Floriography, by Gina Margolies — Flora

If one were in search of a tool to ascertain the time, flowers likely would not come to mind. Clocks, watches, and smartphones are obvious, but flowers? Yes, flowers, thanks to Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist. He is generally known for formalizing the modern system of naming organisms, called binomial nomenclature. In his spare time, Linnaeus compiled a list of flowers that open and close their petals at a particular hour of the day. It is by this list that we may reckon the hours in flower time, using the aptly named Flora's Clock.

When it comes to nature deities, Flora holds the number one spot on our list. You may know Flora as the Roman goddess of flowering plants, sister of Fauna, the goddess of animals and wildlife. It likely won’t come as a surprise that Spring is Flora’s season and her divine attributes are fertility, sexuality, and blossoming.   Flora’s name comes from the Latin floris meaning, naturally enough, flower. She had two temples in Rome, one near the Circus Maximus and another on the slopes of Quirinale, one of the famous seven hills of Rome. The temple on the Circus Maximus...