By merest chance I happened to notice the small purple blossoms. They were half hidden in the tall grass of an old pasture. I felt as if the flower itself had drawn me to the spot and given me a beautiful gift.
It was the first time I’d ever seen Venus’ Looking Glass, a native plant that is not rare but is often overlooked. It came up to my knee, but it looked wispy, leaning for support on the surrounding grass. The flowers were smaller than my thumbnail.
I felt sure no human hand ever planted it here. It has been on this land since long before ancient Romans called Venus the goddess of beauty. Even before the first humans stepped on the soil of North America. Somehow it has managed to live wild and unaided in this place, generation after generation.
It looks as if the stem pierces each leaf, which takes the shape of a ruffled cup. Actually the leaf wraps around the stem. Clasps it. Flowers emerge from the leaf cups. When the petals wither, what remains of the flower is a green pod, full of tiny seeds.
When the seed pod is ripe, it turns brownish. On three sides of the pod, the “skin” ruptures and curls up, to make an oval opening. Like a roll-up window shade. The nearly microscopic seeds spill out of the pod into the leaf cup.
The seeds are so small that the wind can blow them away like dust. According to Prairie Moon Nursery, which sells seeds of this wildflower, one ounce contains 800,000 seeds.
How it persists
Venus' Looking Glass is an annual. It lives and dies in a single year. During its brief life, it makes seeds for the next year’s plants.
The day that I found the flowers in the pasture, I marked the spot. I returned several times, until I saw brownish capsules. The tiny specks in the leaf cups were seeds. I brought some home and scattered them in my garden.
Ever since, Venus' Looking Glass adds purple grace notes to my wildflower garden.
In spring they are a lacy ground cover. Soon the stems start to shoot upward, making pagoda-like tiers of leaves.
By May the plants are deep purple delight. Of all the flowers that I grow, the ones I treasure most are those that I discovered in the wild and then grew from their seeds. Doing this makes me feel as if I’m putting my hand into the great hand of nature.
Where Venus lives
Venus' Looking Glass is a wildflower that grows native in almost every state and province of North America.
Field and garden
It is also a fine member of a garden. It grows in full or partial sun. Adapted to life on the prairie, it does well when its ground is dry and poor. It grows better if rougher plants don’t smother it.
Once it gets established in the garden, it will reseed itself year after year. I always try to catch some seeds.
I scatter them where I want Venus to rise the next year.
Beauty is momentary in the mind—
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
— Wallace Stevens
Just beautiful once again, dear Diane. Your writing and photos are such a comfort! ♥️
Beautifully presented, Diane! Flora, art and poetry~a winning combination.