Day 2- Cornflower contraband

To drive to my kids' school, I have 2 options.  One route, primarily on I485 and I85, is efficient, simple and quick.  The other route meanders through the Huntersville countryside, winds past the mammoth Metrolina greenhouses, and snakes down the often congested Poplar Tent road.  These days, I opt for the latter.  Why?  Yes, the goat farm is lovely, I love seeing the cow farm with its meadow full of buttercups, and I will never stop marveling at those greenhouses.

All of those landmarks are charming.  But they don't sway me to take country path.  I have seen them 100s of times.  In early April another charmer appears along the country roads.  Cornflowers.  I take the unpredictable route because of the cornflowers.
What in the ^&^*()*&%%&*& is a cornflower?  I remember being introduced to them in the Merchant Ivory film, A Room with a View.  Do you remember the cornflower scene? George and his father have been out walking in Italy and have brought home cornflowers.  They promptly pop in on the Miss Allens to share them.  They decorate their room with them and even toss some into the old maids' hair.  De.light.ful.

We might not have lavender fields in NC, but we have fields of cornflower.

I summoned my inner non-rule follower, stopped the car, and plucked these puppies right out of the ground.  Behold, cornflower contraband.

Beyond their electric blue color and wild beauty, it turns out that cornflowers are downright medicinal.  Read about the cornflower remedies here.