Mom loaned me a book while we were in Hawaii. Now to be perfectly honest, it was one I'd told her I wanted to borrow, and indeed had given it to her for Christmas because I wanted to read it, but that's beside the point. She finished it while we were in Hawaii and loaned it to me. Oh, yes, it was The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.
The main character is an orphan girl who runs through a variety of foster homes and a group home,
and along the way learns about flowers and the meanings ascribed to them in the manner which was popular during Victorian times. I won't tell you any more about the plot; suffice it to say that it was very good and I highly recommend it.
I'm writing a very short story right now about a man who has lost his wife, and I thought it would be interesting to include the flowers he always gave her on their anniversary. I remembered from the book that yellow roses represented friendship, an appropriate sentiment for my couple. I also recalled that red roses were for passionate love, but I wanted something gentler for this pair's love. I thought I remembered that pink roses represented pure love, but since I gave the book back to Mom, I couldn't look it up (a list of flowers and meanings is included in the book).
It took a few tries, but I found a website that listed flower meanings. It said that pink roses are used to convey gentle emotions such as admiration, joy and gratitude. Hmm, not quite what I wanted to express. Perusing the list further, I found that lavender roses express "love at first sight." Ah, yes, that captured my couple exactly. Mac gave Sarah a boquet of yellow and lavender roses every year.
Has there been a flower that perfectly represented a time in your life, a wedding or some other event? Take a moment to look up the flower's Victorian meaning, and then share it with me.
