Wildflower Fence Walks

I took two walks one day along the fence line, once for enjoyment and once to repair the fence. I was amazed both times at the spectacular displays of wildflowers I saw. This wild collection for instance was Queen Anne's Lace, Red Clover, Black-Eyed Susan and Goldenrod:

 Just a few steps farther and I saw Common Boneset (more on this later in this post), Purple Loosestrife and Goldenrod:

 But what on earth were these tiny, daisy-like flowers? I took a number of photos to look them up back in the house:

 I looked them up and decided that they were probably Tradescant's Aster, a new plant for me. I later found a picture of Prairie Fleabane and thought that it might be that also. Whatever it was, it was interesting:

 This single Common Mullein stood five feet high and right next to the fence wire (I'd turned off the electricity):

 A close-up of Common Mullein's flowers:

 This was a familiar old favorite which, for most of my life, I called Coffee Grounds. The real name is Curly (or Curled) Dock, but when we were kids, we'd strip the seeds from the stalk and pretend they were coffee grounds, which they did resemble:

 I don't remember Common Boneset ever growing in my fields before, but there is a lot of it this year:

 Boneset got its name because its leaves are joined at the stalk, prompting pioneers to think it could heal broken bones. Native Americans knew better and used it for fevers and as an antibiotic/anti-viral. Some people still use it today:

 My photo of these minuscule flowers wasn't very good. They were exceedingly small and looked a lot like Lobelia flowers. I looked them up when I got back to the house and decided that they were indeed a form of Lobelia, named Indian Tobacco. They were mostly lavender color although they look white in this photo:

 Queen Anne's Lace and St. Johnswort. The day honoring St. John's Day beheading is coming up and I must remember to test the sap to see if it is red: