The Language of Botanicals

A pressed dried flower faded to sepia resting on an open old book, beside a small stone and a blank card — a kept flower

What Preserved and Dried Flowers Mean

My grandmother kept a flower in a book, and I did not understand it until she was gone. It was pressed flat between the pages of a dictionary — a...

What Preserved and Dried Flowers Mean

My grandmother kept a flower in a book, and I did not understand it until she was gone. It was pressed flat between the pages of a dictionary — a...

An open botanical notebook with pressed dried flowers — larkspur, strawflower, lavender, fern and poppy pod — a private language of flowers

Flower Meanings: A Quiet Guide Beyond the Rose

There is a sentence in every old flower dictionary that the modern internet has quietly deleted, and it is the most important sentence in the book: these meanings are not...

Flower Meanings: A Quiet Guide Beyond the Rose

There is a sentence in every old flower dictionary that the modern internet has quietly deleted, and it is the most important sentence in the book: these meanings are not...

A handwritten note beside dried statice, baby's breath, zinnia and ivy tied with cotton cord — a late thank-you to a friend

Flowers That Symbolize Friendship and Gratitude...

I owe someone a thank-you that is now eleven years late. She was a colleague, not a close friend, and during a stretch of my life that went badly in...

Flowers That Symbolize Friendship and Gratitude...

I owe someone a thank-you that is now eleven years late. She was a colleague, not a close friend, and during a stretch of my life that went badly in...

Dried statice, strawflower and eucalyptus laid on folded paper beside a blank card — choosing a flower for what you cannot say

Flowers That Symbolize Strength, Hope, Healing ...

A few years ago a friend lost someone, and I stood in a shop for eleven minutes unable to choose anything. I remember the number because I kept checking my...

Flowers That Symbolize Strength, Hope, Healing ...

A few years ago a friend lost someone, and I stood in a shop for eleven minutes unable to choose anything. I remember the number because I kept checking my...

Editorial concept: a slim box of dried birth-month botanicals — larkspur, marigold, poppy seed pod and statice — with a blank message card

The Twelve Birth-Month Flowers and Their Meanings

The first time someone gave me a flower that had already been dried, I did not know what to do with it. I should admit something here: I have never...

The Twelve Birth-Month Flowers and Their Meanings

The first time someone gave me a flower that had already been dried, I did not know what to do with it. I should admit something here: I have never...