Night-flowering Catchfly and Hare-bell, Göteborg, August 14th, 2001

Night-flowering Catchfly
Silene noctiflora
Nattglim i november

Yesterday afternoon,
as we were looking
to re-find the Junglerice
among the other S-weeds
Erik drew my attention to this:
one closed flower of the Catchfly
- and suggested I go there
after dark, with a flashlight.
So I did:
past the dancing hiphoppers
and the local drunks,
and in spite of the streetlights
I could not remember
with enough precision
where it was.
But today the sky was heavy with rain
and dark enough for the Night-flower
to stay up until two in the afternoon


Campanula rotundifolia  
Blåklocka i juli, i september, i februari och i mars

Eva Ekeblad, 2001

   This collection of chopped-up Harebells was picked up from where it lay strewn across the lawn - today was Trimmer Day again: an interval of four weeks, which the single tuft of blue bells in the S-weed domain had used to come back strongly since last having all its heads lopped off.
   The space at the foot of the buildings is NOT a safe space for the S-weeds this summer - the side where the Harebell grows has been meticulously trimmed several times. At the same time, the opposite side of the same building has been neglected, to the benefit of Shepherd's-purse, Sow-thistle and Plantains. Evidently that side is off the beaten track for the Trimmer Man. Or else - I cannot help but imagine the mindset, where the destruction of something pretty gives the greater satisfaction... but this, of course, is nonsense.
   He is only doing his job, no doubt in a cost-efficient way.