Sweet William

By Christine Tailer
HCP columnist

We now know the story of Sweet William and his love for Black Eyed Susan, and how he grows nearby in the field where she stands. 

I did not know when I first wrote about Black-Eyed Susan, that by the time she flowers, Sweet William had been patiently waiting, and already dressed in his beautiful lavender petals, flowering for months. He begins to blossom in the early spring, and continues to do so well into the summer, unlike Black Eyed Susan who doesn’t bloom until mid-summer, and so William stands, waiting and growing taller and stronger and ever more handsome, as one season turns to another.

Sweet William, as his name implies, has a gentle, sweet scent, much like new cut hay. I know him as a purplish-blue wildflower, that I recognize as a kind of phlox, and knowing that he blooms in the early spring, I eagerly look for him when the creek valley begins to green. When I find him, I bend down, pick a small flowered sprig, and raise it to my nose. As with Black-Eyed Susan, I know just where to find him. He returns quite faithfully, year after year, to the same place. He is, after all, a perennial.

I have also learned that the creek valley is the perfect place for Sweet William to call home. He likes to set his roots in rich, yet rocky soil, in woods and thickets, beside streams or creeks, and even in bottomland fields. He grows well in both partial and full shade, but I have also found him sneaking out into full sunshine. And yes, like his true love Black-Eyed Susan, Sweet William is a native to the eastern United States.

He really is a true harbinger of spring, being among the very first wildflowers to bloom. He sets his first flowers when he is only a few inches tall, but as spring turns to summer, he continues to flower and grow, so that by mid-summer he can stand every bit of three feet tall. His stem is smooth and typically straight, without any branches. His narrow stalkless leaves, that taper to a point, grow along his stem at wide intervals, opposite each other, and at his crown, stands a branched cluster of flowers, that can actually range in color from a bluish purple, to a deep pink, and even fade away into almost white.

This past month the creek valley has been exceedingly dry. Water still flows across the creek rocks, but it is easy to step across from one side to the other. The leaves are already turning yellow and falling. The other day I went in search of Sweet William and I couldn’t find him in any of his usual haunts. Black-Eyed Susan still stood tall, but she was already looking tired. She seemed ready to join Sweet William in winter slumber.

I was sorry not to find Sweet William. I missed his dashing good looks, and gentle scent, and even though he may not possess any beneficial uses, it is my belief that he does have benefit, not only to my senses of sight and smell, but to my heart. When the season is right, all I need to do is walk through the creek valley to find him handsomely growing in the dappled sunshine. Black Eyed-Susan might be his true love, but I certainly count myself one of his most ardent admirers.