Brown Eyed Susans

When I saw these yellow daisys I had to stop and take a picture. Their bright cheerful color seems to radiate happiness. The lady of the house was watering the lawn and when I told her I liked her flowers she laughed and told me they grow like weeds. What could be better than a plant that likes the sun and heat and self-seeds itself each summer.

Brown-Eyed Susan is a smaller cousin to the sunflower. It is native to North America and can be found from Canada to Mexico. It grows all over the country and is the state flower of Maryland. As the sun passes across the sky the flowers turn to keep their faces towards the light. I suppose that habit as well as their round yellow face is why they are known as sunflowers.

American Indians used Brown-Eyed Susan for herbal medicine. It was used as a poultice for snake bite and a tea for colds. The tea was also used to wash sores and juice from the root was used to treat ear aches. All that and they are nice to look at.