Mission Statement

Bearing Witness to Local Natural History-- from the wildness of Indiana








Saturday, August 4, 2012

Plants As Metaphors--Don't Give Up

Ok . . . we are in an extreme drought and oppressive record heat. Until today, I have not had a substantial rain at my home that would really water my thirsty plants. Amazingly, there are several plants in one of my flower beds that are flourishing-- Sunflowers, Amaranthus, and Queen Anne's Lace. I don't know how. I gave up watering them 2 months ago, yet they are growing when everything else is fried. My grass is dead--  crispy dead, but Queen Anne's Lace is growing throughout.


So enjoy the photos below of these strong, persistent, and determined plants which won't give up. They are a metaphor for us . . . to be strong and know we can weather any storm. (No pun intended--although we haven't had many storms to weather . . .)

Unopened Sunflower                                     ©Joni L. James



Amaranthus species                                       ©Joni L. James
This flower fills my flower bed and I did not plant it (that I know of). I believe it is an Amaranthus species (maybe Amaranthus cruentus?) but if someone can confirm--please comment at the end of the post.

Queen Anne's Lace with Bee                          ©Joni L. James

4 comments:

Mama Hen said...

Lovely. So nice to see a bee as well; haven't seen a one around here (TX Hill Country) all summer.

Unknown said...

Wonderful photos.
I can't confirm or deny the plant id...
the flower stalks look like astilbe,
but the leaves don't.
The bee about to land on the Queen Anne's Lace...
amazing!
And, yep, my garden plants (crispy is a good term)
are still there just to shade the soil.
What's doing well in this weather?
Water lily...more vigorous than ever.

Joni James said...

It is sad when you can't remember seeing any bees--they were always a part of being outdoors when I was a kid. Thanks for reading & commenting!

Joni James said...

Love the beauty of water lilies--share some photos!