Thursday, October 6, 2011

Fresh-Cut Friday Marigold Flower of the Month



The "Big Announcement" first!

The winner of the Sweet and Simple Giveaway....

Terry of Cherished Treasures

Thank you to everyone the joined in!
I'll be doing another give away soon... stay posted!

Now for Fresh-Cut Friday!



Welcome to Fresh-Cut Friday!


Hello Marigold!



The gift of Marigolds signifies: Passion, Creativity, Winning Grace, Dignity, Nobility, Humility and a love of nature.

Marigolds, found all over the US, Europe and Western Asia, are hardy, annual plants and are great for cheering up any garden. They bloom almost non stop with few problems. Although they do attract slugs (yuck). French Marigolds are probably the most common and what we, in the US, think of when someone says "Marigold". They grow in tight little bunches 5 to 18 inches high. Easy to grow and perfect for fall flowerbeds with their rich warm shades of red, yellow and orange. Ideal for edging flowerbeds they also do very well in containers and widow boxes. (how cottage is that!?)

October's birth flower is sometimes called "summer bride" or "husbandmans dial," because it’s flower head follows the sun. Also called calendula, holligold, goldbloom, golds, ruddes, Mary bud, bull's eyes, pot Marigolds and the "Herb of the Sun". Marigolds are VERY popular in India because of the shades of gold. Once considered the most sacred of flowers, in India, it was placed around the necks of holy statues. This may have come from an early Christian tradition of placing garlands of "Mary's-Gold" around the necks of Holy Mary statues as a gift of gold from the poor. But the East Indian tradition could have come first too. It's hard to say.

The blossoms are actually edible and the plant it's self has many uses. Marigolds are known to be good for skin issues as well as a good cleanser and a yellow dye for foods. It is touted as a remedy for bee stings. I also read that it is supposed to be very good for ulcers and for the eyes, but I could not find out how you would administer it for these remedies. Maybe a tea? In Mexico, farmers feed their chickens feed that has been salted with Marigold seeds. It causes the eggs to be a more golden yellow and the chicken meat to be a more appealing shade when cooked.

Our ancestors may have used them for love charms and woven them into wedding garlands or placed them on or under a pillow to encourage prophetic or psychic dreams. The Welsh believed that if marigolds were not open early in the morning, then a storm was on the way. There was an old wives tale that eyesight could be improved simply by staring at a Marigold.


Now that I have shared all of that, I can tell you that I was a little surprised that such a simple, little flower like the common Marigold was a flower of the month. But now I realize that it has so many uses and has been around for centuries!

Because Marigolds don't survive once cut, I'm taking you out to the backyard.

I just potted these for you.
Seriously!

Now let's see your flowers!










I'll be linking with:

Show and Tell Friday, Vintage Inspiration Friday, Potpourri Party, Feathered Nest Friday, and Home Sweet Home

23 comments:

deb said...

Your Marigolds are lovely! I haven't grown them in years...thinking I need to change that next year
*hugs*deb

Ricki Treleaven said...

Congratulations, Terry! :D What a great prize!

Liz, thanks for hosting. I enjoyed reading all about marigolds. They truly do help keep posts away!

Your marigolds are so pretty, and I like the way you have your pot sitting on your cute little chair in your garden.

xoxoxoxo,
Ricki Jill

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

I love Marigolds....and I haven't potted one thing....
I told my husband that he hasn't got me flowers in so long..and he said, and I quote.....it is going to even longer!! With groceries going up all the time, I may never get flowers again!!

Carol Ann said...

Thanks for telling me about your linky party! I enjoyed seeing your flowers!

Violetas Rendadas said...

Aqui no Brasil chamamos estas flores de TAGETES ou Cravo de defunto, pois livram a horta de alguns insetos indesejáveis, mas elas são lindas e ficaram mais lidas ainda através de suas fotos. Parabéns pelas postagem!

Melissa said...

Beautiful - I love marigolds.

Tales of Whimsy said...

Lovely. And congrats to the winner!

Liz @ Sit With Me In My Garden said...

Beautiful potted marigolds! We're winding down here and after we get a good hard frost there won't be any more pretty flowers like marigolds! I only had one in a pot this year! Those were some interesting facts you posted about the flower. I know that I read years ago to plant marigolds with the vegetables because it helps to keep bugs away.
Thanks for hosting another party!
~Liz

Heirloom treasures said...

Marigolds are always lovely anywhere in the garden and are especially usefull in the veggie patch as a deterent for veggie eating bugs. x

Sarah said...

Marigolds are wonderful for a garden. I like to add them in among other things and often use them in small pots for the table in the fall.
Thanks for hosting! ~ Sarah

Mary said...

Love your marigolds~ they're perfect for this time of year! I didn't realize they were edible! Thanks for hosting :)

Marcia said...

Thanks for the invite to link to your "party". It's done. I should have taken some marigold photos. They are still blooming furiously here. I'll check back on your blog to see more of what you're about on another day.

Anonymous said...

Wow! They are beautiful, such a pretty shade of yellow for this time of year! Beautiful post Liz...
Hugs Rosemary...xx

Sandi said...

Hi Liz,
Thank you so much for inviting me to link up today. I just did that. Don't know how many I will be able to comment on though because of being on slow dial up internet and a busy weekend.
Very interesting read about marigolds and beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing that with us.
Blessings!
PS I have recipes in a couple or so Gooseberry Patch books. One is Taste of Autumn and I can't remember the others. :)

A Cozy Cottage in the City said...

Hi Liz! Your blooms are LOVELY! I had missed the previous linky party, so I'm linking up for the first time with an older post. Hope that is ok. :) Anyway, take care and thank you kindly for hosting such a fun link party. :)

XOXO's,
Jessie

P.S. I have been a follower of your blog too, since your initial invite to "fresh-cut Fridays". :)

Tricia said...

What pretty flowers. I love all the interesting marigold tidbits too :)

Lynn said...

Hi Liz, so sorry I'm late! I see we were both thinking of the same flower this month, your pics are pretty-enjoy:@)

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Liz, thanks for inviting me to join Fresh Cut Fridays. I just became a follower and will link up shortly.
I loved the interesting facts about the marigolds.
Barb

Terry said...

Yipee, I won! My email address is thansen078@yahoo.com. How fun!! Thanks so much!

Blooming Rose Musings said...

Liz, thanks so much for hosting your fun party.
You marigolds look so lovely. I especially love the little bunny in with your marigold pots. You have given us some very interesting facts about that flower.
Sorry I'm a bit late to the party this month but I look forward to visiting all the other blogs too.

Honey at 2805 said...

Your marigold are lovely and i enjoyed reading about them.

Thanks so much for sharing and linking to Potpourri Friday. You participation is appreciated.

Poppy @ With a Dash of Color said...

Hi Liz, loved knowing the tidbits about marigold, never knew the varied uses of marigold before. Thanks for sharing and for hosting. Loved how you displayed the simple beauty of these flowers on that cute chair.Happy Sunday!Hugs~Poppy

http://withadashofcolor.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home said...

You took some beautiful photos and your flowers are beautiful too! I will mark down you party and when I have flowers in it I will come and join you! Thank you for linking up with Home Sweet Home!
Sherry