Much folklore surrounds our plants and in this technologically advanced age many of the old sayings have been lost. I love researching the meaning and use of plants. If they are then linked to poetry all the better. The periwinkle flower is one such plant. Traditionally the flower enhances the bond between husband and wife if they eat the leaves together. It was also used to help staunch bleeding. In some places it was known as ‘cutfinger’ for its healing properties. Chewing the leaves was also said to prevent nightmares.
As the autumn draws on here in England my mind turns to spring and one of my favourite poems is: Lines written in early spring by William Wordsworth. it is in this poem that he acknowledges that plants may have an appreciation of their surroundings:
To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
Enjoy the air and revel in Nature’s bounty. Best wishes Denny Bradbury
Denny Bradbury Books 