Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) is one of the most recognized Southern flowers, but we are more likely to see it while taking a leisurely Sunday drive, not strolling through gardens. This annual or biennial is an ancestor of cultivated carrots. It produces small, yellow, carrotlike roots that are edible. Some refer to this plant as "wild carrot."

But don't grow Queen Anne's lace to eat; grow it to grace your garden with lacy blooms. Few companies still sell the seeds because they're so easy to collect from wild patches. If you know someone who grows this prolific plant, ask if you can have a handful of seeds.

You can collect the seeds in late summer or fall, as soon as they have dried completely. Spent flowers curl up and form a dry, gobletlike ball. Inside the goblet are hundreds of tiny seeds that resemble little spiders.

Seeds may be sown in the early spring or in the fall. You can seed them directly in the garden in any sunny spot. The white blooms look at home scattered along a fencerow or in meadowlike settings. You can also start them in flats and later transplant them into your flower border.

These plants are tough and will survive in poor soil, but they prosper where the earth is loose, fertile, and well drained. Under ideal conditions, they can grow 4 feet tall. Plants that struggle due to droughts or poor soil may not do so well, reaching only 2 feet in height.