The language of flowers

A co-worker lent me a book the other day and I can’t seem to put it down. The Language of Flowers, the debut novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, is about a young orphan whose troubled past had her in and out of private and group homes in the foster care system. Now emancipated from the system at age 18 and at her lowest, living in a park and tending a small garden she created from pilfered neighborhood plantings, she takes a job with a local florist and slowly begins to discover happiness as people begin to discover that she has a special gift.

I decided to look up the meaning of the irises I photographed the other day and found several different ones. These are white iris blooms with pale purple edges and they grow at the southwest corner of the house.

 

IRIS: Wisdom, Fleur-de-lis, emblem of France, valued friendship, faith, hope, valor, my compliments, passion. Associated with the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Represents the sending of a message.

IRIS, WHITE: Purity.

IRIS, PURPLE: Wisdom, compliments.

 

In Victorian times, flowers were used to convey coded messages to convey sentiments which otherwise could not be spoken.

I love learning about it all within the pages of this book.

 

Thanks for your kind knee-get-well wishes. It’s feeling a little bit better. Had an x-ray today and some blood work done, but my doctor’s leaning toward a meniscus tear, one that happened out of the blue. I’m thinking it’s a small one because the last one I had left me barely able to walk.

So we’ll see.

 

We’ve had several days of badly needed rain, and the the hill where I live is a verdant oasis. This afternoon while reading on the back patio, I saw a bird that I can’t identify even after pouring through the bird books. My husband’s having a go at it as I write this, and George is lying on his back on the living room rug, gently squeezing one of his stuffed animals.

I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything.

Well, maybe the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but you know what I mean ~

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Enjoy your Thursday, all.  Thanks for stopping by today. Until next time, then . . .