Photo of the Day: Monkswood, Hancock Shaker Village, MA

Monkswood, an herbaceous wildflowers, grows in mountain meadows in the Northern Hemisphere. Growing 2 to 4 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide, it sends up purple-blue flowers like this in late summer or early fall.

Come to think of it, that’s when I saw and photographed this particular plant—in late August 2017, to be exact, at Hancock Shaker Village in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. 

This former experiment in communal living, established in 1790 and active until 1960, now functions as a living history museum of this fascinating sect. Though buildings cover much of the grounds, this remains a working farm, with vegetables, herbs and a barn full of livestock. A visitor can spend much of the day here, and it would be time well-spent.