Twilight (Verbascum thapsus), 2008

The common name for this plant is the Greater Mullein & greater it certainly is. This somewhat prehistoric looking specimen is around eight feet tall & has been in several of my photographs this year, although much smaller at the time. The small, sporadic, yellow flowers are really not much to look at ~ I'm mostly interested in the leaves, which are a beautiful shade of downy grayish-green & form a large rosette in the spring. This is what is known in horticultural circles as an architectural plant, in other words, a large plant with a strong, bold form that is used as a focal a point in the border. In this case (Mullein is a wildflower, though not rampant enough to consider a weed) I think it would be best in a wild border as it's not a particularly refined plant; as you can see, it gets a bit funky looking at the end of the season. I don't happen to mind that so much but that may be because I'm approaching late in the season myself &  getting a bit ragged around the edges… I can sympathize. 

A side note for you archeologists & Classics scholars: the Romans would strip the leaves, soak the dried tops in tallow & use them for torches, possibly in religious rites.