Glorious Flowers
Recently I have had this recurring question what is my favorite flower. It has given me pause for thought. Coincidentally, I came across this quote “A flowerless room is a soulless room.” On the bookcase in the room of where I am writing sits an Orchid that has acted as the origin of my muse on many occasions. I look for flowers in the places that I go. Flowers offer refinement, so when entering hotels, offices, and a person’s home; seeing fresh cut flowers is always a remarkable feeling. Flowers are over 125 million years old – ancient enough to be a messenger of my history. Flowers commemorate passages in our lives and over the years I have delighted in them and continue to do so. There is almost always a burst of passion, high-soul aspiration, a sought of desire when I am in the company of flowers.
The first flower that springs to mind is the Lily. When I think about lilies I recall the white lily field in bloom above my childhood home. I would giddily skip around this field during the Easter season. They would bloom proudly during the day, later in the evening it seems as if they bow their heads to the setting sun, as if they were drifting off to sleep. I have learned just recently those types of lilies are called day Lilies.
Another flower that comes to mind is the hibiscus. This flower is almost synonymous with my Primary/Grade school days. We loved seeing the various colors (red, white, yellow) in bloom. From time to time a young girl would wear one perched behind her ear almost like an enchanted fairy perhaps. Doing so was a self-expression of delicate beauty. Thinking back it was not only the school girls. I recall an older lady by the name of Ms. Dorothy she was tall, graceful and solid built, almost every time we saw her she had a hibiscus tucked in her hair – like a sartorial elegance. As well as being a natural draw for humming birds, the hibiscus was often the subject of our Art Class. My fond recollection in High/Middle School is how we had to learn to draw and paint the hibiscus. Also a part of our theory was to know the anatomy of the hibiscus. Back then we drew the hibiscus with such ease; the end result would make us feel like Claude Monet or even Vincent Van Gogh. Reminiscent of those days is a detailed Hibiscus painting of one of our very own artist hung in my daughter’s room.
My mind often reflects on roses. There are the roses every young lady wishes her admirer, lover, husband would send. Roses imply passion, extravagance, romantic love, virtue or even chastity. I recall when I got married I wanted my bouquet made of a dozen fresh white roses. My maid of honor still reminiscences that it was the heaviest bouquet she ever held. In church we had a back and forth exchange of the bouquet at the altar because it was just that heavy.
Then there are tulips! When I think of Tulips I think back to the time when I was in University in England and how they will bloom in the wild – fields, parks and gardens. I would always go out and pick one and put it in the window. To me it suggested, say a declaration of love in living and studying there. It comes as no surprised that tulips were worth more than pieces of property at one time several hundred years ago in the 17th century. This time period is referred to as the ‘windhandel.’
There is the traditional flower Jasmine. In the evening particular approaching Christmas the scent would fill the air. It was like a treat just to sit outside in the evening and smell it as I watch its full bloom in the night. My grandmother cherished her Jasmine tree. We were expected to trim and prune the garden but we dare not touch her Jasmine.
Roused by a fresh flush of patriotism, fueled partly by nostalgia I think of the tropical, ornamental, and distinctive bright plumage of our (Montserrat’s) national flower the Heliconia and fittingly I smile. There is something magical about flowers it creates a sense of occasion. A lady is forever charmed with such a gesture.
Thinking back, the love of flowers is not exclusive to femininity. While I was working in England I knew that one of my favorite male senior manager loved flowers just as much. So I decided my parting gift to him was a surprise bouquet of exotic flowers. I can still see the look on his face when I presented them to him. He left the office that afternoon all chuffed, saying how he cannot wait to take them home; his commute was about a two hour drive (and no he was not gay).
I have been inspired by many types of flowers over the years, my taste for flowers has evolved whether as a symbolic gesture, for its fragrance, the colors, and the attractiveness, to me there is an intimate language. I do not have a favorite flower but it is beginning to seem ridiculous not to have one.
Do you have a favorite flower?
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