Flowers

Above:  (screenprint) there was a talk this evening, as part of the Southbank literature season, on the topic of flower arranging.  I wasn't able to go to it, but it made me think about the symbolism of flowers in Western culture and what they mean.  Long dismissed as the harmless pursuit of middle-aged matrons, the tradition of flower arranging has a ritual significance that can tell us “the ecology of an era, its insects, other animal life, plants, seeds, flowers, forests, and even climate”.

Above:  it is impossible to visit a church in the county without immediately becoming aware of the ritual connection between flowers and religion.  This is so ubiquitous that few people stop to question why flowers are found in churches.  Decoration obviously but is there a deeper significance?  The summer months are a time of village festivals, and in particular flower festivals held in churches.  Virtually every church in the country will hold a flower festival at some point.  No-one has studied these festivals, and yet they hold a great deal of information about micro social attitudes among women - symbolic, ritual, expressive, collaborative, competitive, placatory.

Above:  flower arranging is an art which many women (it is almost always women) study.  Among the most popular evening classes are those dealing with "flower arranging".   How far back does this "art" go? (you only have to read Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream to realise that the culture of flowers has an ancient, perhaps even paleobotanical heritage).

Above:  I'm not really sure what I am trying to say with this topic.  Here we see a paper sculpture of life-size "church ladies" arranging flowers.  As a demographic group "church ladies" are likely to be female; aged 45 to 65; social groups A, B, C1; married; high disposable income; influential opinion formers.

Above:  this display at a church flower festival produced mutterings about its "phallic" appearance.  Flowers have an erotic symbolism that has been used by artists and photographers (Mapplethorpe).  Flowers are integral to the rituals of marriage and death.

Above:  dried lavender in a church flower festival.  I think we see in flower festivals the preservation of a far older tradition that marked the seasons of very specific flower "crops" valued for their scent, appearance, medicinal value etc.  Further research may indicate that particular flowers or groups of flowers are associated with specific parishes.

As usual this is rushed through, and incoherent.