The charm of flowers

By Atty. Farah G. Decano

 

DECADES ago, when hospital rooms in the Philippines were in glorious white color and their bedsheets, pillows, and cabinets were also in the same snowy hue, I had this singular experience of taking a health vacation in one of them.  During my confinement, while I was being treated with antibiotics and probably was getting better, my disposition remained low and unconcerned. The monochromatic ambience in my enclosed space was not helping me at all.  I was so bored up to kingdom come!

My melodramatic mood suddenly made a turn-around when my sister-in-law brought in my room a vase of colorful gerbera flowers and placed it on my bedside cabinet. What a delight to see! My eyes lit up! An inexplicable joy enveloped my being as I gazed at the vibrant blossoms. I never liked flowers until that day.

Since then, I have become a fan of these lively splendors. The accessibility of flower stores in Dagupan City added to my addiction to posies. Sometimes, I would visit flower shops just to have my mental images of certain flower arrangements executed. The resulting bouquets either went to my mom who placed them in our altar or were laid on the grave of my father.

The ongoing pandemic forces me to go online more and lurk on flower-related FB pages.  The assembly of blossoms found in cyberspace are infinite! Even with the more than hundred thousand images of exquisite floral arrangements uploaded in the net, one cannot easily reach his/her satiation level for these creatures of beauty.

Flowers have always been associated with courtship.  Not a lot of people have a Cyrano de Bergerac for a friend, so tongue-tied lovers are   advised to resort to flowers in expressing their hearts’ desires.  They say, if one cannot say it words, then say it through flowers.  In our local shops and depending on the season, the common blooms, I see nowadays, are roses, tulips, sunflower, gerbera daisies, stargazers and chrysanthemums.

Let us briefly recount each bloom’s meaning.

The most popular of the blossoms is the attention-grabbing bright red rose.  It represents deep emotions. The number of red roses delivered to the recipient also characterizes several meanings. A single rose means, “you are still the one;” twelve roses, “be mine;” and 24 roses, “I am yours.”

The reserved tulip, on the other hand, means perfect love.  Choose the color red for your loved one and you would have already conveyed eternal perfect passion.

The happy sunflower has various meanings across cultures. It communicates positivity, strength, admiration, loyalty and good luck.

The cheerful gerbera flowers symbolize a celebration of exuberant life.   The meaning of these daisies varies with their colors. The pink color signify adoration; yellow, cheerfulness; red, fully immersed in love, and orange, sunshine of one’s life.

The flamboyant stargazers exemplify the sender’s wish for the recipient to prosper and succeed.  According one movie, however, these lilies mean, “I dare you to love me.”  The bold admirer may wish to provoke the object of affection with this bloom.

Like its sunny cousin’s, the meaning of chrysanthemum differs across geographic locations.  In Australia, these blooms are the official flowers for Mother’s Day. In Belgium and Austria, however, they are considered memorial blossoms to honor the loved ones. Chinese give chrysanthemum to signify long life and good luck in homes.

Whatever their meanings may be, these ephemeral blooms are a delight to behold.   The fleeting existence of flowers reminds us to stop and smell them while they have not been ravaged by time.

Sources: www.sunflowerjoy.com; www.flowermeaning.com; www.ftd.com 

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