Fireweed by our house

I pulled out most of the fireweed around our house in the last however many years. Still, some remains. It is actually a wonderful, beautiful flower, enormous from Emilie's perspective, but it is definitely a weed if unchecked.

Interestengly, in czech, my dad said its name is Vrbovka Uzkolista, or willow-like narrow-leafed plant, nothing in the name implying weed-like properties. But the leaves are willow-like. And that property apparently made it into english also, based on this page, which lists synonyms as Willow herb, or great willow herb, in addition to translations in a bunch of languages including greenlandic. I may have to ask in Barrow next week if they have the same name for it.

Here is the fireweed by our house:

Sonja was patient with me trying to take a picture. I asked her to grab the plant (thinking she will reach up to show how tall it is), but instead, she grabbed it and yanked it down to her level...and made a nice mask out of it.


Emilie, picking our first raspberries, was dwarfed by the fireweed behind her in our driveway.