We tend to think of vast box store parking lots as wastelands, but there are herbs growing even there. Herbs specialize in growing where other plants fear to tread — bold, strong, survivors. Here are the shots from my wander between box store parking lots this afternoon.
Flowers grow everywhere…
This stand of bird’s-foot trefoil was growing in a perfect circle. Such a beautiful and delicate weed!
Red clover is a champ when it comes to covering bare ground quickly.
More clover, living on the edge.
White clover is another excellent ground cover, growing lower and denser than red clover. Permaculturalists buy as much white clover seed as they can afford, and here it is, growing in no-man’s-land.
I’ve heard it said that Native Americans called plantain “white man’s footprint” because it sprung up everywhere white men walked. This is the indigenous blackseed plantain, identifiable by its reddish stems. Plantain is soothing and is an important ingredient in many of the Half Wild herbals, including Green Wonder Salve and Herbal itch Relief.
One of my favorite herbs — St. John’s wort, taking advantage of the hot, dry lot to soak up the June sun and soon turn it into flower rays that can be used for so many things. St. John’s wort oil is an excellent massage oil, and will be included in some new salves this year: Apres Ski and Apres Sun.
Milkweed always makes me smile with the memory of monarch butterflies. I have been tending a wild patch on my property for a few years, and the number of plants has just exploded. So many herbs just need a little attention, and they will thrive.
I love this shot with the always stunning wild dianthus in the front and a patch of yarrow flowering early in the back. How many other herbs can you spot in this one picture?
close-up on the wild dianthus
Purple vetch may try to trip you in the field, but it always looks so pretty among the green grass.
Black locust blossoms swaying in the breeze!
Dainty sorrel with its lemon-y leaves so often grows in locations where you don’t want to eat it.
