Summer Joy

cornflower, Centaurea cyanus, in Washington Flats — cornflower, *Centaurea cyanus,* in Washington Flats

A Little Note

The Photo:

cornflower, Centaurea cyanus, in Washington Flats

Cornflowers along the road on Washington Flats; in the garden they are much closer together and prettier — Cornflowers along the road on Washington Flats;
in the garden they are much closer together and prettier

The Thought:

The lovely cornflower, [bachelor buttons] the annual, blooms in white, purple, and blue from seed. It’s spreading from an ornamental from Europe and is being monitored as a weed in Washington State, but not listed as noxious. In Europe it grew as weeds in the corn fields and in some places is now considered endangered.

My mother loved these flowers and grew them from seed every summer in our front yard garden along with marigolds, zinnia, and sweet pea on the fence. It was such a lovely garden and I loved, as a child, walking by with my hand gently touching the lovely and tall stems of the bachelor buttons on my way to the front door.

Memories

Photo April 5th, 2019 [poem 2023]

Illustration/ Memory- roller skating
Blog Post: Roller Skates

illustration of childhood memory: roller skating — Blog Post / Flickr

To this day, I announce, “Look, bachelor buttons!” whenever I see the delicate blooms, especially the blues.

Poetry

Summer Joy

Skipping home in bright
summer sun, left hand reaches
to touch cornflower
stems as I walk by, heading
to lunch: soup and sandwiches.

Sheri Edwards
05.23.24 143.365.24
Poetry/Photography