Cicely Mary Barker's Jack-go-to-bed-at-Noon Fairy


I'll be asleep by noon!
Though bedtime comes so soon,
I'm busy too.
Twelve puffs!-and then from sight
I shut my flowers tight;
Only by morning light
They're seen by you.

Then, on some day of sun,
They'll open wide, each one,
As something new!
Shepherd, who minds his flock,
Calls it a Shepherd's Clock,
Though it can't say "tick-tock"
As others do!


 
Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon or Goat's Beard (tragopogon pratensis)

Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon has large yellow flower heads that bloom from June through July, followed by seeds similar to that of a dandelion.  It gets its name because of it's habit of opening its blossoms at dawn and closing them again at midday. It can be collected from the wild or easily grown in a kitchen garden.

Boiled and buttered, the young stalks can be eaten like asparagus. Medicinally, an infusion of petals is said to lighten freckles.

Want to plant Goat's Beard? 
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