Tolkien's Floral Fixation

[Orphalesion]

What about Urwen/Lailaith whom Turin describes to Finduilas as "a yellow flower in the green grass of spring" before contrasting Finduilas herself as a "golden tree".

I also did not know that Tolkien changed the meaning of Luthien to "daughter of flowers" however I am glad I do now. The meaning "enchantress" has always struck me as rather odd as a name of an Elf. A name given to her by mortals, perhaps, but not by her parents.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

I loved this thread so much that I couldn't bare it dying. I had nothing to say until now, since I'm visiting the boyfriend and my books are all 500 miles away.

I remember a post on tumblr talking about how Tolkien would always stop and gaze at the flowers and trees on his walk. This annoyed those around him because he stopped for too long! It got me thinking about the botanical gardens in Oxford that Tolkien liked to go to so much. When Lauri and I were in Britain, we went there and made a point to sit under Tolkien's favourite tree. I can see that his love of nature in all forms has impacted his works. I was never one to really know the names of flowers, not from disinterest of course, but I did learn some new names of plants from LotR. I now smile every time I see a camellia plant in the store and was delighted to discover that the scientific name for the tea plant is Camellia sinensis. It always reminds me of hobbits. I also have a fondness for lobelia plants now because of Lobelia Sackville-Baggins.

Oh, I think I've rambled a bit on this post. I guess what I was trying to get at was that I am inspired by Tolkien's love of all things botanical and the descriptions of landscapes and flowers were what really drew me into the books as a whole.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by TheGreatElvenWarrior

. . . . It got me thinking about the botanical gardens in Oxford that Tolkien liked to go to so much. When Lauri and I were in Britain, we went there and made a point to sit under Tolkien's favourite tree. . . . .
I guess what I was trying to get at was that I am inspired by Tolkien's love of all things botanical and the descriptions of landscapes and flowers were what really drew me into the books as a whole.

That's a wonderful inspiration, TGEW. It is just as legitimate as those who come to Tolkien for the warfare and the fighting and the action. (*coughs* I won't mention any film directors.) I'm sure there are many here who share it.

This thread might also be the place to note here on the Downs that Tolkien's beloved pinus nigra has fallen. Two large branches cracked and fell down and the tree was deemed too unstable by arborists, so the rest was cut down.

There is a video of the split and fall: Tolkien's tree falls

[Pitchwife]

Gods, Bêthberry, that video was heartbreaking. To see such a giant who has endured in strength and beauty for such a long time stripped and dismantled like that... It's so much like watching the decay of a venerable and beloved elder. Very, very sad.

As long as I've had any personal relationship with nature at all trees have stood out to me as special, closer to us humans than any other plant in their gnarled individuality and dignity. Whether Tolkien's passages about trees kindled this feeling or merely amplified it is impossible for me to tell now. I've known trees I considered friends and some that were my teachers and counselors, and whenever I see trees mindlessly felled under some hollow architectural pretence I long for a march of Ents to avenge them. Unfortunately all the Ents seem to have gone tree-ish nowadays, leaving it to us to defend their herds against Saruman's modern imitators.

[Bêthberry]

I've been told, quite seriously, that is is healthy to hug a tree--and, no, that was not a joke at treehuggers' expense. A way to connect.

I probably should have written a more evocative introduction to that video of the pinus nigra splitting. But the action is so poignant that to me it is almost sublime and I didn't want to ruin anyone's reaction by presaging it with my limited words.