Flowers UK London

In the 1920s Cicely Mary Barker wrote and illustrated a series of books about Flower Fairies, drawing on the contemporary interest in these creatures. Her fairies are the spirits of trees, flowers and plants and each wears a costume in the colours and style of that plant. The illustration is accompanied by a verse or two about the fairy and how they spend their time.

Reading these books helped children to remember their favourite flowers as characters in a story, A quick glance at the colours and location of a plant would bring the rhymes to mind, plus a mental image of a cheeky little boy or girl playing. Cicely used children from the kindergarten that her sister Dorothy  ran to pose for her pictures, showing each fairy holding a blossom or leaf as big as themselves.

The wistful beauty of these pictures brings back a safer world of the early 20th Century, but the images are as sharp as ever and the flowers they represent can still bring the same joy to children of any age!

The history of the iris flower is very rich and varied. In Greek mythology, Iris was the Queen of the gods’ (Hera’s) personal messenger. She was also the embodiment of the rainbow.  Her swift wings we renowned for their speed and she had the uncanny ability to be where she was mostly needed at the right time.

Ancient Egyptian kings marveled in the iris’s exotic nature, and drawings have been found of the flower in a number of Egyptian palaces and tombs. These flowers were used as adornments for the war chariots of heroes and were given as gifts to lovers and gods.

During the middle Ages, the meaning of irises became linked to the French monarchy, as the Fleur-de-lis (stylized design of the iris) eventually became the recognized national symbol of France. From their earliest years in Europe, irises were used to make perfume as well as medicinal remedies.

Today, they are mostly seen in gardens, in bouquets, and in the wild all over the world. The flower which bears the name of the Greek goddess can be used in bouquets and arrangements to convey a special message to your loved one and appear just when she/he needed it most. 

Long ago, in the Golden age of the Hellenic period lived a beautiful youth: Narcissus. His beauty and grace broke many hearts and despairing sighs followed him wherever he went. His cruelty towards his admirers caused them to curse him and wish he fall in love with someone as inaccessible as he was to others and suffer the curse of unrequited love.

 Those curses were granted when Narcissus caught a glimpse of himself in a pool and fell hopelessly in love with his remote reflection. The myth tells of Narcissus’ death at the pool for he could not quench his thirst for fear of shattering his own image into thousands of pieces.

 Seeing his lifeless body lying by the pool, the gods of the Olympus took pity on this beautiful youth and decided to elevate his body into a beautiful flower which bears his name.

 Till this day, the Narcissus is a symbol of unrequited love and self admiration. Why not send a bouquet composed with these poetic flowers to your special lady?  

In ancient legends the demigods, often the children of a god and a human woman, were used in many tales. Some were the personifications of flowers …

Hyacinth was a beautiful youth beloved by the god Apollo The two took turns throwing the discus until Apollo, to impress his beloved, threw it with all his might. Hyacinth ran to catch it, to impress Apollo in turn, and was struck by the discus as it fell to the ground and he died.

Another myth adds that the wind god Zephyrus was actually responsible for the death of Hyacinth. The boy’s beauty caused a feud between Zephyrus and Apollo. Jealous that Hyacinth preferred the radiant archery god Apollo, Zephyrus blew Apollo’s discus off course, so as to injure and kill Hyacinth. When he died, Apollo didn’t allow death to claim the boy; rather, he made a flower from his spilled blood.
Although the mythical Hyacinth was male, Hyacinth is currently in use in English as a female name, usually in reference to the flower and not the mythological figure. There are names that are variations of Hyacinth, e.g. Jacinto in Spanish, Giacinto in Italian, both falling out of use, and Jacek still very popular in Polish.