Like babies crawling over a crisp white duvet-covered bed, my backyard bees plough through each long spire of the Culver’s Root flower. This summer has been a time of patient waiting for anonymous green sprouts to turn into plants and then – when they are ready – offer up their flower to insects and my grateful gaze.  Some I recognize, others trigger a studious flipping through of my Mom’s collection of plant books.

Once the Culver’s Root plant delivered a bud with the long spikes, I had a chance of identifying it.  I found photos of it in two of my Mom’s books: Grow Wild! by Lorraine Johnson, and Pollinators of Native Plants by Heather Holm.  Now I know to identify it by the long green stalk with whorled leaves.  Besides the bees and wasps, lots of butterflies including the Red Admirals also like to inspect the little white flowers lined along each spike.

    Next spring I may just let it be.
The Jewelweed that is – “Pale Jewelweed” to be precise.  I pulled a lot out of the back garden because the tall plants seemed to be sprouting up everywhere.  I remember Mom saying to just pull it out to keep them from crowding out the other plants, and as much as possible I’ve been trying to follow her voice in my head.  But this summer things have changed and the Jack-in-the-Pulpits have been in need of shade.  I started hanging an old blue flannel sheet in front of the the pulpit patch to keep off the afternoon sun – Mom would have been amused.

The dilemma started last summer when the big Elm in the backyard died. The space has gone from a shade to a full sun garden, and I feel some of the plants are reeling from too much of a good thing.  Even the Jewelweed isn’t suited to all the sun but it seems a pretty resilient native plant.  As long as I am around to make sure they get enough water, they can survive.  Looking at the spot where the Jack-in-the-Pulpits grow, a small number of Jewelweed could provide a canopy for the shorter pulpit plants.

Reading about “Impatiens pallida” I discover that their juice – especially the spotted variety – provides a Poison Ivy remedy. That use won’t be needed in my garden, but I love this time of year when the bees come to dance in their open flowers.  At eye level I gaze at pale yellow blooms looking like delicate earrings dangling above long flowing green gowns.  Shall we dance?