Language of Flowers

I just finished reading the book The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. It was such a great story about a girl who has spent most of her life in foster care and group homes. The book starts out with her turning 18 and leaving the system. The book intertwines her present journey with stories from the past and how she came to know the language of flowers. Wiki defines the language best, "The language of flowers is a Victorian-era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages, allowing individuals to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken." (if you are interested, there is a glossary in the back of the book that contains all the flower definitions) But the language is not all gumdrops and roses. The language contains grief, pride, temptation, hate, envy, disdain, infidelity, foolishness, deception, betrayal, misanthropy and one flower even says "I declare war against you."

The language also contains a variety of different kinds of love: self-love, impetuous love, maternal love, pure love, confession of love, a heart unacquainted with love, unfortunate love, first emotions of love, ardent love, everlasting love, secret love and the list goes on. When you think about it, love is such a useless word, there are just too many different kinds of love. The English language fails us.

My sister and I cannot stop laughing at the fact that she gave out begonias to everyone at my bridal shower. Turns out begonias stand for caution. She was sending everyone the message "Beware!"

After studying the language of flowers, my new favorite plant is mistletoe. I have always enjoyed the classic interpretation of kissing under the mistletoe (Confession: this is how I received my first kiss) but according to the language of flowers it means I surmount all obstacles. I may have to start growing my own mistletoe :-)

Another one of my favorite flowers is the cherry blossom. It's meaning could not be more perfect, impermanence. I was lucky enough to be in Washington DC one year when the cherry blossoms were blooming. It is absolutely breathtaking. The blooming period only lasts up to 14 days and can happen anytime in March or April. I was there for about a week and by the time I left the blossoms were already falling. This impermanence makes the cherry blossoms that much more special. So many aspects of life are fleeting and the cherry blossom is a reminder to not take things for granted and appreciate the beauty in life every day. For tomorrow, it may be gone.

Washington monument in the background