Featured Plant of the Week (Shamrock)
Shamrock
Many cultures, societies, and nations use some flower or plant as a symbol or as part of their identity. Canada's maple leaf, the Japanese cherry blossom, the tulip from Turkey or the Ottoman Empire before them. Yet of all the possible examples the strongest association between a plant and a people must be the shamrock and Ireland. A country defined by the struggles it has endured, the shamrock has acted as a symbol of Irish pride and solidarity in the face of adversity for centuries. This otherwise unremarkable and small clover has been elevated into legend thanks to its history of mixed fact and myth.
The history of the shamrock and its association with Ireland reputedly begins over 1500 years ago. During his quest to convert the Celtic island to Christianity it was said that Saint Patrick used the shamrock to demonstrate the Trinity to the Druids of ancient Ireland. The earliest account of this legend dates only to 1726 however, and there are no mentions of this practice from manuscripts written about Saint Patrick after his death in the late 5th century AD. Indeed the two letters known to have been written by him (one of which is about his life's work no less!) don't even mention it, calling the legend into question.
However this has not stopped the shamrock's identification with Ireland, as the association grew with the rise of Irish nationalism. Perhaps tapping into the religious nature of Ireland's rebellion against English imperialism, it seems plausible that Catholics rallied around the shamrock and its reference to the Trinity in response to their persecution by English and Scottish Protestants settling there. Saint Patrick's Day and Irish independence started to become associated with the shamrock and the color green as early as the 17th century, and was truly immortalized with the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Inspired by the American Revolution, Irish liberals began advocating for more autonomy from Britain. When the British Crown called on Irish men to form militias to protect Ireland from invasion by France (an ally of the rebellious colonies in America...), independence advocates used the leverage this military service provided to win greater self-rule for Ireland's elite. In a show of support of this effort, Irish soldiers wore green uniforms on Saint Patrick's Day in a bid to catch public attention. However, the British Parliament refused to budge on greater rights to vote and so a group called the Society of United Irishmen turned to outright rebellion.
Britain's response was swift and uncompromising. Within months of starting the rebellion was violently crushed, and displays of support for Irish independence were made punishable by hanging. It was under these bleak conditions that putting a shamrock on your person became known as "the wearing of the green" to show solidarity with Irish independence. This in turn kicked off the tradition of wearing green on Saint Patrick's Day.
Today, the shamrock is so strongly tied to the identity of Ireland that it's actually trademarked by the Irish government. It is worn as the regimental patch of the Royal Irish Regiment of the British Army, and was used by the Irish Brigade of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. It appears on the heraldry of cities, territories, and nations in recognition of their Irish populations. Originally a religious feast in Ireland, Saint Patrick's Day has spread into a worldwide celebration and show of solidarity. The United States has in particular embraced the holiday since it has the distinction of having more people of Irish heritage than people actually living in Ireland!
To help celebrate the occasion BloomRite® Gardens has starting carrying shamrock in 4 and 2 inch grower's pots. It bears mentioning that shamrock is a garbled version of seamróg, the Celtic word for "small" or "young" clover. The name shamrock applies to a range of three leaved clovers from different species and genres. At BloomRite® Gardens we're carrying a variety called Oxalis, which botanists would probably obnoxiously point out is not really a clover. However the species generally identified as shamrock are not grown commercially, and to be fair what is and is not a shamrock is awfully vague.
You can buy shamrock at BloomRite® Gardens now in 4" and 2" grower's pots for $2.95 and $1.40 respectively.
