My field of dreams is yielding
a healthy crop Queen Anne’s Lace~
Replacing the daisies and cornflowers~
Cornflowers were at one time on the prohibited plant list
in North Carolina since they’re so invasive~
Personally I find dandelions more problematic
since we’ve never been invaded by cornflowers :)
Queen Anne’s Lace arrived with the colonists
from Europe and naturalized in North America.
A biennial, it’s also known as ‘Wild Carrot’, ‘Bishop’s Lace’
and ‘Bird’s Nest Weed’~
And because of its ability to spread rapidly is
considered in some states to be a noxious weed~
While I love the lacy flowered caps. . .
. . .I’m drawn to the bird’s nest shape
it forms after pollination
when the umbels and stems curve
inward to form a cup shape~
I don’t find it noxious at all :)
A section of our field has been mowed,
the bales quickly carted off~
Queen Anne’s reign
is over until next year ~
Other wildflowers and weeds
will soon take her place ~
One man’s weed
is another person’s flower~
May all your weeds be wildflowers!
:D Love the wildflowers on your dock. What a cute container! These mosaics are breathtaking! Enjoy your weekend, my dear!
Such an informative post! Queen Ann’s Lace is one of my very favorite wildflowers! Noxious? Not at all!!!! I see you love them too… they look so beautiful against the water in your woven basket.
I love your berry angel food cake. It is a work of art, Mary!
I come to your blog for beauty and inspiration!!!!!
I think Quen Anne’s lace is beautiful and not at all NOXIOUS!!! Wildflowers are some of the prettiest, my BIL has a fied planted with them too. LOVE the basket on the dock. Have a beautiful weekend. XO, Pinky
PS, I have never SEEN them in the “birds nest” state, that is awesome!!!!!
Queen Anne’s Lace is my favorite, this is what I used to cover my Mom when she passed. It was stunning. Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures.
Queen Anne’s Lace is one of my favorite wildflowers….! I don’t consider them weeds at all – when I lived in SC I loved driving the old roads and collecting Queen Anne’s Lace, wild daylilies and blue hydrangeas I would find at an old abandoned homestead… I always had huge arrangements of them in my house…The three together speak of summer to me…
I have loved Queen Anne’s Lace since I was a little girl. Maybe because my mom loved it, maybe because of the name. I know there is “comfort food”, but if there was such a thing as “comfort flowers” this would have to be one of mine. Beautiful post, and I will check the ones growing next to my driveway for the bird’s nest stage! Thanks, Mary!
you have fields too? how come i never knew, acreage at the lake? they used qal in my shoot too, i have a big bouquet on the table now as i type… and i have your same carrier, peas in a pod with stuff :)
Love the Lace … beautiful post with lots of info, too!
Mary, you continue to amaze me with your talent. What inspiration you’ve given with this post. I never knew all this about Queen Ann’s Lace, yet I’ve long admired the delicate blooms. The basket hanging on the pier post ~ took my breath away. Totally charming from start to finish! ~ sarah
Beautiful post Mary. I love photographing Queen Anne’s Lace and I love it especially when it forms a cup.
The basket at the dock is fabulous!
I saw my first Queen Anne’s Lace today on the side of the road! They are pretty. I love wildflowers, as long as they’re anywhere but in my garden:@)
Hi Mary, I have always loved Queen Anne’s Lace, but although seeing the “nest” , I never equated it to nests until you pointed it out. How unobservant can I be? I must slow down and SEE the nests.
Carolyn
Hi Mary,
One of my favorite wild flowers is Queen Anne’s Lace! I learned early on NOT to plant it in my gardens or it would be a nuisance. But I too enjoy bringing them in for vases. Your pictures are GORGEOUS! If you like to read, you MUST read “Brothers Gardeners”…It is WONDERFUL and about the first exchange of the plants from the New World. It’s my VERY FAVORITE BOOK…
Have a fun weekend,
Donna
I adore Queen Anne’s Lace too! It’s hard to believe it’s ever thought of as a noxious weed. I remember as a child we would gather up a bouquet and put it in a glass of water with food coloring. Education??? It is a beautiful wild flower and I loved learning more of its history from you. It is such a graceful flower blowing in the breeze and I love your bouquet in the woven basket.
I have been wanting to cut some Queen Anne’s Lace and your is just lovely and especially in the basket. Beautiful images.
There is something about Queen Anne’s Lace that just reminds me of care free summer days.
– The Tablescaper
When we visited NC many times during the summers, I always looked forward to seeing the beautiful flowers, including the Queen Anne’s lace…I love them and cannot believe that anyone would consider them a weed as they are beautiful and now that I live here, I love seeing them throughout the summer..they look fantastic on your dock…..Loved your photography AS ALWAYS…gorgeous images!!!!
I consider them to be flowers as well and they look so pretty and delicate in your basket!
Big Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
Your basket full of Queen Annes Lace is just wonderful. I used to see these wild flowers on road trips up to Vermont…they bring back such beautiful memories. What a lovely welcome to people on your dock!
The Queen Anne’s Lace is beautiful. Your photos are lovely. Have a great week!
Ah…another wonderful trip down memory lane! As a child, I loved gathering wildflowers and there was field filled with them very close to our house. QA lace was always a big favorite of mine.
The basket of wildflowers on your dock is gorgeous!
Marilyn (in Dallas)
I loved this post! I collect Queen Anne’s lace seeds in the fall to sprinkle in my garden.
Queen’s Lace has not started to flower here, they beautiful models for photography.
I learned so much here today. Very interesting. I promise to pay better attention to the Queen Anne’s Lace as I’ve missed the birds’ nest bit.
what a beautiful flower Queen Anne’s Lace is – I have seen it before in some of Mary’s images – and always wished I had some to photograph here – we have nothing like it I think. It is such a wonderful photography subject and you have made some beautiful images of it.
Have a wonderful week.
Sorry – my post linked to my wordpress site – i wanted to link to my blog for todays post – oops!
We have all those wild flowers and yes I find dandelions more invasive. I love that basket full of flowers. ^_^
Kim,USA
I love Queen Anne’s lace – so delicate and pretty. And I can see where it is called wild carrot – while weeding it out of spots where I don’t want it, I notice the foliage is very carrotlike.
Have a great week.
Beautiful shots! Really pretty. I love “one man’s flower’s are another man’s weeds, so true. We have pretty weeds here with very pretty little hot pink flowers!
Fantastic photos and mosaics. Queen Annes Lace is lovely. The cornflowers have nearly disappeared here! Have a nice week.
Something different…. When I was growing up my grandmother used to take food dye and add it to the water of a bouquet of Queen Annes Lace and in no time the flowers themselves would be turning the color of the water. It was interesting. During the 4th of July she took 2 small bunches and added red to one and blue coloring to another and left some white and we had a patriotic centerpiece for our table. I love the lacey look of the flower. They also add to a bouquet of roses!
What a beautiful post! I love all your photos of the pretty weeds. :) I don’t think I’ve noticed the bird’s nest stage of Queen Anne’s Lace before. I must pay more attention as it’s really pretty. I love your bouquet hanging from the dock post. Enjoy the day! Pamela
Beautiful photographs. What a bright cheery blog. Well done, its lovely.
Lynn no. 43
Absolutely gorgeous entry, love this series, and hoping you did not get any chiggers from your exploring. I have to slather in SSS when I go out to get such beauties~
You’re right about ‘one man’s weed’ because I love cornflowers and Queen Anne’s Lace – but morning glory is a scourge in these parts.
Is there anything prettier than a wildflower bouquet?
A wonderful wild flower presentation.
I loved your post! There were many flowers that I had never seen before. I love the Queen Anne’s Lace and the Bird Nest weed…hard to believe it is a weed!
Beautiful, beautiful pictures.
We never see these in FL but up north we had lots of QAL in our back yard. Beautiful photos and very interesting info. Thanks for sharing.
Calling by this evening as another Outdoor Wednesday participant. I saw enjoyed seeing all the familiar flowers to here, even the Queen Anne’s Lace which I saw blooming here yesterday.
So pretty and what great photos you take.
Your “wild flowers” are lovely!
: )
Julie M.
I have been a fan of Queen Anne’s Lace for as far back as I can remember. I have always had it as a part of my garden, so was a bit saddened when I moved as I had to leave it behind. Lo and behold as I was driving home from the dentist today, I spotted a huge patch of it in a wild area about a quarter mile from where I live. I’ll be harvesting seeds shortly! Lovely post.
So pretty and lacy. I miss seeing Queen Anne’s Lace. I used to press it when I was a little girl. We loved it. :)
Thank you for joining in for Fresh-Cut Friday! :)
~Liz
BEEEAUUUTIFUL….!!!