SUSAN SAYS: Flowers warm the heart in spite of the cold

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

January slipped out with an interesting combination of weather. Brisk breezes dropped the wind chill, and a mid-afternoon snow flurry on the last day of the month reminded us that winter will be around for a while.

The birdbath, filled by a good rain two days earlier, had a thick coating of ice, and a pair of gloves and warm scarf felt very good when I ventured out for lunch at the senior center. But out by Jim’s mower shed, the first two cheery yellow daffodils were open and just inside the cellar several green blades are shooting up ina pot of tulips, hyacinths and daffodils.

When the dreary, gray days arrive and the sun fails to make an appearance, flowers help bring a bright spot to our lives. A lovely red impatiens blooms at the south end of the living room, and the poinsettia friends gave us before Christmas is still beautiful. A Christmas cactus in the dining room and another on the back porch are sporting deep pink blossoms. “Flowers are food for the soul,” Mohammed said. Indeed research shows that just looking at flowers reduces depression and anxiety and promotes creative thinking and problem solving.

Flowers have inspired many poems and colorful pieces of prose. A dear friend in our quilt class loves to quote William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” which speaks of seeing “A host of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” It concludes: “And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.”

Robert Loveman’s Rain Song begins, “It isn’t raining rain to me, It’s raining daffodils.”

And then there’s Ruby Archer’s lovely explanation of the rose’s origin: “Know you how roses came to grace the world? A feather from an angel’s pinion fell, A sunbeam caught and kissed it as it whirled, And left it blushing on the earth to dwell.”

Greek mythology is full of stories about lovers and unrequited lovers who were turned into flowers as punishment or as escape from an unhappy human existence.

In Queen Victoria’s day, a “language of flowers” developed by which lovers could express their innermost feelings for each other. Even the way in which flowers were presented was meaningful, whether with the right hand or left hand, upright or upside down.

Pansies have always been one of my favorite flowers. Their little faces are so charming. To the Victorians, a pansy symbolized thoughts of love. One of its common names is hearts ease, for the heart-shaped leaves that are said to cure a broken heart. Cupid is said to have shot an arrow into a pansy, which turned the blossom’s pure white to purple and gave it great power.

Bluebells represent constancy and kindness. Their delicate bell-shaped blossoms can supposedly reveal the loyalty of a lover. If a young woman can turn the flower inside out without breaking it, her young man is true to only her. But if the blossom tears, she knows his affections have wandered. It is said that Venus, goddess of love, shattered her mirror, one that reflected only beauty. Everywhere a piece of its glass fell a bluebell grew.

Another legend tells of a young girl who fell in love with a knight. When he went off to war, the knight carried a white carnation from his lover. He was killed in battle and his blood stained the center of the carnation. His grieving sweetheart planted its seeds and each blossom that grew from them was white with a crimson center.

With Valentine’s Day about a week away, businesses are advertising candy, jewelry and romantic dinners as gifts for your loved one. But it seems to me that there’s no better treat for one’s sweetheart than a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

They’re loved by both men and women. My brother Robert said his favorite color was green because it was also Luther Burbank’s favorite. One of his gifts to me was a packet of notecards with a pretty floral design. A picture hangs on the living room wall showing flowers in a heart shape. Brother Richard said when he presented it, “This is for you because you’re always in my heart.” It lifts my spirits often. You can’t go wrong with flowers.

Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong resident of Benton County.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 02/06/2013