Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Dames Rocket
This is one lily of the field that can be enjoyed just by driving along a "Blue Highway."
In late April, travelers along US Highway 11 in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, and other less-traveled roads of the area, are able to see overgrown roadsides and drainage ditches undergo a wonderful transformation.
Seemingly overnight, mile after mile of the unremarkable, monotone green of the highway shoulder is replaced by the pastel hues of this wildflower's blossoms.
It may be in your area: Although native throughout Eurasia, this biennial flower was one of the earliest plants imported by the first colonists to North America, beginning as early as the 1600's.
Although most of the immigrant plants imported purposely by the settlers were herbs or pot greens valued for medicinal or table use, this hardy wildflower was valued instead for its beauty and immediately had a place in the first flower gardens.
A prolific producer of seeds and tolerant of a wide range of habitats, it long ago escaped from the confines of the early gardens. In the United States it has naturalized as far north as Alaska and as far south as Georgia. (Other "escapees" to see in the Gallery are Chicory, Early Yellowrocket, Foxtail Grass, Viper's Bugloss, and Perennial Sweet Pea.)
Hesperis matronalis is considered an invasive species by some, because it is said to crowd out native wildflowers.
I take a different view, however, because, at least around my home in Virginia, I see it bringing swathes of color to rough ground along highways that will not support wildflowers.
No doubt the lush green of April grasses along the shoulders of these less-traveled roads is a welcome relief from the dull browns of dead leaves and stalks from last season's growth.
But when Dames Rocket puts out its clouds of lavender, blue, pink, and white, I count this "invasiveness" as a worthy sacrifice for the sake of beautifying Virginia's roadsides.
This beauty is also known as Dame's Violet, Dames-wort, Sweet Rocket, and Mother-of-the-evening.
The latter name is also reflected in the botanical prefix Hesperis = "of the evening," both of which refer to the sweet perfume released by the blossoms in the cool of a spring evening.
Dame's Rocket could be confused with Phlox, another erect spring wildflower that favors some of the same habitats, and which also bears similar pastel blossoms.
The two plants can be identified up close, however, by counting the number of petals in the blossoms: Phlox has five petals; as you can see, the Dames Rocket flower has four petals, a characteristic that it shares along with other members of the Mustard family.
(Plants from this family displayed in the Gallery include Hairy Bittercress, Yellowrocket, Whitlow-grass, Shepherd's Purse, and Garlic Mustard.)
Although, most of the blossoms are a single white or a pure pastel shade, sometimes a plant will present a cross of two hues.
These "sports" don't seem to be carried forward, however; but aren't they a pretty combination?
Go to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.