Legends of Flowers

Searching legends of flowers we saw a lot of internet addresses. It was founded out that there are a lot of addresses where you can see different legends about the same flowers. We only picked out legends about flowers that we had found in our region. And we had elected these legends according to our taste. Then we made a collection of legends. Here they are:

Pansies

As for a legend, three periods of life of one girl Ann reflected in three – colored petals of pansies.
Once upon a time a kind and trusting girl Ann lived in a small village. She believed in everything and found a justification for every doing of people. And unfortunately met one guileful seducer who made Ann fell in love with him by beautiful romantic words amorous promises.
Ann dearly loved him. She devoted to her lover all her heart and all her life. But the youth betrayed Ann and made all ready for a journey. But he promised that he would be returned back to his beloved.
Ann was longing for him all her life and was being withered by sorrow. And when she died the flowers grew on her grave. And these flowers mirrored Ann’s hope, wonder and sorrow.
It is the Russian legend about that flower. The ancient Greeks connected the appearing of that flower with the daughter of ruler Ino. The only Ino’s daughter loved Zeus. But Zeus’s jealous wife Hera created a spell on the girl and changed her into a cow. And than Zeus grew pansies for his mistress. These flowers implied the amours triangle. And on the one hand pansies compared the simple mortal to the goddess.
On the other hand the plants kept a faith inside the girl that Hera’s spell wasn’t eternal.
But the Romans thought that pansies were overcurious persons who had been changed into flowers by Gods, when these persons spied the Aphrodite while she was having a bath.
There are also legends which said that there was an overcurious girl Ann who spied on someone’s life and interpreted it in her own way.

Anemone

On an edge of a forest, where customary only the wind walks a small white flower peeped out from the ground.
Than it began to shake up it’s 6 serrate leaves as if it wanted to fly away or to dance with the wind. It was oak wood’s anemone. It is always called frivolous for the wind’s friendship. The wind swings stalks and leaves of anemone and so they became flexible and enduring.
It is considered that those anemones are called frivolous also they owe their lives to Adonis.
Adonis was a frivolous handsome youth who was enamored of two goddess. The one was the goddess of the Underworld – Persephona and the other the goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite. Therefore he spent one half of the year in the Underworld with Persephona and the other part on the Earth with Aphrodite. But Arthemis the goddess who protects chastity got to known about Adonis’ beloveds and killed him when he was hunting. The legend says that when Aphrodite cried bitterly above her dead lover from her fallen tears the anemones grew up.
So this way the legend accounts for the appearing of two different flowers from buttercup’s family: anemone and Adonis.
It is proved that bouquet of the white anemones is not only for the good of your soul but also it is very efficacious for your eyesight. You need only to look for the white blooming anemones for 10 minutes and the eye’s tidiness will be over.

Aster

Have you ever looked at a star for a long? If you had than you had noticed that the star isn’t only just a simple glowing point in the sky. But the star’s light isn’t the same. Sometimes it is blue, sometimes it’s white and even pink. In the middle it is golden but among the edges it is darkened. And it seems to us that through this light the star gives us some signals and even picks up some messages from the Earth. May be that’s why sometimes the stars fall down.
When ancient people made a mental note of that hey started to peer at trees, flowers and tried to know the star’s interlocutor. And they found some small azure flowers with a yellow circle in the middle which were similar to the stars in the sky.
“Aster!” – exclaimed one of them.
The word “aster” means “star” and since that time the azure flower has had that name.
It was brought to Europe from China in 1728 by Peter Inkerville. He imported the seeds of the flower and presented them to a famous French botanist.
The botanist grew up some large bright flowers in the royal garden Trianon and called them “the daisy’s queens”.
An aster is one of the oldest plants. When archaeologists opened a 2 thousand years old royal tomb they found there among some garlands of acanthus’ leaves laurel and pine-tree corns an aster’s imprint.
The ancient Greeks considered the asters as an amulet.
An aster personify the autumn on the Hungarian language of colors. It calls “ostirose” what means an “autumn rose”.
There is a popular belief. If you stand among asters at night and considerate listen towards the flowers, you can hear an almost inaudible whisper. This way asters talk to their sisters – the stars. And it comes with no surprise because according to a legend an aster grew up from the dust which had fallen down from the stars. The legend was born by a French astronomer Cassini learnt the science about the hravenly bodies in youth and the rest of his life he devoted to botany.

Azalea

In the spring of 401 B.C. the Greek host went on the Colchis’s mountain road to find the Golden Fleece. Martial local tribes attacked the conquerors, but all their attempts were failed. And the Greeks were glad because all their things were going swimmingly. But suddenly a misfortune happened in the main Athenian host. Some soldiers found a big apiary, quickly shared honeycombs with each other, tasted honey and soon fell to earth unconscious. Xynofont, the commander of the army described that occurrence this way: “There was nothing suspicious at all. But there were many bee-hives. And all of the soldiers who tasted honey momentary lost consciousness. There were many sick soldiers as if it was after a battle. But nobody died the next day. They started to recover consciousness. And after the third and the fourth days everybody rose to their feet.”
It was found out that the Greek warriors ate a plenty of honey from the flowers of wild rhododendron, the distant kin of present-day azalea. The most famous of the azalea’s family now days is Indian azalea. Its flowers are full of nectar, but it’s honey possesses some specific properties and has some dangerous alkaloids.
In word-for-word translation from Greek the word “azalea” means “dry”. And this is so indeed that azalea represents a meager bush with small shaggy leaves before its flowers to bloom.
For a long time the azalea’s buds stay half – closed as though they hide their beauty from people’s eyes. But suddenly right away the buds flare with bright colors. It can be about 5 hundred flowers on one bush and every flower will not go out during 18 days. But all plants blooms about 2 and a half months. Everybody who has ever seen a garland of snow white, ale – rose, golden, red or purple flowers can’t be indifferent to them. Sometimes these flowers are wavy, sometimes they are double as a ballerina’s tutu, or open as a cup. The flowers gladden the look and cheer the heart. Besides some sorts of azaleas, for example an Indian one wakes up only in the “death season” that’s why they brings a lot of happiness.
If you cut some blooming azalea’s flowers and put them into water they will blaze during 2 weeks long.
Azaleas belong to the rhododendron’s subfamily to which only trees and bushes belong. The most famous their sorts found is their using in landscape gardening in Japan and China.

Cornflower

Once the Heaven reproached the cornfield with ingratitude. The heaven said: ”Everything who lives on the Earth bless me. The birds send me their chirping, flowers give me their fragrance and color, forests whisper to me their wonderful stories but only you don’t express any gratitude. But namely I inflate the roots of your herbs with rain water and make ears mature.”
And the cornfield answered: ”I appreciate you. I adorn the tillage with eternal exciting verdure and cover it with gold in autumn. I can express my gratitude only in this way. Tell me how to thank you and I will strew you over with endearment.”
Than the Heaven agreed: “Well, if you can’t rise to me, I’ll alight from the sky to you.”
And the miracle happened immediately. Hundreds of magnificent blue flowers which were similar to the sky in color grew up among the ears. Since that time the crop plants bows to the heavens envoys, to the blue cornflowers with every gentle breeze.
The generic name of the cornflower is “centaury”.
This name descends from the ancient mythical creature centaur who healed his wounds which were gashed by Heracles by sap of centaury.
In ancient Rome the cornflower was called «Cyan». Cyan means "blue". These flowers got such name in honor of the youth with blue eyes who pocked the plants to make some diadems and garlands.
The cornflower came to us from the great antiquity. In the time of the Tutankhamen tomb’s excavation was founded a lot of treasures. But the garland which was made of cornflowers brought the archaeologists in a culture shock. The flowers withered but the held the shape and color. It might had been favorite flowers of that pharaoh and his wife brought that garland to her husband.
But the cornflower has it’s secrets. And one of them is the seed’s spreading. The seeds can move.
Cornflower’s seed is smooth and shining. It is similar to a rye seed in it’s shape. But in the top of the cornflower seed is a small crest of white fuzzes.
For a not well-informed person it can appears as a parachute for the seeds’ flight like dandelion’s.
But it isn’t so. Cornflower’s crest is a basic organ of seed’s moving. With its help the seed can crawl. When it gets wet it reduces and when it dries up it elongates. The crest’s fuzzes aims at one side. And this way they catch on jogs of the ground and they crawl.

Columbine

The scientific name of the columbine is “Aquilegia”. But people also call it as a dove in all probability owing to the similarity of the shape of halo with a pigeon.
One of the people’s sobriquet of this flower is connected with the legend.
Once upon a time in a small French village lived one shrew. She always found faults with her husband. And her husband didn’t hold water and decided to separate from the shrew. Then the woman decided to separate from the shrew. Then the woman made a request to her neighbors. And one of them wanted to help this unhappy woman and advised her to boil the columbine’s flowers and as soon as she would be burn with the desire to find faults with her husband fill her mouth with this boiling.
And the woman followed her neighbor’s advise. Peace and quiet took place in their house. Since that time the French call the columbine as the herb of a shrew.

Heather

The heather is a well – known flower for a long time. As far back as the great antiquity his leaves have been used instead of hop and the heather’s flowers have been used for coloring of skins and the flower’s image was a part of one of Scottish clans.
Long ago a lot of wonderful beverages were being done from the heater. But now we can only get to know about it from the verses of one Scottish poet Robert Stivenson and also from legends. And in one of such legends is told about one Scottish king who wanted to find out about the secret of the “heather’s honey”, the beverage which was cooked by one of the tribes in the north of the country. The king sent his army to that corner of the country and they tried to intermediate people with swords and fire. But none of them had clued.

Carnation

The carnations were brought to Europe from Tunisia however their motherland is the Maldives. The Russian name of the flower descends from a polish word “gvizdic”, which is borrowed from a German dictionary. The Germans gave such name to the flowers because of theirs similarity with one overseas spice. It was dried out buds of allspice. The Germans could smell the same odor and they gave the name carnations to the flowers too. Ordinary people call that flower the field tears, sparks, stars, sharp-sighted or maidens herb.
One ancient writer Plinij mentioned that the ancient Romans grew up these divine flowers. It is mentioned in his book “Natural history”. In Dante’s book “The Hell” is mentioned that the carnations were brought in Italy by Nicolo. And in France it was brought while the last crusade. When French warriors were besieging Tunis in the country plague blazed up. And the doctor, who knew about the medical properties of the carnations, boiled a special potion which healed many warriors from the disease. And soon the epidemic had been stopped. And then the soldiers of Ludovic IX imported that plant into France in 1270.
The Italians like the carnations too. Its image was included to the State Emblem. And the girls considered the carnations as the mediator of love, they presented these flowers to youths who were going to a battle. It was made for saving a girl’s lover.
The French girls also presented carnations to their boy-friends when they went to army. In that action the girls expressed a wish that their lovers would come back saved and sound. The warriors believed into a miraculous power of a carnation and wore it as a talisman.
In Spain that flower was considered as a “love-savior” talisman. In Valencia it was a great compliment if a man presented such flower to his lover in winter, because in that season flowers were very expensive.
Spanish women were able to make secret appointments to their cavaliers, by pinning carnations of different colors to their dresses.
In Belgium the carnations are considered to be the flowers of poor men. Miners grow it up. After dark miners are glad to see cheerful red flowers.
Parents give a carnation garland to their daughter when she gets marry. The carnations are the decorations of laid tables.
The carnation enjoys wide popularity among face makers and embroiderers. On some ancient Brussels laces you can see a lot of delicate carnation tracery.
In England and German it was considered for a long time that a carnation is a symbol of love, innocence and purity. We can see it in folk and in works of William Shakespeare and Julius Sacks.
Goethe called a carnation an embodiment of friendship and firmness. It was also glorified in the pictures of Leonardo da Vinchy, Rembrandt, Rubens and Goya.

Gladiolus

An ancient Roman legend affirms that roots of gladiolus have a magical power. If you hang it up on your neck as an amulet it will bring you luck, help to win a duel and also it would save you from death. A translation of the
word “gladiolus” from Latin is “sword”.
There is such legend.
One cruel Roman commander grasped some Thracian warriors and ordered to turn them into gladiators.
The most valiant, dexterous, handsome and constant friends Sevt and Terres had to fight with each other first.
The winner would be free and would get marry to the commander’s daughter. There were a lot of people who wanted to see a military fight. But on the contrary to their exceptions the warriors didn’t fight. Sevt and Terres put swords into the ground and fell on each other necks.
The audience started to make a spiteful noise. Then trumpets sounded and the intractable warriors were put to death. But as soon as their bodies touched with the ground from the swords‘ handles grew up two gladioluses. And now these flowers considered to be the symbols of friendship, faithfulness, memory and nobility.

Dahlia

The dahlia’s motherlands are the mountain areas of Mexico, Peru and Chile. Since old times Aztecs had grown wild dahlias for food.. They called that plant “ackockoksoth” which means “water pipe” and sometimes “kockoksoth” which signifies “the flower with hollow stalk”. The plant’s tubers had been eaten.
There are two versions of that how dahlias came to Europe. The one says that more than 4 hundred years ago two brave wanderers brought that flower from Mexico. But as for the second story the Spanish doctor Hernandes imported dahlias to Europe.
And the ancient legend says that dahlias had appeared on the place of the last died down fire before the Glacial Epoch came. The dahlia’s’ birth was a sign of hope, that there would be the life’s and gladness’ resurrection.

Globe-flower

This flower is a orange flower. It is always situated in the water. The globe-flower is blossoming while flood-lands fields are being flooded as if this flower lives bathing. You see if puddles dry up these plants will vanish. In Siberia an Asiatic globe-flower is named "zharok". People think that a globe-flower or a king-of-glasses can banish evil spirit. In Slavic mythology the globe-flower is the divinity of the agriculture and the patroness of a woman works.

Iris

One French doctor Odo from Men let us know of rises’ genealogy. Irises were born in the Illyrian’s area.
It is also called a sword – a lily by the Germans for it’s leaves. But the Russians gave a tender name to that flower. They call it "darling".
The ancient Greeks denoted a rainbow as “iris”. And they identified the same-color flower as “iris” too. Irises have also very beautiful leaves. They remains green till in the late of autumn.
It is also famous for the aroma of it’s roots which extract is using in making high quality perfume, wine and sweets. A strong roots system of that plant allows to use it for fastening ravines, slopes, slants and so on. But the main irises’ dignity is the beauty of their flowers.
As for legend, irises appeared from the tears of one sailor’s wife who was crying for a long while waiting her husband back home.
There is a legend about the iris. Once on the border of a forest a wonder flower blossomed. Then forest animals and birds began the dispute whose flower it was. They have been disputing for four days and then the dispute solved by itself. Iris seeds matured and a wind delivered them to the different sites.
The irises’ family includes about 1800 plants which belongs to different genuses.
In Japan on the 5th of May all boys celebrate their holiday. And in that day the magical talisman is prepared of irises and a wild orange tree. That talisman will protect a boy from many different sickness and misfortunes.

Bluebells

If you go to the field and lend an ear to the bluebells, you will hear their song. According to a legend, the bell-flowers appeared from a fell on earth jingle of the coachman’s carts.
Some of the botanists divide bluebells into 300 species. The most memorizing of the bluebells are a combined campanula, a round-leaf bell-flower, a peach-leaf bluebell and a spreading campanula. It is very easy to differ these flowers. The main differ is concluded in the name of the flower.
Ordinary people call the bluebell as a chatterbox, a bell, Adam’s staff, a kettle, a tambourine, a jingle, a dove, a key and even a wild soap.
From June until September there are a lot of blooming bluebells on the fields of Russian Federation. But in spite of it the bluebells are at the border of destruction and need to be protected. Don’t pluck the wild bluebells!

Day-lily

Have you ever heard about the flower of a good spirit? It is said that if you touch it your sorrow and grief will vanish in a moment. You are delighted when you admire its beauty. How charming blossoms! And this flower doesn’t need a lot during its blossoming in the summer. May-be the legend adds the magic qualities to it for its rare natural combination of unpretentiousness and beauty. The Russian name of a day-lily is "krasodnev". This name was given to it because its beautiful funnel-shaped like a lily flower opens early in the morning and lives only one day. That’s why the English name of this flower is a "day-lily". But if the weather is cloudy and it isn’t very hot flowers will be living for some days. But you needn’t sorry about the dried up flower because after it a new flower will open! In Japan this flower is named a forget-the-glass.

Water-lily

From long ago the name of water-lilies was closely with a mermaids. And it was called as a mermaid flower too.
The northern American Indians assert that water-lilies appeared from some sparks of the fell Pole star and Hesperus, which disputed about the rocket that was sent from the Earth.
The legend says that each water-lily has it’s own friend, an elf, who was born with the flower and the elf should die with it.
One of a close relatives of a white water-lily is our yellow water-lily. The leafs of a water lily aren’t in the same position all day long. They follow the sun turning to it’s beams.
At night the flower closes it’s bud and sinks in warm water.
The water lily blooms during 3 months and dwells in standing waters. The Slavs considered that the water lily has a saving power. And it can protect a human during a journey.
Theocrats one of the most famous ancient botanists wrote that a water-lily has the same shape with poppy but it’s much bigger and its weight is the same with an apple. It has four large green leaves with red seeds which have fresh taste the same with wheat.
Water-lily’s leaves can swim. There are some big air areas inside them to keep the flower above the water.
There are also a Mexican water-lily which is called a water banana. There are less exotic flowers which were such famous as Victoria Regia a gigantic water-lily from the Southern America. About it’s blooming you can hear on the radio or on television or even read in newspapers. The people of all ages rush to the greenhouses to see that miracle.
They can see a lot of big flowers. Every water-lily is about 2 meters. The plants are drifting in a big swimming pool with warm water. The flowers of Victoria are bright-green and bright-purple in bottom that’s why it seems that the flower has a glow.
Each flower has an infinite number of different colored petals. When in 1849 year it bloomed in the first time there was a great sensation.
The first man, who discovered a Victoria was a German botanist Edward Fredrick Poypping. From 1827 till 1832 Poypping traveled through Southern America end crossed the continent from the West to the East very close to the equator. He traveled from the Pacific ocean to Chile through the Ands then crossed Peru and Brazil, went down to the Amazon river and reached the Atlantic ocean. In January 1832 Poypping found the plant near to the Amazon river falling into the Teffe river. And then in one magazine he published an article where he described the flower under the name Victoria – regia. But that article caused no sensation.
In 1836 a German botanist Robert German Shomburgk met that plant in Guyane for The Royal London Geographic society. He delivered the plant to Nymphaea’s family which includes our white water-lily and gave it a name “Nymphaea Victoria” in honor of an eighteen years old beauty who had just assumed the throne of the United Kingdom. The botanist reckoned on the attention of some influence people.
Shomburgk gathered some parts of the flower and it’s seeds, made some drawings and discribings and sent the materials to England. In 1837 professor Lindley determined that the plant should be delivered to a new family of water-lilies and supported Shomburgk in denoting the flower as “Victoria”. And Shomburgk got a knight’s rank for the great services and then started to be called as Sir Shomburgk. The news of Victoria’s blooming peddled among scientists, artists and journalists. And by the moment of the flower’s opening there were a lot of people in the greenhouse. Everybody was amazed by the beauty of Victoria.
The Amazon Victoria Regia has very strong leaves which can bear a human’s weight. And its leaves are very beautiful. An English architect D. Pakston used a model of the leaf for the Crystal Palace in London.
In the Victoria’s homeland the flower has more than twelve leaves.
Victoria’s blooming lasting for 2 or 3 nights. All night the flower exhales the aroma and warmth. The temperature of Victoria is 11 degree higher than the temperature of the surroundings. In the morning the leaves close up until the next night.

Poppy

The poppy is one of the most ancient plants. The most beautiful of the poppy’s family is The East poppy but the most widespread is Omnificent poppy. The legend says that when the first people appeared the nature cared of their rest. For the rest the Nature gave the people the night. The night concealed the beauty and prey from the people so they do nothing at night. However the people stayed awake at night. The night felt her helpless and burst into tears. Then the dew appeared from night’s tears. And the Nature took pity upon the Night and sent to her a husband – the Slumber to make the Night’s life easier.
But not all of the people started to sleep at night. Then the Nature gave the Slumber his children the Dreams which could help the Night and the Slumber. But neither Night nor Slumber nor Dreams could make one worried man sleep. He lied on an aroma field and stayed wake.
That man made the Slumber angry. And the Slumber put his wand into the earth and flight away.
The Dreams wrapped the magic wand round the Night made it alive and the wand got green and rooted then it opened with some beautiful flowers.
In ancient Greece that flower was devoted to Hypnos the god of sleep and Morpheus the god of dreams. The statues of Demeter were decorated with poppies.
The Romans devoted that flower to Ceres. According to a legend Ceres wandered on the Earth and couldn’t find the rest. Then the other gods decided to grow up poppies. Once Ceres gathered flowers and fell dead asleep. When she woke up she elated that there were a lot of harvest. Since that time the poppies blooming is connected with the plentiful harvest.
The Ukrainians consider that flower as a symbol of love and beauty. The Germans consider it as a symbol of fertility. The Siberians strews poppies under the legs of newly married to make their family happy and to save them from childless. But in China poppies are connected with unkind beliefs.
There are not only white and red poppies. In The Himalayas there are o lot of blue poppies. And on the north side of our country there are also polar yellow poppies.

Daisies

The daisies are one of the flowers which opens the first in the morning. For this action they were given the name “the Eyes of the day”. But in translation from Greek “daisy” means “pearl”. White or pink daisies decorates our flower-beds. And there is a legend of their appearing:
“One little girl whispered a wish to the night sky:
– Oh, the stars! Please turn into flowers for me to play with you.
And the stars reflected in a morning dew. And when the girl woke up she saw a lot of beautiful silver daisies in the lawn. And the sun asked a daisy in the morning:
– Are you glad? May be you have some more whishes?
– Thank you, – replied the daisy, – I’m glad. But let me bloom in each season to gladden children. Let that joy be the endless.
And the Sun touched the daisy with the light and left in the middle of the flower a yellow circle.
The other legend says that there was a beautiful maiden who was pursued by an old man for a long time. Then she asked the Nature to protect her and she was turned into a daisy.
According to a Russian legend the daisies appeared from Lubava’s necklace which was torn when the maiden rushed to her lover Sadko.
In the middle centuries a knight who was getting married engraved on his shield the image of a blooming daisy.
Ludovic IX in the honor of his wife Daisy ordered to render the flower on the royal flag and on his ring.
Many people consider daisies as the symbol of kindness sincere affection. In England it is loved by everyone and glorified in many songs.

Lilac

An ancient Greek legend says that there was a young Pan the god of the forests and fields and once he met a beautiful nymph Syringa a tender bulletin of the morning dawn. He admired her grace and beauty and decided to talk to her. But she scared and ran away. Pan tried to run her down but she suddenly turned into an aroma bush of lilac. Pan burst out with tears near to the bush. Then he started to wander in forests and make good for everybody. And the name of Syringa became the Latin name of lilac.
The other legend says that the lilac’s flowers came to us when the Spring drove away snow from fields and raised the sun higher. The sun with the rainbow went above the Earth. Than the Spring gathered some sun beams merged them with some rainbow beams and started to throw them on the Earth. When the Spring reached the north she had only white and violet colors. There were Scandinavian lands below the Spring. Then the Spring threw lilac colors to the small bushes which covered with small flowers. Then she had only white color and the Spring scattered it on the Earth. In the places where she threw white colors grew up a lot of white lilac bushes.
Lilac got it’s name from a Greek word “syrinx” which means “pipe” because from lilacs wood herders made pipes. But in Russia it is called also as “sinel” from the word “blue” because the active color define one of the tints of plants.

Tulip

When tulips are blooming the Earth gets the greatest joy. From the deep ancient that legend came to us. There was a happiness in a yellow bud of a tulip. It was hide from everybody because there was no power which could open it. But once the woman with a child walked on the field. The boy pulled out the mother’s hands and ran to the flower and the bud opened. The child’s laughing made what no power could do. Since that time it is accepted to present tulips only to people who are happy.
There are a lot of poems, pictures and legends about tulips in Holland. But the most interesting is an original story about that flower.
The Tulips grew in Holland and were very expensive there. For some kinds of that flower you could buy a new house or even an estate. In 1634-1637 for one bulb of Admiral Enkhusien you could got 6 thousands guilders or thirteen thousands for a bulb of Semper Augustus.
It is hard to believe in it now but in that time there were a great passions for tulips. Once the Negros from Harlem wanted to have their own black tulip. And asked the greatest botanists of the world to help them. The winner would be rewarded with one hundred thousands guilders in gold. It was very difficult to make a black tulip but after many attempts one botanist grew up a black tulip.
In the 15 of May 1637 there were great celebrations which were devoted to the birth of a black tulip. The celebrations were opened as a specified carnival procession. A lot of men in black clothes were bringing red, yellow and orange tulips in their hands. The men with stretcher on which there was a vase with the black tulip in it were following them.

Bilberry

By German legend bushes of bilberry cover the earth in the places where tiny gnomes and dwarfs protected their treasures from people dart about. Once these small grey-bearded creatures were looking for the place where they could seek shelter with their treasures. But people found them everywhere.
Gnomes and dwarfs fearing for their treasures had been traveling around the world with weppings and moans until a bilberry-bush took pity on them. He invited them over to him and promised them a secret safe home. This home was under the green arches of a bilberry wood. Then happy gnomes began to carry their silver, gold and precious stones there. And what they could not to carry was loaded up with the moles, lizards, hamsters and other small animals living underground. At the same time dwarfs were going on foot and gnomes were driving by frogs.
This matching continued for two days. Then everything bushwhacked and hid out in the holes, under the biberry roots and these ting people still live there.

Thistle

A thistle is spiny and fearful. That’s why our pious forefathers tried to frighten devils with it. They thought that the flower brought home banished an evil spirit that had been left out of rafters in the cot. Forefathers believed that a thistle protected their dwellings from acts of God and their animals – from the evil eye and diseases. A witch couldn’t enter into the home where bunches of thistle were.