Fanciful Floral Folklore

The Tansy is a fragrant, herbaceous perennial in the Aster family.  It was one of the first medicinal herbs to be introduced to North America, in 1631, by English colonist John Winthrop Jr.  Dried Tansy leaves are the preferred fuel of many apiarists in their smokers.  In folklore, the Gypsy or Romany keep a Tansy in their boots and shoes at all times for good luck.

Fanciful Floral Folklore

Beside the whispering woods, where shadows play,
A patch of Tansy greets the early day.
They wear their cheerful coins of brightest gold,
As “Golden Buttons” rising brave and bold.

Fanciful blooms that catch the early light,
Yet carry ancient secrets with their might.
The wandering Gypsy tucked them in their shoes,
A lucky charms for the path they’d choose.

While apiarists, when working with their hives,
Will burn the dried-up leaves to save their lives;
The sweet, cool smoke calms every buzzing flight,
Making the keeper’s heavy burden light.

So here they stand, along the timber’s edge,
A fragrant, fern-leaved, wild and storied hedge.
From peasant’s boot to where the honey flows,
Tansy remains a blossom no one knows.

‘Til next time, y’all…