NOTHING BUT FLOWERS PART II

The French give you flowers like nobody else

May 25, 2025

Yellow flowers along a fence in Paris’ 10th arrondissement (Photo by the author)

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All countries and all cultures love flowers, but none (I dare say) more so than the French. Everywhere you look, in all seasons, parks, pathways, balconies and houses are abloom in beautiful and well-cultivated flowers.

Flowers surround a bust of Elie Weisel in Paris’ Square du Temple in Paris’ 3rd arrondissement (Photo by the author)

Almost every culture ascribes meanings to certain flowers, and these vary of course from country to country. In France you would never bring chrysanthemums as a gift to someone’s home. Here they symbolize death! Around All Saint’s Day, flower shops are brimming with them.

Why chrysanthemums? It was after World War I, which ended on the 11th of November 1918, that the tradition began, replacing an earlier custom of placing a lit candle on a grave. Impractical in November weather, the President of France Raymond Poincaré suggested using late fall flowers instead, to honor the many millions killed in the war. Chrysanthemum suited the occasion.

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Yellow daffodils abound in early spring, just like they do in the UK and the US. Here in France they are signs of hope, of a new beginning, or of rebirth.

Yellow daffodils bloom around the statue of Benjamin Franklin, who lived in the rural village of Passy, now a part of Paris’ 16th arrondissement (Photo by the author)

The grave of the famed spiritualist, Alan Kardec in Père Lachaise is one of the most visited — and most decorated — in the cemetery.

A bit hard to pronounce for English speakers, Oeillet (oy-yay) is the French word for carnation.

In France, the red carnation is used to symbolize socialism and the labour movement, and historically has often been used in demonstrations on International Workers' Day (May Day). At the Mur des Fédérés or the Communards Wall in Père Lachaise, red carnations were in abundance on May Day, but also this week, which marks Bloody Week (le semaine sangulant) when the last of the Paris Commune was captured in the cemetery and violently executed by the forces of imperialism and autocracy.

The Communards Wall in Père Lachaise (photo by the author)

Because Paris has a mild climate, flowers bloom in all seasons. The most beautiful city in the world is made even more beautiful, if that were possible, by the Parisians love of flowers.

Come tour the gardens and parks of Paris with me!

Johnny

NOTHING BUT FLOWERS PART II

The French give you flowers like nobody else

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