Big Love

Speak in flowers

I’m dreaming up a moon garden – a space designed to come alive at dusk and into the night. This type of garden is meant to be enjoyed at night – when the moon reflects on the white flowers and foliage or night blooming flowers open and scent the air in warm summer nights. Fairy lights that wind around trees, and a cozy hammock with pillows and blankets.

And wouldn’t it be nice to share with someone beneath the moon?

Then the Language of Flowers came to mind, which is a secret meaning associated to each flower that can be used to “send a message” with flowers. Love someone – send a red rose. Want to express friendship, do not send a red or pink rose, rather opt for yellow, the color of friendship. Even worse, in Victorian era language of the flowers, a yellow rose meant jealously, decrease of love, and infidelity. Imagine sending that to a lover…

According to the language of flowers, from the Farmers’ Almanac, additional flower meanings include: calla lilies represent beauty, chamomile represents patience in adversity, gardenia – you are lovely or secret love, honeysuckle – bonds of love, iris – faith, hope, wisdom, trust, valor.

What if a garden, not just a bouquet, took on a love or romance theme, just like one could for a moon garden? There are many heart shaped flowers, suggestive flowers, flowers with spicy names, and they could speak to – or for – the gardener. For example, there is a flower that looks like a white heart with a pink heart surrounding it, and it is called, rather ominously, bleeding heart. Or, hot lips flower, a salvia, is a gorgeous hot pink and white lip shaped bloom. String of hearts vine, is a lovely succulent plant and when it flowers, little white trumpet like flowers are surprisingly delightful.

Then, take love-in-a-mist, a flower coyly shrouded in “mist,” thin, viny leaves meant to symbolize hair in the nether region. White love-in-a-mist symbolizes deep love.

I think a five senses approach would work in a romance garden.

Scent: Daphne flowers are an amazing little cluster of flowers and one healthy plant can scent a garden, the scent is a mix of lemon and gardenia. Gardenia flowers, a heavenly scent to have by a garden bench. Mock oranges are a divine scent with beautiful small flower.

Sound: A water fountain or babbling brook can set a soft natural sound of water in a space. Wind chimes that gently chime hung from a tree branch. Grasses blowing that make a calming rustling sound.

Sight: Roses, love-in-a-mist, hanging weeping begonia, orchids, and pink hued plants. Smokebush is a deep purple to dark crimson color foliage with lighter colored tufts of “smoke,” the blooms.

Taste: Rosemary, thyme, apples, blueberries, mint. Lemon verbena, lavender. Many herbs work in this category. Strawberries. Basil.

Touch: Lambs ear is so very soft to the touch, as is princess flower with its deep purple hue.

A few other possibilities for this garden might include some sort of private nook – a gazebo, greenhouse, or trellis which allow for a private kiss. A hot tub, cold plunge, outdoor shower, or water bathing feature or view of water, think ocean, lake, river. Aiming for my secret garden meets beach resort meets grandma’s cottage garden.