Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Cathy, Bluebells and Baggy Shorts

A couple of weeks ago Cathy at ma vie trouvee did a post about a beautiful bluebell forest near her home in Belgium. If you haven't visited her blog I recommend it. She is an American living in Belgium and she travels far and wide and blogs about the incredible foods, flea markets, sights and art she encounters. She is a talented photographer and captures really beautiful photos. In addition, she crafts lovely handmade cards and has been featured in several of the Somerset publications. I discovered her blog during the Where Bloggers Create blog party last Spring and have been following ever since. She lives around the corner from a flea market in Belgium and says crazy talk like "well, we are off to Marrakesh for the weekend". Holy Moly. When I looked closer I realized that what they call bluebells are the flowers I know as Wood Hyacinths. Knowing that, I can understand how they could carpet the floor of an entire forest! My mother's best friend, Peggy, gave me a little sack of bulbs when we moved in to this house over 30 years ago.
{Oh wait, I have to tell you a little story about Peg.} Her name was Peggy Schwartz. Pronoucing her name was an insurmountable tongue twister for the bitty neighbor boy so she was forever Baggy Shorts. I don't think she minded. I haven't thought of her in a while and it makes me smile. I wish I could think of a bigger word than "invasive". I think I have spent the last 30 years trying to herd them out of the spots where I don't want them. The meek will not inherit the Earth, the Wood Hyacinths will! I have to admit, though, that after the long, bleak Winter it is a joy to see their beautiful blue blossoms signal that Spring has returned at long last.

5 comments:

cathy said...

Hey Kathy – thanks so much for giving me a such a lovely shout-out for my blog. Interesting that they are called Wood Hyacinths in the US and you can certainly understand how they spread over the entire forest! Cute story about Peg. Isn't it fun to think that bluebells in Brussels can make you think of "baggy shorts" Peg? Cheers from Brussels : )

laurie -magpie ethel said...

I have a ton of them in my yard and love how they pop up each spring...I have always called them bluebells as well. Totally get the invasive comment, but they are a nice pop of early spring color.

Annette said...

I've never known anyone who actually had bluebells. Don't laugh, I always thought they grew wild in Texas! Anyway, the color is so vibrant and beautiful!

Love the Peggy story!

My Vintage Mending said...

Oh, I wish these grew here. We do have something similar called Lady Slippers. More of a bulb/daffodil in pink. Not at all invasive and very dull in color. These are gorgeous. When I was in college getting my Horticulture degree we hesitated to call plants weeds, because in some area of the world they would be considered otherwise. By the way that other studio would be hard for me to stay out of. Too much fun! Smiles...Renee

Into Vintage said...

Invasive or not, they are so pretty but blue flowers have always been my favorites.