Have you ever gone on a scavenger hunt in God’s creation? I love exploring in spring and summer while looking for wildflowers. God carpeted many meadows, fields, and forests in colorful, fragrant blooms. Each hike during the wildflower season, I challenge myself to remember names of flowers I’ve previously learned, and to identify and memorize the names of new ones. Can you name a type of wildflower? Perhaps set a goal this week to learn the names of five to ten wildflowers in an area, then return to the same spot the following week and see if you can remember the flowers’ names.
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One of the first flowers I learned the name of has remained my favorite: spiderwort. It’s a not-so-lovely name for a very lovely flower! This week I was hiking on a dry, dusty trail where not many plants were growing. But I was stopped in my tracks when I saw purple spiderwort blossoms dotting the desert floor.
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Have you ever walked next to wildflowers and took a deep breath? Some flowers smell spicy while others give off a sweet odor. Some even have a bitter or musky scent. Do you think flowers put on perfume each day? They don’t spritz themselves like a human might spray on perfume or cologne. Instead, God designed flowers with natural perfumes. A flower’s petals have tiny cells that release volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The VOCs are different mixtures of organic chemicals that easily lift up into the air.
