My gardener friend came over today and when I showed him my passion vine, he told me the significance of the flower and why it was named the "passion" vine. It turns out that there is deep symbolism in the flower. This is what I pulled up:
"Five petals & five sepals are ten apostles, leaving out Judas the betrayer & Peter because he denied knowing Jesus. The purple carolla Bosio reported had seventy-two filaments, the number of thorns in Jesus's crown. The three pistil stigmas are nails. The five stamens are the number of wounds, so that to this day, Catholics in South & Central America call it "The Flower of the Five Wounds." The leaf represents the spear that placed the wound in Jesus's side (that one is a stretch since the leaves are five-lobed, but unlike some other species, this one's individual lobes are at least lance-shaped). The dark spots under the leaves are the 33 pieces of silver paid to Judas. When the flowers are spent after a single day (the time Jesus spent on the cross), the petals do not drop from the vine but re-close over the ovary, & this symbolizes the Hidden Wisdom that constitutes the Mysteries of the Cross, & is like Jesus enclosed in the tomb."
13 comments:
Wow! You really have a knack for gardening. Those are beautiful! I especially love the flower in the first picture. What is that?
That is passion vine. It smells incredible and it is growing like crazy on my back fence.
Those flowers are so pretty! I wish I had a green thumb.
You always inspire me to keep up on reading from your 'what I'm reading now' list!
Traci-
Thanks for commenting! I have to admit that I have been a bit of a slacker lately with my reading. I am still reading Count of Monte Cristo, but with so much going on right now (and frankly, May sweeps) I am reading a bit slower than usual. It is a great book, though!
Beautiful! Please come visit & help me out!
Wow! I'm impressed, as always, Miss Elizabeth!
It all looks so beautiful...I am so impressed with your gardening ability.
I have such a brown thumb--I love the passion vine especially--is it easy to grow???
JB-
I stuck it in the ground last year and treated it like everything else. It has gone crazy this year and is all over the place(not in a weedy way)!
I think it is just a leave it alone and happy kind of plant.
Gorgeous!
Beautiful! I love gardening and landscaping too. Although, I don't think I have your talent for it. We have a super sunny yard (except for a few spots) so I have to opt for sun tolerant plants for the most part. If you have any tips on sun loving plants, let me know!
Heather,
Sunny is the best thing in a back yard! I like sun lovers much more than shade lovers.
You live in Memphis so not only do you have cooler temperatures (for things that are hard for me to grow such as camellias and peonys) but you have acid soil. So jealous!
A few plants that come to mind are azaleas, camellias, peonys, gardenias, and roses. I am a rose fanatic! You have different weather conditions than me but any local nursery owner could tell you which are the best for your area. I love antique roses that don't need a lot of fussing with.
I also love salvias and spireas. They grow huge every year, die back to a stump in the winter and come back stronger than ever the next year. Also, butterflys and hummingbirds love them.
Good luck!
I have no trees in my yard, so sun lovers are all I can have! We'll actually we have two very tall sticks that probably qualify as trees, but in my opinion, if they can't handle a tire swing, they aren't a tree yet!
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