Foxglove and a Fox: A True Tale Mixed With Some Folklore

So I'll tell you the true part first. About five or six years ago, there was a foxglove I planted in the wrong place. When later I wanted to attack with the weedwacker, I moved the foxglove plant into the large flower garden at the side of the house. I thought it died. It was a no-show for years, but one year it popped up, but didn't bloom. I forgot about it, then.

But Voila!...a couple of weeks ago, there it was--the old foxglove plant. I wasn't sure until yesterday when it flowered. Now there was no doubt about it.

Now the weird thing--I was sitting here pecking away after my workout when our GSD has a conniption of such large proportion that I thought she'd take out the window. Jumping to my feet, I caught sight of a quickly moving dog-like animal, moving so fast I couldn't tell if it was a large fox or a small coyote.

So the fuzzy part derives from when I looked up the Foxglove plant, which is indeed linked to the fox. There is a myth, handed down to us from the English Middle Ages, which says the fox steals the blooms and puts them on his feet so that he can slip quietly into the henhouse. Yeah, well don't believe it then. I do.

Anyway, the Fox Glove and the Fox were in idyllic environments, as both foxes and fox gloves like to make their homes on wooded hillsides, such as the one that slope away from the house.

The other thing I learned about Fox Glove is that the Latin name for it is Digitalis Purpurea. Fox Glove is a poison, but it is also a medicine, used to stimulate the heart.