49. Meadow flowers 2 - meadowsweet and purple loostrife

Down by the lochán one of my favourite plant combinations is in bloom - the creamy-white flower-heads of meadowsweet intermingled with the elegant spikes of purple-loosestrife. They are the tall, stylish fashionistas of late summer meadows, commonly growing together as they both like damp soil. Here they are nestled along the edge of the lochán with rushes to their left and iris leaves on their right.

Meadowsweet lives up to its name. Its strong scent led to its use as a strewing herb, spread on floors to freshen and perfume a room. Eventually, science caught up with tradition and found that meadowsweet contains salicylic acid which is a natural disinfectant. The common drug asprin is derived from the salicylic acid found in another plant of damp soil, willow.  But today the cure for my slight headache is visual, not herbal, and instead I will watch the bumble bee - just visible on the tallest loosestrife - as it bumbles around, enjoying the flowers.