Waxing over weeds

Today as we were walking in the woods I saw so many "flowers" that florists use as fillers.

There was solidago, a beautiful bright yellow feathery flower, that people often request. Although many people ask for that pretty yellow filler, I always wondered how many would have done so if they knew its other name was golden rod.

I saw monte casino, tiny white daisies that are perceived as delicate miniatures to snuggle in between the larger flowers. People specifically ask for these sweet little flowers and wax ecstatic over their uniqueness.

And there was poisonous hemlock, which looks disturbingly like queen anne's lace to the untrained eye and mine has not been tested in a long time. I remember a botanist I met at the Illinois State Museum who had a beautiful big floral arrangement on her desk that I admired.  She grinned and said it was from her son and daughter-in-law, but she wondered if they knew they'd sent her hemlock!  I bet even the florist didn't know that! (Or they never would have done it.)

Dug out, sprayed for and hated in the garden, these weeds are loved in floral arrangements and I understand that. Today's walk in the woods was a riotous mix of flowers and butterflies.