Digital Photograph - Chicory

A Chicory Blossom

A field of Chicory

What is that old saying "you can not see the forest for the trees". I sort of felt that way when I discovered this field of Chicory. It was a sight to behold. I have always been fascinated by this plant. You seeing it growing along the road, don't think much about it? Long ago when I was married to my first husband we bought this wonderful little farm. Outside our fence, along the road grew these wonderful blue plants. I decided one day to transplant some into my flower garden. One of our neighbor farmers stopped and asked me what I was doing with those weeds and he had some if I wanted them. We both laughed and on he went. I decided to read up on them and see what the big joke was. The joke was on him.

You see the Native Americans used the flower as a dye, the root they dug and ground up and boiled and drank. It tastes a lot like coffee and has quite a bit of caffine in it. They use it now to flavor coffee and gum. The plant itself they used as a poltice for bee stings or to use as a salad. They fed their horses the plant to keep them free of worms. That little blue weed is actually something else. Quite remarkable.