It is mid-May. Spring is in full force. Buttercup, thimble berry, herb robert bloom. This is a cloudy, drizzly week, with intermittent sunshine. Perfect for working the garden. Potatoes and onions grow vigorously. I’m clearing a patch for American Giant sunflowers and corn. However, the packet of American Giant sunflower seeds warms me that they can reach 16 feet. “A perfect living wall,” the packet says.

“Cut the fresh flowers in the morning, just after they open,” the packet instructs. But if the flowers are up there, 16 feet high in the sky, that will be a feat to perform. But that will be a mid-August problem, not a mid-May one.

Herb Robert – a rather poetic name for a plant. Geranium robertianum, a species of wild geranium with small pink flowers and a strong, somewhat unpleasant odor. My name for it is stink weed.

Some say the name comes from Robert of Molesme (1028-1111), a French abbot and founder of the Cistercian order. He had extensive herbal knowledge and healing, and many thought the plant had medicinal properties, particularly for wounds and infections.

Some say it is from the Latin ruber which means red.

I’ll go with the Robert of Molesme version.

Here is the Molesme Abbey in Molesme, France. Founded in 1075 by Saint Robert of Molesme. When I looked up the name of the little purple flowers I call stink weed, the last thing I expected to be looking up is an abbey in a small town in eastern France.

I do love thimble berries. The bushes can take over, but the white flowers are worth it. The pink, fragile berries divine, a July delight to look forward on this day in mid-May.