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Benefical Plants: Queen Anne’s Lace

August 12th, 2009

I always love the season of Queen Anne’s Lace. It really is such a lovely wild flower (or weed). It’s like a snowflake in the middle of summer (particularly from underneath).
Queen_annes_lace_agagainst_sky
Queen Anne’s Lace was one of my grandma’s favorite flowers. I remember her always commenting on how much she loved it (perhaps that’s why her crocheted doilies always looked like it).
Queen_annes_lace
We seem to be having a bumper crop of them this year, and I don’t mind! Sometimes in order to not see something as a weed all you have to do is look at it closely and find something beautiful.
Queen_Anne's_Lace_from_underneath
It is a very beneficial plant, even though many people classify it as an invasive weed. Queen Anne’s Lace provides beneficial nectar to insects during this dry part of the summer when they don’t have many options. Caterpillars of the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly eat the leaves, bees and other insects drink the nectar, and predatory insects, such as the Green Lacewing, come to Queen Anne’s Lace to attack prey, such as aphids.

Can you appreciate the beauty and benefits of a weed?

16 Comments to “Benefical Plants: Queen Anne’s Lace”
  1. Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary on August 12, 2009 at 6:47 am

    I just picked a whole bunch just yesterday. I have them sitting on my kitchen table in an old mason jar. It’s one of my faves.

    Reply to Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary's comment

  2. annie avery on August 12, 2009 at 6:54 am

    i love queen anne’s lace. i look forward to its blossoming time with great joy!. i have a camera this year and took several of the early-stage opening sequence. what a great flower. now i am awaiting the arrival of her companion, chicory! i’ve seen some down the hill, so i know he won’t be far off.

    Reply to annie avery's comment

  3. Chicago Mike on August 12, 2009 at 8:01 am

    Not since college.

    ba dump bump, Thanks, I’ll be here in Tahoe all week.
    .-= Chicago Mike´s last blog ..Dazzling Color, Great Taste =-.

    Reply to Chicago Mike's comment

    • Mr. Chiots on August 12, 2009 at 8:19 am

      “Put that in your pipe and smoke it!” Hiiioohhh!

      Reply to Mr. Chiots's comment

    • Susy on August 12, 2009 at 8:19 am

      HMMM, what kind of weed were you appreciating college? Is that weed beneficial for insects?

      Reply to Susy's comment

      • Chicago Mike on August 12, 2009 at 8:59 am

        Only if they are Rastafarian insects. Bug Marley and the like.
        .-= Chicago Mike´s last blog ..Dazzling Color, Great Taste =-.

        to Chicago Mike's comment

  4. warren on August 12, 2009 at 8:35 am

    My in-laws have a bunch of this in their yard and they never mow it down, thankfully. It’s turned into a beautiful patch that we really get to enjoy now that it’s grown.

    The one I don’t understand is goldenrod…it grows in great weedy fields where I grew up but I saw it in the garden center last year for sale. It’s pretty for sure, but gee whiz does it make me sneeze!
    .-= warren´s last blog ..The birds and the bees =-.

    Reply to warren's comment

    • Susy on August 12, 2009 at 3:24 pm

      I like the goldenrod too. I was considering digging it all up from around the yard and planting in one big clump somewhere.

      Reply to Susy's comment

      • Mr. Chiots on August 12, 2009 at 4:27 pm

        But Mr. Chiots is convinced he is allergic.

        to Mr. Chiots's comment

  5. Dave on August 12, 2009 at 8:46 am

    Our slope is full of it. I mow around large islands of Queen Anne’s Lace every other mowing. This last time I got covered in the seeds!
    .-= Dave´s last blog ..Leaf Cuttings of Sedum =-.

    Reply to Dave's comment

  6. Christine on August 12, 2009 at 10:49 am

    I’ve never really dealt much with flowers (or flowering weeds, even), but I suppose it’s something I should definitely look into more. We’re hoping to get bees sometime in the next year or so, and I’m sure our winged friends would love some gorgeous flowers to provide them with the food they need. Not to mention all of the lovely honey they provide us.

    I’m going to go back and look at that nectar-producing flower guide you posted, and get started on that this spring.
    .-= Christine´s last blog ..Something exciting in the mail =-.

    Reply to Christine's comment

  7. Beegirl on August 12, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    My babysitter when i was little used to put queen anne’s in water colored with food coloring to color the flowers over time. I think of her now every time I see it!
    .-= Beegirl´s last blog ..Blogger lost my peeps! =-.

    Reply to Beegirl's comment

  8. the inadvertent farmer on August 12, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    Our Queen Anne’s lace is also growing very well this year, we love it here. Even our thistles are lovely in bloom…too bad they are such nasty weeds to pull! Kim
    .-= the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..Peace Offering =-.

    Reply to the inadvertent farmer's comment

  9. Pampered Mom on August 13, 2009 at 12:33 am

    I’ve learned to love a great number of weeds…though there are a few that are a bit too prolific for me to completely accept just yet.
    .-= Pampered Mom´s last blog ..A few close-up garden photos =-.

    Reply to Pampered Mom's comment

  10. […] on the stem and this seed pod that dries up and drops…… If it's Queen Anne's Lace, here's a link to a blog that tells why they appreciate it. […]

    Reply to Photographed TODAY (or Processed today) con’t – Page 10 – RetouchPRO's comment

  11. JoAnn Davidsn on July 30, 2013 at 7:46 pm

    I have Snow on the Mountain I got years ago from a seed savers organization. It’s up a ft and a half now and not close to blooming but it reminds me of snow in August. It’s a very nice plant. I have it all across the front of my porch where my rose campion will be cut back and the snow on the mountain will then be showing its blooms!

    Reply to JoAnn Davidsn's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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