THE VILLAGE VOICE

"The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man." ~ Author Unknown A GATHERING of WILDFLOWERS ( Hubbard Lake Woods ~ Northern MI ) CANADA GOLDENROD ( Solidago canadensis ) "There are over 100 types of goldenrod in North America and over 20 in Michigan, all looking similar, thus difficult to identify. While most yellow autumn flowers are a type of goldenrod and are often blamed for hay fever, most hay fever is caused by Ragweed. Only 1-2 percent of autumn airborne pollen is from goldenrod." ( Wildflower of Michigan Field Guide ~ Stan Tekiela ) SPOTTED TOUCH-ME-NOT ( Impatiens capensis ) "Also called Jewelweed because water droplets on its leaves shine like tiny jewels, the Spotted Touch-me-not is a tall annual plant of wet areas. Its stems are nearly translucent and contain a slippery juice that can be used to soothe the sting from nettles or Poison Ivy." ( Wildflower of Michigan Field Guide ...

Queen Anne's Lace Her body is not so white as anemone petals nor so smooth--nor so remote a thing. It is a field of the wild carrot taking the field by force; the grass does not raise above it. Here is no question of whiteness, white as can be, with a purple mole at the center of each flower. Each flower is a hand's span of her whiteness. Wherever his hand has lain there is a tiny purple blemish. Each part is a blossom under his touch to which the fibres of her being stem one by one, each to its end, until the whole field is a white desire, empty, a single stem, a cluster, flower by flower, a pious wish to whiteness gone over-- or nothing. ~ William Carlos Williams (1883 - 1963) (POET'S CORNER) ~ Queen Anne's Lace ( Daucus carota ) __________ Gardener's Note: "Queen Anne's Lace, also called Wild Carrot, is tall with stems covered by tiny hairs. Once a European garden plant, it has escaped to the wild and is considered a week because of its aggressive gr...