WEEKLY BLOOM: WEEDS

Yellow Swamp Iris: I'm told this is a weed, and that makes me like this beauty even more than if it were planted fastidiously every year by the Conservancy.

While this Foxglove was planted in the Conservatory Garden, and therefore planned and well kept, in most parts of the country it just volunteers weed-like anywhere the soil conditions are right. These are one of my favorite flowers to run across. I imagine actual foxes putting their paws into the bells of the flowers. It seems like a nice accessory for a society fox to wear to tea, don't you think?

Black Locusts grow incredibly fast around here. When I first moved into my house in 2001 there was a 5 foot tall weedy-looking bushy thing in the backyard that my landlady wanted to remove. Since then it's grown into a giant tree which beautifully shades her backyard in the summer. Right now it's so beautiful with the white blossoms. They smell like honey, Honey.

I should really add this to my list of things I love: weeds. I love dandelions. I love that they win every war to kill them. Were I a suburbanite, my lawn would be all dandelions. They are so bright and noisy. I also love bittersweet nightshade, chickory, ailanthus, and etc. Most of them have flowers. I think that's a defense mechanism; "I know you want to get rid of me, but look how cute I am!"

On a related, but slightly non sequitur topic, I'd like to point out that I'm trying to find a way to give fresh flowers in my installation. Like maybe there's a flower tree that contains daisies. Perhaps people can wander by and pick daisies all day? I think in the apple tree, some of the ladles can be filled with water and flower heads. Yeah.

I'm also toying with the idea that people won't know they can take stuff, until the first person does and doesn't get in trouble. Like you take your 8 year old to the installation and she can't keep her hands off the apples. Then no one yells at her. Then adults start to touch stuff and no one yells at them...then suddenly everyone realizes that everything can be harvested.

One way that my Central Park will be better than the actual one; in Real CP you can pick apples, but you better not get caught.

WILD CENTRAL PARK

Last night I was walking home and saw this guy. He was trying to leave the yard at the Museum of Natural History and cross the road to get to CP. He almost got hit by a car on Central Park West in one attempt.

He was a cute little guy, and stood up on his hind legs a couple times, obligingly, so I could take his picture:

I love how it looks like he's wearing pants. And his little hands are nice too. All he needs is a backpack to look like he's nonchalantly walking to subway. Maybe he keeps his Metrocard in a hidden pocket in those pants.

Here's one more dark photo of Mr. Raccoon Pants' epic journey:

I hope he made it across the street.