As a child I loved spring, in particular I liked to go to the countryside, throw myself into the fragrant grass and go in search of flowers never seen before. My grandmother always told me that spring was the season of flowers and new loves, but at the time I still didn’t know how closely the two things were connected! Each flower has a meaning and young lovers look for those with the most beautiful meaning for their lovers. Unfortunately this is not the fate of all flowers: many are considered trivial and insignificant, such as daisies, for example. But true beauty lies in the little things, in those that, beyond appearances, keep a sweet secret…
This is one of those flowers that no one would ever want to receive, since it is considered too simple and trivial. However, if one day I were to be asked which flower I would like to receive, I would certainly answer the daisies: a legend tells of Bellis, daughter of the powerful god Belus, who fell in love with a mortal. She didn’t care that her beloved was a mortal, what really mattered was love… that love that transcends time, love and illness. But one day the god of spring, seeing Bellis dancing, fell in love with her and tried to possess her. So the mortal confronted the god: Bellis, refusing to witness the massacre, turned to the opposite side turning into a daisy, to always remain faithful to the beloved. Even today, for those whose gaze goes beyond the limits of appearance, daisies are the promise of faithful love.
SUNFLOWERS
Sunflowers bear this name as they tend to turn towards the sun, just like Clizia who could not look away from Apollo, god of the sun: Clizia fell madly in love with Apollo and every day followed him while the god drove the chariot of the sun in the sky. But Apollo had only used her, considering her a game: he had first seduced Clizia and then left her, since he, in reality, had eyes only for Leucotoe, daughter of King Orcamo. Clizia could not bear that nascent love between Apollo and Leucotoe, so she spoke to King Orcamo of the intrigue. The latter was furious and, to prevent the god from still attending her, buried his daughter, leading her to an early death. Apollo, outraged, repudiated Clizia, who soon stopped drinking, eating… she sat on the ground following the chariot of the god with her gaze until, by divine pity, she was transformed into a beautiful sunflower.
Even after the metamorphosis, Clizia never stopped chasing her love, turning to the sky in search of the sun… for this reason the sunflower follows the trend of the sun at any time of the day.
RED ROSES
The red rose is the gift of lovers par excellence and, in addition to love, it also represents the passion of a lost love: the myth tells that Ares, taken by jealousy, killed Adonis, the lover that Aphrodite loved with all of herself. Aphrodite, in a desperate attempt to save him, ran towards him, throwing herself into a field of white roses: the thorns scratched her, her blood dripped and stained the roses red. But, despite the haste, Aphrodite did not arrive in time and Adonis died.
From that moment, in memory of mourning for her love, red roses became the symbolic flower of Aphrodite.
ANEMONE
For the fragility and beauty of its petals, the Anemone is a flower with a somewhat melancholic meaning because it recalls abandonment, regret but also the hope of recovering a lost love: Anemone, the nymph bride of Zephyr, was the deity who represented the west wind and who with her warm breath produced flowers and fruits. Anemone lived in the court of the goddess Chloris, as well as Zephyr’s lover: but despite this, Zephyr used to direct an intensely warmer breath towards his beloved wife, gradually increasing Chlori’s jealousy. The latter, overcome by jealousy, drove out Anemone and Zephyr to protect her transformed her into the flower that still bears her name today … a flower that never opens the corolla if it is not kissed by the warm wind of Zephyr: Anemone, in fact, means “flower of the wind”.
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