That Woman: Texas Rose and Tussie Mussies...

The many meanings of flowers and the changing art of communication.  At the left is a prickley pear cactus in bloom. 

Supposedly The Yellow Rose of Texas is not a rose at all, but the yellow flower of the prickley pear.  The Yellow Rose of Texas is also the thorny subject of  That Woman: the lady in the tent with Mexico's General Santa Ana.

Sam Houston, with the battle of the Alamo fresh in the memory of those early Texians and with cries of "Remember Goliad" mustering the many, charged the Mexican Army and caught them off guard during siesta time (with their leader having a very lovey siesta).  And thus the Battle of San Jacinto was won leading immediately to the formal establishment of the Republic of Texas and negotiation for the lands of Mexico. Further MotherPie recommend for reading on history through the comparison of Houston and Santa Ana: The Eagle and The Raven by James Michener.

In Texas, the pride of those brief years of the Republic of Texas gives meaning to the red stripe on the state flag: hang it with the red stripe at the bottom ("the blood on the ground").  Hang the red stripe on the top:  signal of distress.  Flag rule in Texas: the Flag of Texas stands even with the flag of the United States of America. 

Tussie-Mussies are little Victorian talking bouquets that use the language of flowers to communicate. Georgian Geraldine Laufer's book, Tussie-Mussies: The Language of Flowers is a wonderful introduction to the symbolic language of flowers.  She doesn't mention the Yellow Rose of Texas but she has written a wonderful book about a language long forgotten in times of text messaging and emails. 

"Roses that are red mean only one thing-Love-while a yellow rose may range from Friendship to Jealousy. Daisies are for Innocence, ivy for Fidelity, rosemary for Remembrance. Then comes the delightful task of arranging individual flowers and herbs together to compose a specific message to a friend or loved one,"  according to Amazon's review of  Laufer's book.

Ah! The scent of change and language.  Fikirte on science changing linguistics. How to eat it up:

Recipe for Napolitas (prickley pear pads)

• Scrape off thorns with a knife (use gloves)

• Peel skin

• Saute with olive oil or canola oil

• cut into small strips

• Toss in salad, serve on corn chips

April Showers Bring May Flowers and rose petals are edible, too.   

Comments

[Mamacita]

I cultivated roses for awhile when I lived in Virginia. I fended off attacks from every one of their multiple natural foes: aphids, black spot mold, and Japanese beetles. In the end, there were more chemicals sprayed in my back yard to establish a Superfund site! Great post!