Feeling fresh from my salon appointment and re-energized with a lovely haircut from a girl named Brie, I decided to turn left when I got out the door to do a quick excursion. It was too quick because I happen to stumble upon a surprise about twelve steps away. That door was usually shut for construction but it had an open sign when I looked at it. I turned my head up to read the sign and it was a shop that I have never seen there before, along this quaint main street of a quiet but posh little lakeside town.
Tentatively, I pushed the door open and my senses were instantly filled with curious wonders from everywhere in that lovely new discovery. At the middle was this huge assortment of blooms and greens in large vases, artfully arranged like it was at a floral market and not inside an elegant boutique. The front window was adorned with a lemon tree, of all things, vibrant with its bright yellow fruits miraculously growing in this climate. I was tempted to ask them how they care for it because the two casualties at my house this year were a lemon and a lime plant, but that is for another story.
At the back was a gigantic table with flower cuttings strewn all over in such a poetic manner as the florist methodically worked on one of his masterpieces. I could not help myself. I stood there and watched in amazement as he put together all the individual items in a simple clear vase, one by one, and slowly the arrangement was taking shape. I have never intently observed one of those getting arranged before and it felt therapeutic.
I was mesmerized with one of the flowers unfamiliar to me. Growing up in the tropics those were a novelty. Later on I have learned, through research, that they are native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean, which was the reason why I did not know what they were. To my eyes they were these curious balls of countless petals in such spirited hues. Unable to resist myself, I asked him what those were. He looked up from his art and smiled at me to say, “ranunculus”. Such a foreign word. I did not realize I froze for a little while and I heard him say, “They are beautiful, aren’t they?”. I nodded my head and then I asked, “Can you spell that for me please?” which made his smile even wider and handed me a stem of one in deep dark red while slowly pronouncing, “r-a-n-u-n-c-u-l-u-s”.
Walking away from that beautiful place with the nicest florist in the whole world, the single stem of a ranunculus in my hand, and my brain electrified with a new word for my vocabulary. “Ranunculus”, what a curious word for an exquisite flower.
I love flowers. In another life, I was a florist, and I hold a Level 2 City and Guilds qualification.
I've learned a new flower today! 🌺