Mom woke us up at oh-dark-thirty today and said we had to prepare today’s blog hop entry hosted by Rosy. Gulp…we’re dogs, ma…not botanists. Sam’s only claim to ‘gardening’ is watering plants and I know that isn’t quite what they need so it looks like I’m in charge. Elsa here. While I know how to snoopervise, I know essentially nothing about flowers. Mom seems to be in the midst of one of her fitful sleep periods and is feeling more than slightly overwhelmed and over-stimulated with stuff. She can’t seem to find the necessary focus to do background work on posts and spends hours writing only to shriek “It’s all rubbish!” and tosses ideas in the trash bin. Apparently retirement is hard work that she hasn’t quite managed to successfully master. Mom’s…whaddu do with them?
What I found about “Solidago,” otherwise knowns as Goldenrod, was fascinating (no wonder mom likes to garden). Contrary to popular belief, Goldenrod does not cause allergies, it’s pollen is sticky, not windblown, and is moved from plant to plant by bees. Apparently wasps seem to enjoy drinking from it too because there was one noshing away when this image was taken a couple days ago. A late summer bloomer, Goldenrod is deer resistant, attracts butterflies and is bee friendly while being rabbit resistant. It’s easy to grow, makes a nice addition in bouquets and is low maintenance. It grows in all types of soil and naturalizes easily. Mom told me she didn’t plant this flower and thought it probably came from the neighbor’s garden, via a squirrel. Dang, I’m pretty bummed I missed seeing that gardening squirrel.
On a totally different note, uprights all over the world are mourning the loss of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. If this remarkable iconic artist and first woman inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame touched you as much as she did everyone who heard her, please enjoy this video from Stephen Colbert’s tribute to her last night. This performance was taken from her 2015 Kennedy Center performance honoring Carole King and hosted by President and Mrs. Obama. When mom saw it, she got goose bumps and tears, and not just because Mr. Obama isn’t the president these days.
Boy, that woman had a set of pipes on her and a style not to be denied. Mom wonders if we ‘respected’ her enough during her amazing 76 year long life. Rest in Peace, dear Queen.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Yikes!
HuMom is not a gardener but is trying to control the property of allergens & invasive plants.
In doing so she pulled all the golden rod near our play areas. She’s going to be unhappy when I tell her she removed bee & butterfly plants.
RIP Aretha🐾
💜nose nudges💜
I’m sure she’ll be fine, I pulled that plant out for a couple of years thinking it was a weed but last year I left it in and voilá, it bloomed!
Luke’s seasonal allergies are acting up again – poor guy – and I was blaming the goldenrod! Now you’ve set me straight on that, I need to figure out what it really is!
Good luck finding the culprit!
SO awesome! <3
I love your Goldenrod and was surprised to read it doesn’t cause allergies! It sure gets a bad rap for it. Aretha Franklin was truly a gift to us all and left behind a legacy that won’t be matched for some time if ever.
It was a surprising fact to learn. Yeah, I think you’re right about the Queen. 💖
Beautiful plant. Have a great weekend.
Thanks. You too!
We love Goldenrod here, it grows wild so it is like really low maintenance all Mom has to do it try to keep it from taking over the flowerbeds. Mom says she thinks the Goldenrod may be winning though.
We love listening to Aretha Franklin thanks for sharing the video
It can be invasive. I know in some places it’s considered a noxious weed. When it first started growing in the garden, I thought it was and kept pulling it up. 😇
Ma watched that on the TeeVees when it was on, and it is just as powerful today, as it was then. Ma has the same reaction as you did ~ miss everything abouts then….every time I see the Obama’s I just can’t believes the 180 Washington has made. Time to take it back, yes? ☺
Kisses,
Ruby ♥
We are so about the return of normalcy! Happy weekend.
Nice post, Elsa. I found out the reason people believe Goldenrod’s cause allergies is because a lot of people are allergic to rag weed (I am one of them) and they bloom at the same time of year. It’s just that ragweeds aren’t showy, so the poor Goldenrod gets the blame. Love the photo with the wasp. They are a pretty plant. Maybe you can thank the gardening squirrel by not chasing him the next time you see him. Aretha Franklin did have an amazing voice. It’s sad when we lose the good ones.
Thank you. Mom likes the Golden Rod and blooming things in the garden start to wane this time of year so we’re just happy it provides some color and good for bees.
We came hopping over from the Flower Friday post at Rosy’s
I think the golden Rod may be a perfect thing for our garden.
Thank you for the information you posted.
RIP Ms. Franklin we will miss you.
Astro and Mitzie
Welcome and thank you for swinging by the Ranch. We 💖 visitors. I love golden rod but know some people don’t.
Oh my… A post by my favourite Ninja – Be still my beating heart…. Generally I pick up a few pointers from Floral Friday but not today, I fear. My Garden Centre does not stock Goldenrod and in quite a number of places it is classed as either a Noxious Weed or an Environmental Weed. Kind of like gazanias ( lovely African Daisy) which are classed as an Environmental Weed here in South Australia – as is Salvation Jane.
Yes in some places it’s considered invasive here too. Much like Queen Ann’s lace. I rather like both myself but understand why some feel that way. I’m so stingy with water it would take celestial intervention for it to be invasive. 😊 Happy weekend to my favorite Down Under chaps.
Wow! I didn’t know any of those facts about goldenrod.
It’s a pretty misunderstood plant. For years I believed it was practically devil-like from all the folklore out there. 😊
Your Mom is so lucky she has you to help her out at times like these. The goldenrod is beautiful and Aretha is a legend who won’t be forgotten!! I understand your Mom’s tears about Aretha and about the fact that Obama isn’t President anymore!
She needs to give me extra treats today for helping out. Hey, I’m no ordinary fool.
That is for sure, you are very smart! 🙂
All Ninjas are. 😊 Smart and wily.
Yes indeed!!
If you spare the goldenrod, do you spoil the golden child? Poodle questions….
We only spoil golden poodles. 😉
We all sneeze when we see pictures of golden rod, but it is so pretty in dried arrangements that we buy.
I love this plant and it really is beautiful in bouquets.
We love Goldenrod…Mama sneezes just looking at its picture BOL!
RIP Aretha Franklin…one of Mama’s favorite singers.
xoxo,
Jakey, Arty & Rosy
Gesundheit. 😊 The Queen was a very special lady.
🐬🐬🐬🐬
Flowers and an Aretha remembrance…sounds like a perfect floral Friday. <3
Add in a bottle of red and mom just might get through it.
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
Love the color yellow. I’ve always thought it to be my favorite color of a garden, other than purple. Those two make me smile.
Beautiful tribute to the Queen of Soul. That voice, it transports me to times and places. I can hear a song and be right back in that moment when I first remember hearing it. Blessings to you for paying this amazing woman your wonderful tribute.
Peace, yellow and music
Thank you for the kind words. Hope you have a ‘pawsitively’ full-on mellow yellow weekend. I’m with you, purple and yellow = a great looking garden. Aretha has taken me to many a happy place over the past 50+ years too.
Indeed!
I was listening to her before I fell asleep last night and first thing this morning. 50 plus years for me too, and yet, she makes me feel like that little boy who used to bring her voice to life on forty fives.
Ah yes, simpler times. And while those times had their own version of struggle, you’d hear Aretha and think, things are gonna be better. 🎶
Ain’t that the truth. See? You understand. 🙂
Thanks Elsa for the lesson on Goldenrods. If you had thumbs they could be green. And yes, saw the performance of Aretha when it first aired from the Kennedy Center Performance and then watched again on YouTube yesterday. The Queen of Soul was so graceful and powerful at the same time. I just loved it during this performance when she gets up from the piano walks towards the front of the stage and drops her mink to the stage floor. Wow. She will be missed for sure.
She really was something, wasn’t she? Didn’t you just love her performance in The Blues Brothers?
To get blog ideas, have a Colorado cigarette.
Oh she’s got plenty of ideas but just can’t focus on developing them. Maybe she’s suffering from a contact high?
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
Thank you for the video. I had the same response to it as you. An icon is gone, R.I.P.
Mom will be playing lots of Aretha for the next several days. She’s hoping it makes her feel better so she can get back to being focused. 😇
“Goldenrod is deer resistant, attracts butterflies and is bee friendly” – Thanks, Elsa, for that info. This flower might be something for our garden then. 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend, all of you,
Pit
You as well! Mom loves the Goldenrod and I’m sure it would make a lovely addition in your garden.
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
Thanks for this interesting post on Goldenrod. How fun that you’ve have joined a flower blog hop today. I’ll go there and find your your post.
Plus your nod, respect and appreciation Of A. Franklin, well done.
Thank you for the kind words. These flower blog hops are helping me while I try to gain my blogging mojo back. 😊
I think I will check that out. Been bloggin but not publishing. Have a cartoon about writers, I will post soon on writers who one day love what they wrote and the next day, well you know. 😀
😊 Indeed, I do.
thank you for that video!!!
It was our pleasure to share such an amazing performance. By the artist as well as the host. Gawd I miss that First Family!
that is a super plant and maybe the one for the mama with her black paws ;O) we are sad that aretha had to go… this darned C :o( but she is a legend and legends never die… we will remember her and her voice is with us…forever…
It’s definitely easy to grow-I never even planted it! Yes, Aretha was a legend. And her voice so empowering.