Fairy Realms Under the Lady's Frills.
- Annie
- Apr 2, 2016
- 3 min read
"The fireflies pricked the gloom where the meadow vapours rolled,
The cup of the primrose-bloom was brimmed with a pallid gold;
And above a single star shone virgin and faint and cold."
Bank Holiday Storm Katie forced me to take a diversion due to a fallen tree, which happily led me to these precious treasures. The primrose was once such a common and popular flower. At least the Wildlife and Countryside Act slowed her frightening decline. A case of being too pretty and useful, not only beautiful but also incredibly beneficial with many superstitions, they were once so abundant they they were picked and tied into posies to be sent by train to the cities to sell.
Paralisos, son of the goddess Flora, lost his sweetheart and died of grief, but, Greek mythology tells us, he lives again in "the rath (early) primrose that forsaken dies." Shakespeare associates it with sadness as Arviragus says over his supposed dead love, "I’ll sweeten thy sad grave: thou shalt not lack The flower that’s like thy face, pale primrose, nor The azured harebell, like thy veins, no, nor The leaf of eglantine ..... "
Maudlin blighters!
Nowadays primrose is a well-known hue of yellow but old writers thought of it as a special tone of green; the "greene primrose". Actually there is rare green variety that grows in the wild but I have never encountered it. You can also find reddish or soft pink ones, which I assume are caused by pollen from the garden varieties.
It is most upsetting to me that our lovely flower was taken by the Primrose League in 1883 to spread Conservative principles in Great Britain for 121 years. Why did Toryism ambush such a beloved spring plant? Money would've been a more apt symbol surely? 19th April is the official Primrose Day when they are placed on Disraeli's grave. We won't be celebrating that here at NP!
The flowers and the leaves can be made into an infusion, which can reduce stress and anxiety. The leaves can be cooked and used just like any other green vegetable. The flowers can be candied by brushing with a strong sugar solution and letting them dry. They are also stunning crystallised, see the cake above. The plant and the root can be used as an expectorant and it has also been used in the treatment of rheumatism.
Hens not laying? There are a variety of different traditions relating to primroses. Some believe that to carry less than 13 primroses into the house could stop the hens from laying, whilst in Ireland, the flowers were never brought indoors if you shared your living quarters with your chickens for the same reason.
If you look over the petals of the primrose, you may see a fairy; a goodly clump of plants is an entrance-way to the fairy realm and the flowers are supposed to make you lucky in love. Druids often carried primroses during their Celtic rituals as a protection against evil and in rural Ireland, farmers rubbed primroses on their cow's udders at May Day to promote a good milk yield.
So many reasons to love our Primula Vulgaris - the name derives from two Latin words meaning “first rose”. Rather than harvest the wild flowers and plant, (and please NEVER dig up any specimens), why not dedicate a shady corner of your own garden instead? You can buy plug plants very reasonably from the excellent British Wild Flower Plants shop.
As always, never ingest a wild plant that you're not 100% certain you can identify correctly.
With love, Annie x
© Norfolk Psychics 2016
Bibliography
Essenhigh Corke. H: Wild Flowers As They Grow (Cassell and Company Ltd, 1911)
Freethy Ron: From Agar to Zenry (Crowood, 1985)
Ingwersen Walter: Wild Flowers in the Garden (The Garden Book Club, Undated)
Nozedar Adele: The Hedgerow Handbook (Square Peg, 2012)
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