Marigolds and Oranges

OCTOBER'S BIRTH FLOWER IS THE MARIGOLD

Their rich, autumn-colored hues make marigolds very appropriate for this time of year. As with most flowers, meanings ascribed to them vary among cultures and time periods. Early Christians called marigolds Mary’s Gold, and placed them by statues of the Virgin Mary. The Welsh believed that if marigolds were not open early in the morning, a storm was on the way. In the complex Victorian language of flowers, marigolds were appointed the flowers of grief and despair. Once considered the most sacred of flowers in India, garlands of marigolds were placed around the necks of holy statues.

Other sources say the marigold, also called calendula, signifies affection and grace. And some have called it "summer bride" or "husbandman's dial" because its flower head follows the sun as it moves across the sky. Also appropriate for the season, the marigold appears to have healing, even magical, powers. Fresh petals can be used to relieve the pain of a bee sting and a thrifty skin cleanser can be made from dried petals mixed with almond oil and fragrant rose or orange blossom water. Some cultures have used marigolds as love charms and a water made from marigolds was believed to induce visions of fairies when rubbed on the eyelids. Others thought that marigold flowers added to the stuffing of a pillow would encourage prophetic or psychic dreams.

Meaningful and magical as these late-harvest flowers can be, we don't often think of marigolds when building a bouquet—though this one, above, is actually quite charming. Equally charming is the effect the warm, orange color of the marigold can have on our interiors. And while the color orange may not suit every taste, used in small doses or large, it does add a spark, a warmth, and an element of surprise that suits many styles.

If you do love orange,

and your dining room walls happen to already be painted that color,

it isn't difficult to imagine that you might also enjoy decorating for one of our most fun-filled fall celebrations. The following images were borrowed from Decor Village.

HAVE A HAPPY

HALLOWEEN !!!

Glad Summer Sunsets

It's only the fifth of August, but I can feel fall sneaking up on me. The weather is odd. Very warm but not unbearably hot. Humid mornings, breezy afternoons. Thunder storms just over the mountains and the sun setting a little bit earlier every day. School starts in a few short weeks and regardless of what the calendar says, for many, myself included, the first day of school is the first day of fall. So before summer slips away much further, taking this particular bloom with it, I must get my Flower of the Month post published.

The Gladiolus, August's Birth Flower, has burst into bloom with the colors of summer sunsets. Their clean, tropical hues come directly from the warmest side of the rainbow-- red, fuchsia, orange, hot pink, chrome yellow. At the end of their own season in the garden, flamboyant Glads represent perfectly these bright, sultry days of late summer. Come September, summer and the Gladiolus will both be gone.

Some, perhaps not ever ready to say goodbye to summer, choose to keep the season all year 'round by bringing the warm, happy exuberance of the Gladiolus into their homes.

Both images above via "An Indian Summer"

via "Style Redux"

Angie Hranowsky

Fiona Newell Weeks

Angie Hranowsky

Kathryn M. Ireland

Amanda Nisbet

Gary McBournie

via "Style Redux"

via "Marie Claire Maison"

Stephen Shubel

I couldn't resist including this shot of a Stockholm apartment, above, designed by Swedish architects Tham & Videgard Hansson. Found on the blog Dezeen, it literally defies description. Click on the photo to read the post and see the rest of this remarkable space. Trust me, you don't want to miss it and you might not know what to make of it!

And finally, the art at the top of this post is a detail of this digital art print called "Gladiola Fiesta" by Gayle Lee, available here. I love how the bright hues are muted, and the shapes a bit blurred; blending and fading into each other like the colors and memories of a summer almost past.