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Tale of Three Gardeners: A Floral Conversation

© Carol Wallace

Violet was shy. She spent her days tending her garden, her nights reading garden books and watching TV. One day the new man on the block passed her on the street and, because he had no hat to tip, instead handed Violet a sprig of lilac which he had absently picked from a shrub while strolling.

From all her reading, and the floral industry's insistence that people "Say it With Flowers" Violet was thrilled to the bottom of her shy little soul. Lilacs, as she knew, express the first emotions of love.

Too timid to reply, she instead went home and planted a thornless rose - a symbol of early attachment - and underplanted it with ferns to show her fascination. A planting of moss rosebuds and myrtle declared to the world (and supposedly to the young man) a confession of love. And so that no one would mistake the intended recipient of the message, Violet planted clusters of Sweet William around the doorstep, for the young man's name was William.

The meddling and jealous spinster next door deciphered the message, and began to plot. First she moseyed on over to William's house in her tightest jeans and sexiest sweater and advised him to add a little curb appeal to his house. White candytuft, she told him, would show off beautifully against the red brick of his home.

Violet saw this, and was crushed, for she knew all too well that candytuft signified indifference. Sadly she cut back the roses, and in their place planted deep red carnations, which meant "Alas for my poor heart!"

Meanwhile Jezebel, the jealous spinster was sending another message, mainly for Violet's benefit. The meddling woman planted a Spanish jasmine to imply sensuality, and a drift of yellow iris to signify passion. For color contrast, and as a direct message to Violet she planted purple columbine - determination to win.

While Violet shrank, William was fascinated by the loveliness of the gardens the two women had created, and took a trip to the nursery. Worrying strictly about color and form, he came home with pots of ferns and lily of the valley. Little did he know that this particular combination meant, to Violet, "Your unconscious sweetness has fascinated me."

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