MURDER, MAYHEM AND BOTANY
Most texts explain what a flower is called, but not why. But for those of us, who wonder why a ‘Dandelion’ is called a ‘Dandelion’ or where spine-tingling names like ‘Viper’s Bugloss’ and ‘Devils-bit-Scabious’ come from, a rich world of stories, myths and magic opens up.
What it is about
This is a collection of the stories behind the names of our wildflowers.
The stories come from ancient myths and legends as well as fairy tales, folklore and ancient medicinal uses and are full of magic, fierce warriors, sorcerers, nasty diseases, goblins, wild beasts and dastardly deeds.
The stories span thousands of years and are entirely based on the etymology of wildflowers.
The inspiration
I walk my dogs on the Salisbury Plains, an area covered in a glorious abundance and variety of wildflowers. One day I walked together with my neighbour, an expert on flora and fauna and an advisor for the National Trust. I asked him why ‘Devils-bit-Scabious’ has such a peculiar name. He responded by telling me a surprising story involving the bubonic plague, a bit of magic and an angry devil.
This started my curiosity in the origin of other wildflower names. In no time, I found myself immersed in a mountain of Dictionaries of Etymology and Plant Names, Herbals, Medieval Grimoires and other reference books, and discovered an unexpected array of folklore, legends and myths, dating back hundreds and sometimes even thousands of years.
Subscribing is free, it just means that whenever I post a new wildflower story you will be notified.
On the timeline page, you’ll find a timeline so you can see what was going on in the world when our heroes and villains lived, and how the English language developed.
On the glossary page you will find explanations for the more uncommon words used in the Flowerology newsletters.
And if the Flowerology pages tickled your fancy, you can read more about wildflowers and their stories in the books listed under further reading.
This newsletter is NOT a field guide for flower identification. It’s often difficult to tell the difference between harmless plants and poisonous plants and some flowers are rare and protected by law, so, NEVER pick or use any plants or flowers if you’re not sure about them.
WARNING! For the more delicate flowers amongst us, this newsletter features blood, murder, trickery, witchcraft, bugs and some very pretty flowers! So ...
... What are you waiting for!
Chantal Bourgonje - illustrator and children’s book writer
I am Dutch illustrator and writer of picture books. I grew up in National Park De Hoge Veluwe in Holland and now live in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside in the UK with my husband and our two whippets. Next to illustration and books, I’m passionate about animals, the natural world, history, and language.
I have a 1:1 degree in illustration and narrative from Bath University. My books have received a Kirkus Review star for books of remarkable merit and my work has been highly commended in the Macmillan Prize and AOI Awards. I was Marlborough’s Children’s Artist in residence for the mayoral year 23/24.
Beaming Books published my latest author-illustrated picture book for young children, Searching for Home, and you can find it here:
In the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Searching-Home-Chantal-Bourgonje/dp/1506488781/
USA: https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/product/9781506488783/Searching-for-Home
When not writing or illustrating, you can often find me roaming the Salisbury plains with my 2 whippets, looking for wildflowers, butterflies and other creatures that hang out on the plains. And if you’ve not found me there, you can find me with my nose in one of my many books on language, wildflowers, flora and fauna, history and etymology.
I am is represented by Erzsi Deak at Hen and Ink Literary Studio.
You can find out more on social media or my website:
email: chantal@cfordesign.co.uk
Note:
All images on the Flowerology SubStack are created by Chantal Bourgonje - illustrator
©Chantal Bourgonje
