Do you remember when I showed you the chicory plant that was bolting?  This is what it looks like today:

That one thick stalk created a hundred thin flower stalks that each have twenty or more flower buds.  They snake and swirl and swoop and bloom with such determined energy.  I find it all very inspiring so I have made room for this plants’ dance even though it got in the way of the peas, and I could have used some of this space for other things.

This is what the plant looks like in early spring.  This photo is from April 09, when it first came up in the garden.  I loved its determined character even then.  I thought it was a lettuce until it bloomed last year.

Every day at sunset, those blue flowers fade and never open again.  Flowers higher on each stalk open the next day.  This will go on until the plant is spent.

And I will always make room in my garden for this creature.