True blue forget-me-not flowers and related folklore

Forget-me-not flowers, from Les Fleurs Animées, by J.J. Grandville (1803-1847)

The dainty, true-blue Forget-me-not flower, or Myosotis, is a European native now naturalized throughout much of North America, including spots in my garden.

The name comes from the Ancient Greek μυοσωτίς “mouse’s ear”, which the foliage is thought to resemble.

This harbinger of spring and member of the Borage family, prefers moist habitats and spreads prolifically in partial shade along the edge of a woodland.

Once planted, they’ll likely always be there! They self-seed readily, but they’re easily removed if one feels they’re starting to take over the garden, tho’ I can’t imagine anyone feeling that way.

Rogelio de Egusquiza, Tristán e Iseo (La vida) 1912

Medieval folklore tells us the tale of a knight errant and his lady-faire who walked along a river.

That gentleman bent down to pluck a bouquet of these flowers for his lady-love, only to lose his footing on slippery rocks. He fell into the river and the weight of his armour was too much. It pulled him underneath the watery depths.

It’s said that his last words cried out to his damsel, before being claimed by the depths was, “Forget-me-not”!

In a similar tale, a young couple, on the eve of being married, walked along the banks of the Danube. The bride-to-be saw one of these lovely flowers floating on the waves, which seemed ready to carry it away. She spoke of her admiration for the beautiful flower and her regret for its destiny.

Her husband-to-be, induced by love (and probably wanting to impress), gallantly stepped into the water to retrieve the coveted blue flower.

He grasped the flower but unfortunately he sank into the watery depths, but made one last effort to throw the flower upon the shore at the moment of disappearing for ever, where he exclaimed, “Virgils mich nicht” since which time this flower has been made emblematical, and taken the name of Forget-me-not.”

Because of this, it’s fairly obvious why one of the main meanings for the forget-me-not in Victorian floral language concerns ‘Love in absence’.

To this day, the forget-me-not is given to someone who you hope will keep you in their thoughts. A lovely little reminder for us all.

“That name it speaks in accents dear
Of love, and hope, and joy, and fear;
It softly tells an absent friend
That links of love should never end;
Its whispers waft a swelling breeze
O’er hill and dale, by land and seas,
– Forget-me-not”

Sources

The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe; Fitter, Fitter, Blamey; Collins; 3rd edition 1978
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). “Myosotis sylvatica”. The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.
The Language of flowers. Publication date 1834, Osborn & Buckingham, New York
Harper Douglas, “Etymology of forget-me-not,” Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed April 24, 2022,
NBN Gateway.Myosotis sylvatica Ehrh. ex Hoffm. [Wood Forget-me-not], NBN Gateway. Retrieved 24/04/22
The sentiment of flowers; or, Language of flora, by Tyas, Robert, 1811-1879, Publication date: 1869

Sharing an Autumn Bouquet on #WordlessWednesday

The art of Canadian wild flowers

Irises and Lady slipper orchids

“Canadian Wild Flowers” (1868) was one of the first serious botanical works about nature and plant species in Canada 🇨🇦

Offering many beautiful lithographs of the wildflowers found in this country, this pictorial work written by Catharine Parr Traill & illustrated by Agnes Chamberlin, was a notable accomplishment for women at a time when we were largely unwelcome in a male-dominated scientific world. – The entire book is in the Public Domain and free to view online through the BHL digital library portal, with thanks to the Canadian Museum of Nature: HERE

A dose of art and the beauty of nature might help take our minds off the chaos currently taking hold of our world, if only for a little while. Stay safe, everyone.

Flower Language – the art of communication in a time of social distancing

Lily-of-the-valley

Within the context of the current chaos we face around the world, social distancing will likely be the way we communicate, at least for now, until this virus abates and is eradicated.

There are many ways we communicate. Along with speaking directly to one another, we have email, texting, social media, and even photography. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Hellebore

With respect to the thought of being isolated for the next while, I’d like to point out how nature and gardens have been a refuge for many in anxious times. Certainly they have been for me.

Further to the point of communicating, I’d like to touch on the language of flowers.

This form of connecting with one another was popular during the Victorian era, but actually goes back much further in time.

People have been using flowers as a way to convey an idea or a message for thousands of years.

Through a gift of single blossom, the person on the receiving end of that floral gift would know exactly what the sender was trying convey. Flowers have a vocabulary all their own.