Cowslip

I found some rather pleasant cowslips growing on London’s Hampstead Heath. Its bright yellow flowers cheer the walker and provide a contrast with a parkland’s ubiquitous green. Its name likely comes from the cruder expression for cow dung, and it has sometimes been called cowslop. It grows well in pastureland, especially those parts in receipt of cattle’s bowel movements.

It may seem ironic that so pretty a flower should be named after so crude a phenomenon, but animal dung is wonderfully fertile, and returns nutrients to the land. Remember that the smelly, mucky places in which we sometimes find ourselves often result in the greatest spiritual growth.