Judy Baker/Anna Sugg writes historical western romances and contemporary/suspense
romance. Judy lives in the beautiful western state of Utah. Though she’s a
southerner at heart, she loves the surrounding mountains and the desert
valleys. When not writing the stories that fill her head, she enjoys RVing with
her family, stargazing through one of her many telescopes, digging in her
wildflower garden, and golfing, or just swinging on the patio while plotting
her next story. She’s also an avid sci-fi fan, loves coffee, sweet southern
tea, and the ocean.
Since the month of July is my
birth month, I did a little research on the month’s flower and gemstone that
I’d like to share with you. I hope you find this interesting even if your birth
month is not July. The July flower is the Delphinium, aka Larkspur, and the
July gemstone is the Ruby.
Did you know it was over 130
million years ago that the first flowers graced planet Earth with beautiful
colors and delightful scents? Hmm, maybe the dinosaurs like the way they
tasted. Celebrating birthdays with flowers dates back to the Roman Empire
times, honoring the Roman gods and adorning the altars with flowers. The Roman
Goddess of flowers was Flora, a collective term used for plant life and flowers
to this day.
During the Victorian era there
were strong rules of etiquette when expressing affection or feelings of love,
hence, the “Flower Language” evolved. Each flower was assigned its own message,
and when a lover sent flowers, the beautiful posy conveyed a hidden romantic
meaning, communicating in a mysterious, romantic way. Oops! I got carried away
with the flower and its origin. Back to the July flower.
The delphinium
(larkspur) flower resembles the shape of a dolphin’s nose, hence the name.
The Larkspur is mentioned frequently in mythology. One
such Greek legend takes place during the battle of Troy, when Achilles’ mother
ordered her son’s armor to be given to the bravest warrior during the battle.
When the armor was given to Ulysses, the brave warrior Ajax was so upset that
he threw himself on his sword. It is said that small blue larkspurs grew where
his blood hit the ground. Another Greek mythology story attached to the
larkspur is the handsome Spartan prince, Hyakinthos, who was transformed into
the larkspur flower by Zephyrus’ jealous anger. Even Apollo, god of war,
believed the flower sacred. If you’re
into Greek mythology, there’s many more stories involving flowers.
Did you know
-
a dried larkspur placed in stables keep witches
from casting spells on your animals?
-
the larkspur flowers cures ailments and are used
during the Summer Solstice celebrations in England?
-
the blue dye of the larkspur flowers were used
by Native Americans?
-
the larkspur flowers were used by the ancients
to drive away scorpions?
July’s birthstone is the Ruby.
The gleaming Ruby should adorn,
All those who in July are born,
For thus they’ll be exempt and free,
From lover’s doubts and anxiety.
Unknown
Interesting facts about the Ruby:
Ruby
derived from the Latin word, ruber,
meaning red
It’s the Birthstone for July even during ancient
times and continues to this day
Deep red stones are the most valuable, out-valuing
diamonds of the same size
Rubies are
extremely hard, second only to diamonds
Rubies are rare, not frequently found in large carat
sizes
Rubies the color of blood and fire symbolizes
vitality, vigor, power, strength, love, anger, undying devotion and other
passionate emotion
Rubies are
graded like diamonds, by color, cut, clarity and carat weight.
Ruby is a
member of the Corundum (aluminum oxide family)
In ancient
times, inserting a ruby in your skin was believed to ward off evil and make you
courageous in battle.
Rubies are
high energy stone, opening a heart to true love.
July Birthstone video:
For those of you that celebrate your birthday in JULY, I
wish you the best day during the month, and for the rest of you, remember to
give someone a flower to express your affections to one you love.
Thank you RB4U for having me as your guest.
New Release: Spirit
Catcher, April 8, 2015 Link
Where you can find Judy Baker
Website: http://judybaker.coffeecup.com
http://anna_sugg.coffeecup.com
Blog: http://judyswriting.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakerbooknews
http://www.sweetcravingspublishing.com
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon Author pages:
Anna Sugg
Judy Baker
http://anna_sugg.coffeecup.com
Blog: http://judyswriting.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakerbooknews
http://www.sweetcravingspublishing.com
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon Author pages:
Anna Sugg
Judy Baker
Photos:
10 comments:
Enjoyed reading about July's flower and birthstone, Judy. Thanks for sharing.
Loved your post, Judy/Ann! I love posts that not only entertain me but also teach me a few things. Thanks for being our guest here on RB4U! :)
I had no idea delphiniums were named for dolphin noses. I love learning new things! Thanks for joining us today. Best Luck, Judy.
Judy, thank you for the interesting information. I don't know much about larkspur so this was especially intriguing. Loved the ruby info too.
Thank you for the informative post. My son's birthstone is the ruby as well. :) All the best with your story.
Thank you ladies for stopping by and reading my post on July's flower and birthstone. I too learned new stuff while researching my birth month. It was fun. And, thank you, RB4U for having me as a guest on your blog.
Thanks for all of the interesting facts about rubies and delphiniums! I had no idea how the larkspur/delphinium got it's name:)
Thanks for a fun and informative column. Always loves larkspur...much nicer name than delphinium.
Happy Birthday, Judy, and thanks for sharing all the interesting tidbits about the flower and gem of the month.
Thanks for stopping by Paris, Jean and Stanalei. Hope all of you have a great July month.
Post a Comment