Old Man's Beard

Clematis drummondi ((KLEM-uh-tiss drum-AWN-dee-eye)
common names are Old Man's Beard and Virgin's Bower
Photographed 2009-12-14 in West Odessa, Texas

I'm in love with this American native perennial, so very common in West Texas. But my affections took a while to develop.

I went many years without paying it any attention. The first time I recall seeing it, and wondering about it, was during autumn when it covers fences in a feathery but dull beige sort of way. I still had not begun to admire it. Not until becoming a digital photography enthusiast and not until taking photos of seed heads up close did I begin to count it among my plant favorites. Now, even when I see it from afar, climbing and cascading weedily, I feel the stab of knowing its immense beauty.

Most recently I've expanded to admiring its stems. They remind me of a starfish. That unusual intersecting design makes it a bit difficult to tease out a single stem to use, for example, in a fall native flower arrangement. Speaking from experience, that sort of jostling has the pitfall of dislodging many loose feathery seeds diminishing the desired effect. My advice for the would-be florist? Bring scissors.

A sampling of image links (all from my photo blog):

• Four more macro shots of the feathery seed heads I took recently.
• In October I brought some stems inside for a simple arrangement.
• September's seed heads fresh and green still.
• The diminutive but beautiful flower, taken in July 2007.