Review of Modern Floriography

When the temperature is in the single digits and you're required to head out into the arctic tundra to shovel snow, it is lovely to be able to head back inside to hot chocolate and a book about flowers. Which was exactly the circumstances under which I read Modern Floriography. We're on the countdown to the release of this book, as well as the blooms poking their eager heads through the soil. So while we wait, more about Modern Floriography.

More about Modern Floriography

A little bit of self-help, floral design, history, and gardening wrapped into one beautifully illustrated book—perfect for those with green thumbs, flower arrangement lovers, or “gift giving is my love language” people.

We have a million ways to communicate in the miasma of smartphones, artificial intelligence, and social media. But how do you find yourself responding to a declaration of love, the loss of someone important to you, or a celebration of an extraordinary or pivotal event? Cat got your tongue?

The phrases, “I’m praying for you” and “You’re in my thoughts,” are excellent proclamations, but it’s time to ramp things up with the dialect of Modern Floriography. Transport your language skills and emotions to the next level and communicate with . . . flowers!

Teresa Sabankaya is the author of The Posy Book and owner of a celebrated floral studio in the Bonny Doon region of Santa Cruz, California. With her latest book, Modern Floriography, Teresa is well-prepared to lead you on a journey of the human spirit through her floral arrangements, sentiment-cutting gardens, and posy possibilities.

With Modern Floriography in hand, visit your local farmers' market or even grocery store and treat yourself to a fragrant and colorful selection of flowers and plants. Peruse the online resources Teresa has thoughtfully compiled for your voyage into floriography.

A rose is not just a rose, as you’ll soon find out through the book’s splendid photos, floral design recipes, illustrated gardens, and abridged dictionary.

More about Teresa H. Sabankaya

Teresa Sabankaya is one of the most innovative floral designers in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area and has exhibited her floral art at various museums and flower shows including the Bouquets to Art exhibition at the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, the Monterey Museum of Art, and Filoli Mansion and Gardens, a National Trust Historic Site, where she teaches floral design regularly. Her elegant design style calibrates the soul by emitting a familiarity with people, evoking nostalgia with a just gathered from the garden feel.

She is author of The Posy Book (Countryman Press, 2019) and Modern Floriography (Indigo

 River, 2026). Teresa is active throughout the country, giving her highly popular book presentations, which always include a demonstration showing audiences they, too, can make a gorgeous posy.

Presently her floral studio is based in Bonny Doon, back where it all began many years ago. Teresa enjoys her studio time where she cultivates various language of flowers gifts and her Signature Posies that she ships nationwide. Teresa is an Advanced Certified Green Gardener, a member of Slow Flowers©, Great Garden Speakers, as well as the California State Floral Association.

You can follow the author at:

Website: https://teresasabankaya.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teresasabankaya

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/teresasabankaya/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teresasabankaya

Thoughts about Modern Floriography

If you are a flower lover you are probably no stranger to giving flowers - either from your own garden or those you purchase - to the people in your life. In my case that consisted of a handful of flowers with the stems wrapped in a wet paper towel or, if I'm feeling fancy, plunked into an old bottle. But Modern Floriography inspired me to step it up a notch when giving the gift of flowers.

I had expected Modern Floriography to be a dictionary of sorts, with a list of flowers and their meanings. Yes, this book does include that dictionary but it's so much more giving you tips of flower arranging and gift giving, gardening advice and an almost endless list of sources (online, mail order and more).

This is a book that can serve the reader in many ways. It can help you with long term goals like planning a flower garden. It can give you inspiration if you'd like to make a flower gift you're giving today extra special. Or it can just give you a happy jolt of flower love. The illustrations and photographs in this book were amazing. Some prod you to create that flower garden or use that specific flower simply because the illustrations are so beautiful. But they also serve a more practical purpose, helping you easily master the suggestions in the book with step by step photographs.

Even if you never give the gift of flowers, this book can be a feast for your eyes. If you do give the gift of flowers, this book can help you raise that simple act to a new high by turning a bouquet of blooms into a gift full of meaning. I can't wait to give posies with flower meaning this Spring.