http://www.completefrance.com August 2019 French Property News 37putting the plants also into the cranesbill
family. In French, it is known as Géranium
Herbe à Robert. Who was Robert? Well,
apparently, he was a monk from the region in
which I now live – Champagne! Born around
1028, he was the youngest son of a nobleman.
He entered a monastery near the town of
Troyes at the age of 15. Later he reformed the
church and helped to found the Cistercian
order based on a life of work and prayer.
Robert of Molesme died in 1111.
Monks in those days were the doctors of the
community using herbs as medicines and herb
robert, supposedly named after him, is listed
on one site as the cure for 66 ailments, from
abscesses to wounds.Daisy chain
Finally, although daisies are called paquerettes
in France, these humble flowers can
nevertheless, help us learn a little French.
Firstly, they are associated with Easter (Paques)
as the lovely carmine stains on the underside of
the white petals are said to have developed
when Christ’s blood was shed on them from
the cross.
In the UK children use daisies to find out if
they are loved, by pulling off the petals one by
one. French children also do this, though they
want to know more details than just, ‘he loves
me, he loves me not.’ Their formula asks if he
loves you, a little, a lot, passionately, madly,
more than anything or not at all. ‘Il m’aime, un
peu, beaucoup, passionnément, à la folie, plus
que tout, pas du tout.’ REAL LIFE
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If your pastime isgardening, then you have
a great way of digging
a little deeper into the
French language
Herb robert is said to have been named after a monk from Champagne When did dandelion change from ‘dent de lion’ to ‘pissenlit’?
Cinquefoil is so named because each leaf has five ‘leaflets’Daisies – the language of love?Pansies deep in thoughtScott O'Neill Getty Images/iStockPhotopaulfjs Getty Images /iStockPhotoJoy Brodieraniszewski Getty Images/iStockPhoto Joy Brodier