Starwort, eupatory agrimony, chanvrine eupatory, officinale lungwort,… or the best known wild garlic, meadow clover or purple foxglove,… All these flowers, with sometimes surprising, often poetic names, are listed in the beautiful book that has just been released. to publish the Musée de la Parole en Ardenne, whose mission, let us remember, is to collect and disseminate the languages and traditions of the Ardennes.
In this book entitled Flowers of Ardennes – Flowers dol sâvadje Ardène 150 wild flowers that can be found in our region are revealed. “In the Ardennes from North to South, from Verviers to Bouillon with a few incursions into Famenne and the Liège region, explains Joël Thiry, one of the kingpins of the Musée de la Parole-en-Ardenne, who signed this work alongside Roger Demaret and Marie-Louise Mertz. For each flower, we find a descriptive note signed Roger Demaret with, related on the right page, watercolors created by Marie-Louise Mertz.”
Ten years of work and research
A true Benedictine work which required ten years of work and collection by the trio of authors. “This work was a real challenge. We can no longer count the hours of research. It took Marie-Louise Mertz seven years to draw the 150 watercolors corresponding to each flower, insists Joël Thiry. The goal is really to help recognize each of these plants. On each page, we find their names in French and Latin, but also, for almost all of the flowers referenced, their denominations in the different variations of Walloon in our region.
Another originality of the book is that it also contains recipes and various anecdotes.
“This illustrated flora of the wild Ardennes will follow you in the kitchen or during your walks in the meadows or along the trails”, hopes Joël Thiry who, within the Musée de la parole, also works on other projects intended for children. “This time it is about stories for children, in French with a few sentences in Walloon, to awaken them to the language, to give them a taste for it. Two stories (Flounder’s first Christmas And Lucy and the Black Rock, have already appeared. And four more are in preparation.
The book “Fleurs d’Ardenne” is available in bookstores or by contacting the Musée de la parole en Ardenne via the following address: [email protected]
Presentation of the work this Saturday, May 11 at the Moulin de Bardonwez in Rendeux
The book “Fleurs d’Ardenne” will be presented this Saturday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bardonwez mill, in the heart of the Joseph Lenoir arboretum, in Rendeux as part of a weekend devoted to wild and edible plants, organized by the “Culture, Tourism and Nature” Circle of Rendeux.
Here is the program:
Saturday May 11: Special “Mother’s Day” floral workshop at 9:30 a.m. (€30, reservations at 0475/68 05 69); walk and wild plant cooking workshop at 1:30 p.m. (€30, reservations at 0479/36 37 83); presentation of the book at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday May 12: plant exchange (registrations on 0470/64 24 64); barbecue or cold plant-based plate at midday (€15, reservation required on 0488/97 25 07); walk with confirmed guides at 2 p.m. (€5, reservations at 0471/49 06 66).
