Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

Woke up to pouring rain here in the Pacific Northwest, which is usually the norm in Spring, but we had been lulled into a feeling of summer when we enjoyed 2 full weeks without that WET STUFF. It finally quit raining this afternoon, so I ventured out for anothe flower walk around my neighborhood. I found a beautiful foxglove in my neighbors garden.

Here is a little bit of information about this beautiful flower...
Foxglove is a bienneial plant with soft, hairy, toothed, ovate and lance-shaped leaves in a basal rosette. The life span of the plant is 2 seasons. The first year growth remains in a basal rosette of leaves. Second year growth produces flowering stems, 3 -6 feet in height. Flower spikes have purple to white spotted thimble-like flowers which hang down and last about six days.
The earliest known name for this plant is the Anglo-Saxon "foxes glofa" (the glove of the fox). It derives its name from the flowers which resemble the fingers of a glove and possibly from a northern legend that bad fairies gave the blossoms to the fox to put on his toes, so that he might soften his tread while he hunted for prey. First year growth has been mistaken for Comfrey (Symphitum officinale) with fatal results. Although, ingestion of this plant can be fatal at any time during the life of the plant, it is most toxic just before the seeds ripen. The upper leaves of the stem are also more toxic than the lower leaves.