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December Folklore and Flower | The Daily Gardener | Jennifer Ebeling

• December changeable and mild; the whole winter will remain a child.
• No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.
• Thunder in December means fine weather ahead.
• Frost on the shortest day means winter will be severe.
• Then, here's a little tidbit of folklore regarding the snow. When the world was made, everything except the snow was given a color. So the snow went out and begged all the flowers to share their color. He asked the violet, the lilac, the buttercup, and the rose, but they all turned him down. It was only the snowdrop that offered to share its beautiful, pure, snow-white color. And, ever since, in thanks to the snowdrop, the snow keeps the blossoms of the snowdrop safe all winter long.

December’s birth flowers are the holly and the paperwhite. So, they are very different from each other; one being a  bulb and the other an evergreen, but they both symbolize hope.

• Traditionally, Holly is the symbol of domestic happiness. Remember that while animals and birds can eat holly berries; they are semi-toxic to people.
• Meanwhile, the Paperwhite (Narcissus) has fragrant white blooms that symbolize coldness and self-esteem. In Floriography ("FLOOR-EE-ah-grah-FEE"), the narcissus conveys that you want your beloved to stay just the way they are.

Botanical History On This Day

1597 John Gerard’s Herbal — The General History of Plants — is published, featuring 800 species and exquisite woodcuts. Gerard, herbalist to King James I, still inspires gardeners today; the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust even sells holiday cards featuring his Holly, Pear, and Mistletoe engravings.

1910 Andrew Thomas Gage, Scottish botanist and Director of the Botanical Survey of India, famously grumbled from Calcutta about new technology: “They forced this invention of the devil upon me… the thing has a knack of getting out of order.” The telephone, of course.

1932 Clark Gable waters his flowers — the screen idol turned gentleman farmer, later with his wife Carole Lombard, tending citrus, vineyards, and turkeys on their 21-acre ranch. The couple preferred tractors to tuxedos, living by kerosene light under California stars.

Unearthed Words

“Thy fruit full well the schoolboy knows…”
— Ebenezer Elliott, To the Bramble Flower

Grow That Garden Library™

Read The Daily Gardener review of Planthropology by Ken Druse

Buy on Amazon: Planthropology (around $15)

Today’s Botanic Spark

1945 Bette Midler is born — the Divine Miss M — who later inspired a rose of her own at the New York Botanical Garden. Her white-yellow bloom, scented of mint and lime, honors her decades of work restoring NYC green spaces through her New York Restoration Project.

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And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.