Maybe you have heard of purple loosestrife? It was originally a garden flower but it escaped from captivity and did so well in the wild that a few years ago it threatened to choke native growth out of the damp boggy ground it prefers. It was declared a noxious weed and people devoted their spare time to uprooting it. Finally a bug was identified that would eat it and not cause even more harm to the environment, the bug was released and the infestation has been reduced. There is still a lot around, however, especially in my Canadian shield environment where boggy ground and stream sides abound.
What the worriers missed, in my opinion, is that purple loosestrife is beautiful. Even one clump packs a punch; and seen against a green or blue background, with other flowers for contrast, it makes spectacular scenery. And so, to finish up the 'bold' keyword, here are three photos of a wetland near my home.
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All of these were taken using autofocus - it was really windy this morning and the vegetation was doing a lot of bending and waving.
