In Praise of Roadside Weeds

All spring and summer and into the fall, I drive many miles criss-crossing the region to seek out rare and beautiful native plants.  And along every road, in generous abundance,  are blooming many other plants, none of them rare, few of them native, all of them beautiful.  Yesterday, struck by this glorious mix of Daisies, Maiden Pinks, and Birdsfoot Trefoil, I pulled  my car over to pay these flowers some of the closer attention they deserve.

Could any other flower live up to its name as well as does the vividly pink Maiden Pink (Dianthus deltoides)?

Another very aptly named flower is the butter-yellow and eggyolk-orange Butter-and-eggs (Linaria vulgaris).

What horticultural strain of flower could fill a meadow as generously as does the sunny-yellow Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima) ?

Far more subtle in its coloration is the jade-green and snowy-white Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris), with its swollen calyx that reminds me of fine Japanese porcelain.

Although many plants of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syrica) are already blooming and filling the air with a heady fragrance,  I was drawn to admire the pink-velvet beauty of this cluster of buds.

"Heavenly" is the only word to describe the way Chicory (Cichorium intybus) mirrors the color of the sky with its cerulean blooms.

I was not the only admirer of Chicory flowers. This iridescent-winged hoverfly (Toxomerus geminatus) with its intricately patterned abdomen was feasting on the flower's pollen while I was feasting my eyes on the beauty of both the blossom and the bug.  I love to see how the Chicory's  styles curl back after pushing their way through the dark-blue pollen-filled stamen tubes.