Flowers

“My love is like a red, red rose,” is the first part of Robert Burns' famous poem, aptly entitled “A Red, Red Rose.”

Flowers are everywhere. In countryside fields, hospital bedsides, by riverbanks, at office desks, on doors and walls, inside bottles, on the seashore, on lawns and gardens and inside houses. Flowers have a language of their own. Over time, they have come to be more than just decorative items, but expressions of emotions, thoughts and ideas. Take the most loved and most famous flower for example: the rose. Everyone knows the rose. Its different colors have meanings, like red for passion, white for purity or yellow for friendship. It appears on emblems, logos, coat of arms and flags and has been represented in every manner and media possible. More than just a fragrant flower, it has become a symbol.

Such is the power of flowers. Though the technical definition of a flower would be the reproductive part of plants that has pollen and eventually creates seeds, flowers blossom across a wider field of purpose. Myths and legends are full of flowers, like the Greek tale of the sun-god Apollo and the girl he turned into a sunflower. Flowers have been a part of history, and are no less important in today's modern world. No important celebration is complete without flowers, and they are much treasured not only for their aesthetic value, but for natural purposes too. Some floral species have medicinal properties and other varieties have contributed greatly to the improvements in science and technology.

Much more can be said about flowers and their contributions to mankind. As it is, their silent beauty will continue to brighten this world, putting smiles on people's and quite literally, adding a touch of color to life. Stop to smell and appreciate them.