Floral Diversity: Transplant Flowers to Cure Homesickness

Florida was discovered by an explorer named Ponce de Leon. He named the state “Florida” which is the Spanish word for “flowers”, because, upon his arrival in this new land, he saw nothing but gorgeous flowers everywhere. I imagine one of the flowers must have been the hibiscus, a flower that grew in the front yard of my childhood home. In fact, as a kid, it seemed like this flower was everywhere!  We had hibiscus that grew in the front yard of my childhood home. Many hardy hibiscus are native to Florida; but for obvious reasons, the orange blossom was chosen as the state flower. But that's OK because ... the hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii. There are seven species of hibiscus native to this state. Also known as pua aloalo in Hawaiian, this flower represents royalty and communicated power and respect.

Image credit: glitter-graphics.com

When I moved from Florida to Texas, shortly after my arrival, I was in a store shopping for items for my new home. I overheard a lady talking to another lady. She said she had just returned to her home in Texas. She had been vacationing in Florida and she was so excited because she had found this wonderful flower! She said she just had to bring this gorgeous flower back home to Texas and plant it her garden.  Being from Florida, my curiosity was peaked. I wondered what Florida flower had impressed her so much. Turns out that it was the hibiscus.  Not surprised.

Links of Interest:

• Hibiscus Transplant Info - When And How To Transplant A Hibiscus
• Hibiscus Dying or Struggling? 7 Ways to Revive Your Plant
• Hibiscus Wilting After Transplant: What to Do - GFL Outdoors

The medicinal benefits of hibiscus tea are numerous; it can reduce the risk of cancer, help with weight loss and more.  However ... 

• CAUTION!  According to Medical News Today, hibiscus can interact with certain medications. For example, people who take chloroquine, a medication used to treat malaria, should not consume hibiscus because it may decrease how well the medicine works in the body.

I’ll never take the hibiscus flower from my childhood for granted ever again. In fact, if you ever relocate and feel a little homesick, try transplanting a flower that reminds you of the home you left behind.

If you have relocated to a new home, what are flowers that remind you of your childhood home?

♦

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Talented Photographers : Floral Diversity's Finest! Courtesy of Linda Stokes

Bakc in 2014, when the Google+ social network was still up and running, some Google Plussers were in a flower photo-sharing frenzy and I came across a lady, Linda Stokes, who shared photographs of floral diversity's finest!  What was even more amazing was ... the flowers grow in Oklahoma!  Sorry.  I grew up in Florida.  Florida!  The word literally means "abounding in flowers"!  I have never seen gorgeous blooms like these!  Oklahoma means "red people" (Choctaw words "okla" and "humma").  I'm perfectly OK with that.  (No pun intended.)  But these flowers are blue!! 

Electric blue lotus lily for #FloralFriday from a pond near Loco, Oklahoma.

The Stealth flower, blooming at night, near Loco, Oklahoma.

https://texaxwib.tumblr.com/post/705752241893736448/via-linda-stokes-on-instagram-reflection

Articles of Interest for Aspiring Photographers:

• The Photographer Who Captures Life's Beauty Without Hands or Legs(petapixel.com)
• How to Sell Photos Online: For Both Amateur and Pro Photographers(shopify.com)
• 10 Photography Lessons I've Learned Over 10 Years(digital-photography-school.com)

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Best cameras for newbie photographers

Floral Diversity: Why I Love the Jasmine Flower

There are three (3) reasons why I love the jasmine flower.

• Number 1: I love the fragrance.
• Number 2: When I lived in Miami, Florida, I had a Cuban friend named Jasmine (or Yasmin).
• Number 3: I like Disney Princess Jasmine.

Yasmin (Arab) or Yasamen (Persian) means “fragrant flower” and the name comes from the Persians and the Arabs.

Do you know how many types of Jasmine flowers there are? According to the Garden Lovers Club, even though there are 200 different species, you can narrow it down to ten (10) types.
1. Common jasmine
2. Arabian Jasmine
3. Asian Star jasmine
4. Cape Jasmine
5. Jasminum mesnyi
6. Night-Blooming Jasmine (Queen of the Night)
7. Pink Jasmine
8. Showy jasmine
9. Spanish jasmine
10. Winter jasmine

I am familiar with Cape Jasmine, but not by that name. What some people call Cape Jasmine, I call Gardenia.

The jasmine flower that I am most familiar with is Common Jasmine, which is a pretty star-shaped dainty little white flower that can make anyone's garden look amazing. This dainty little lady really gets around. “Originally native to Persia and Kashmir, and brought to Europe in quantities via Spain in the 17th century, Jasmine has a long and rich history in several cultures.”

~ The ancient Arabs believed that paradise must have been a place full of jasmine flowers.

~ Historical records indicate that the kings of Persia, Nepal, and Afghanistan had jasmine flowers planted around their palaces.

~ Arabian jasmine is the national flower of the Philippines.

~ Jasmine is also the national flower of Pakistan (but they call it Chameli).

~ In India, the flower is considered a sacred symbol of divine hope, good luck, and optimism. Many references are made to jasmine in the literature of ancient India. There is a reference to this flower in the Kamasutra as an aphrodisiac. It is used in Ayurvedic medicine for migraines, insomnia, and to treat certain skin infections.

~ In China, it represents feminine kindness, grace, and delicacy, and they believe it is a means to attract love and wealth. (In other words, it's an aphrodisiac.) The Chinese use it to scent their green tea and in Chinese medicine to treat headaches, bone pain, and insomnia.

~ In Thailand, it is the symbol of motherhood.

~ To the Indonesians, the flower represents purity, eternal life, nobility, and the beauty of a girl. It is often used in wedding ceremonies and it is a national flower.

~ For centuries, Spanish Jasmine has been cultivated in France and used to make perfumes, and it is vital to the French economy.

~ For commercial purposes (mainly the perfumery industry), jasmine is grown in Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria.

~ In Hawaii, jasmine is called pikake and the flowers are used to make leis or as a garnish for pastries; while the oil is used in aromatherapy.

~ While researching to prepare this article I learned about a movie called “Jasmine Flower” which stars one of my favorite Asian actresses, Joan Chen. Added to my watch list. Has anybody seen this movie?

Jasmine is called the King of Oils and the Queen of Flowers.

Both honors are fitting. Don't you think so?

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Floral Diversity: Let's Learn About the Hyacinth Flower

Two topics that a person can always seem to write about are food diversity and floral diversity. I decided to explore floral diversity and share the results.

The first flower that comes to mind that begins with the letter “h” is the Hibiscus flower because I grew up in Miami, Florida and almost everybody had these flowers in their yard.  But I have written more than enough about this lovely bloom from my childhood and published the writing at various social blogging and online writing communities. So I won't write another article about the hibiscus.

Instead I am going to discuss the Hyacinth.

Hyacinth
~ The fact that this is one of my favorite flowers has nothing to do with it being a flower. I love British comedy TV shows. There is one show called “Keeping Up Appearances” and the name of the main character is Hyacinth. The lady who plays the part is Patricia Routledge or should I say, Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, DBE. Evidently, she is a well-known comedic entertainer in the UK. I only know her from this television series and she is flipping hilarious! Because of her, the flower named hyacinth was added to my list of favorite flowers.

According to the Britannica Encyclopedia, this flower is native primarily to the Mediterranean region and tropical Africa. According to an article published via Old House Gardens, the hyacinth dates back to ancient antiquity and has made its way through gardens in ancient Greece and Rome, and into the Ottoman Empire and eventually into Western Europe. Here is an interesting fact gleaned from that article:

“There is convincing evidence that the hyacinth was cultivated by the Turks for both its fragrance and for ceremonial usage. On the death of Sultan Moerad III in 1595 his mourning son had no fewer than half a million hyacinths planted.”

I was required to learn the history of Western Europe in Catholic high school. But not much was ever taught about the Ottomans other than the fact they existed.

One must be careful because the hyacinth bulbs are poisonous. They contain oxalic acid and so you should handle them wearing protective gloves. The uncooked seeds are poisonous, however, the beans of these plants can be used in cooking. They can be boiled or roasted and you can find many Indian food recipes that use hyacinth beans. (Recipes.) As you can see by the featured image they are a marvelous ornamental flower. But they also have proven medicinal value. In addition to being used for beauty ~ skincare and hair care ~ it has been used to treat cholera, snake bites, and even STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). In traditional Chinese medicine, the beans are used to keep the spleen healthy.

There is a sad story in Greek mythology about a young man named Hyakinthos or Hyacinthus. That's how the flower got its name. As for its symbolism, it has come to “represent prayers, thoughtfulness, messages of hope and well-being”.

Interesting flower huh?


References:

Doerflinger, Frederick. “The Hyacinth Story.” Hyacinth History, Old House Gardens, 1989, oldhousegardens.com/HyacinthHistory. "from Adsurgens, the journal of Wycliffe Hall Botanical Gardens, 1989"

Gayatri. “11 Amazing Benefits Of Hyacinth Herb For Skin, Hair And Health.” STYLECRAZE, IncNut Digital, 6 June 2019, stylecraze.com/articles/benefits-of-hyacinth-herb-for-skin-hair-and-health/.

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