Sweet Williams Flowers
by Peggy Franz
Title
Sweet Williams Flowers
Artist
Peggy Franz
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The gift of a Sweet William indicates yearning, a wish for a smile! This fragile blossom is a garden pink, scientifically named Dianthus barbatus, with bearded petals. Sweet William is a pink plant having clusters of small, variously coloured flowers. It is also referred to as bunch pink. Famous for its spicy fragrance, this blossom belongs to the popular group of ornamental pinks. Of course, even flower experts differ in their interpretation of the true meaning of this flower. A gift of sweet William requests, Sweet lady, grant me one smile!Sweet Williams flowers are a single species in the large, 300 species genus of dianthus, which is a member of the caryophyllaceae family. They are mostly native to southern Europe, but one variety also grows in abundance in areas of northeastern Asia. These plants may either be short-lived perennials, or herbaceous biennial plants which bloom during late winter and early spring. Their leaves are long and tapered, and may be either a traditional green or glaucous shade. The flowers themselves develop in large, easy to care for clusters which may appear with a single or double head, and are made up of about five serrated petals. The reason why many gardeners find these plants to be so special is the fact that, other than having a variety of colors to chose from, they also come in a variety of patterns. Many of these blossoms are bicolored and some may appear to have noticeable eyes. Sweet Williams flowers are at the center of many romantic legends. One such legend is steeped in the poetry of the English writer John Gay, who wrote, Sweet Williams Farewell to Black-eyd Susan: A Ballad. In this piece of poetry, both the sweet William and the black eyed Susan were depicted as real people sweet William as a sailor, and the black eyed Susan as his beloved, who must part from him. The story tells of the two meeting, then having to separate again sweet William assuring his love and fidelity all the while. Aside from having some artistic acclaim, sweet Williams flowers are also thought to be very useful in the culinary arts. These blossoms, which have a mild, clove-like taste, are mostly used as garnishes for cakes, pastries and drinks; however, they are also known to add a unique dash of flavor to salads, floral liquors, jellies and butters, as well as herbal tea.
Uploaded
June 5th, 2013
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Viewed 339 Times - Last Visitor from Beverly Hills, CA on 03/28/2024 at 7:07 PM
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Comments (24)
Jacqueline Athmann
Surprise & Congratulations!! Your photo has been featured on the Flowers Up Close group homepage! Thank you for sharing your beautiful work with us!
Marianne Campolongo
Lovely image - great use of texture and shallow depth of field. It made me smile as Sweet William should :) v/f
Bedros Awak
So delicate and detailed shot..very nice and optimistic feeling generates this image..v,f,t