Through out the summer I have been watching several pokeweed plants grow along a nearby fence. Earlier in the season the owners of the property burned the newly emerging pokeweed to the ground. I was flabbergasted! Why in the world would anyone do that, I thought! I look forward to seeing this marvel of a perennial during the summer. It's large leaves grow from a thick magenta colored stalk and produce unusually large clusters of berries. When ripe, the berries are dark purple with a bright cerise colored juice. I can't resist picking a few berries and squishing them between my fingers exposing the beautifully intense color! After some research, I learned that not only are the berries poisonous but the plant is quite invasive. No wonder the owners of the fence row tried to eliminate it! They didn't win that battle though- the pokeweed is thriving.

Photos were taken on a watercolor stained board using the light of a prism as an accent. The aged look was achieved using an app called Pic Grunger.