Dogwood. Bee balm. Fox Glove. Forget-me-not. Did you ever wonder where those names came from? Well, let me enlighten you.
Dogwood: What in the world does Dogwood have to do with dogs? Most likely, this naming has to do with the hardness of the wood. There is an old English word, "Dagwood." The slender stems from the tree were used as "dags." Daggers, skewers, and arrows. Sometime in the early 1600s, dagwood was changed to dogwood.
Bee balm: Sounds like it's something for the bees themselves. But if you notice, this plant doesn't attract bees at all! There is a resin derived from the plant which can be used for soothing bee stings.
Foxglove: This one actually comes from a fun story—a fox was having a hard time sneaking into the henhouse to grab a quick meal. A naughty fairy decided to help him out by slipping his paws into the glove-like blooms so he could silently sneak up on the chickens. (Look at the flowers, and you will see the fox's paw prints.)
Forget-me-not: This is from a rather sad story. A lover trying to cross a river to reach his sweetheart gets swept away by the currrent, but manages to grasp some flowers on the bank to throw to her as he calls, "Forget me not!"
What do you think of these names? Are there any other flower names you're wondering about?
Fun flower names. Bee Balm is so obvious that its hiding in plain sight. Good to know! :D
ReplyDeleteForget me not is called that in my language as well, but translated.
ReplyDeleteDear Sherry, your photos are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI am not good with knowing names of plants and flowers, I am much better at identifying animals. Thank you so much for 😊 💓
I love this! I will add this to my wealth of knowledge that I can share and make people wonder why I know it!
ReplyDeleteVery fun. I'm always just saying "the purple one" or "You know, that yellow flower". Language is amazing and the stories behind words...wow.
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