07/20/2026
A Weekend Discovery
This morning's chore was simple enough: mow the lawn.
As I worked my way around the yard, I came across a patch of tiny white wildflowers growing where the grass had thinned. My first instinct was to mow right over them. They were, after all, "just weeds."
Instead, I stopped.
A closer look revealed that they were likely native fleabane, a wildflower that has been part of the New England landscape for thousands of years. It made me wonder how many generations of people have walked this same ground while these little flowers quietly returned each summer.
Later, another discovery caught our attention. Growing just outside the back door, in the area where we have often wondered if the original kitchen garden may have been located, is what appears to be white horehound, a medicinal herb commonly found in colonial gardens. We cannot say it has been here since the seventeenth century, but it is fascinating to imagine that someone living in the Loring House centuries ago may have stepped outside this same door to gather horehound for a home remedy.
One of the unexpected joys of caring for an old house is that history isn't confined to the beams and fireplaces. Sometimes it is found beneath your feet, growing quietly in the lawn or along the edge of the garden, waiting for someone to notice.
It turned an ordinary Saturday morning into a reminder that old houses still have stories to tell.
