At the end of summer, the clearing in the middle of the land is totally covered with bright yellow, waving in the wind, tall, tasseled goldenrod. Back in 1927, goldenrod was picked for the Alabama state flower. In 1959 the ladies of Butler county voted to change the state flower because they preferred the camellia, since goldenrod is a weed. I did not know any of this until this last summer when we were down around Montgomery, at our best friend's house for July 4th and Chuck and I went exploring in one of their old barns on their land. I found a box of old vases, ash trays, etc and there was an ash tray the shape of Alabama with a picture of goldenrod in the middle of it. I brought the treasures we found, back to show Gene and that is when she told me about it being the state flower, years ago. It may be a weed, but to me, it's a beautiful field of yellow flowers and just one more neat thing about the land.
2 comments:
Just make sure readers realize goldenrod is NOT the plant that makes people sneeze, etc. It has heavy pollen, which doesn't blow in the breeze. It's the ragweed that blooms at the same time that causes allergic reactions.
Barbara, This is SO wonderful. You just need to put some hives on the land and raise bees! Goldenrod honey is delicious! (Kellet - Melanie Fay's daughter)
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