Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Something to Sneeze About


Sauntering through Alameda this past weekend, we saw this sign. My friend and I couldn't help cracking up!

Helenium, Sneezeweed - by Betty Barr Mackey:
Looking just a bit like sunflowers, heleniums, or sneezeweed, are bright and cheerful perennials in shades of gold, rust, orange, and red. They flower in the fall with huge masses of two-inch blooms on branched stems three to five feet tall. They have a common name, swamp sunflower, which is not surprising. They are more often called sneezeweed because the inconspicuous green leaves were once commonly used to make snuff. Although native to North America, they were not popular in gardens here until European breeders worked with them.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/define-helenium-sneezeweed.htm

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