Symbolic Flowers

[digitS']

The national flower of the United States is the rose. The 5 or 6 bushes I have in the yard are blooming and the climber over the gate into the backyard has just about popped 1 bloom! I'm anxiously watching that one since mildew can just ruin its season, I've sprayed it twice with 2 different fungicides and, while it still has mildew, I think it may put on a nice pink show!

Canada may not need a national flower since the maple leaf is so important to the country. The Canadian provinces are found in Wikipedia (click). And, here is the United Kingdom (click).

You can find your state's symbol here (click).

My smaller veggie garden is very near a forest covered hillside. Right now, the Syringa is beautifully in bloom! The hill is lit up with white and I can smell the lovely blossoms everywhere in the garden! Someone on Wikipedia describes the fragrance as, "a heavy, sweet scent similar to orange blossoms with a hint of pineapple." I don't know if "heavy" is quite the right word but I think that person has the fruit comparison about right .

Syringa (Philadelphus lewisii) was discovered by Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame. Here are more pictures from the University of British Columbia of Syringa (click).

Do you enjoy your national, state, province, county flower where you garden?

Steve

 

[journey11]

WV's state flower is the rhododendron. You can grow them here where I live, but they are not so common. They don't like my clay soil. They grow prolifically wild in the more mountainous counties, forming a dense lower canopy in the forests. Very enchanting to walk through!

 

[digitS']

The Coastal (or Pacific) Rhododendron is the flower of Washington State.

It doesn't grow east of the Cascade Mountains. . .

In a redwood or cedar rain forest, these rhododendrons ARE enchanting - that's a very good way to put it.

Steve

 

[cwhit590]

MI's state flower is the apple blossom....so unique!
and I see we have a state wildflower? The Dwarf Lake Iris.....hmm.....never knew that before.

Steve - I never knew Mock-Orange was known as Syringa either.....Syringa is the genus name for lilac....? Interesting. Does it grow wild out there in Idaho?

 

[digitS']

It does, indeed. The hillsides are just covered with the blooms right now!

A month ago, they were covered with service berry blooms.

The name Syringa is just to confuse people. Mock orange is . . . uh, straightforward.

Did you know that the name "Idaho" was 1st intended for Colorado? The claim was that it was an Indian word meaning "light on the mountains." Idaho historians now claim that it was made up by the promoters of western settlement.

Personally, I intend to believe from here on out that Idaho means "service berries and syringa flowers on the mountains." I play as fast and loose with reality as the next guy.

Steve

 

[ninnymary]

California poppy is very bright and pretty. But towards the end of their flowering they get big and ugly. So I was always pulling them out mid-way through their flowering. They reseed like crazy so I stopped growing them. Too invasive for my tastes.

Mary

 

[ducks4you]

According to the chart, Illinois' flower in the lowly violet, of which I've just about had enough of in MY YARD!!!

 

[sparkles2307]

WV's state flower is the rhododendron. You can grow them here where I live, but they are not so common. They don't like my clay soil. They grow prolifically wild in the more mountainous counties, forming a dense lower canopy in the forests. Very enchanting to walk through!

They are also the state flower in WA, and grow all over in the wild and domestically there. I miss them, they dont overwinter well here in MN...

 

[journey11]

The Texas bluebonnets are really a sight to see. They grow in large, dense patches over fields, sometimes interspersed with a red wildflower (I don't know the name of). Such a striking sea of blue! You are not allowed to pick them by law. I can see how they could be wiped out quickly if everybody took some. I have a picture of them I took somewhere around here...

I wonder too, if the picture they used on that site for goldenrod is correct? That is not what we call goldenrod around here. It's Kentucky's state flower and a couple other states as well.

ETA: Yep, looks like they got that one wrong. I found several sites that show this goldenrod .

Kentucky's flower is Solidago gigantea. The one pictured is Solidago virgaurea minuta.