“Flowers are, of all plants, the least menacing and the most useless. Their sole purpose is to be beautiful and to give pleasure.”
—ELEANOR PERENYI, GREEN THOUGHTS: A WRITER IN THE GARDEN
Flowers are useless? Of course not. They contain the reproductive organs of plants. Their beauty is a tool to lure pollinators. It is a timeless biological contrivance that flowers utilize so well! Flowers are evidence that looks, fragrance, and timing are a benefit in the reproductive arena. Beauty achieves its ends wonderfully when the goal is to attract suitors.
The attractiveness of flowers is their botanical calling card. And how lucky we are to be able to enjoy their efforts and also bring them indoors! A glass jar filled with cut flowers on the kitchen counter becomes a natural jewel box of color and form. ‘Cut and Come Again’ zinnias, airy cosmos, ‘Becky’ Shasta daisies, and sweet baby’s breath crowd each other for our attention and appreciation.
The visual appeal of flowers is more than a momentary pleasure. Beautiful things from Nature elevate and relax us. Henry David Thoreau, the 19th-century American philosopher, noted this in 1853: “All nature is doing her best each moment to make us well—she exists for no other end. Do not resist her.”
We now display more than the flower—this modern glass vase shows off the green stems almost as much as the flowers. Cut flower displays can celebrate seed heads and fruit as well.
And so, we grow flowers. Some of us may gather them to display their beauty indoors. And we share them at our happiest and saddest moments. Flowers project all kinds of meanings. In fact, a cryptic form of communication called floriography (the language of flowers) was developed in Turkey in the 16th century. Floriography uses flowers, and their meanings, to send secret messages.
A garden for cut flowers is perhaps the sweetest thing we can create—it allows us to share our flowers with others. Here are a few tips for gathering flowers for indoor displays:
•Cut the flowers early in the morning or evening. This is when their stems are filled with water and are sturdier.
•Make clean cuts on an angle to ensure greater water absorption.
•Place the flowers in warm water because it is more easily absorbed.
•Change the water frequently (every other day would be best).
•Make a fresh cut of the stems each time you change the water.
Flowers stuffed in a small round container make a voluptuous display. Pink, lavender, and white with light green is a stunning color combination.
The beauty of flowers is nowhere more appreciated than when they are placed in an attractive container. Here, my friend Mary used a black Sharpie pen to create a checkerboard pattern on plain white ceramic vases. It is an eye-catching counterpoint to the lisianthus and zinnias that she grows in her outstanding cut flower garden.