Sunday, March 3, 2013

Winter Blooms

The orchid buds started to swell the end of January and will continue to blossom into March - a much needed balm for dreary winter days. It's nice to open my eyes in the morning to see these graceful petals by the skylight.


This orchid was with Marian during her last days, and it came back this year with an amazing amount of blooms.
 
Bursting buds!
sun-kissed
amazing colour

Symbolism in History
To the ancient Greeks, orchids represented virility. It was often used as a fertility treatment and even as a means of influencing the gender of a child. If the father of baby ate large orchid tubers, it was thought, the baby would be a boy; If the mother ate small, withered tubers, the baby would be a girl. In the Middle Ages, orchids were used as an aphrodisiac and were the basis of love potions. Orchids also symbolized power and strength to the ancient Aztec Indians, who were the first to discover how to extract vanilla from orchids and mix it into a drink. In Victorian England, orchids symbolized luxury as they were rare in that society; that same meaning carries over today.
- Ask.com
delicate, exotic... can see why the orchid is considered the flower of love


No comments: