The Year of the THISTLE

This year we made a summer hiking trip to Scotland, where we walked the West Highlands Way.  When we returned home, a massive thistle had overtaken much of our backyard.  At last count, this beautiful plant had grown to a height of ten feet and an estimated diameter of fourteen feet!  It is making hundreds of fist sized purple blooms, followed by puffs of white seeds which will spread this massive strain throughout the neighborhood.

Oh yes, the Thistle is the national flower of Scotland!