Floral Diversity is One of My Favorite Wonders of the World

There is so much floral diversity all around the world, when you think you picked a favorite flower, you discover another flower.

Do you have a favorite flower? I used to say it was orchids. Then I started saying it was African violets. But then I became an active member of various global communities on the Internet and learned about the diversity of flowers that exist all over the world. Now I have given up on naming my favorite flower. There are just too many!

Some sources say there are 400,000 flowering plant species on Earth. I am not a botanist or anything like that. But only 400,000? That number sounds kind of low. Nevertheless, whether it’s an accurate count or not, surely we can all agree that there are at least a bazillion flowers on planet Earth and that includes the hybrids. LOL.

So! Forget about it! With that many, there’s no way for me to pick “A favorite” that I love! Instead, I’ll just say: “Floral Diversity is One of My Favorite Wonders of the World.” That covers it!

My late mother was an awesome gardener. She grew all kinds of flowers and plants. Unfortunately, I did not inherit her green thumb. I am not very good at growing flowers. But at least I can write about them. This article shines a spotlight on the cape primrose and the iris, and shares links to some more of my content around the web, discussing various other flowers.

CAPE PRIMROSE

Cape Primrose is a flower that has several species and is native to South Africa. One doesn’t usually associate fairies with Africa but somehow people have associated these flowers with fairies. There is a whimsical belief that fairies care for them. What do they symbolize? Just about everything one would desire in this life. Perfect health. Good luck. A brand new start in life. Spiritual paths that lie ahead. Purity. Honesty. But most importantly, love.

Cape Primrose is a cousin of African violet. The Cape Primrose is an easy flowering houseplant that blooms in colors of shades of violet, pink, crimson, blue, violet, and white.
Streptocarpus — The Cape Primrose | plantcaretoday. Interesting reading about cape primrose hybrids.

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IRISES

When I say Iris, you say Which color? The lovely image above shows this beautiful spring flower and it grows in pale blue, mauve, pink, yellow, and blue-violet (what I call purple). All are gorgeous! But I rather fancy the purple irises.

Irises in Mythology: “According to Greek mythology, when the gods wanted to communicate with mortals on earth they sent a messenger. The messenger was a goddess who, with golden wings, traveled to Earth on a rainbow. Legend has it that wherever this goddess set foot on earth, colorful flowers sprung up. The goddess in question was Iris, and the flowers that were said to grow where she set foot bear her name.” (Quote Source: “Iris: A Brief History”)

Irises in Art: Vincent Van Gogh loved painting Irises. Guess what! He started painting them while he was in an asylum. Van Gogh had mental problems. But at least he did try to get help for himself. After all, he committed himself to the asylum. While he was there, could there be any better mental therapy than painting Irises? I wonder. Did he need a psychiatrist or did he just need a place to get away? Only Van Gogh knows for sure.

Irises have been used for both health and beauty purposes. It was used to cure dropsy and also to remove freckles.
In America, the iris is the state flower of Tennessee.
In France, the iris is the national emblem and it is known as the “fleur-de-lis” or flower of Louis, in honor of the kings of France.

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MORE ABOUT FLOWERS:

Do you have a garden? What flowers do you grow?

Thanks for reading.

ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATIONS-MIRROR APPROVED

Articles by @cmoneyspinner that were approved and published in Illumination AND Illuminations-Mirror, two (2) popular…

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

Not much of a gardener but I love flowers. Don't you?