Garden Grows Wild

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Foxglove next to my workshop

About three months ago, I wrote a brief blog entry rejoicing at the first little bit of color (other than our year round green) in our local forests. The post was about the first salmon berry blossoms, and I call it A Little Color (other than green!) is Nice. Well look what I have next to my workshop now— Foxglove galore!

Very pretty, but also very poisonous. From the Wikipedia: "The entire plant is poisonous (including the roots and seeds), although the leaves of the upper stem are particularly potent, with just a nibble being enough to potentially cause death."

It's not all bad, though. First, it is simply beautiful. Many of the plants stand around seven feet tall. Secondly, the bees just go nuts for these blossoms, as do the humming birds. And finally, while poisonous it is also it is used for making a heart medication, digitalis.

It's worth both looking at the flowers from a distance where they create a landscape of their own, and close up as the details are pretty neat.

A Little Color (other than green!) is Nice

The Sunshine Coast gets lots of rain through the fall and winter months, and the forests are lush. It's green, green and more green. I sometimes think a little color would be nice.

Then it's spring, and one of the first signs is the appearance of salmonberry flowers. What a treat for the eye, and soon a treat for the mouth! The bears can hardly wait (I ran into my first bear of the season the other day on my hike-- he didn't want to move, so I turned around).