Day 293: We've all had an experience where we saw someone we were sure we recognized, but couldn't remember where we might have seen them. It happens quite frequently when that person normally wears a uniform and we encounter them in street clothes. They're out of context, effectively disguised as a civilian.
A few days ago, a Parkie friend stopped by to drop off some salad greens she'd grown, and I took advantage of the occasion to show her my garden which, incidentally, isn't at its best right now, thanks to another round of 90° temperatures. As we reached the kitchen end of the east bed, I pointed to the plant in the photo and said, "Don't ask me what that is. It was the only thing which sprouted out of a packet of 'bee flower' seeds."
She looked at it thoughtfully and replied, "It looks kinda like Phacelia."
I said, "Yeah, I thought so, too."
Well, d'uh! I know Phacelia. It's a common plant in our subalpine meadows. Ours are either blue or white, and are easily recognized by the long stamens. That said, they are not something I think of as a "garden plant," and therefore it never occurred to me that my "bee flower" (a favourite with the Bumbles) could be a tame variety of the Phacelias I see in the Park. Indeed, the leaf of this particular one is definitive. It is Phacelia tanacetifolia, the "Phacelia with tansy-like foliage." It just looked different out of uniform.
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