A picture of an open field with a child running in the midst of flowers is what best describes the Daisy, the birth month flower for April. This lovely birthday flower is mostly associated with loyalty, love, innocence and purity. Just as the sun rises, the flower opens up, and as the sun sets, it closes up, characterizes the reason why the name Daisy was given to this flower. Like “daeges eaye” or “day’s eye” which is an old English word that the name of the flower daisy is coined out of.
The wonderful Daisy
As beautiful and lovely as the Daisy can be, it’s a wonder that they can actually be despised, most especially by farmers. This is because Daisy is seen as weed despite its wonderfully colored petals. They are just like a nuisance to farmers because they grow as weeds most especially in an overcrowded or overgrazed field. The Daisy grows so easily because of the ease at which insects can carry the pollen of the Daisy for reproduction. Daisy is so useful that even their leaves and petals are edibles. Some people grow the Daisy for its medical usefulness, the Daisy can be brewed into tea because they can help reduce the pain felt from a sore throat and stomach ache.
Daisy is a nice eloquent flowering plant that belongs to the family Asteraceae which is mostly cultivated and found growing in the northern and central parts of Europe. Today Anglo Saxon is the largest florist supplier of the world’s daisy. The most popular daisy is the Bellis perennis, although there are a lot of other species of daisy.
Daisies are a herbaceous perennial plant with its leaves having a rounded spoon-like shape. When they grow, they often do in a colony and are very tough to clear especially through mowing. Daisies, especially when they grow on the lawn, are usually regarded to as weed, hence the name lawn daisy was gotten.
Bellis perennis is known to flourish more during the early summer to midsummer, and when they are being cultivated under the right conditions they can produce flowers for a very long time, even deep in the middle of winter. They reproduce either by seeds or by division after flowering. Bellis comes from the Latin word bellus meaning pretty, and perennis is also a Latin word meaning everlasting. The Bellis perennis or the English Daisy is commonly known as Mary’s rose, it is also sometimes referred to as the bone flower.
Daisy is edible, the leaves and stems can be used in cooking certain herbs, the young leaves also can be eaten raw in salads. Also, when making salads, sandwiches or soups, you can be sure to add the daisy’s flower bud or petals because they can be eaten raw and they supply the body with some essential vitamins needed. They can also be used in making some of the best teas you would ever taste, which are quite nutritious and healthy.
In the past, ancient Rome surgeons who accompanied the soldiers to battle would request that the slave pack bags full of daisy because daisy contains a juice called Bellum Latin word for war. When this Bellum are extracted from the Daisy, the juice is used for treating wounds from swords and spears, this is because of the astringent properties that daisy possess.
Varieties of Daisy and what they symbolize
Daisy flowers are made of white petals and yellow center, while some of them are made of pink or red colours. There are different varieties of Daisy, but the Shasta varieties and the African varieties are the most popular of them all. Daisies are usually played with by children, they use the Daisy to make chains and hang them around their neck while they play running around the field with so much joy and giggling. Daisies are more popular in making of flower chains than in keeping them in flower vase.
So, Daisies are used in symbolizing innocence and purity, and this historical symbolism of daisy rooted from an old Celtic legend. Based on this Celtic legend, it was believed that when an infant dies, God would sprinkle daisy over the earth just to cheer up the parents who just lost their child. Also, the Norse believed that the daisy is Freya’s sacred flower. Freya is the goddess of beauty, love and fertility. Therefore, daisy symbolizes childbirth, motherhood or a new beginning, that is why giving a daisy to a mother who just gave birth is a perfect gift for that moment.
Daisy could also mean chastity and transformation, which is based on a Roman myth of the god Vertumnus and belides. Vertumnus is known as a God of season and garden. Based on the Roman myth, it was believed that Vertumnus became totally in love with the belides, a nymph. Vertumnus continually pursued the nymph because of the love he had for the nymph and in order for the nymph to escape the affection of Vertumnus, the nymph turned into a daisy. This myth was how the scientific name of a daisy the Bellis came to be.
Daisy was so famous and so were its meanings also, that they inspired renowned poets and story writers throughout history. Like Shakespeare who made mention of daisy in his book Hamlet. In Hamlet, Shakespeare used chains of daisy to represent the child Ophelia’s innocence. Also the famous poet Wordsworth also made mention of daisy in his popular poem titled “To The Daisy”. In the 1800s, the phrase “ups-a-daisy” was commonly used when a child falls, to encourage them to get up. This birth month flower is a very excellent gift to give to our loved ones because of the meaning associated with the flower.
So, when next you are in a dilemma of what type of flower to pick up for that special someone who is celebrating his or her birthday in April, be sure to go for a hand bouquet of Daisy, because of the unique colourful petals and not only that, the meanings associated with this flower can help you pass down a message of purity, innocence and loyal love.
