Flower By Flower
Think about the names of wildflowers (even those we consider weeds) you have learned over the years. How many would you guess you know? 10? 20? Why are some so familiar, and others, visually recognizable, but name unknown. The buttercup, for instance, has been put under millions of tiny chins to check for the victim’s love of butter. The daisy has had its petals pulled one by one only to break the heart of the person holding the lone petal that “loves me not.” For each of us, there is that memory that forever holds the name of the flower in our hearts. One puff on the dandelion –endears the child to its magic explosion.
But there are so many more that go nameless. One look at a botanical website listing the wildflowers for each state will make it painfully clear how many we are missing.
The best way to approach this for child or adult is to focus on one flower and learn all there is to know about it. Looking around, yellow dots the Connecticut roadsides this month. I plan on learning about each yellow wildflower, flower by flower. Won’t you join me?
Read More About It:
A Little Guide to Wild Flowers, by Charlotte Voake, April, 2007; Transworld Publishers.
