I Luv Foxglove

"Jemima alighted rather heavily, and began to waddle about in search of a convenient dry nesting-place. She rather fancied a tree-stump amongst some tall fox-gloves. But – seated upon the stump, she was startled to find an elegantly dressed gentleman reading a newspaper."
~from Jemima Puddleduck by Beatrix Potter

That was my introduction to the wildflower known as foxglove, and when I had the pleasure of seeing Miss Potter’s home in the Lake District of England, I was also able to see it growing in the area that informed her writing. I remember being told how the plant got its common name (foxes wearing them on their paws as they quietly raided hen houses) -- both flower and tale became inseparably linked to my wonderful memories of that trip. Associations are powerful things, aren’t they?

More than twenty-five years have passed since then, and each time I read that story to my children, I think of that pretty flower that I assumed belonged to the English countryside alone. *smile* Ignorance is not bliss.

Early this summer, Triple T uploaded a picture of foxglove growing in her garden – foxglove in the United States! (Yes, I have since learned that it grows in many places in this country, but back to my story.) I mentioned my surprise to her, and when my husband and I had the pleasure of being escorted around the Olympic Peninsula, she quickly pointed them out to me -- and SHH made a special stop for me just so I could get some pics.


What a wonderful day we had with our lovely tour guides . . . driving along the Hood Canal, stopping at the Dungeness Spit for an oh-so-yum lunch, walking up a little trail for some nice photo opportunities, popping in at a lavender farm (I shall return), heading up to windy Hurricane Ridge, walking the Moments in Time Trail at Lake Crescent, enjoying the stones and driftwood at Ruby Beach, and climbing the “Big Cedar Tree” (just me . . . little girl inside could not resist) before stopping for some pizza. All of those highlights and more with ‘specially selected music in the background!

[Slideshow looks better if you click here.]

We spent that entire day driving from one scenic spot to another, so why did I choose to talk about the foxglove? I don’t really know. I think I liked my pictures of it. ;-)


What are these anecdotes doing on a letterboxing blog? Well, SHH and Triple T are connection enough for me, but if that’s too big a stretch for you, SHH handed me a special copy of her PNW LTC just before I left town . . . a foxglove! ;-)