What’s That Tall, Yellow Weed Doing in Monet’s Garden?
Posted in Monet's Garden on June 18th, 2012 by Joyce Newman – 1 CommentJoyce H. Newman is the editor of Consumer Reports’ GreenerChoices.org, and has been a docent with The New York Botanical Garden for the past six years.
Yes, it’s a weed, it’s a biennial, and it’s called mullein (Verbascum bombyciferum). So many visitors asked me about this plant during a recent Conservatory tour of Monet’s Garden that, as soon as I got home, I went straight to the computer to look up more information.
When it comes to weeds, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” And it seems Monet’s keen eye was quick to see those virtues in mullein, especially when its wooly, whitish leaves were placed near the foliage of poppies.
For our exhibition, Monet’s spring flower garden features lots of poppies in many colors alongside–you guessed it–mullein. Rising over four feet high, the showy yellow flowers really stand out, prompting visitors to ask, “What’s that?”
read more »
