A Valentine From the Farm 
What do our thoughts turn to at this time of year? Romance! Quite a game can be
played with the names of garden flowers on this theme. Sometimes, while weeding,
friends and I will make a game of plant names and end up with a serious case of
giggles. There are some sweet ones: Love in a Mist, Kiss me over the Garden
Gate, Heart's Ease, Love in a Puff and more. The newer names given to plants go
well beyond a giggle - more like a guffaw: Black Negligee, Great Expectations,
Striptease...You get the picture. You can even add Creme de Menthe or White
Perfume to heighten the delight.
But for an early-blooming romantic combination nothing can beat Bleeding Hearts
and Forget-Me-Nots.
Bleeding Heart (giggle #1) is also known as "Lady in the Bath". Now if you look
at a single flower of this plant, it certainly looks like a dripping heart. But
if you turn it upside down and pull it open a bit, you will see the lady in the
bath!
Almost everyone has heard the tale of the Forget-Me-Not. A young knight, picking
flowers for his love by the river bank, lost his footing and fell in! Before
actually drowning, he threw the bouquet to his love and called out "Forget me
not!" Well, quite a tale, but the Latin name is in fact (giggle #2)"mouse ear"
because of the leaf shape. Others called it "scorpion grass" because it was
supposed to cure scorpion bites.
You can read about plant names in Mary Well's book "100 Flowers and How They Got
Their Names". Better yet, give the book to a gardening friend for Valentine's
Day. This book is full of fact and fiction ...and plenty of giggles too!
Now, how about Midnight Wine, Sixteen Candles, Sexy Rexy and perhaps Afterglow?
Blush!!
