GET GROWING!
WHAT’S BLOOMING IN YOUR GARDEN THIS MONTH?
Coneflowers in my September garden.
By LADYBUG
Every day of the year, a different species of flower bursts into bloom somewhere in the world.
A Flower a Day presents a collection of 366 flowers in all their beauty, along with the botanical, literary, folkloric and historical stories behind them. Each flower has been chosen to illustrate a particular day, and while flowering times can vary, they have been selected to indicate a time in bloom of the region referenced in the entry. This is often the area of origin, writes Miranda Janatka, but where no specific region is mentioned, this will generally correlate to the time the plant flowers in the UK.
But of course. For no Canadian gardener will be blessed with winter-flowering honeysuckle on January 5! Or holy basil on January 10, for that matter, but it is still lovely to read the entry for tulsi.
The ones for hollyhocks (February 3. Really?) describes dolls children made with the flowers – the fully-opened flowers were used as skirts, the half-opened flowers as torsos and the buds as heads, held together with a stick. How magical is that! And now I can’t walk past the hollyhocks in my garden – in July – without thinking of the whimsical little dolls.
By the time the book arrives at this month, we are more in sync and I see meadow cranesbill for September 4, astilbe and coneflower for September 14 and 15 respectively, rose campions for September 25 and Michaelmas daisy for the 29th.
While I will not delight in the sight of red-hot pokers or clematis Jungle Bells in my December garden, it’s lovely to think of them blooming in some corner of the world while my garden sleeps.
Flowers and Their Meanings by Karen Azoulay is published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, $27.99.
A Flower A Day by Miranda Janatka is published by Batsford, $37.95.
By the time artist Karen Azoulay was born, the language of flowers was nearly extinct, writes Kate Bolick in her foreword. “Everybody knew that a red rose means love, but few people knew why or cared... Azoulay’s Canadian girlhood included her Moroccan aunts smearing her hands with paste from the henna plant, believed to transfer good luck.”
That knowledge of plants and a deep love of colour and beauty is evident in this book filled with delicious tidbits about flowers and gorgeous illustrations.
But first, a little story from Azoulay.
“A friend of my husband’s family was given a copy of the flower dictionary I self-published in 2015, and we began corresponding through mail. In our handwritten letters, we discussed various topics, but covertly, and without ever acknowledging it, we would load our letters with additional messages. Coded memos were shared via carefully selected combinations of floral postage stamps or collaged postcards. During a visit to San Francisco, I was invited to finally meet him in person... He prepared a special lunch with edible flowers and herbs listed in my dictionary. Each course was presented with a dramatic flair. The gray broth of his ‘Suspicion Soup’ had a curious flavour, but the full experience was one of the loveliest gifts I have ever received.”
Azoulay decodes the language of flowers and shares details of rare and old notes in which meaning was conveyed entirely through flowers.
Such as a hand tinted illustration of narcissus, scarlet geranium and marigold which translated to “Your self-love and stupidity excite my pity”.
Apple blossoms convey temptation, but crabapple blossoms denote ill nature.
It’s fascinating to read that my autumn crocus does not produce saffron and is actually toxic. A 19th century serial killer poisoned at least seven people with a liquid preparation of the crocus after convincing them to leave their fortunes to her in their wills.
Periwinkle was scattered over the graves of enslaved African Americans. The tiny buds, which signify “tender recollections” worked well as covert, meaningful markers, leading loved ones to a burial place.
Tuberoses signify “intense sensual pleasure” and I think of the movie Rajanigandha in which they played a role!
All the way through to yucca which was sometimes planted as a tombstone and zinnia which signifies thoughts of absent friends.
It is “a symbol of wisdom for the Pueblo people of the American Southwest.
For this reason, the edible flower was fed to children with the wish that they grow to be intelligent and well spoken.”
A visual treat, the book is sure to be a hit with everyone who loves flowers. And really, who doesn’t? Also, a fun way to decipher what the bouquet one was gifted really means!