Cornflower

This cornflower I found growing in the fertile arable lands of south Lincolnshire. Its rich blue provides a pleasant contrast to the yellows and browns of its neighbours in the field. It has a popular association with Germany, with the old Prussian military adopting it as a symbol after German unification in 1871. This is partly due to Louise, Queen of Prussia, hiding herself and her children in a cornfield while avoiding Napoleon’s troops who were hunting them. She occupied the royal kiddies and kept them quiet by weaving garlands of cornflowers for them to wear. What might once have been a symbol of those German royals’ humiliation and danger later became a symbol of their might, with the Prussian military being the most respected in Europe.

That which keeps us humble in this world will be a glorious badge in the world to come.