Re: [lace-chat] May flower
we are wondering about the tree itself. It must be significant, thinking of the ship, the Mayflower; the rhyme 'gathering nuts and May' Bev in Sooke, BC (west coast of Canada) where we had May flowers in April, and April showers right now in May... I think the line is actually gather nuts in May - I found this at http://www.geocities.com/traditions_uk/mayday.html in a Google search: Here we go gathering nuts in May... always puzzled me as a child. NUTS - in MAY?? Quite ridiculous. There is, of course, a simple explanation. It was originally knots of May - a reference to the custom of gathering flowers as part of the celebrations, particularly May blossom, the flower of the Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) which usually comes into blossom around the end of April. This custom of Maying was (and is some places still is) very widespread - fortunately the Hawthorn is a very common shrub and a distinctive feature of the English countryside. Yes, 'gathering nuts in May' is a corruption of 'gathering knots of May' - stems of hawthorn in full bloom; masses of it around in the hedgerows of England at this time of year. The flowers are small and white. The point ground filling probably got it's name from the resemblance; though the flowers have five petals and the patches of cloth stitch in the PG filling are diamond shaped. Similar sort of size. The other traditional saying is 'March winds, April showers, bring forth May flowers.' Not sure if that relates to hawthorn blossom or flowers generally which bloom in May. Brenda in England where we are still getting the showers. http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/paternoster/ To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace-chat] May flower
Are you talking about a multi-flora rose? We have this plant in great abundance in Southern Illinois as well as elsewhere. It grows like a weed. The awful thing about it is the thorns grow backwards on the branches, which grow to incredible lengths. We just spent two days pulling branches up to as much as 7-8 feet in length out of a cedar tree. When these backward thorns grab you (and they do it no matter how careful you are about moving them) the natural tendency to pull them out only imbeds them deeper. May flowers as I know them down here are only about 6-8 inches tall with about 5 leaves in a circular pattern. The flower is white with a yellowish center. Am I off track or is the old multi-flora rose (like Brer Rabbit in the briar patch) what you are referring to? So far, we have not had a problem with festering. However, we do take a shower after we come in from working. This is an effort to avoid the poison ivy that we have probably encountered as well. To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace-chat] May flower
From: Judy McCarty Are you talking about a multi-flora rose? We have this plant in great abundance in Southern Illinois as well as elsewhere. It grows like a weed. The awful thing about it is the thorns grow backwards on the branches, which grow to incredible lengths. We just spent two days pulling branches up to as much as 7-8 feet in length out of a cedar tree. We have a line of cyprus trees across a side and back fence. One has a climbing rose right through it, another is home to a wisteria (?spelling) growing up from a neighbour's garden. Doesn't seem to interfere with the growth of the cyprus. I must have the only pink and mauve flowering cyprus trees in existence. Noelene in Cooma [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~nlafferty/ To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace-chat] May flower
ah thanks Noelene - '*knots of* May' does make more sense...then you reminded me that Mayflower and Hawthorn are names for the same thing... -- bye for now Bev with no Hawthorn or May growing where I live west of Sooke, BC (west coast of Canada) (though there is probably a Mayflower or two somewhere in Sooke itself, brought when the English arrived). To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
