Flowers, What is in a Name?

The weather has been so Spring like here  that I have been thinking about the garden and about flowers. I sat for a bit and flipped through some books and some catalogues. I came a across a sweet little book I thought I would share with you. It contains

 one hundred stories of myth and legend to enjoy. 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names written by Diana Wells and illustrated by Ippy Patterson has fun and interesting bits about your favorite friends in the garden. The book offers two hundred plus pages of lovely illustrations, stories, folk beliefs, facts and lore. If you are interested in not only flowers but roots as well this is a fun book. It makes a great gift for any gardener. As a gardener myself it is always fun to have something besides the "how to" books in the gardening book collection. 

In this book you will find out that Empress Josephine, Napoleon's wife used the Rose to hide her teeth when she laughed. 
Another fun fact is that The Acanthus leaves inspired ornamentation in Ancient Greek architecture. As an artist I truly enjoy the inspiration nature provides. I am crazy about flowers not just in my garden but in my artwork as well.

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. 
It will never fail you.-Frank Lloyd Wright(1869-1959)

Echinachea Unpainted                                                                           by Velásquez©2011

Botanical Name: Echinacea Purpurea 

I have an affinity for the Echinacea flower also known as the coneflower and snake root. 

One of my favorite flowers to draw, paint and grow. Various species of Echinacea were used to treat poisonous insect and snake bites, toothaches, sore throat, wounds, as well as mumps, smallpox, and measles  by the Plains Indians. 

Echinacea is the best known as an herb for stimulating the immune system.

Echinacea is a genus of nine species of flowering plants all native to eastern North America. 

Drought-tolerant perennial plants which can grow up to six feet tall. The most 

common types are Echinacea Purpurea and Echinacea Angustifolia. 

The nine species of Echinacea are: 

▪ Echinacea angustifolia - Narrow-leaf Coneflower 

▪ Echinacea atrorubens - Topeka Purple Coneflower 

▪ Echinacea laevigata - Smooth Coneflower, Smooth Purple Coneflower 

▪ Echinacea pallida - Pale Purple Coneflower 

▪ Echinacea paradoxa - Yellow Coneflower, Bush’s Purple Coneflower

▪ Echinacea purpurea - Purple Coneflower, Eastern Purple Coneflower 

▪ Echinacea sanguinea - Sanguin Purple Coneflower 

▪ Echinacea simulata - Wavyleaf Purple Coneflower 

▪ Echinacea tennesseensis - Tennessee Coneflower 

Can't wait to paint them all! Thank you for stopping by!

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