Hoary Vervain

Lovely plant. Ugly name. To my knowledge, this plant has not been widely grown in gardens, and perhaps it should be. It might even make a fine cut flower since it has strong line and a cool color that is welcome in summer. It just hasn't been refined by horticulture. It greeted us a short distance from West Palisades Cemetery near Garretson, SD, the hometown of some of my ancestors.



Here's Devil's Gulch, where we parked to have a quick look. It's not a big state park, but the pink quartz is really cool. You don't quite get the full pink effect in this photo, but the pink really stands out with the green.  Not enormous cliffs, but after hundreds of miles of plains, this is a standout area in southeastern South Dakota. Undoubtedly these rocks are the roots of some ancient mountains bulldozed by glaciers.

It's Four O'Clock Somewhere

Actually, we arrived at West Palisades Cemetery just before noon. I finally got to see the final resting place of the Akers. It was a very pleasant cemetary in southwestern Minnesota, just a stone's throw from the South Dakota line, where my ancestors actually lived. 

The graves were simple. Not many plants, except for a couple of peonies. Few other ornamentals will persist in this harsh climate.  The quaint steeple of the church about a mile away was sharply juxtaposed against one of those giant wind turbines that are popping up like dandelions after a spring rain. One of the peonies had a wild four o'clock growing in with it.  OK, I know that this is a noxious weed in many places, but it is a plant that I admired as a child.  I like the green papery sepals that persist and the almost succelent, heart shaped leaves. The crepey pink flowers are long gone.