On an unpromising suburban side street near my home is a patch of rubbly derelict land awaiting 'development'. I always give it a look when I'm passing. In summer, when the buddleias and brambles that have invaded it are flowering, there are often butterflies feeding - peacocks, red admirals, meadow browns, speckled woods, whites, last year of course painted ladies. This morning as I passed, I noticed that a heap of dumped earth on the site was now overspread with speedwell, and it was already in flower! - a heart-lifting sight. Speedwell comes in many varieties, and I am not enough of a botanist to distinguish them, but the generic name is Veronica. Is this because of a perceived resemblance of the flowers' 'faces' to the image on the 'vernicle', the imprint of Jesus's face on the cloth given to him, according to pious legend, by St Veronica? The speedwell name apparently comes from the fact that travellers would wear a spring of it to speed their journey. And why not? But I left my little patch to thrive where it was, beautifying its little roadside spoilheap.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Veronica
On an unpromising suburban side street near my home is a patch of rubbly derelict land awaiting 'development'. I always give it a look when I'm passing. In summer, when the buddleias and brambles that have invaded it are flowering, there are often butterflies feeding - peacocks, red admirals, meadow browns, speckled woods, whites, last year of course painted ladies. This morning as I passed, I noticed that a heap of dumped earth on the site was now overspread with speedwell, and it was already in flower! - a heart-lifting sight. Speedwell comes in many varieties, and I am not enough of a botanist to distinguish them, but the generic name is Veronica. Is this because of a perceived resemblance of the flowers' 'faces' to the image on the 'vernicle', the imprint of Jesus's face on the cloth given to him, according to pious legend, by St Veronica? The speedwell name apparently comes from the fact that travellers would wear a spring of it to speed their journey. And why not? But I left my little patch to thrive where it was, beautifying its little roadside spoilheap.
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It sounds like the bombsites of yesteryear.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photograph and typically enlightening post.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I was a child we were told that birds would peck our eyes out if we picked speedwell...strange when I think about it now. What was all that about?
ReplyDeleteGood grief - maybe your parents having a (er) joke, Tricia?
ReplyDelete