We send flowers to celebrate a birth, apologize after an argument, or acknowledge a loss we don’t know how to talk about. A bouquet can say something we struggle to put into words. But why do flowers occupy such an important place in our most personal moments?
Journalist Jill Brooke takes up that question in The Genius of Flowers: What Life’s Most Beautiful Creations Can Teach Us. Her book explores flowers’ place in history, art, and our relationships, along with the meaning we find in them. My friend Nancy Steiner spoke with Brooke about what drew her to the subject, how flowers can help us remember someone we’ve lost, and why she encourages readers to return to the same patch of nature again and again.
What do you mean by "the genius of flowers”?
Jill Brooke: When you open your eyes and look, you see how flowers intersect with almost every aspect of life. How did people explain love and rekindle relationships? How did people explain loss, spirituality, disappointment? They used flowers because they were the messengers.
As you will see in this book, they are not only collaborators in human civilization, but also muses for artists and architects. They remind us that we don’t need perfect situations for life to be beautiful and hopeful.
What made you decide to write this book?
I have noticed, as a writer and researcher, that so much these days is fear-based. But even in the darkest times in history, people still sought out beauty. And flowers are always a place where you can find beauty.
I initially got involved in studying flowers because I knew that whenever I was upset, being around them would calm me and bring happiness. That has always fascinated me, because I'm an overly sensitive person. The Genius of Flowers shares stories of how human beings have used flowers to advance ambition, to create peace in their relationships and their home lives, and to feel optimistic about life.
What did working on the book teach you?
It taught me that you can feel better about life by being near flowers. We have choices to improve our lives, even in the most difficult times. Flowers — and being around nature in general — can help you relax, gain clarity about your situation, and improve your perspective.
How do flowers encourage us to slow down and pay attention?
I think flowers teach us about presence, to be in the moment. That's what Georgia O’Keeffe was saying through her art.
You have beautiful flowers that bloom in each season, because nature is teaching us all the time. We live life in chapters, and different flowers bloom to accentuate the changes in the seasons. In the book, after each chapter, I purposefully wrote simple little things we can do in our lives to appreciate the passage of time.
What role can flowers play in grief?
Flowers can play a huge role in how we grieve. In the book, I explore how flowers help us remember loved ones. Grief isn’t reserved for death, either: You’re allowed to mourn a relationship that ended, a friend who disappointed you, a job that didn’t come through, a team you couldn’t join. But because we’re taught that others have it worse, and that we should be grateful, we rarely create spaces that simply allow us to process our disappointments.
I really encourage people to find a place where nature feels welcoming. It can be a trail in the woods, a tree, a garden bed, a bench. Not as an assignment, but as permission. Returning to the same place matters. Over time, that bench beside flowers — that very flower, that rose — will begin to hold the feeling for you.
Emotions don’t need fixing to move through us. They just need room, time, and somewhere safe to land, and flowers can offer that to us.
What’s the one thing you want readers to take away from the book?
I want them to feel more optimistic and hopeful about life, and to see that beauty is always accessible — if you just look. Share these stories with your family and friends, and they'll pass them down, and remember you as their source.
Nancy Steiner is a life and executive coach and a former documentary and network news producer. Her coaching practice is What Comes Next Coaching with Nancy Steiner.
You can purchase The Genius of Flowers right here.
