Douglas Sherman
Staff
l am going to start this off with another state flower. You may add to this thread any flower image(s) you wish. Mine, named Mayflower or trailing arbutus, is the state flower of Massachusetts. It is appropriately named after the ship that brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock. John Greenleaf Whittier wrote an allegorical poem about this flower depicting the problems the Pilgrims experienced that first year. Here are his first two stanzas:
Sad Mayflower! watched by winter stars,
And nursed by winter gales,
With petals of the sleeted spars,
And leaves of frozen sails!
What had she in those dreary hours,
Within her ice-rimmed bay,
In common with the wild-wood flowers,
The first sweet smiles of May?
This plant trails along the ground with its flowers often tucked beneath its leathery leaves which remain green throughout the winter. Pollinators can still find them, however, because of their wonderful orange blossom fragrance. Fowers are either white or light pink. They are typically the first flowers to bloom in the spring.
Sad Mayflower! watched by winter stars,
And nursed by winter gales,
With petals of the sleeted spars,
And leaves of frozen sails!
What had she in those dreary hours,
Within her ice-rimmed bay,
In common with the wild-wood flowers,
The first sweet smiles of May?
This plant trails along the ground with its flowers often tucked beneath its leathery leaves which remain green throughout the winter. Pollinators can still find them, however, because of their wonderful orange blossom fragrance. Fowers are either white or light pink. They are typically the first flowers to bloom in the spring.
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