Humanflowerproject.com Website Review

The Human Flower Project is an international newsgroup, photo album and discussion of humankind’s relationship with the floral world. We report on art, medicine, society, history, politics, religion, and commerce. Written and photographic submissions are welcome.    Julie. ​WITH A TRAGEDY IN RUSSIA, MOURNERS AND THEIR FLORISTS TURN TO AN OLD FIGURE OF EASTERN ORTHODOX ICONOGRAPHY, SHAPED LIKE A SEED. Overnight floods in Krymsk, a southern Russia city east of the Black Sea, killed at least 172 people early Sunday morning. There had been no warning, even though authorities later admitted having  known by 10 p.m. Saturday that heavy rains threatened to inundate the town. Some of the survivors (more than 25,000 lost their homes and belongings) say they believe that along with flooded natural waterways, more water was actually released from a reservoir above the city, “a theory rebu*ted said Friday’s rains swelled nearby rivers with the equivalent of six months’ average precipitation.” Recriminations have been mounting. And so have floral tributes to the dead. Thanks to Craig Cramer of Ellis Hollow for alerting us to these striking images taken in a makeshift graveyard outside Krymsk. How different these sympathy arrangements are from the circular wreaths and sprays we’re accustomed to. All morning we’ve been searching for clues as to their distinctive shape. Egg? Seed? Womb? Teardrop? After browsing through Russian and Ukrainian florists websites, we’re still not certain why this form of tribute is such a consistent floral presence at funerals in the region. We’ve read that even-numbered flowers are preferred (even required) at times of mourning and that yellow blooms are unwelcome at happy or sad occasions alike. Having read up on Russian funeral  customs and dipped into church symbolism, we’ve come to think that the mas*ive oval-shaped arrangements follow an iconic shape in Eastern Orthodoxy—the mandorla. This encapsulating form recurs in Christian imagery, a kind of radiant bubble that surrounds divine figures when they appear to humankind.