. Thanks for the enjoyable post.
Haha! I think your comment is right on point. I haven't read "Weeds Are Us," though I might read it aloud to the primrose. Why not? It was a revelation when I first heard that "A weed is any plant where you don't want it," though I suspect my Biology colleague who specializes in cheat grass would prefer a definition involving native and invasive species. I feel this is one of those times when both definitions are right. Now, off to smell the flowers ... :-)
"Eena runs a juke joni in my weedy garden" is such a great line!
I liked when that image came along. It somehow felt like the right vibe. :-)
Tara, I very much enjoyed your gentle, imaginative piece about flowers in gardens. It's almost my favourite thing in life, so a sweet interlude for me indeed on a winter's morning in the South. Thank you.
Thank you, Pauline. I'm glad this gave you pleasure. I've had a few occasions to be in the South in the winter, and blooming flowers and fragrances are an extra treat that time of year. Mmm!
The best discovery -- one you knew but have forgotten! And how sweet that she is a fragrant native that will multiply and naturalize. Can't wait to hear how she's doing across the seasons!
Yes, she is a happy plant. In my mother's (cooler, more moist) climate, she lost her fragrance. But seeds from the same plant produced the familiar fragrance here. Evidently, she knows her place. I think I'm going to make her a role model. ;-)
I think you already have!
How beautiful! I'm such a huge fan of this primrose, and her companion primrose moths. I had never seen them before moving to Maine, and was completely delighted by the way these pink and yellow moths could be, actually, camouflaged because they match the buds & blossoms 🤣 Thanks for sharing :)
I have not seen a primrose moth yet, but I will try to find out if we have them here. The one with epaulets was a dark grey with one large reddish spot on either side. I haven't matched it yet online. Thank you for giving me the primrose moth to watch for. Glad you enjoyed this little ode to a favorite flower. :-)
I do t know if you intended it, but these last few sentences have such a beautiful rhythm, a perfectly petalled close to your lovely ode.
“Alone with my thoughts in the rising heat of a summer day, I accept my menial place in their order.
Who am I to judge what’s a weed and what’s a flower?”
Ah, my fellow poet, you saw behind the screen of the final draft. That last line, "Who am I to judge ..." came to me halfway into the writing and started out in another spot, but I decided pretty soon that I wanted to end with it, so then the question was simply: What will be the lead-up to that? The relationship of servant and royalty seemed about right. 😅 Thank you for such a close and sympathetic reading. :-)
Aren’t all weeds flowers? I have convinced myself they are and I let them grow, leave them to make and fill my garden with wild beauty… perhaps that makes me a lazy gardener but I can’t pull them… the seem to beseech me of their place!
Strangely I’ve had no luck with Oenothera…
Haha! You’re right - most weeds do flower. In our area, prickly cheat grasses flourish, so I try not to let those go too far, but Oenothera is not prickly. I took no great risks, did I? :-) I wonder if Oenothera does best in arid heat. Do you have humidity? (My mother has more humidity than I do and milder temps, and for her, the plant bloomed but had no fragrance. You, too?)
I can’t even seem to get the seeds to germinate at all… which is strange because they grow all around the hill..
I’m not sure what your prickly heat grass is but if it’s anything like our goose grass (I’ll google it) ditto… !
That is very strange. Evidently, evening primrose has its own ideas.
It does look like cheat grass and goose grass are similar for putting out a bajillion sticky seeds on a single stem. And if goose grass jabs at flesh, they might be cousins. A slope of oenothera is definitely nicer in every way.
Evening Primrose, nice!
It grows around here in Israel too, mostly cultivated in gardens and such.
Thanks for highlighting this important flower!
It's one of the plants that makes hot summer nights worthwhile. It flourishes when others languish. There are never too many reminders of this push-and-pull of life.
This is like finding a twenty dollar bill in the pocket of your ski jacket, but better! Maybe I'll try randomly sprinkling the poppy seeds I have to see if they surprise me later.
I am excited to see a new Enchantment project in the works!
Yes! It's just like finding money in pockets. 😂 I'm sending good soil vibes for your poppies ... 🌺 July tends to be a hot one here. Enchantment will be just the thing for summer swoon season. 🌄
And then there is the moonflower, Ipomoea alba, which my old guy insists has aphrodisiac properties. For several years I tried to get some to start since he is still interested in aphrodisiac properties at age 94. Last year, I cracked the code and was wildly successful in my efforts to start and grow moonflowers. I gave him several starts and when they started to bloom, the pheromones floating around in his house were exuberant.
I have lost the battle with weeds in my perennial beds, so I like this take. I'm hoping to get some lupine established, and I got foxglove to germinate for the first time, so those would be fun if they got established where I planted them. Very Middle Ages, wizard's garden, kind of plant.
The main enemy here is bittersweet, which is more invasive than almost anything else I've seen. It doesn't look as destructive as bindweed (which I don't see here), but it is woody and seems to be stimulated when you uproot it. So that's going to be a long-term project. In a single year it effectively colonized several portions of the yard -- the previous owner (who sold his house almost exactly a year ago to the people who sold it to me) had never seen it before, and now it's everywhere. I'm trying to focus on the bee balm, which has a lovely red blossom, and my Mexican sunflowers, which are thriving. Calendula and zinnias too.
Your lupine will bring a nice mountain west vibe if it gets established. Sounds beautiful with foxglove. You’ve been busy with planting! I looked up bittersweet and it sounds formidable. I hope you can get rid of it completely.