Flowers in
everyday life :
Flowers are beloved for their various
fragrancesIn modern times, people have sought ways to
cultivate, buy, wear, or just be around flowers and blooming
plants, partly because of their agreeable smell. Around
the world, people use flowers for a wide range of events
and functions that, cumulatively, encompass one's lifetime:
For
new births or Christenings :
As a corsage or boutonniere to be worn
at social functions or for holidays.
For wedding flowers for the bridal party, and decorations
for the hall.
As brightening decorations within the home.
As a gift of remembrance for bon voyage parties, welcome
home parties, and "thinking of you" gifts
For funeral flowers and expressions of sympathy for the
grieving
People therefore grow flowers around their homes, dedicate
entire parts of their living space to flower gardens, pick
wildflowers, or buy flowers from florists who depend on
an entire network of commercial growers and shippers to
support their trade.
Flowers
as symbols :
Lilies are often used to denote life
or resurrectionMany flowers have important symbolic meanings
in Western culture. The practice of assigning meanings to
flowers is known as floriography. Some of the more common
examples include:
Red roses are given as a symbol
of love, beauty, and passion.
Poppies are a symbol of consolation in time of death. In
the UK, Australia and Canada, red poppies are worn to commemorate
soldiers who have died in times of war.
Irises/Lily are used in burials as a symbol referring to
"resurrection/life". It is also associated with
stars (sun) and its petals blooming/shining.
Daisies are a symbol of innocence.
Flowers within art are also representative of the female
genitalia, as seen in the works of artists such as Georgia
O'Keefe, Imogen Cunningham, Veronica Ruiz de Velasco, and
Judy Chicago, and in fact in Asian and western classical
art.
Edible
flowers :
Flowers provide less food than other
major plants parts (seeds, fruits, roots, stems and leaves)
but they provide several important foods and spices. Flower
vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower and artichoke.
The most expensive spice, saffron, consists of dried stigmas
of a crocus. Other flower spices are cloves and capers.
Hops flowers are used to flavor beer. Marigold flowers are
fed to chickens to give their egg yolks a golden yellow
color, which consumers find more desirable. Dandelion flowers
are often made into wine. Bee Pollen, pollen collected from
bees, is considered a health food by some people. Honey
consists of bee-processed flower nectar and is often named
for the type of flower, e.g. orange blossom honey, clover
honey and tupelo honey.
Hundreds of fresh flowers
are edible but few are widely marketed as food. They are
often used to add color and flavor to salads. Squash flowers
are dipped in breadcrumbs and fried. Edible flowers include
nasturtium, chrysanthemum, carnation, cattail, honeysuckle,
chicory, cornflower, Canna, and sunflower. Some edible flowers
are sometimes candied such as daisy and rose (you may also
come across a candied pansy).
Flowers
in mythology :
The Roman goddess of flowers, gardens, and the season of
Spring is Flora. The Greek goddess of spring, flowers and
nature is Chloris. |