SleepingOrchid

Columbine = ADDICTION “Just when things are going so well -” This flower is named for an eagle’s claw because of its unusually spurred flower. The Columbine was treasured by Shakespeare and American Indians as both a funeral adornment and a delicious condiment; but owing to its cousinhood to Deadly Nightshade its leaves and root…

The pond = JUDGEMENT “Does truth ever come out?” As we look into the mirror, is the mirror looking into us? The Pond is a world within world within world. A bubble within a bubble floating in…a bubble. We dip beneath it surface and gaze back at the universe – blurry now – where once…

The tulip = ILLUSION “Seeing what isn’t there” There are so many different varieties and colors of the gorgeous Tulip, anyone can find a favorite. In fact, once upon a time, even the unloveliest bulbs of the beautiful Tulip became currency as they were bought, sold, traded and hoarded, until, inevitably, the bottom dropped out…

The poppy = SUCCESS “Successful in whose eyes?” The Poppy has long represented eternal sleep. Greeks and Romans used these orange and red flowers as offerings to the dead – Westerners emblazon them on tombstones. A gift of poppies from a loved one is unsettling. Does it ask, “Lose consciousness?” We know The Poppy as…

The daffodil = ENLIGHTENMENT “You can if you think you can” The Daffodil shares the just born freshness of babies, kittens and lambs. A daffodil is hope. They insist on coming up just when we are so sick of winter we don’t think we can ever go outdoors again; and there they are, waving bravely…

The Rose = VULNERABILITY “Vulnerability: shaming flaw, character fault or superpower?” The Rose is begging to be touched; it attracts our lustful gaze with its hypnotic beauty. Its pouting petals spiral toward a dark heart which holds the promise of revelation and release. Roses need care; they respond to love. Rosarians willingly spend their lives…

Ladyslipper = UNIQUENESS “Don’t lose your rough edges” The Ladyslipper is a wild orchid; difficult to cultivate. Charles Darwin tried unsuccessfully, for one. Rarity makes this glamorously capricious plant attractive to thieves; but it is illegal to uproot The Ladyslipper – or even pick one – in many states. The Ladyslipper carries her own defense;…

Foxglove = MEDICINE “Intervention” “Students of the night must learn to learn”. The Foxglove may be beautiful but is hardly an innocent flower. It gets its name from the legend that foxes use the bells to sheathe their paws so that they can slither through the garden without detection. This elegant flower has caused poisonings…