Tuesday’s Plant Talk with
Stretch
In researching this plant,
I found two different stories about where this flower originated. Again, it’s
those ancient Greeks who invented the stories. I don’t know how they found the
time to build all those monuments like the Parthenon when they were sitting
around telling stories all the time, but here’s what they had to say about the
crocus:
The first story I found
said that a guy named Crocus was playing around tossing a discus back and forth
with his friend Mercury. One of Mercury’s tosses hit Crocus in the head and
killed him. Three drops of blood that spilled on the earth from his wound
transformed into a small flower, so Mercury named the flower Crocus in honor of
his friend. (Note to Mercury and Crocus—a Frisbee would have been a better
choice than tossing a heavy discus.)
The second story says that
Crocus fell in love with a Nymph named Smilax. They had a brief love affair but
Smilax got tired of Crocus (probably after he started snoring on the couch and
forgot to take out the garbage) so she put a spell on him and turned him into a
flower.
I also discovered that the
violet crocus is the source of Saffron, the most expensive spice in the world
today. Here’s a fact for my Human Sidekick who is crazy about monkeys: The
harvest of saffron is portrayed in palace frescoes in Minoan Crete that show
young girls and monkeys picking crocuses.
I got excited when I read
about this, thinking I had a gold mine in my violet Crocus plant, but then I
read further and discovered that it takes 4,000 dried Crocus stigmas to yield
one ounce of saffron. So I guess I’ll just have to keep using my Human Sidekick’s
credit card to buy my plants for this blog. And now I have to go stop her from
banging her head against her monitor. . .
Dear Stretch,
ReplyDeleteNice story about the Greeks ... except how does 3 drops of RED blood grow into flowers that are blue, violet, yellow, etc. BUT NOT RED???
Your plants are lovely ... I would really like to compliment you on your green thumb, but ... bears don't have thumbs ... so what part of you is green?
BTW, of all mythology my favorite is the discover and history of Minoan Crete ... especially the labyrinth ... which I understand is a lot of bull. ... but Theseus took care of him with a little help from Ariadne.
Well, gotta run and go smell the Lilacs ... too early to smell the roses.
I can't answer your question about how 3 drops of red blood grow into different colored flowers. That makes about as much sense as playing Frisbee with a discus. I think those Greeks were a bit confused about some things.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your appreciation of my gardening abilities. I don't think any part of me is green, at least I've checked in the mirror and nothing shows up green. If I do notice anything turning green, I will be sure and let you know.
Enjoy those lilacs, it's too early for them to bloom here, so I'll just have to be content with my crocuses this week.