[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ountain City became a winter wonderland during the recent hard freeze, with icicles putting on spectacular shows. And, quietly, where the “frost weed” (Verbesina virginica) grows, magical and mystical ice flowers appeared.
A Wildflower Center educational email appeared as a freeze warning occurred the first week in January. It starts with, “Like nature’s popsicles, frostweed ice shows up during extreme weather and never fails to delight the senses. Learn more about this fascinating floral phenomenon and prepare to see it yourself.”
RonTom and I look early on freezing mornings, before the sun rises high in the sky, to take in the spectacular beauty that occurs at the base of “frostweed” plants. The ultra-delicate ice formations take on lovely and differing shapes of flowers and ribbons.
