The Mighty Jungle

When I say our home in Brantford has an untended garden, I don't mean that as a bad thing. We have some beautiful rose bushes at the hidden side of our house that should be blossoming in a few months.

But having been left alone for the first three weeks of spring, our backyard has gone from a lawn flattened by a Canadian winter to a small jungle.

I found these flowers interesting.

With orange petals and a purple interior, it would seem that our backyard was once a maintained garden. Who wouldn't want these colourful buds popping up year after year?

I'm probably wrong, and I plan to investigate this when flowershops are open on Monday, but I believe that this is a Thistle - yes, those common prickly weeds - in full bloom.

I've seen pictures of flowering thistles, and these look almost nothing like them. Yet the inner purple part (the stigma?) and lower prickly weed part seem similar, the large orange petals are unique.

If anyone knows what this plant is, post a comment!

I'll post updates if I learn more.


--
D. Phillips