suzanne earley

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Weed or flower?

Is this Queen Anne’s Lace?

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We have a couple of these springing up in our front walkway area.  Mark said he had cut them out before because he thought they were a weed, but let them go this year because….he just did.

Driving home from grocery shopping last night we noticed that the ditches were full of it.  Iowa has a pretty extensive program to seed ditches and roadways with native wildflowers and plants, making us wonder about this.  I had a slightly different idea in mind of what Queen Anne’s Lace looks like, but when I visit Wikipedia, my photo appears similar to what they picture.  The Wikipedia entry is actually titled Wild Carrot and makes it sound like these are a weed, having been imported from other places.

Anyone care to comment?

Suzanne

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Comments

  2. It’s Queen Anne’s Lace, AND Wild Carrot. We have it everywhere here, too. It’s got such a lovely bloom, and I love how it follows the chickory on the roadside. I’d let it grow if it’s not interfering with your more ‘structured’ gardening space.

  3. It looks like Queen Anne’s Lace but it’s missing the “drop of blood” in the center that I’ve seen on all the Queen Anne’s Lace around here. I guess it’s kind of fitting that we have alot of Queen Anne’s Lace around here because I live in Queen Anne’s County LOL

    Personally I’d think of it as a “wildflower” rather than a “weed”. It’s not something that you’ve intentionally planted but it’s too pretty to consider a “weed”

  4. LOL Suzanne, is it a weed or is it a flower? Well, depends on the definition of each. But for me it’s a flower. I rather like the term wildflower, a suitable term for many “weeds” LOL. No matter what you call it, it’s pretty and I’d let it grow…..just me! ;>)

  5. We have it on the side of the road everywhere here too — and yep, it’s much like a weed around here. But a pretty one. If you like it — go for it! (I looked it up online — is it a weed or a flower? I’ve seen it called both — mostly because it spreads all on its own so very well!)

  6. Suzanne,

    I have always called it Queen Annes Lace and I love their look. My Mom always loved getting bouquets of them when we were little, along with the dandelions……. I personally love them in a Victorian looking garden with foxgloves, hollyhocks and roses…. Thanks for bringing back memories.

  7. Yep…Queen Anne’s Lace.
    The defination of weed that I learned in my Hort. Science Program…A weed is just a plant out of place. I still like the look of it, but in Iowa it’s a weed.
    Jami

  8. We have tons of it too. We call it Queen Anne’s Lace. I like it well enough that I call it a flower. But it grows so well it MUST be a weed!

    Now…. to make this into a quilting topic…… I think this almost fits the definition of a fractal. Not quite, but I bet it could be made into a pretty fractal quilt. It is on my list of things to do.

    And how funny that youve been taking photos of the QAL… I have taken about 50 pics of them this week myself!

    Gayle

  9. Oh, I wish I had some here! The caterpillars have just about eaten all the dill up. The particular caterpillars I have also love QAL. Parsley, too, and I have planted some just for them, but it’s not growing fast enough!

  10. It must be too hot here in the south for Queen Anne’s Lace. It was a “ditch/roadside” weed/flower in WV where I grew up and I miss it and chicory a lot!

  11. We used to have tons of wildflowers in our area of California, but the years of drought, fires, and severe heat have left us with very little. I used to have themed flower beds. I had a rose garden, herbs, bulbs, and wildflowers. People used to walk by the yard just to see what was popping up. I don’t have much time to garden these days, and I miss the color and fun of watching new things sprout. I also have a husband who butchers things on a regular basis! LOL.

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