#irusol

Happiness: Common mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

I've been obsessed with floriography (language of flowers) for a good while but it's really hard to find a good reference book for it that is well-sourced. I ended up going with one of the first books (?) published in the US about it in 1865 and it's so interesting to see the stories and poetry written with the meaning of each flower! (Also if anyone knows some other floriography sources especially multicultral ones, pls hmu).

Sadness: English yew (Taxus baccata)

Parallel post to my previous one! Yew will always remind me of the The Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd) which was illustrated by Jim Kay. In modern literature, I really do think this is one of the best stories that uses the symbolism of yew for grief and sorrow. The story follows 14-year old Conor O'Malley who is trying to come to terms with his mother's fight with cancer and it's SO beautifully illustrated.