Flowers inspire emotion. This past week, we invited our neighbors for dinner on the patio. He came in carrying a pie and she came carrying a beautiful arrangement of dahlias that she had grown in the back yard. I love pie, but my heart went immediately to the flowers. They are stunning and they sing of friendship and thoughtfulness.

Earlier in the week, I had the good fortune to host a meeting at the Missouri Botanical Garden. As a bonus, I was introduced to the therapeutic horticulture department. I was fascinated to find out that the team works across the city with hospitals and social services to provide plant therapy. Working with plants by planting, arranging, smelling, and preparing is proven to release stress and promote good health benefits.

As we toured the sensory garden, I was introduced a plant that smelled like popcorn and other that smelled just like pancakes smothered in maple syrup. Rubbing my fingers over the lemon verbena, made me smile as I remembered the many Christmas mornings that I have opened lemon verbena soap and bath salts (my favorite). The smell of plants or the sight of a flower can bring a flood of memories.

Plants are involved in the most important moments of our lives. I can recall in great detail bridal bouquets from family weddings. Mine were made of stargazer lilies. Glorious white blooms on a background of dark green leaves. Simple daisies wrapped in lace. Cascading roses. Tulips in pink and yellow.

The wonderful blanket of peonies on my grandmother’s casket would have made her smile. She always grew them in her garden and we would laugh as we shook out the ants. As I’m writing this, I am looking at a very large pot of shamrocks co-existing with a peace lily. The shamrocks were from my grandmother’s back porch. I thought I killed them and put the pot in a storage room. When I got married, my husband had a peace lily that someone had given him at the death of a friend. It needed to be replanted, so I used the dirt I found in the old clay pot in storage. Much to our surprise, the lily grew and the shamrocks began to appear. Thirty years later they are still co-existing, still blooming, still growing.

In the wild, the flowers are symbols of beauty, tenacity and hope. Consider the wildflowers blooming on the rocks. Hardy blooms fight the wind and the cold for their moment in the sun. Blooming trees, and bushes, and even weeds. Bursts of color in an otherwise subdued landscape. Reminders that there is beauty in the world if we only look. Harbingers of friendship, peace, and happiness.