"The Posy Book" by Teresa H. Sabankaya
It caught my eye while shopping with Mom in Williamsburg. I flipped through and put it on my library list. Having read it, I am buying a copy! The cover pretty much says it all. Glorious photos, forward by Amy Stewart (author of The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Plants, and Flower Confidential, about which I should do a separate post), and “a modern floral dictionary.” Teresa, who now feels like a good friend, or at least kindred spirit, knows that while passionate, not all of us have her depth of experience hunting down the meanings of flowers. She generously shares her research in ways we can easily use to add another layer of meaning to the flowers we give. She labels flowers in her photos and I had fun seeing if I knew the flower names before turning the page for her posy recipes. I have a running draft list of flower meanings that I intended to post, but she’s eclipsed that. We’ll just refer to her book. I love reference books!
Her idea is to resurrect the Victorian language of flowers in a modern context. At her Bonny Doon Garden Company, in Santa Cruz, California, she creates small bouquets, 6-8” wide, each adorned with a tag naming the flowers and their meanings, to create sentiments such as “Friends to the End,” “A Mother’s Love", “The Sweet Heart Posy,” and “The Queen for a Day Posy.”
I think we should try it! For Valentine’s? Mother’s Day? Would you like a copy of the book? Please let me know in comments and we’ll make a plan!
