Saturday 26 April 2014

In the garden . . .


 photo bleedingheart_zps829912bb.jpg

The Bleeding Heart bush is blooming in our garden now.  It's  branches arch just so . . .  dripping with little pink hearts . . . one can almost hear them tinkling in the wind like a delicate chime . . . they have a story to tell it seems . . .

 photo Heart_zps80c6bb29.jpg

As is the common name, the botanical name of this plant is aptly descriptive - Dicentra, from Greek, meaning "two spurs," and spectabilis, meaning "worthy of notice," or "spectacular," which this plant certainly is.

No other plant bears perfect heart-shaped flowers like those of the Bleeding Heart. If you press the flowers between the pages of a heavy book, you'll have papery-thin little hearts to adorn letters or valentines. If you turn a flower upside down and pull the two halves apart, you'll see a lady in a pink bathtub, or perhaps you'll see a white lyre with slender strings of silk . . .

 photo hearts_zpsc29716f9.jpg

There is, they say . . .  contained within it's heart . . .  a tragic tale of unrequited love . . .


Long ago there lived a noble prince who tried in vain to win the heart of a very beautiful princess. The prince had brought the princess wonderful gifts from his travels far and wide. Yet she had taken no notice of him. One day the prince returned from a long journey with very special gifts to surely win the love of the princess. First he presented her with two magical pink bunnies.

 photo 3_zpsb01fefcd.jpg

The princess only sighed and barely looked at the little bunnies. The hopeful prince had one more gift saved for last - he presented a pair of beautiful enchanted earrings.

Again, the princess hardly noticed the prince's gift. Now the poor prince was utterly heartbroken. He could try no more to win the heart of the princess. He rose up, pulled a dagger from his sheath and stabbed himself in the heart.

 photo 1_zpsd286116f.jpg

The princess was overcome by the dedication of the dying prince and his unending love for her. She realized too late that she loved him also. "Alas," she cried out. "I have done wrong, my own heart is broken also. I shall bleed for my prince forever more!" And her heart bleeds to this very day.

You can take the petals from a bleeding heart and separate them into the various things . . .  first peeling off the two outer pink petals and laying them on their sides, where they are said to resemble perfectly two pink little bunnies . . .  and then inside two slender dangling white earrings . . .  and at the very centre of the flower, a small heart with a green dagger like stamen protruding.  I could not bring myself to pluck a blossom from it's stem to show you, so you will have to take my word for it . . .

I love folklore and whether it is true or not . . .  there is an unsung mystery at the heart of every flower, a story which begs to be told and to be heard . . .

My favourite one is the story of the forget me not, which are also blooming now . . .

 photo forgetmenot_zps5acc01c3.jpg

It is said that in the act of creation our Heavenly Father had finished creating and naming all of the flowers, except for one small blue bloom, who delicately whispered to him . . .  "Oh Father . . .  Forget me not."  And that is how it got it's name.

I love that thought and every time I look at the small blue petals of a forget-me-not, I remember that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me by name and loves me . . . and who will never forget me.

A thought to carry with you through today . . .

(¯`•´¯)☆
*`•.¸(¯`•♥•´¯)¸.•♥♥•
☆ º ` `•.¸.•´ ` º ☆.¸.☆¸.•♥♥•¸.•♥♥•¸.•♥♥•

"It is the LORD who goes before you. 
 He will be with you; 
he will not leave you or forsake you. 
Do not fear or be dismayed.”
~Deuteronomy 31:8

º ☆.¸.☆¸.•♥♥•¸.•♥♥•¸.•♥♥•º ☆.¸.☆¸.•♥♥•  

 photo SAM_4261_zps5672d843.jpg 

Cooking in the English Kitchen today . . .  Gingerbread, White Chocolate Chip and Raspberry Jam Sandwich Cookies.  Sooooooooooooooo good!  

Have a wonderful Saturday!

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░L░O░V░E⊰✿⊰✿⊰✿⊰✿⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ 




 

11 comments:

  1. What beautiful stories Marie. Thank you for brightening my evening.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's why I do it Suzan, to bring some light (hopefully) into each life I touch. You make me smile. xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Our bleeding hearts have started to bloom too. Spring is finally here and although it's still cool, it's not freezing and a few warmer days brought forth a lot of color. Hope you have a super Saturday!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ours are just poking..the FMNs are green but no blooms yet..Your photos are great!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I dare say it won't be long now Pam before we are all complaining it's "too hot!"

    Thanks Monique! I can't wait to see some photos of your garden coming alive!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What beautiful tales, Marie. I love the folklore associated with flowers - it's always so dascinating. My gran was one for stories about fairies and bluebells etc and I loved to hear her talk about it all.

    We have the first forget-me-nots flowering, but no bleeding heart for at least 4 weeks or so. Here they are called Löjtnantshjärta (Lieutenant's Heart). Warm and sunny here at the moment (the breeze still has a nip in it and the mornings are frosty). I hope you have a lovely weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Two peas in a pod Marie, and not only in name! I am sure there must be a story behind them being called Lieutenant's Heart. I would love to know what it is! You have a lovely weekend as well! xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just popped over to see what was doing in your corner of the world, and see your blog has a whole new look. Very nice. And I've enjoyed these two beautiful tales too. (((HUGS)))

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you Susan and Sandra! I'm so glad you could join me! I was missing you. xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Marie The bleeding heart is my favorite flower. We lost ours a few years ago when we had a house fire and that part of the garden was dug up. I always meant to buy another to replace the one I lost and just never did. This past week our oldest daughter bought me one for mother's day. It is beautiful. I never knew the folk story behind it before...so was happy to hear this.
    Thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete

Your comments mean the world to me, and while I may not be able to address each one individually, each one is important to me and each one counts. Thanks so much!