Whether truly seen, as O'Keeffe tried to make us see, or merely admired in passing from afar, flowers play a profound role in human affairs in many cultures around the world. Flowers are offered to appease the gods, as well as angry lovers. Flowers celebrate birth and marriage, and mourn death. Flowers enliven the humblest of homes, make less formidable monumental public buildings. We decorate our bodies with flowers, either painted versions or the real thing.
Floral images abound in literature of all sorts, as they do in the arts.
Bright blossoms cover walls, furniture, towels and bed sheets. Women living in harems in 18th-century Turkey reportedly spoke to one another in a secret flower language. Inspired by these reports, an elaborate symbolic flower language became hugely popular in 19th-century France, where it was used to communicate between the sexes, and spread in various forms to England and the United States. Our appreciation of flowers does not depend on the potential for future sustenance they offer. In fact, very few of the flowers we admire grow on food plants.