Meandering through old memories. What is nagging at my mind at the moment is the wind/wood anemone. Walking on a cold March day either at Blakes Wood in Essex or up near Langridge on the Lansdown. So it will be photo time, alongside the following blog I wrote a few years back. The older I get I can almost feel the pull of the flowers as they emerge in their allotted season. As I wandered through the photos, I am struck by the doggedness of plants, the primrose rising once more in a desert of brown earth, where trees had been logged. The old coppiced trees, not something we do nowadays. The jumble of greenery at your feet, bend down, see the heart shaped leaf of the violet or the delicate cut leaf of the wood anemone, and remember seeing these leaves on Japanese anemones or the jewelled coloured flowers you buy at certain times of the year.
"This photo shows the delicate wood (or wind) anemone with its finely dissected leaves, it nestles amongst dog mercury, a woodland plant which is supposedly an indicator of old woods. But it is the white starry anemone that is the subject. Apparently, according to Marjorie Blamey (The Illustrated Flora) there is a yellow one as well. It belongs to the somewhat larger family of pasque flowers, monkshoods and that dainty elegant flower of the garden - larkspur.
Grigson has many local names for the anemone, bread and cheese and cider, candlemas cap, chimney smocks, drops of snow, Moll o' the woods, moon-flower and so it goes on..
Its actual name of anemone is borrowed from the Greek legend of Anemone Coronia, because the flowers nod and shake in the wind, and the Greeks called it Daughter of the Wind.
And to pasque flowers, they have become garden flowers because of their beauty, pasque of course since it blooms at Easter, William Turner gives an apt description...
The firste of these Passe flowers hath many small leaves finely cut or jagged, like those of carrots; among which rise up naked stalkes, rough and hairie; whereupon do grow beautiful flowers bell fashion, of a bright delaid purple; in the bottom whereof groweth a tuft of yellow thrums (stamens) and in the middle of the thrums thrusteth foorth a small purple pointell; when the whole flower is past there succeedeth an head or knoppe, compact of many graie hairie lockes, and in the solid parts of the knops lieth the seede flat and hoarie, every seede having his own small haire hanging from it'
A concise description of a flower that I have never been able to grow, though it has acquired the name of Dane's Blood or Dane's Flower, (unusual beauty deserves unusal origins says Grigson) But it did grow on the Devil's Dyke and Fleam Dyke which were associated with the Danes."
January 9th was my birthday and Debby kindly sent me a birthday card which never turned up. Well yesterday it did, two months late but with this funny saying inside "May you never find frogs in your underpants".
Debby of course will not leave something that is not quite right and she had marched down to the post office to ask what had happened, she had had two letters not delivered to England. Relationships between the two countries broken down?;)
Anyway I remembered we had a similar phrase "mad as a box of frogs' which alludes to the erratic behaviour of frogs as they hop around. Apparently to the wise old god called Google it has been around for centuries but only emerged into common usage in the 19th century.
So in a pure childish mood and a dash of nostalgia I offer you Paul McCartney and 'The Frog Chorus - We All Stand Together' and who does not remember Rupert!
Glad you enjoyed it Pat. Must admit I didn't listen to it all the way through, but that Rupert book brought back memories of reading all my cousin's Rupert books.
I had never seen that video before, Thelma, so you surprised this old Beatles fan this morning! I have some daffodils and violets blooming in my garden. It's early for them but I still love to see the pops of color.
As the light lengthens so do the plants think it is time to make a showing Ellen. Before modern farming came in we had a countryside filled with wild flowers I expect.
I'm currently researching the use of frogs in medieval-Stuart medicine. I'm wondering if the saying, "May you never have frogs in your underpants" has a more serious message. When the court of Charles II was riddled with syphilis, it was common practice for the sufferers to be given dried frog skin to cover their genitals, so any lovers didn't have to gaze upon any nasty sores. If you know of any local "Frogwells", I'd be glad to hear about them as most villages seem to have had them.
I loved seeing your flowers. The card just tickled my funny bone, mostly because there is so much craziness in the world right now. It was a sincere hope, and one that I was fairly confident could come true...that you'd never have frogs in your underpants.
Yes Debby seeing the funny side of life is catching. And being a rabbit hole to go down and explore. Some years back I had come across the Trellyffaint toad, (which means home of the toad in Welsh) but it really alludes to a burial chamber that looks like a toad. The story that goes with it is about a local man called Sillius Long Leg who was plagued by toads and eventually eaten by them.
Hi Sarah, well in the area of 'sympathetic medicine' it is of course possible the 'scrofula' nature of the frog's skin would be like the nature of the human disease. Also of course when the British emigrated in the 17th century to America they could have taken this form of healing with them. I would probably disagree about frog wells though. Wells provide water, the frogs are just part of the natural surroundings. I am not very informed on the association of wells, most seem to have been taken up by Christian faith, with perhaps a Celtic influence from earlier times. But you have raised an interesting subject, I note from the listing of plants there is not much in the way of frog naming, 'Lords and Ladies' which has poisonous berries does have 'frog meat' as one of its colloquial names and is seen as sexual.
The return of springtime flowers, whether wild or cultivated is very reassuring. Never mind that some of those currently blooming [south-central Kentucky, USA] will undoubtedly be blasted by frost before the weather finally settles. Wild purple violets spread like weeds along the paths and edges of the gardens. I uproot them around each clematis vine or they would surely take over. It is the time of wild daffodils, brilliant even on a rainy day.
I think that magnolia bushes are prone to coming into flower to early in this country and being caught by the frost Sharon. I love the little violet, it is a reminder of old woodland here. When I was a child you could buy a small posy of them. Now it is all flowers from the hot corners of the world and of course Holland. Immaculate flowers that almost look plastic in their perfection.
Bliss that Paul McCartney Thelma - just listened to it twice -set me up for the day. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it Pat. Must admit I didn't listen to it all the way through, but that Rupert book brought back memories of reading all my cousin's Rupert books.
DeleteI had never seen that video before, Thelma, so you surprised this old Beatles fan this morning!
ReplyDeleteI have some daffodils and violets blooming in my garden. It's early for them but I still love to see the pops of color.
As the light lengthens so do the plants think it is time to make a showing Ellen. Before modern farming came in we had a countryside filled with wild flowers I expect.
DeleteI'm currently researching the use of frogs in medieval-Stuart medicine. I'm wondering if the saying, "May you never have frogs in your underpants" has a more serious message. When the court of Charles II was riddled with syphilis, it was common practice for the sufferers to be given dried frog skin to cover their genitals, so any lovers didn't have to gaze upon any nasty sores. If you know of any local "Frogwells", I'd be glad to hear about them as most villages seem to have had them.
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing your flowers. The card just tickled my funny bone, mostly because there is so much craziness in the world right now. It was a sincere hope, and one that I was fairly confident could come true...that you'd never have frogs in your underpants.
ReplyDeleteYes Debby seeing the funny side of life is catching. And being a rabbit hole to go down and explore. Some years back I had come across the Trellyffaint toad, (which means home of the toad in Welsh) but it really alludes to a burial chamber that looks like a toad. The story that goes with it is about a local man called Sillius Long Leg who was plagued by toads and eventually eaten by them.
DeleteHi Sarah, well in the area of 'sympathetic medicine' it is of course possible the 'scrofula' nature of the frog's skin would be like the nature of the human disease. Also of course when the British emigrated in the 17th century to America they could have taken this form of healing with them.
ReplyDeleteI would probably disagree about frog wells though. Wells provide water, the frogs are just part of the natural surroundings. I am not very informed on the association of wells, most seem to have been taken up by Christian faith, with perhaps a Celtic influence from earlier times. But you have raised an interesting subject, I note from the listing of plants there is not much in the way of frog naming, 'Lords and Ladies' which has poisonous berries does have 'frog meat' as one of its colloquial names and is seen as sexual.
The return of springtime flowers, whether wild or cultivated is very reassuring. Never mind that some of those currently blooming [south-central Kentucky, USA] will undoubtedly be blasted by frost before the weather finally settles. Wild purple violets spread like weeds along the paths and edges of the gardens. I uproot them around each clematis vine or they would surely take over. It is the time of wild daffodils, brilliant even on a rainy day.
ReplyDeleteI think that magnolia bushes are prone to coming into flower to early in this country and being caught by the frost Sharon. I love the little violet, it is a reminder of old woodland here. When I was a child you could buy a small posy of them. Now it is all flowers from the hot corners of the world and of course Holland. Immaculate flowers that almost look plastic in their perfection.
ReplyDelete