A Bouquet For You

Hello -- I'm glad to see you!  :)  Come inside and have a cup of tea.  Hasn't this been a beautiful spring so far?  Even though we had a couple of late freezes (not unexpected) the blooms still keep coming.  Don't you love the way everything blooms in sequence, so it's not all gone at once?  First the daffodils, the tulip magnolias, and the Japanese cherry trees, and they were prettier than ever this year.  Then came the crabapple trees, the redbuds, and the dogwoods.  It seems like they've all been spectacular this spring, although the dogwood blooms are still in the process of opening up.      On the ground, it's time for tulips and iris, but we don't have any of those.  However, I picked some flowers that have self-seeded in the wooded area next to our driveway.   

         Have you ever seen old-fashioned money plant?  The botanical name is Lunaria, and it's also known as Honesty, silver dollar plant, dollar plant, money plant, and moonwort.  My former next-door neighbor, who lived here for many years, told me a little about them many years ago, and I Googled for more info. today.  I'm pretty sure Jeanette originally planted these in her yard, and over the years they traveled over to our yard.  Jeanette had planted all sorts of flowers and blooming trees in her yard, and she had a wonderful variety.     

   I made two smallish bouquets of these flowers, and unfortunately, they didn't last very long as cut flowers, but they were so pretty before they started to wilt.          

   

According to this article, the Pilgrims brought silver dollar plants over on the Mayflower.  Thomas Jefferson also grew them in his gardens at Monticello and mentioned them in his letters.  The plant is native to Europe; it was one of the first plants grown in the dooryard gardens of the New World for its pods and edible roots.  It's also a member of the mustard family.    

   These flowers remind me very much of wild Phlox because of the flower's shape, color, and upright growth.  I love the pop of spring color these brought to the living room.    

source     The image above shows the seed pods, which do resemble silver dollars, so you can see how the plant got its nickname.  I read that these seed pods are great for dried flower arrangements, so I'll try to remember that this fall.  According to what I read, many gardeners consider the money plant an invasive weed because it grows prolifically and pops up in places other than where it was planted.  That doesn't bother me; I love wild violets and buttercups, and they're also considered weeds.     Have you ever seen these flowers where you live?  I had never seen them (that I know of) until we moved into this house.  Thanks so much for your visit today; let me cut a bouquet of Lunaria for you to take home with you.  I hope you have a great week!