Cut flowers

yeah i would say this is a very transitional arrangement um Mums, you know, are a fall flower, and that was the first I had seen them at the market.

And those, I think, those are from Kathy's Cut Flowers.

But the color is almost perfectly matched to the other.

Are you saying lilac or lavender? I'm like, what's

Now tell us what these are right here.

Well, we have some delicate cut flowers.

Are these the ones you sell at your shop, Uncle Mike? They are.

I'm not quite there yet.

but it seeks to sever itself from the roots that produce them.

Joining me to have a conversation about this is Brendan Towle, Director of Spirituality and Mission for Secondary Schools and Schools of Special Education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, author of this commentary, The Cut Flowers of a Fatherless West.

Brendan, thank you for joining us.

How are you?

And the best they can do is perhaps point to society is created this way or the laws that we have have said so, but they're not really sure the origins of these things.

And it really pointed me to this point here that we need to reconnect with where all this comes from because this next generation really does need to understand their roots.

And the cut flowers image, though it's not original to me, is one that I thought was very apropos for this moment that we're seeing, especially with our teens.

Can you share with us why you think this is? Obviously, I have a few thoughts, but I want to ask you to share your wisdom with our listeners.

Plants respond to light, temperature, and circadian rhythms, internal biological clocks that help them coordinate with their pollinators.

Even cut flowers in a vase will sometimes open and close at their accustomed times for several days.

The flower clock is a reminder that nature operates on many schedules, not just our own.

Each flower keeps its own time, unfolding and closing in rhythm with the sun, indifferent to human hours and minutes.

Snapdragons teach us that beauty and decay are intertwined and that even in death, flowers serve a purpose, ensuring the continuation of life.

Some flowers can survive for weeks as cut blooms.

When we cut flowers and place them in water, we are extending their beauty beyond the plant's natural cycle.

Some flowers are remarkably long-lasting as cut blooms.