The Bloom of the Day for August 2nd, 2013 was Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare).
View the bloom of the day here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/botd.php?date=2013-08-02
August 2nd, 2013: Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare) by stevenova
Like the varrigated colors in the flowers.
So pretty! But a BAD idea here in Western Australia. We have a serious weed problem here with what we call "Paterson's Curse", a closely related echium that takes over pasture land. It looks so pretty carpeting the hillsides, but the poor horses have nothing to eat!
See attached images - just goes to show that a beautiful flower in the wrong place can be a curse!
Looks like someone threw cans of purple paint on the pasture.