Orange hawkweed. Better known to many as Devil's Paintbrush. This is a very pretty little invader, who arrived in Canada back in the 1700's, hitchhiking in seed crops, and found the soil and climate much to its liking.
It's all over the place now, and while it may be invasive, it is certainly decorative!
The name hawkweed was bestowed on the flower by the Roman Pliny, who was of the opinion that hawks ate the flower to gain strength. That's doubtful. The name Devil's Paintbrush was given to it by the farmers who struggled with this invasive weed in their fields.
It's a beautiful flower, even if it can be troublesome. The Tiger Swallowtail butterfly likes it! And she at least finds it gives her strength!Along the road, we've got fleur de lis, the original wild iris. It's name means "lily flower' and it packs a lot of punch as a symbol in old heraldry, and, of course, in France and closer to home, here in Quebec.
These are spectacularly lovely flowers, growing tall and graceful, surviving our climate and decorating the spring.
The Painted Lady butterfly was busy at work on them today, along with a host of bumblebees. You have to look close to see the Painted Lady -- when she closes her wings, she almost disappears with wings camoflaged to look like bits of bark, with eye spots. It's a good match on the iris! You have to look closely to see her!
Between the flowers moving gracefully in the lake breeze and the butterflies drifting on the air, everywhere we look right now it is a moving garden. Beautiful.
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