Bunches of Honesty and Chinese lanterns used to be brought in
to decorate our classrooms in the Autumn term.
I haven't been able to grow physalis very successfully but the Honesty self-seeds everywhere
and has the power to transport me back to infant school.
This is an extract from a lovely essay about lunaria bienni which can be found here,
"...the seede commeth foorth conteined in a flat thinne cod, with a sharp point or pricke at one end, in fashion of the moone, and somewhat blackish. This cod is composed of three filmes or skins, whereof the two outmost are of an ouerworne ashe colour, and the inner-most, or that in the middle whereon the seed doth hang or cleaue, is thin and cleere shining, like a piece of white satten newly cut from the peece."
Dr. Prior, in his "Popular Names of Plants," derives the name honesty
"from the transparency of its dissepiments;"
bunches of honesty and chinese lanterns are two of my favorites! i have chinese lanterns growing on my porch this year. and the william morris quote is a favorite too - words to live by.
ReplyDeletethank you for visiting my blog! hard boiled egg left unattended - blech! what a mess! reminds me of the pressure cooker full of black beans my aunt once forgot about on her stovetop.