Summary

The website content discusses the therapeutic role of flowers in human life, as reflected in a Medium prompt by Dr. Preeti Singh, and the author's personal experiences with flowers during the pandemic, including starting a gardening business and sharing joy with her daughters through tulips.

Abstract

The author of the web content, Hermione Wilds Writes, shares her connection with flowers, inspired by a prompt from Dr. Preeti Singh on Medium, which emphasizes the companionship of flowers in both joyous and sorrowful times. The author reveals her own engagement with flowers by creating a flower prompt for her publication and starting a gardening business during the UK's 2020 lockdown. The narrative weaves through personal anecdotes, highlighting the solace found in gardens and the joy of gifting tulips to her daughters post-lockdown. The article also references other Medium stories and authors, illustrating the interconnectedness of stories on the platform and the shared human experiences around the beauty and comfort of flowers.

Opinions

The author finds the prompt "In Joy and in sadness flowers are our friends" particularly consoling and litany-like, suggesting it can be used as a mantra to overcome sadness.
The author expresses that the pandemic led to a renewed interest in gardening in the UK, with gardens becoming a source of comfort during isolation.
Starting a gardening business in 2020 was both a happy and sad endeavor for the author, as it coincided with a time when she couldn't see her children due to strict lockdown rules.
The author equates clients' enjoyment of their gardens to the pleasure of nurturing flowers, indicating that both bring joy and solace.
The act of planting tulips for her daughters and later gifting them is portrayed as a symbol of hope and shared joy, marking the end of a difficult period.
The author apologizes for selecting a story by Terry Day, expressing that it was saved to share with readers due to its depiction of real experiences in challenging conditions.
Gratitude is expressed towards the editors at 'Reciprocal' for their contributions to the narrative around flowers and human experiences.

Nature — PROMPT – RECIPROCAL

Flowers To Revive You

Prompt response – reciprocal

Photograph taken in a meadow in Bath, England, is by the author Hermione Wilds Writes

I was reading on Medium again and came across the prompt from Dr. Preeti Singh all about the joy of flowers. I love flowers.

Well, how do they console us in times of trouble? The prompt read,

“In Joy and in sadness flowers are our friends”

[1] ‘In Joy And in Sadness, Flowers Are Our Friends’, ‘Reciprocal’, January, 2023

I thought this was interesting and appealing because I created a flower prompt for my own publication this month. You can find that in the following paragraph, if you are partial to flower prompts. But this one felt like a litany, like something you could repeat to yourself to lift yourself out of sadness.

My own prompt story

Another story I cannot find now about picking flowers for mothers, brought out one of my own flower experiences, a similar story from the opposite perspective, which is why I shared the story in my story and prompt, ‘Something in a Flower’ on Medium. I am in the process of setting up a publication on Medium, which you may enjoy writing for in answer to that prompt.

That is the beautiful thing about Medium stories. They become linked and connected, as I have suggested before.

Do I have anything else to say about flowers then?

Well, as it happens, yes.

It just so happens that I had this sort of mixed happy and sad feeling when I started up my gardening business properly in my local area in 2020. I had been building a website on gardening and plants quite slowly up until then, and I thought well why not make it a regular monthly post about gardening and post some leaflets locally and start a new business. People will be out in their gardens and will want help looking after them.

Finally, in July 2020 my small gardening business was launched. Many people in the UK became interested in their gardens like never before in 2020. It was a great year for gardens and gardeners. People found comfort in their gardens when they couldn’t see their friends and relatives due to being confined to one area. We realised how fortunate we were to have gardens and flowers.

Sad

I was sad at the time because I could not see my children (yes they are adults, but still I think of them as children) who were a few counties away, and rules were strict over here in the UK, but my business looking after flowers grew, and my clients were like flowers too. It was so good to see how they enjoyed their flowers and plants, and a pleasure to find solutions for them. I won’t go into any personal detail, except to share that many of us experiences changes in our lives which are unexpected, and this means we need help with our gardens and someone to help us plant the flowers.

Joy

That is where the joy comes in. By helping others, we find joy. I planted a whole pot of tulips for my youngest daughter, and as soon as Lock Down was lifted, I took them to her so that she could watch them grow. I was meeting both my daughters; one who didn’t have a garden, so I took two huge bunches of tulips to give to them to celebrate the reprieve from Lock Down.

I hope you found something uplifting in this story, as I made it my mission to focus on the joy that flowers bring us whatever the weather.

Some joyful stories on ‘Reciprocal’

I am sorry that I have chosen this popular story by Terry Day — I did save it 6 days ago to share with you because it shows real experiences in the snow. It is a real journey story.

Follow that with Divya Goswami on the first time experiencing the snow as a child here.

Thank you to all the editors at ‘Reciprocal’.