Summer Flowers On Irish Country Road

This road, in the hills above Lissycasey, County Clare, Ireland, is a popular route for equestrians and hikers alike.

The bright purple flowers are Foxglove, also known as “Fairy Thimbles,” a biennial native of Ireland that generally blooms from June to August.

Ironically, this plant is poisonous — but it contains digitoxin and digoxin, both substances used in heart medications.

In some parts of Ireland, they were considered unlucky flowers, not to be brought indoors.