Ode to Flowers

Flowers are often chosen as a nice gift to friends and family members. At first sight, anyone can fall in love with their beauty mixed with their fragrance when they are in full blossom. Sadly, most flowers bloom and fade in no time. Because of their fragile nature, people find them a reflection of a human's life either in the short or long run. As an admirer of flowers who used to dream about having a large garden one day, I will elaborate on some flowers our English learners described as their favourites.

It seems to me that roses are the queen of all flowers. Red roses are often given to beloved partners as a gesture of love. Some women are more pleased with the sight of white or blue petals due to their color preference. Interestingly, the plant itself has been widely used in perfume, food and drink as well as an ideal choice for gifts. It's very likely that you run into products in shops made from the plant, for example, rose pies, rose tea, rose soaps, rose syrup.

Orchids were frequently mentioned in the English learners' discussion. They are believed to represent the standard beauty in the east of the world. Besides being a symbol of elegance and purity, they were described as a symbol of true friendship and loyal love in ancient times. A popular Chinese idiom, "the chamber of orchids" , was created by Confucius when he was in a conversation with his students. The term is a metaphor for people with high morals. If you stay in the chamber of orchids, you will gradually become part of the fragrance. Similarly, if you are friends with people with high morals, you will become one of them. It shows the influence friends people choose to be close to can have on their morality.

Lotuses and water lilies were often admired in the ancient times in Chinese literature. Like beautiful fairies on or above the surface of water, they stand out among all species. With a close observation, the stems of the plant are extraordinarily straight. The uniqueness of their flowers and stems were both carfully observed and compared to traits of men of integrity by ancient Chinese writers, for example, ZhouDunyi in Song Dynasty. Lotus petals are also the main ingredient of a local dish back in my hometown, Qufu, Shandong Province in the north part of China. Crispy and tasty, it is definitely worth a try!

Jasmines are also a pleasant plant with its intoxicating fragrance. It is known that their flowers can be collected to produce a special green tea and they are widely used in the perfume industry. A Chinese folk song , Jasmine, was quite popular among young people in the 1990s.
These five flowers, roses, orchids, lotuses, water lilies and jasmines, were chosen as our top beauties that night. There is no doubt that there are thousands of more which could be chosen as people's favourite flowers, for there are a large variety of them in the planet. As an everlasting symbol of love, the red rose often gives inspration to a man who is rich in emotions. In the end, I'm happy to share a poem by Robert Burns, a red red rose.
A Red, Red Rose
O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in june;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That’s sweetly play'd in tune:

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry:

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun:
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve
And fare thee weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.