Floriography, by Gina Margolies — Roses

Happy Birthday to all our beloved April babies! Your Birthday Blossom is the adorable daisy, carrying a message of happiness, loyal friendship and, of course, springtime. Spring has not quite sprung here at Birthday Blossoms HQ, but it’s close. The cold streak of winter has been interrupted here and there, by a day last week when it was only slightly chilly, two days in a row when it was warm in the sun, and day before yesterday it reached seventy degrees for a few fleeting moments in the late afternoon. Spring in a technical sense is just about to meet...

Today is my last chance to squeeze in one more paean to June’s lovely Birthday Blossom before I turn to my own Birthday Blossom in July.  On a recent Birthday Blossoms field trip to France, I had the privilege of visiting Musee Rodin in Paris.  Opened in 1919 the museum is dedicated to French sculptor Auguste Rodin.  It is housed in the building that served as Rodin’s workshop and was donated to the French State at his death, along with his entire collection.  The museum exhibits many of Rodin’s most significant sculptures, including The Thinker and The Kiss. The museum...

      In honor of June’s Birthday Blossom, I have been busy perusing books about roses. One of my new finds is the aptly titled Roses. The photographs are by Fabio Petroni and the text by Natalia Fedeli. Clearly meant to be a coffee table book, Roses is actually both visually stunning and a fascinating read.       The fruits of this crossbreeding are stunning. If you think that pictures of roses would be boring I can assure you that these are not.  The variety of style, the rainbow of hues, and the juxtaposition of each color-saturated rose...