art :: more from the glass prairie
June 26, 2013
Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity. -- John Ruskin
Slowly the Glass Prairie grows. Here are two more flowers - Goat's Rue and Wild Lupine.
Each flower is made from hundreds of seed beads and wire using the French beaded flower technique.
I made each flower and leaf part separately before assembling them.
The etymology of lupine is Latin's "lupini" for "of or belonging to wolf" as the plant was considered invasive and
likely to ravage a hillside. A member of the legume family, the lupine seed pods are edible and are frequently
pickled, though those with allergies to peanuts should steer clear of them.
Goat's Rue, also known as Hoary Pea (I love these names!), is also a legume. Native Americans extracted
rotenone from the plant which was used as an insecticide and fish poison.
Both plants are easy to grow and would make showy additions to your prairie garden.
Thank you to Larry Sanders for the great photos!
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