FOXGLOVES

O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell,

Let it not be among the jumbled heap

Of murky buildings: climb with me the steep,-

Nature's observatory-whence the dell,

In flowery slopes, its river's crystal swell,

May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep

'Mongst boughs pavilioned, 

where the deer's swift leap

Startles the wild bee from the foxglove bell.

But though I'll gladly trace these scenes 

with thee,

Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,

Whose words are images of thoughts refined,

Is my soul's pleasure; and it sure must be

Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,

When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

--- John Keats

My 4 foxgloves I planted last year (there's a yellow one on the left side not seen) finally blooming this year !   I would love to have a long flower bed with these along the back.

Foxgloves in a Mendocino garden.