Saturday, June 16, 2012

revbielde

Foxglove do not make a nice light snack for any of the usual garden grazers. I suppose the fact that every part of them is poisonous is the reason they are left completely unscathed.
Bees love them though, and its fun to watch them land on the lip of the flower and disappear from view.
Once pollinated, a single foxglove plant can produce a million seeds or more.
I like to collect seed to sprinkle with reckless abandon in any bland spot that beckons. Thus our garden is always changing, color bursting forth in drifts, one year here, another there.
There is a legend that fairies made gloves for the foxes toes so that they could creep up on the chicken roost hence the name Folksglove, or glove of the good folk (fairies). The Nordic name Revbielde or Foxbell hints at a similar story.
I love fairy tales. It's not surprising that flowers and fairies go hand in hand in the telling. Both are imbued with a captivating beauty.

2 comments:

  1. I love foxgloves! I love how bees burrow deep inside. I have some of that exact shade.

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  2. The bees have been very busy in spite of the rain. Isn't that color delicious? We bought an apricot colored one from a nursery but it is missing in action.

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