Forget Me Nots

 

Forget Me Nots
Myosotis arvensis

State flower of Alaska

There are over 50 species

photo taken May 2012

these have finished blooming June 2012

This appeared this spring by the pond. I thought it was a weed but I didn't pull it out of curiousity to see what it would do. It turned out to have pretty little blue flowers with yellow centers. It grew out of two clumps of ground cover I planted by the pond the summer of 2010. I got the ground cover from a home nursery in the Boring/Sandy area. Turns out it blooms the second year. It was there the whole time!

under 1' tall

attracts butterflies

perennial

early spring bloomer

indigenous to Europe and Asia

zones 3-9

plant in full sun to full shade, but not under evergreens

use all purpose fertilizer once or twice a season

insect and disease problems are uncommon

Seeds can be collected by putting a piece of paper under the stems and shaking them

Legend: In 15th-century Germany, it was supposed that the wearers of the flower would not be forgotten by their lovers. Legend has it that in medieval times, a knight and his lady were walking along the side of a river. He picked a posy of flowers, but because of the weight of his armour he fell into the river. As he was drowning he threw the posy to his loved one and shouted "Forget-me-not." It was often worn by ladies as a sign of faithfulness and enduring love. 

Freemasons began using the flower in 1926 as a symbol well known in Germany as message not to forget the poor and desperate. Many other German charities were also using it at this time. In later years, by a handful of Masons, it was a means of recognition in place of the square and compass design. This was done across Nazi occupied Europe to avoid any danger of being singled out and persecuted. The symbol of the forget-me-not in modern Masonry has become more prevalent and exaggerated claims about the use of the symbol are often made in order to promote sales of bumper stickers of the symbol. Today it is an interchangeable symbol with Freemasonry and some also use the Forget-me-not to remember those masons who were victimized by the Nazi regime.In English Freemasonry it is more commonly now worn to remember those that have died as a symbol that you may be gone but not forgotten.