Journal
The September Birth Flower: A Star, and a Vine That Won't Wait
September's birth flower is really two flowers — the aster and the morning glory. One...
Read more
Rose Color Meanings, and Who Decided Them
Red, yellow, white, pink — where rose color meanings actually come from, which ones changed...
Read more
The October Birth Flower Is a Marigold, Unless You Ask Someone Else
October's birth flower is the marigold, or the cosmos, depending which list you trust. One...
Read more
Tulip Meaning, and the Flower That Won't Sit Still
A red tulip has meant perfect love since long before Holland. Where the meaning comes...
Read more
The November Birth Flower Is a Chrysanthemum, and It Has Two Reputations
The November birth flower is the chrysanthemum — gold-named, cultivated in China since the fifteenth...
Read more
Wedding Anniversary Flowers and the Jewelers Who Invented Them
Carnation at one, daffodil at ten, iris at twenty-five: the wedding anniversary flowers year by...
Read more
Peony Flower Meaning, and Why the Victorians Called It Shame
Riches and honour in China, shame or bashfulness to the Victorians, and seven to ten...
Read more
The December Birth Flower Comes in a Bowl of Gravel
Someone left a bowl of paperwhites in the studio one December — supermarket bulbs sitting...
Read more
The January Birth Flower Smells Like Clove
There is a corner of the flower market on Wall Street, before six in the...
Read more