Welcome to Unconditionally Her and to May. “April showers bring May flowers” is a saying I remember my grandmother telling me when I was a young tot.  I sure hope so.   I am one flower lovin’ gal.   Those who know me know that fresh flowers are always on my kitchen table.  I have an assortment of vases and festive picks that I use to make my bouquets look spectacular. I love flowers and the symbolism of spring.   Hint:  we have a great feature this month for DIY garden bed planting.  Stay tuned for that!

 

Speaking of flowers, they are so symbolic.  We see them at weddings, funerals, graduations, and many other special occasions and we place them in our homes to add beauty to our surroundings.  “Floriography” is the language of flowers that goes all the way back to the Victorian era in the early 1800- 1900’s – and really even earlier -and purports that every flower carries its own special meaning or symbolism according to its variety and color.  Some flowers may take on a new meaning dependent on the number given to someone. As an example, a single red rose denotes ‘love at first sight’, whereas a dozen red roses say, ‘be mine’. When it comes to color, yellow roses denote friendship, while red roses denote love and pink roses “fond affection” whatever that might mean– at least these are all examples of what my grandmother used to tell me.  Some of the many, many sources you will find sometimes differ in their interpretations, though many are consistent with one another.  And wow is there is a lot out there now to read about floriography.  This is a topic that could be discussed at length, but since this is an editor’s letter and not a thesis or dissertation, let’s leave it with there is a lot of be explored in the world of floriography.  Check it out!  Google is your best friend and there are countless books and articles about the subject.  You will likely be as amazed as I was.   If you are looking for something to get started, check out this article written for Farmer’s Almanac which has now been around for over 200 years.

 

As we continue to move through spring, Unconditionally Her is ready to share not only gardening tips this month so you can plant your own flowers, but also our best of food, fun, travel, inspiration and so much more as we always do.  A great ‘Sip of the Month’ is coming along with a great recipe for International Hummus Day (yes, really!). Also, we will feature several Untold stories with our partners, Cadenshae, to celebrate Motherhood. And, with May being the month of Mother’s Day, it’s the perfect time to talk about women’s health. After all, May is also the time for National Women’s Health Week.  This year’s observance is May 10-16th.   The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) asks, “Where are you on your health journey, and where do you want to go?” It’s a great question!   We all have our own journey and strategies to get to where we want to go.  Learn how to make your journey the best it can be with resources provided by OWH including a great new tool to help point you in the right direction.

 

Happy Spring and Happy May!

 

Be Encouraged, Be Empowered, Be Inspired – Be Unconditionally YOU!