Did you know that daisies can be eaten and have been used in salads? Apparently, they are high in Vitamin C and are related to the artichoke. In that case, yum! (but I’m still not going to try it). They are also cousins to the sunflower. I’ll just take sunflower seeds please.

Daisies represent many meanings such as vitality and innocence where young children would wear daisy crowns on May Day. Christians symbolize this flower with the purity of the Virgin Mary. And who can forget stating “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not,” or she, in your adolescence while plucking the petals off a daisy to reveal the last petal’s true statement. This is a game with a French origin in the 1800’s and often depicted in the arts.

Why a daisy to pluck other than for their meaning? Maybe it is because they are actually two flowers in one. Its petals, that can be any color, are ray florets and its “eye” is considered a composite flower consisting of many small flowers called disk florets.

Where did the word “daisy” derive from? It goes way back to the 5th Century when the Anglo Saxon culture, Germanic tribes, migrated to Europe. Their culture laid the foundation of the modern English system where we use over half their words today. Daisy comes from “daes eage’ in the Anglo Saxon language which means “day’s eye.” They described them by their action. Daisies bloom at dawn and close their petals in the evening.

When do daisies bloom during the year? Mostly year round. Daisies are tough and can adapt to any weather, except the cold like in Antartica. Other than there, they can survive in both wet and dry environments. They are also resistant to pesticides and insects.

Who wouldn’t want to name their child or pet, Daisy? Beautiful, innocent and tough!