Spiderwort

It has been a gloomy May, with rain almost every day. Some plants offer up a few soggy flowers while others seem to be waiting for bluer skies and drier days. So this clump of spiderwort was a welcome surprise. Also known as dayflower, Job's tears or spider lily, Native Americans ate the leaves, brewed a tea that alleviated stomach aches and used the plant to make a poultice that calmed insect bites. This variety, with it yellow and chartreuse leaves, is new to me. How nicely those leaves set off the blue-purple flowers. It’s a lesson in the eloquence of complementary colors. the three-petaled blooms last just one day, but how brilliant they look against those leaves.