How could I help it? It was showing off. I had the time and I took it. I drove the back logging road to find the location of the new paintball arena when I noticed the foxglove dazzling in all its glory. The light hit it just right to accentuate the outlines. The colors shone through the oval flowers shaped like a bell with glistening light penetrating the curves. Beautiful to behold. I pulled out my camera and attached a lens while my mind raced to imagine who I would share it with.

The plant cannot help but attract attention including that of the Camp Howard campers. Built into our summer talks include not touching the foxglove because it is used in heart medicine and will make your heart race. One camper over my many years with the camp needed to experience it himself so he rubbed the foxglove with his hands and licked it with his tongue resulting in a trip to the doctor. Somehow, retelling that story seems to be enough for the rest of the campers and I think they don’t want to give up any camp time.

The beautiful magenta foxglove created a speckled exhibit of color and glow at Camp Howard early June 2026