Report by Sally
Half of the members were present at the meeting at Rosemary’s which was led by Deirdre on the topic of the language of flowers.
Flowers naturally help to boost our mental health and reduce stress. In homes, they can assist with the purification of the air. Thy also have a role to play in our food and medicine. For the environment, they act as pollinators for bees. Lastly, they can be used as a symbol of love or to offer congratulations.
It strikes me that in Victorian times or earlier, the language of flowers was quite complicated and it felt that it would be quite easy to send an incorrect message which would not truly represent what the sender was feeling. Even the hand that was extended to offer the flowers had significance! Roses were generally a symbol of devotion, but red roses signified passion but yellow roses were a symbol of friendship. Beware yellow carnations which represented disdain!
There followed a discussion on members favourite flowers which ranged from Helen’s camellias to Maura’s snakeshead fritillary to Rosemary’s bearded irises. Beryl told us an interesting tale on her hunt for the Lady’s Slipper Orchid in Switzerland. Our final conversation was on our birthday flowers as related to the month we were born.
All together an interesting and enlightening evening. Our thanks go to Deirdre for her extensive research and to everyone else’s contributions.