Recently, while mowing the back forty, I caught the whiff of a lovely scent. Hmmm, I thought. What the heck could be blooming back here? The area surrounding the grass is comprised of our woods and lots of wild plants or, for lack of a better word, weeds.
No…plants.
As I looked more closely, I realized the scent came from the blooms on the milkweed that grows everywhere. I’ve been here eight years and this is the first time I have noticed any flowers on the milkweed. Obviously, they’ve been there – I just haven’t ‘seen’ them.
Oh my goodness. Aren’t they lovely? A delicate pale pinky lavender with perfect little flowers. They remind me of the flowers in a millefiori paperweight.
How can I not have noticed these before? Was I so focused on mowing that I didn’t look around me?
I kept leaning in to catch a whiff of their delicate, lovely scent.
Milkweed is such an interesting plant. The big, broad leaves look almost tropical to me. The flowers are gorgeous and then, to top it all off, those fabulous pods develop in the fall. It grows wild here and I’m happy it does.
See?
We also have lots of raspberries up there.
I leave them for the deer. They need them more than I do.
I have to take the car in for a re-alignment this morning and then run some errands. Today is my sister Meredith’s birthday. Most likely, she won’t tell you about it, that’s just her way. But if you read her blog as well as mine, you might want to stop by and wish her a Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday, beloved sister of mine. May your day be filled with happiness and love. You deserve all that and much, much more.
The winner of a copy of The Execution of Noa P. Singleton is Melanie of Comfy House! Congratulations, Melanie. Drop me an email with your mailing address.
Happy Wednesday.
Hi Claudia,
Happy Birthday to your sister, Meredith, all the very best! Guess what? Today is MY sister’s birthday, as well!:)) Her name is Cindy and we are very close; we talk every day! My daughter, Liberty, has been part of the household there, until she is ready to move into her own place and they are having a ball! Wish I could be there, especially for occasions like this, when celebrations bring smiles and happiness to all!
Your flowering mild weed is certainly very pretty. Glad you discovered its presence. Our senses are something else!
Happy 4th for tomorrow!
xo
Poppy
Happy Birthday to your sister, Poppy!
Nature always gives us a surprise, eh? Those are beautiful flower heads!
They really are beautiful.
Milkweed is very cool. Those look like black raspberries to me. If that’s the case– they’re good!
You’re right, Diane, they are. I researched it. Even better – I love raspberries.
Claudia,
I had to laugh because I had the same experience with the milkweed just the other day. I planted some in my little side garden a few years ago to help the monarch butterfly population since it’s the only food the eat when they are in their caterpillar stage. As I was walking by that garden I smelled the most delightful scent which I didn’t recognize. When I discovered it was the milkweed I had to chuckle to think it’s called a weed. Cool foliage, delightful scent, food for monarchs, beautiful seed pods for decoration or crafts and they call it a weed? Plus flying seeds which I truly loved to play with as a child.
I second Diane they look like black raspberries not blackberries. They make a fabulous jam and are high in pectin so you don’t need to add any to get it to set. Yummy!
Not a weed, Kim! I forgot about the monarch butterflies, which makes this the perfect plant.
Yes, they are raspberries. I was wrong!
Happy 4th of July to you and Don. Hope you have a fun day. Happy birthday to your sister. xoxo,Susie
Happy 4th to you, Susie!
Used to ‘play’ with milkweed when i was a kid growing up n the country but didn’t realize they flowered !
OH you are killing me I want to pick those berries. The deer could have SOME but I’d be eating some too for sure, lol! :0 )
When my boys were growing up, up behind our place was fields and woods and we’d go berry picking. We had a few red raspberry bushes planted in our yard but the black rasperries, we’d find on our walks.
Now the entire area is a horrible strip mall, ugh.
I might pick a few tomorrow. I love raspberries!
I love it when we suddenly ‘see’ something that has been there all along. Lovely photos and sweet thoughts today. Happy Birthday to your adorable sister!
hugs,
Linda
Thanks, Linda!
What a nice surprise…those blooms are beautiful. Mother Nature has a way of surprising us…weeds really are pretty! We just have to keep an eye out! ;)
Absolutely!
I actually grow common milkweed in my garden so I can see and smell the flowers….and also watch the monarchs linger and the caterpillars grow. These are such important plants for monarchs and I have not seen one monarch this year. Their numbers are severely dwindling because of the lack of milkweed and I can see it now in my garden.
I will be watching for the monarchs. I’m glad we have so many plants here.
What a lovely surprise to find in your woods! I have planted asclepias in my garden at home, and also in my raised bed at our community garden. It smells heavenly, looks very pretty, and the Monarch butterflies are very happy.
There’s a lot of milkweed in the back of the property and I love monarch butterflies – so I will be watching for them.
I bet the milkweed will be followed by Monarch butterflies… If you see some…you must show us a picture. :)
The dew berries look delicious…we didn’t get many this year, not sure why…but I love to make jam out of them.
have a great day!
Pat
I will be watching for them, Pat.
Lucky you! The Monarchs in your area must be thrilled! Check your stems for striped baby cats. There is nothing more beautiful than a Monarch chrysalis…looks like gold tipped jade.
I will, Lori!
Isn’t it funny that you and I have discovered a bounty of milkweed and black raspberries this summer! At least yours isn’t encroaching on your home! I have heard that the milkweed pods are great for drying.
Happy Birthday to your sister and have a wonderful holiday!
XO,
Jane
Did you post about it, Jane? I’ll have to go over and check it out.
Happy Birthday Sweet Sister Meredith..I haven’t noticed any Milkweed here..Maybe I should look around since we seem to have the same types of flowers growing around our homes..I do have wild black raspberries..I pick some each year and make shortcake with them..so yummy..I didn’t know the Milkweed was so important to the Monarchs..If I don’t find any wild I will plant some to help them out..They are so pretty..we don’t want to lose them do we..Congrats to Melanie..enjoy reading..
No, we sure don’t want to lose our Monarchs!
Happy birthday to your sister. I love finding surprises in the yard. XO Laura
Me, too, Laura.
Beautiful blooms! I can just imagine how nice they smell. Love the shot of the blackberries too. Our raspberries are starting to bud. No deer in our yard, so we get to munch on them ourselves, although our pups have at times come in the house with red around their mouths!
Big question of the day: how do you place your “signature” on your photos? I use ipiccy.com but can’t find a way to do this and would like to mark my photos. If you can share, I thank you!
Hopping over to wish Meredith a Happy Birthday!
Can you use picmonkey? You can add it by using their fonts and adding it right to the photo as you edit it. I always made the fonts white and then made them translucent. Here’s a great tutorial:
http://blog.picmonkey.com/2013/02/14/claim-your-artistry-by-adding-a-watermark/
Thank you Claudia. Trying it out now. So far, so good!! I appreciate your time in writing back. :)
I’m sure the deer are happy for the blueberries..birds too..Happy 4th
I bet they are, Missy.
Thank you sister.
XO, Mere
Love you, sister. I left a message on your cell and landline. Happy Birthday!
I guess I’ve never walked by milkweed while it was blooming. It’s very beautiful, Claudia.
I don’t think I ever did, either! I’m so glad I’ve discovered the flowers.
I feel like I remember reading that Milkweed is one of the plants that butterflies love? I’ve always meant to check it out at the nursery but forget every time. DUH. Love the little pink blooms, so precious. Is it perhaps the plant that has milky fluid come out and as children, we’d write with it??? I seem to be all about revisiting childhood memories these days.
You lucky, wild raspberries!
Happy happy 4th to you!
What a treat, both for you to smell something so sweet, and for us to read about it.
Going over to wish M. a Happy B day.
Jen
I don’t see a ton of milkweed here in my neighborhood, though I’ve heard of people planting it for the butterflies. I am SO thrilled that I won your giveaway! Can’t wait to read this book. Thank you. :-)