Cornflower

For years I've tried to grow a weedy plant called cornflower, or Bachelor's Button. I finally had luck last year with a package of seed. I was happy to see it re-seeded itself, so now I have some vigorous new plants without even trying. The shade of blue is pretty-- this is a picture of the first flower I took yesterday.

The botanical name is Centaurea cyanus. Like many flowers, it takes its name from mythology, where Cyanus was a strange youth who garlanded himself with flowers and wore blue clothing. He adored the goddess Flora, who one day found him dead in a cornfield, where she transformed his body into a cornflower.

The cornflower frequently appears in fields of grain, where farmers consider it a nuisance. In England it was known as "blunt-sickle" because it dulled their scythe when grain was being cut. So it's interesting that in the language of flowers, the cornflower is a symbol of delicacy, perhaps because of the devotion of Cyanus to Flora. There are also traditions in which wearing the cornflower shows one is unmarried.

Anyway, I'm happy to see it my garden at last-- after trying to grow it for so long, I wouldn't be surprised now if it became invasive!

Flora