Winter Lace

 

Walking through the Laguna in winter might seem to be bare and boring, but it is anything but. Sure, there is not much flowering or full of lush green leaves. The beauty is more subtle and no everybody may recognize or acknowledge it.

The common Queen Anne's lace - Daucus carota - is a plant that delights in summer with it's lacelike tiny flowers that attracts many insects. But in winter it looks very different.

It's just a "skeleton" that remains but that bare shape is still beautiful and can enchant the landscape. Even though it's gray and can blend into its environment, if you look closely you note its fine features. 

Isn't it beautiful?

Queen Anne's lace has many different names - wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace - and not everybody loves this wildflower. In some US states like Iowa, Ohio, Michigan and Washington it is listed as a noxious weed. But here in the Laguna on a chilly winter day I am delighted by its subtle beauty.

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As of early this morning local time, Russia has started invading Ukraine, a sovereign, independent, democratic country. Up to this morning I had hoped that this could have been prevented - hope dies last. I feel a wild mix of emotions - grief, fear, fury, worry. I look at Ukraine not as a US citizen but as a European who loves this beautiful continent and who is devastated about a war in the center of it.

Queen Anne and the Wild Carrot

"What is she up to now?" - well, I hope you're not thinking I have completely lost my marbles. Recently during an early morning walk in our Laguna I saw a lot of Queen Anne's lace in all stages of the plant. Fully bloomed, half way gone, seed pods - all are beautiful and fascinating. Definitely worthy to be captured with my phone camera on this foggy morning.

There were so many!

And then I found myself doubting whether these are indeed Queen Anne's lace. So I switched on my nifty Google Lens and was quickly informed that these plants are Wild Carrots.

"Oh boy", I thought, here I was mistaken all along with the name!

But actually I wasn't. This plant is botanically called Daucus carota with the common name wild carrot. However, there are also other names that it is known of - bird's nest, bishop's lace and - you guessed it - Queen Anne's lace. This name it only has in North America and it refers to both Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and Anne of Denmark (who was her great grandmother). It got the name because the flower resembles lace.

No matter which name you prefer (I love bird's nest), it is a beautiful flower that is very popular with bees and all kinds of bugs. It is a beneficial weed that can be a companion plant for some crops; however, some states (Iowa, Ohio, Michigan and Washington) have listed it as a noxious weed and it is considered a serious pest in pastures.

But in the Laguna it is simply beautiful and beneficial for the recovery of the land.