I’m often asked what is my favorite flower. That’s like asking what’s your favorite food. It’s nearly impossible to name just one. But right up there with perhaps my top 10 are Myosotis scorpioides, commonly known as forget-me-nots. They are such charming, diminutive plants with beautiful little soft blue flowers.
Just as the name implies, forget-me-nots mean remembrance. These beautiful, delicate flowers are given with the hope the recipient will not forget the giver. Alzheimer’s Society uses the forget-me-not as an icon to raise awareness for the disease and support for caretakers. It also symbolizes faithful love and memories.
While they do come in pinks and whites, it's the blue forget-me-nots that people find most delightful and the ones that are most common. Forget-me-nots spread easily, freely self-seeding, and for the most part, I let them. Early each spring the garden on the northern side is covered in a heavenly blue hue with some purple sprinkled in from Jacob’s ladder. Forget-me-not flower care is minimal, as with most native wildflowers. They grow best in a damp, shady area, but can adapt to full sun.
Pressing forget-me-nots is easy but it does take some time and patience. I clip off each tiny individual flower with a micro sheer and press hundreds at a time in a microfleur (microwave flower press). A tweezer is necessary to move around these delicate little flowers. It only takes about 30 seconds in the microwave for them to dry and be smoothly pressed and ready to use. Leaves and stems are pressed in a microfleur but separately because they are a bit thicker and require a slightly longer time in the microwave.
Normally, I apply glue to the back of the flower but these tiny, thin flowers can't handle the weight of the glue. Instead, I apply a dot of clear drying glue to the paper and then adhere the flower.
Forget-me-nots bloom in May which is still over two months away. Until then,
why not send a forget-me-not card to a very special person to whom you want to say, remember me always. No words necessary. The flower says it all!