Patricia PacJac Carroll here again. Jacs, my wonder dog, and I are going to talk FLOWER POWER. I know you all are thinking hippies and 60s and 70s, but I'm going back in history. Right Jacs?Oh well, Jacs is beating the heat of August and reading my book, Liberty Belle.
There are always flowers for those who want to see them. ~ Henri Matisse
Since my oncologist is in Fort Worth, and we were waiting for an appointment, my husband and I took a trip to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. I was surprised to see that the WPA of President Franklin Roosevelt was used to create the rose gardens. The sign reads -Beauty out of Adversity. How cool is that! And how beautiful for us to enjoy. What a wonderful legacy. They understood the need for people to work as well as the need for people to have a place to go and admire flowers.
We have flowers alongside our highways thanks to Lady Bird Johnson. Lady Bird Johnson encouraged her husband to pass a bill to beautify the nation's cities and highways. The Highway Beautification Act was informally known as Lady Bird's Bill.
Quotes attributed to Lady Bird Johnson
"Where flowers bloom, so does hope"
"Ugliness is so grim, a little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony which will lessen tensions."
"Ugliness is so grim, a little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony which will lessen tensions."
Victorian flower power and flower messages < click for more info
Almira Lincoln Phelps wrote a book in 1829 titled Familiar Lectures on Botany. < amazingly it is available on Amazon. She believed the study of botany was perfect for women as they enjoyed the investigation of the beautiful and the exercise would do them good.
She later included the Symbolical language of flowers in her book which dated to at least the times of Shakespeare.
Who doesn't enjoy a gift of flowers? Their colorful beauty brightens any day.
The women of this century could learn from this. Let's get out there and see how many different flowers we can find, enjoy, and admire.
What are your favorite flowers?
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Update: I am doing great! Had my last chemo yesterday and am confidant the cancer has been killed. Thanks for all the encouragement and prayers.
See you again September 13.
That is me before I had a buzz cut. Now I have fuzz for my hair do : ) >Not complaining, It's a cool cut for the summer.
You can read more about my fight against breast cancer on my blog
Have a wonderful day and don't forget to smell the roses along the way. : )
