Historical gardening event of the week: 24 May 1819
THIS week we are celebrating our Queen being on the throne for 70 years. Six years ago, she broke the previous record for a reigning British monarch – and that was Queen Victoria, who was born on 24 May 1819. She reigned for 63 years and seven months. There are many connections between her and gardening.
Here are a couple:
The VMH: Each year the RHS gives out several ‘people awards’, to those who have made outstanding contributions to horticulture and gardening. The most prestigious of these is the Victoria Medal of Honour, established in 1897, with the consent of Queen Victoria herself. In recognition of the duration of Victoria’s reign, just 63 medals may be held at any one time.
Victoria amazonica: The largest member of the waterlily family, and has the common name of Queen Victoria’s waterlily. It is native to the tropical regions of South America, and is the national flower of Guyana.
Many words and phrases commonly used during Victoria’s epic reign have since been forgotten. Here are a few with a loose connection to gardening:
Airhole: a small (often dismal) public park adapted from an old graveyard, with the gravestones removed and replaced to stand, sentry-style, around the edge.
Bit o’raspberry: an attractive girl (originally ‘a raspberry jam’, as this was considered the most flavoursome of preserves, so the prettiest of the girls were a ‘bit o’raspberry’).
Grinning at the daisy roots: ‘dead’ (in other words, grinning up at the roots of the flowers that cover the coffin of the deceased). Rumshrub (or sometimes just ‘shrub’): an alcoholic drink made with rum and one or more citrus fruits. Some pumpkins: a slang term indicating that something ‘is really terrific or impressive’.