Zinnia=Carciumarese

N-am inteles niciodata de ce acestor flori, atat de putin pretentioase incat decorau cam toate gradinile din satul in care am copilarit, sat in care apa de baut (sau de udat gradina de flori, cele de zarvazavat se organizau aproape de Ialomita) se gasea la vreo 22 m adancime iar verile erau adesea secetoase,  li se spune popular carciumarese. Mie imi place mult mai mult numele stiintific, Zinnia, care vine de la botanistul german Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727–59), asa zice Wikipedia. Si mai zice enciclopedia asta cu multi autori, mai mult sau mai putin credibili (cel mai adesea bine documentati) ca floarea ar proveni din insoritul Mexic, lucru ce ar explica f bine adaptarea ei la Baraganul nostru. 

Pe cat e de modesta in ce priveste ingrijirea pe atat e de aspectuoasa. M-am oprit zilele trecute langa o gradina de bloc in care se aflau cateva zinnii, si am facut niste poze, nu ca o dovada a nostalgiei dupa o copilarie de mult apusa, pt ca n-am avut o copilarie fericita, ci ca sa bucur si pe altii cu frumusetea lor.

Si nu pot sa inchei acest articol fara sa pomenesc de zanele--flori ale lui Cicely Mary Barker, (28 June 1895 – 16 February 1973) care a scris si ilustrat nenumarate carti care fac si azi deliciul copiilor, una din ele am admirat-o la fiica mea in USA, de atunci fiica a schimbat multe domicilii, in tari diferite, si nu stiu daca nu cumva cartea s-a pierdut pe drumuri. Una din carti e dedicata alfabetului si Zinnia Flower Fairy incheie aceasta carte. Fiecare zana avea si o poezie care ii era dedicata.

Z for Zinnias, pink or Red;
See them in the flower bed,
Copper, orange, all aglow,
Making such a stately show.

I, their fairy, say Good-bye,
For the last of all am I.
Now the Alphabet is said
All the way from A to Z.

Ca sa va faceti o idee cate carti a scris CMB o sa copiez lista din Wikipedia:

• Flower Fairies of the Spring; Blackie, 1923
• Spring Songs with Music; Blackie, 1923
• Flower Fairies of the Summer; Blackie, 1925
• Child Thoughts in Picture and Verse (by M.K. Westcott); Blackie, 1925
• Flower Fairies of the Autumn; Blackie, 1926
• Summer Songs with Music; Blackie, 1926
• The Book of the Flower Fairies; Blackie, 1927
• Autumn Songs with Music; Blackie, 1927
• Old Rhymes for All Times; Blackie, 1928
• The Children’s Book of Hymns; Blackie, 1929; rep. 1933
• Our Darling’s First Book (written in collaboration with Dorothy Barker); Blackie, 1929
• The Little Picture Hymn Book; Blackie, 1933
• Rhymes New and Old; Blackie, 1933
• A Flower Fairy Alphabet; Blackie, 1934
• A Little Book of Old Rhymes; Blackie, 1936
• He Leadeth Me (written in collaboration with Dorothy Barker); Blackie, 1936
• A Little Book of Rhymes New and Old; Blackie, 1937
• The Lord of the Rushie River; Blackie, 1938
• Flower Fairies of the Trees; Blackie, 1940
• When Spring Came In at the Window; Blackie, 1942
• A Child’s Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson); Blackie, 1944
• Flower Fairies of the Garden; Blackie, 1944
• Groundsel and Necklaces; Blackie, 1946; reprinted as Fairy Necklaces
• Flower Fairies of the Wayside; Blackie, 1948
• Flower Fairies of the Flowers and Trees; Blackie, 1950
• Lively Stories; Macmillan, 1954
• The Flower Fairy Picture Book; Blackie, 1955
• Lively Numbers; Macmillan, 1957
• Lively Words; Macmillan, 1961.
• The Sand, the Sea and the Sun; Gibson, 1970