The spring after we moved into our house, we bought our Joe-Pye weed at the county Conservation District’s annual plant sale, along with the pussy willows and a host of other plantings — a bargain way to go, if you can. At the time, I thought this was the dumbest name imaginable, though. I mean, we were planting WEEDS? No, my wife said, it was just the name. As for Joe Pye, she said he was an Indian healer. Or maybe he was just somebody who used the plant for healing. Turns out it comes in all sizes, although ours are stunningly tall. When they bloom late in the summer, the wild birds are very happy. And while that makes me very happy, let me admit: after a few seasons, these plants began popping up everywhere, just like weeds.
In downsizing to a remote fishing village in Downeast Maine, this eclectic writer feels everything's coming together.
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3 thoughts on “JOE-PYE WEED”
Hahaha. 🙂 have you ever looked into “weeds” as pioneer plants to reconstitute damaged soil? It’s an interesting take on the topic. What we call weeds actually come as the first guys to try to get an ecosystem back in healthy order.
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Hahaha. 🙂 have you ever looked into “weeds” as pioneer plants to reconstitute damaged soil? It’s an interesting take on the topic. What we call weeds actually come as the first guys to try to get an ecosystem back in healthy order.
are you aware kids ingest it because of it’s hallucinogenic properties? 🙂
Apparently none around here know about that! And to think, we got ours from the county soil and water conservation commission sale. Hmm.