Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Alaskan Fireweed

Alaskan FireweedFireweed may be a weed but it's the most beautiful weed you'll ever see. Lining the Alaskan highways and valleys in brilliant pink it's the true indicator of the passage of time. It grew outside my office window when I was home from college for the summer and as the months passed the blossoms would creep on up the stalks, higher and higher until the oldest blossoms on the bottom began to turn into fluffy white seeds, letting me know it was time for school to start.

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21 comments:

FRIDAY'S CHILD said...

Such a beauty for a weed and for its name.
Mine's up too.

Anonymous said...

That is so pretty!!

Mine is up at:
Wordless Wednesday - Party on the Lake!

Anonymous said...

I saw those when I visited Alaska in fields -- and they do look as though the field is "on-fire." Such a beauty. I bought seeds, and took them home, and even put them in the freezer so they would bloom. I think a few came up -- but the beauty of this flower is in the numbers -- they need the open fields of Alaska to show off their beauty. What a great picture.

Joyful Days said...

Weeds are a matter of perception. Or was it beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Lovely.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful flower. Wild flowers are my favorites! :-)

Happy WW!

Anonymous said...

That's a really striking weed.

An Ordinary Mom said...

My son thinks dandelions are flowers. I like this weed better :) !!

The Tour Marm said...

When I was conducting groups through the Canadian Rockies and Alaska around this time of the year, my British clients called Fireweed, 'Rosebay Willowherb'. They told me that this was the flower that emerged immediately after the blitz during WWII.

Lovely shot.

Mary Alice said...

We saw something like that in Maine last week and my husband was telling me of the time passage concept of fireweed in Alaska...we wondered together if it was the same for those beautiful flowers in Maine.

CableGirl said...

Gorgeous. I think the word "weed" gets a bad rap. Some of them are quite attractive, even if they do try to take over your yard. :)

Happy WW

Deb said...

How pretty! If flowers were as easy to grow as weeds, then I'd have a lovely garden right now, LOL. It's a lovely photo - Happy WW!

Daisy said...

Fireweed -- I wonder if this is the same fireweed that comes up in the west after forest fires, reseeds the area.

Becca said...

I love calendars like that. Reminds me of flannel mullein.

Anonymous said...

One man's weed is another man's flower. They'hjre all plants aren't they?

Anonymous said...

That's gorgeous. Many of my favorite flowers are "weeds".

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Weeds are only unwanted flowers, and why would people not want this lovely one??? I must be missing something...

someone else said...

We saw a lot of that on our Alaska cruise last month when we stopped in Juneau. It really is pretty.

Anonymous said...

Why don't I have weeds like that in my yard? Very pretty!

Caffienated Cowgirl said...

Oh, I love fireweed...My FIL just sent me a pic of it from a recent trip to your area.

Stephanie Appleton said...

Very lovely, but you know I can't truly embrace a weed unless it is edible!

The Estrogen Files said...

My dad was recently in Alaska and telling me about the Fireweed and the salmon he didn't catch. Very pretty!!