Friday, May 11, 2012

The Ethereal Snapdragon


Snapdragons "Snapped" by Betty Owens

I’ve always loved snapdragons. Their bright beauty in my spring garden always makes me smile. Mine winter over, since our climate is mild, so they tend to bloom early. I wait and watch, wondering what colors they’ll reveal this year. They put on quite a show.
Native to the Mediterranean regions, the perennial snapdragons easily naturalize. Imagine an entire field of multicolored flowers in the spring. In ancient times, they were believed to have mystical powers to protect from witchcraft. Kind of like the garlic provided protection from vampires. Women believed the flower could restore youth and beauty. Hide one in your bodice to be perceived as fascinating or cordial. 
As a child, I used to play with the snapdragon flowers, squeezing their throats between my thumb and forefinger to make the snapdragons “talk.” Most of those were yellow, but they come in every shade except blue and in three different sizes. Miniature, medium and large. 
Friday’s sentence prompt:  Natalie tucked a scarlet snapdragon into the ribbon of her hat, hoping to....


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2 comments:

  1. I've tried growing snapdragons. I think they're beautiful but our soil like clay to grow and doesn't like to grow much of anything.

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  2. I love snapdragons! They grow well in Alabama. I have yellow ones in my flowerbed now and they're gorgeous...

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