Despite this, I do hold a place in my heart for the black-eyed Susan, Maryland's state flower.
We've adopted it as our logo at Maryland Life, of course. We freely and eagerly use Rudbeckia hirta as a core element in our identity: as the doohickey that ends a story, on our letterhead, proposals, the hats I wear, the hats we sell in our online store. We once (and hopefully will again) produced black-eyed Susan seed packets that we’d hand to those who wanted a little black-eyed Susan goodness.
I can't think of something that seems, well, happier than a field of black-eyed Susans on a bright summer's day. It's a relaxed happiness, too. While there's a oneness in the colors -- rich, yellow petals surrounding a deep-as-night center (colors used in Lord Baltimore's coat of arms) -- the petals kind of hang there, relaxation amidst the unbearable heat of summer. Interesting, too, that at the height of summer, when our lawns look exasperated – as robust as stale shredded wheat – the black-eyed Susan shines as a beacon of the season.
When we first started the magazine, we created a concept cover -- a close-up of black-eyed Susans -- that we'd show at fairs and festivals throughout the state. Before we ever printed a page, we sold 2,000 subscriptions. To this day, I'm convinced that this concept cover was one of the main reasons.
What's funny is that this flower wasn't always so beloved, especially after it was first adopted as our state flower, probably because it wasn't a flower native to Maryland. The Sun once wrote, "Susan came to Maryland, not on the Ark or the Dove, but as a migrant from the Midwest mixed in clover and hayseed.”
Ouch.
Happily, in this instance, time has healed such animosity.
I've asked friends to send me pictures of their black-eyed Susans. I hope they brighten your day. If you have a picture of black-eyed Susans you'd like to share with others, please send them our way at editor@marylandlife.com or post them on our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/MarylandLife.
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