We often grow plants for their leaves–for example lettuce, spinach, basil and parsley yield delicious salad greens and herbs. In a typical growth cycle leaves and stems appear and then flowers, seeds, and sometimes fruit. Yet, when plants cultivated for leaves mature, we say they are ‘bolting’. For us, they are running out of control—in reality, they are bolting to their natural destiny.
This summer a few lettuce plants in my garden bolted so I decided to leave them to see what would happen. Oval green buds formed until one day little yellow flowers appeared. A quick internet search informed me that lettuce is a member of the Daisy family! Who knew? Here are a couple of haiku on the topic:
∼
salad shoots
turn to gold
sunshine
∼
unleashed
stems grow tender buds
bursting daisy stars
∼
©2016, Ontheland.wordpress.com
The current theme of TJ’s Household Haiku, posted every Saturday, is ‘Bud’.
Ontheland 
We also let the lettuce in our garden bolt and we did see the stars you have there. Perhaps next year, we do not need to plant seeds. The lettuce already did the work for us.
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Self seeded lettuce would be fun 🙂
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Lettuce and daisies–who knew? 🙂
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great to know 🙂
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Wonderful haiku Janice and a fascinating bit if information, I’ve learnt something.
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Thank you Denis … a learning for me too 🙂
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Janice, I never cease learning from you. I love the idea of ‘bolting’ plants and first had visions of them growing little feet and escaping down the garden! Great expression and then I couldn’t believe the flowering daisy flowers on the lettuce. A wonder and seriously, as you write so well, ‘potential unleashed’.
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Thank you Annika. Bolting is an interesting word, usually referencing something gardeners don’t want to happen but a totally different situation from a plant’s perspective (bolting plants could make a great cartoon with your image of little feet 🙂
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I had no idea lettuce was a member of the Daisy family!
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Such a scrumptious and delightful series.
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Thank you 🙂 scrumptious is a delightful word in itself 🙂
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I agree, the word itself can be so positive and inspiring.
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:))
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