The uses for flowers vary widely, as flowers are more than objects of beauty. Flowers have the ability to engage nearly every one of the five human senses, and they are used to mark many of our most special occasions -- from weddings to major holidays. Flowers are even incorporated into meditative action through the Japanese art of flower arranging known as ikebana.
Scent
Flowers have historically been used to mask unpleasant odors. Fresh flowers, in addition to their decorative aspect, serve to brighten the air within a room. The essential oils of common flowering plants such as lavender and rosemary, along with those of more exotic flowers like ylang-ylang and jasmine, are used in making perfumes. Essential oils of flowers are widely used for healing through aromatherapy, where they are inhaled or applied to the skin, and for perfuming indoor spaces.
Gifts
Flowers are unique in that they are a biodegradable gift, but also one that can be preserved through drying, pressing or other methods. Their delicacy and impermanence render them a gift that must be savored in the present, before their beauty fades.
Flowers are often given as gifts by guests to their hosts and from men to women they admire or adore. Many flowers have specific secret, hidden meanings. Dating back to a time when people could not always express in words what they wanted to communicate, a gift of flowers and the manner in which they were presented were used to send subtle messages. Irises represent hope and gerbera daisies signify beauty and innocence, while tulips symbolize perfect love.
Food
Edible flowers, like herbs, bring color and texture to foods and give inventive cooks a wider range of ingredients with which to experiment. Flowers add a variety of subtle flavors -- from sweet to peppery -- to dishes. You can cook with squash blossoms, decorate a salad with daylilies, freeze borage flowers into ice cubes or make tea from chamomile. Edible flowers can br used to create food items such as flavored butters, jams and jellies, and you can adorn cakes and desserts with blooms. You can also add the flowers to hot main dishes, soups and rice.
Decorative
Fresh and artificial flowers can be used indoors or outdoors to brighten a space and bring cheer to the people who frequent the surroundings. Outdoors, artificial flowers are most often used to memorialize a loved one who has died, adorning the gravesite, but they can be used in hanging baskets and planters for a low-maintenance display. Dried flowers may be used whole or preserved and be presented in potpourri, sachets or hanging bundles. Flowers are incorporated into many facets of home decor. You may find them in the pattern of a wallpaperor in a painting, or their representations might be woven into the fabric of curtains or upholstery.
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