July Birth Flowers - Larkspur and Water Lily

Larkspur

Meaning: First things first: the Larkspur and the Delphinium are often mixed up. Though technically they are slightly different, the Larkspur is a name used to refer to both the Delphinium and Larkspur. They look so similar and have so many of the same properties that you generally have to look carefully at their blooms to tell them apart. Though both tower high with a generous plumage of blooms, the Delphinium blossoms look like double-layered stars, while the Larkspur blossoms sport a claw-like tail, or spur. (see below) Most Larkspur flowers are annuals, whereas their sister, the Delphinium, is a perennial. And even then, they are genetically related so closely that for all intents and purposes, they are classed together and often referred to interchangeably. But they are cousins, belonging to the genus Ranunculaceae. In fact, they are related to the buttercup family! When I was a teeny person, my mother’s nickname for me was “Buttercup,” and I have Delphiniums in my garden, so I like to think of it as is a fond tribute to our past together!

As far as the meaning of the flower, it has several different meanings: new chances, celebration, enjoying life, romantic attachment, and protection. But some say that the varying colors of the flower have different meanings, too, and while there are a host of differing opinions, largely, the white Delphiniums represent purity, the pink Delphiniums are associated with jealousy, and the blue Delphiniums represent nobility. (Phew – I have white and blue ones in my garden!)

Pink Delphinium with double star-like petals

Name Origin: The Delphinium flower got its name because of the appearance of its petals. In Grecian culture, they associated the shape of the petals on the Larkspur flower with dolphins, which is what “Delphinium” literally means.

But the Larkspur was named in the Tudor period, and because each flower petal has a single elongated petal, it bore resemblance to the spur of a knight’s armor, or the claw of a lark. So oh-so-cleverly, the two were combined into a name. (Isn’t it funny how names were so literally used and associated with objects or phenomena that already existed? I wonder, if we, in the 21st century had just discovered the flower, what we would call it?)

History: In Greek mythology, the very first Delphinium bloomed after the battle of Troy in the pool of blood where Ajax the Great took his own life. The genus is native to the Mediterranean, but in the 1500s was introduced to Europe. Soon it grew wild on the roadside. There is evidence that by 1572, the Delphinium was brought to America and cultivated in gardens. In fact, in the 1700s, they were extremely popular in cottage gardens. They lost their popularity over the next several centuries, but the last 20 years saw a resurgence in the flower as the modernist lifestyle began losing its appeal and the romantic ideal of the ‘cozy country cottage’ returned.

But in Native American Folklore, the Larkspur flower was a happy accident: Once upon a time, there was a celestial deity who wanted to visit the earth. So she shattered pieces of the sky to create a pike by which to descend, and when she returned again to the heavens, the pike disintegrated into thousands of pieces – scattering the shattered sky across the prairies like seeds, and wherever a piece of sky settled, a Larkspur flower grew.

The plant is poisonous, which probably accounts for many of the tales of it repelling snakes, scorpions, ghosts, evil spirits. But there certainly is a truth to its dangerous nature that was well-documented early-on; the Greeks used it to rid themselves of lice by crushing the seeds into a poultice and applying it to their scalps, and it was eventually used in the 1700s as an insecticide. But there are supposedly certain sheep who are immune to its poison… (say whaaaa?)

Fun Facts:

· During 1500-1600 AD, some Europeans supposedly poured the oil of Larkspur petals into baths to protect their soul from ghosts and black magic!

· In Hungary, (in the region of Transylvania in 1000ish AD), dried larkspur flowers were hung in horse stalls to protect their steeds from spells.

· In 1871, a new mountain town in Colorado was christened ‘Larkspur” by the Governor’s wife, (Elizabeth Hunt), to honor the abundance of wild purple Larkspur that grew on the mountainside in the summer.

Water Lily

Meaning: A sacred and religious symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, the water lily signifies rebirth and renewal. Since the blossoms emerge from the mud, they are also a symbol of enlightenment. (I like that. Lovely metaphor.) Other meanings often associated with the water lily include purity, beauty, and creation.

Name Origin: Not much to say here -- these lilies grow in water -- hence, their names! HOWEVER, their genus name Nymphaeaceae comes from the Greek “Nymph” after the Naiad (water nymphs) in Greek mythology.

Note: The Lotus and the Water Lily are not the same flower but have been referred to interchangeably over the years. Botanically, they are classified in different genres, but that is only a recent development. As far as their history goes, they are united in meaning and symbolism. But in the 21st century, there are some very significant differences between the lotus and the water lily, and should you come across the (most-obviously-extremely-likely-and-absolutely-essential) need to differentiate between the two, the main difference between these aquatic dwellers is that the water lily’s foliage spreads horizontally across the water while the Lotus’s grows up and out of it. The water lily can only grow to a maximum of eight inches, while the lotus flower can reach a height of six feet.

History: The Water Lily is one of the oldest flowers known in existence. They were around in the age of dinosaurs, (duuuuude) and scientists unearthed fossils of the water lily that were carbon-dated at sixty-million years old. There are over fifty variations of the water lily. Generally, the tropical species are annuals, and the European and North American water lilies are perennials. Like Irises, they all grow from rhizomes, (similar to tubers or bulbs), and need total submersion in mud and water in order to propagate and bloom. Some blossoms refuse the heat of the sun, and only reveal their delicate petals to the glow of the moon. The water lily acts as a pond purifier – feeding natural pond life and balancing bacteria. Even without the advancements of modern science, ancient cultures understood this unique characteristic and it only heightened their respect and reverence for the flower.

This is partly why the water lily was nearly always a sacred symbol in religious cultures across the world. The artists of eastern religions rendered the lotus/water lily as a throne for their deities, and the symbol grew so prolific in their art that when the Christians came to the east, their eventual depiction of the cross (known as The Persian Cross) was subtly rendered hovering over an open lotus blossom, representing Christ’s rule and authority over. Buddhist legend claims that Buddha himself was born from the bud of a lotus flower.

The flower’s beauty, its resilience, and its unique growing cycle captivated the human imagination over thousands of years spanning the entire globe. That is quite the remarkable achievement! To this day, the flower retains a strong symbolism in spiritual practices, particularly in the east, and one of the most popular tattoos today is the water lily for its connection to enlightenment, renewal, and rebirth.

Fun Facts:

· The water Lily was Claude Monet’s favorite flower, and he featured them in a plethora of his paintings, including some of his most famous pieces. He imported the rhizomes and planted them in his pond, and when authorities claimed he was polluting the environment with their propagation, he simply ignored them. (I laughed so hard when I read that!) Painting his water lilies was so therapeutic to him that, even when his cataracts rendered his painting nearly impossible, he simply moved his easel closer and closer to his pond, and stubbornly continued to paint them. He completed at least 250 paintings of water lilies in his lifetime.

· In Ancient Egypt, the Water Lily was the emblem for the upper half of the Egyptian empire, while the papyrus flower represented the lower half.

· The blue water lily is the national flower of Sri Lanka

· Scientists suspect that the Water Lily is the closest living relative to the first flowering plant ever to exist.