Researching a book is supposed to be the hard part. But going behind the scenes while I wrote 'The Flower Arrangement' was a joy. I loved every moment, whether I was collecting florists' stories, working behind the counter in my favourite Dublin flower shop or searching out the meanings of flowers. Here are some things I learnt along the way.
Ella Griffin
1. We have always loved flowers.
The ancient Greeks wore wreaths of honeysuckle, marigolds and lilies at their weddings. The Romans buried their dead with anemones and delphiniums and narcissus. Cleopatra carpeted her bedroom with red rose petals before she received Anthony.
Thousands of years have passed. We live in a virtual world of staccato texts and emails. We talk on the phone. We post on Facebook. But when someone falls in love or dies or feels ill or celebrates, we still turn to flowers to express our feelings.
They are alive and beautiful but they are only here for a short time, just like we are. Maybe that's why they move us the way they do.
2. Words wear out but flowers never lose their power.
Think of 'I love you.' The first time you hear those words, the doors of your heart fly open. By the time you've heard them for the 100th time, they don't have the same effect.
But flowers (and music) never fade. A single rose, whether it's picked from the garden or wrapped by a florist will pick the lock even of a heart that's shut tight.
3. All of life's dramas show up at a florist's door.
Flowers are part of every significant moment in our lives. Of every birth and wedding. Every joyful celebration and heart breaking funeral. They can shout out our happiness or speak our sympathy softly. They can seduce a lover or comfort a friend.
There's a poem by Khalil Gibran called 'Song Of The Flower' that says it beautifully.
'I am the lover's gift; I am the wedding wreath; I am the memory of a moment of happiness; I am the last gift of the living to the dead; I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.'
4. Perfumes are the feelings of flowers.
So said Heinrich Heine, the 19th century German poet. Their perfumes can alter our feelings too. There is nothing like bringing a bouquet of stargazers or freesias home and letting their scent slowly change our living space and our mood
A single flower can hold a memory safe for a lifetime and take us back to a moment over and over again. The olfactory nerve is right next to the part of our brain that is connected to emotional memory. So scent can bring back a rush of feelings. Now I understood why, every time I smell a sweet pea, I remember my mother, who died 14 years ago. Jasmine, on the other hand, transports me Greece, and to the summer that I felt in love with my husband.
5 Every bouquet tells a story.
It could be a declaration of love. A grovelling apology. An expression of sympathy. And the person who knows all of these stories is the person who makes the bouquet. We might gossip with our hairdressers but we open our hearts to our florists. They read the loving messages that accompany our Valentine's bouquets. They weave the floral wreaths that say our last goodbyes.
6. Every flower has a meaning.
The Victorians used flowers like a secret language. Lovers communicated through bouquets. And even though we don't need to do that today, there are some flowers and plants that seem to brim with meaning.
Ivy which can spring up in the darkest, stoniest ground and make its way up to the light is the perfect symbol for tenacity. The daffodil that appears after a long winter speaks of survival and new life. And deep, full-blooded red roses are the ultimate expression of romantic love.
7. Lots of floral deliveries end in tears.
Most of them are happy ones. But there are some heart breaking stories too.
Tales of faithless men who order flowers for their wives and mistresses in the same shop. Of mothers who come back to the shop asking if they can return a bouquet sent by their son or daughter because they need the money more than the flowers. The saddest story I heard was about a woman whose ten year old son died in an accident in December. She wanted a wreath in the shape of a guitar because it was what he had wanted for Christmas.
8. Florists save the day.
Sometimes 'sorry' really is the hardest word. To say and to hear. So florists get a lot of panic calls from men who need to apologise. It's up to the florist to figure out how bad the damage is and to find just the right flowers to limit it. Nine times out of then, it works. It's easy to ignore a phone call but very hard to shut the door on a beautiful bouquet.
9. It's hard work being a florist.
It's not all about wafting around arranging fragrant blooms. There's a lot of very heavy lifting and hands are perpetually being dunked in cold water. There are overnight marathons on Valentine's Day and Mother's day and fourteen-hour days in December. You need to be a psychologist to manage stressed out brides and frantic lovers. And a counsellor to comfort a customer who has just lost a wife or a mother.
10. It's all worth it in the end.
Every florist I spoke to loved their work. Apparently it's very hard to be stressed out when you're surrounded by blooms six days a week. Beauty has a powerful effect on our bodies and minds - we can't help but soak it up like blotting paper.
And how lovely would it be, to go home, at the end of the day and know that you've translated people's feelings into flowers? That you've been part of their love or their sorrow or their joy. That, even in a small way, you've helped their hearts to blossom and grow.
THE FLOWER ARRANGEMENT by Ella Griffin is published by Orion, paperback original £13.99