Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Marsh Marigold
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.
There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known,
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God art present there...
"I Sing the Mighty Power of God" - 1715
Isaac Watts beautifully expresses my feelings about being able to wander the fields again, and especially upon finding this golden surprise in my first lily ramble for the 2009 season. I thank God for enabling me to be out and about for another season, and for the gracious blessing of health and strength in my seventy-second year to have a great time doing it!
So this is what appeared in this first outing for the new season:
Also known as Cowslip, Cowflock, and Kingcup, this member of the large Ranunculaceae family flourishes in damp lowlands and at the edges of streams.
(Other members of this family may be seen in the Buttercup room.)
I was almost upon this colony of Marsh Marigold before I saw it tucked away in a quiet niche of a vernal pool.
This
colony of Caltha
palustris adorns a soggy bank in this Shenandoah Valley marshland where most of
other new growth has not yet appeared
Unfortunately, although pleasing to the eye, along with its cousins in the Buttercup family, the blossoms and stems of this perennial native wildflower contain toxins that can cause skin irritation in some people.
Also cows can be sickened—Cowslip: Get it?—if permitted to browse on this plant, and spoil the taste of the milk. So don't look for this lily next to pasturage used for dairy cattle.
But if you find it on your land, and perhaps have recently sold off Old Bossy, and aren't likely yourself to wade into the marsh to pick these flowers, then enjoy the splendor of these golden beauties!
There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known....
Amen!
Any thoughts, pro or con? Why not drop me an anonymous note at the Comments page?
OR
Go back to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.