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Putting together words to form a poem that moves and inspires is not unlike creating a lovely vase of flowers, with each stem coming together to form an arrangement that delights or comforts. On August 21st, National Poetry Day, why not compose your own floral sonnet with some of the profound flowers below that can speak volumes in the language of flowers.
Flowering Stock
Said to symbolize lasting beauty and contentment, this sweetly scented stem comes in soft pinks, deep purples and a pure, bright white. Tall and elegant, with soft blooms opening up in clusters from bottom to top, the darker colors add weight and grounding to an arrangement, while the white ones add a bit of whimsy. Start your bouquet with stock to make a statement and build around these stems with some of the other flowers below. While “nothing gold can stay,” stock are far sturdier than they appear and, given plenty of water, will last for more than a week.
Lisianthus
Gertrude Stein said that “a rose is a rose is a rose,” but lisianthus is another flower that bears repeating. Shaped very similar to a typical rosebud but seemingly spun from a finer fabric, lisianthus are the flowers dreams are made of. Delicate and soft, their blooms literally twirl open from nodding buds held up on stems so dainty they appear to float above the foliage. Soft purples and sweet pinks are available at most florists year round and they go marvelously with flowering stock or other taller stems. In the language of flowers they are said to represent appreciation and gratitude and while people may stop to smell the roses, they will be positively spell-bound starting at the fresh bloom of a lisianthus.
Stargazer Lilies
The poet Kilmer thought that she “would never see, a poem as lovely as a tree,” but perhaps she had never seen a stargazer lily. Large and expressive, these matriarchs of the well bred lilies has much to say. Conveying both virtue and prosperity, the pink toned inner petals of this wide bloom are striking to look at and have a strong scent that fills the air with inspiration. Add them to your bouquet and let them be your muse.
Statice
Humble and somewhat hoary, the statice (sometimes called seafoam or misty blue) does not have the glamor or alluring scent of our other flowers, but will pull the arrangement together like a well placed semi-colon. A few stems of this utilitarian filler flower will give both strength and color (purple, blue, yellow or white) to a lyrical bouquet. In the language of flowers, is stands for remembrance, and what is a poem, really, but words remembered that bring meaning to our lives.
