Lunaria pods

Lunaria flowers started to fade in May and its seed pods started forming. Here they are today.

I've seen the purple blossoms of "Honesty" around town in April. A plant here and there. In field-like vacant lots, mixed in with the landscaping around houses.

But, no where have I seen a deep hedge of it except for along the west side of my neighbor's house. This is the side that faces our driveway which is along our house. It's her, I'm convinced, who introduced this invasive plant to our neighborhood and to the hill behind both our houses. She's very ready to kill any scoundrel weed on her lot, but the lunaria, considered a weed to some, she lets thrive. Probably because she planted it there.

I don't have any hard feelings toward her about it. It is a beautful plant. The purple flowers glow in the darkness under the not-even-dappled-light canopy of trees on the L Hill. They are cheery against the neighbor's pale blue house. In May, the seed pods start to form, and this is what people are after, I think. They are alienesque oval things. Transluscent, dark green and purple when they first start forming and then more pale green and even dusky in early summer. At this point, you can see the small seeds in the pod connected to the rim with fine umbilical cords.

The seeds are mature when the pods are pearlescent and the seeds are black. The display lasts through the fall and into the winter until they're torn up by the weather.