seeds of inspiration

My butterfly weed recently went to seed. It's more of a wildflower than a civilized garden flower but I love it all the same. And it did live up to its name, attracting beautiful butterflies on a regular basis. The seed pods are long and thin, just like the leaves on the plant (what good design!). They break open and an army of parachuting seeds jump out and head into the wide world. The fuzzy white part looks very much like dandelions but on this plant you can actually see the brown seeds attached to the bottom. 

Such an optimistic way of reproducing – tossing your babies out into the wind with good wishes and high hopes, expecting they will land somewhere new and make the best of it. Perhaps not so different from parenting after all.