The Wisdom of Flowers: Essential Life Lessons for Joy and Wellbeing

Wildflower enthusiast and editor Marvin (The Windowsill Gardener) and illustrator Dore have created a small, charming book that exhorts readers to learn the lessons that flowers impart. That includes seizing the day (sunflowers) and building community (wild marjoram) to offering hope (oleander). Each of the 60 entries covers plants from around the world that range from common plants, such as lilac, to unusual plants, such as starfish flowers. For each flower, the book features beautiful, detailed, color botanical drawings, plus the plants’ common and scientific names and a brief paragraph. These passages offer facts and sometimes incorporate myths, folklore, symbolism, healing properties, or a plant’s native range. There may even be a list of the positive traits the plant exhibits that readers may want to emulate. For example, the book notes that crimson clover fixes nitrogen to improve the soil, while providing food for pollinators, which leads to the suggestion that humans should also look after their environment.