A January Flower: The Carnation

 By Madyson Trama 

Being born in the month of January means having a flower that correlates to the gift of life that I was granted in this cold, dreary winter month. Not to mention how the days feel like they drag; instead of thirty-one days, it feels like a never-ending cycle. It can also be a bit ironic to talk about flowers during this chilling time, but no matter the season and weather they are always blooming. The carnation to be exact-even during the most difficult of weather conditions, beauty still chooses to prevail.

I got familiar with the carnation while growing up. The carnation is a common flower and isn’t seen in the greatest light. The flower has been given the nickname “cheap” and “the grocery store flower” because of how commonly it can be found. . It is also known for having the spotlight when creating beautiful bouquets, and, because of their hefty bulb, they add a larger-than-life element to all sorts of different arrangements. For me though, my acquaintance with the flower started when I was much younger, and it was making appearances through my life when I least expected it. Finding myself getting lost in my grandmother’s garden was something I did as a kid. Between the enormous butterfly bush at the top of the hill in her backyard, to the tomatoes and cucumber plants that lined the stone steps up to the black top—you could find me wandering around and creating my own tour of the flowers and plants.  

At the top of the stone steps that have grown wobbly, there was a lush bush of lavender that swayed when the wind would blow through it. Softly penetrating the air with its delicate, powdery scent. With its light intoxicating aroma it wasn’t difficult to pinpoint where I would be most of the time when I was out in the garden, but if you looked a little to the left of the lavender bush I could be found hovering around the clump of carnations. I always loved to pick them and surprise my grandmother. Granted, she knew where they came from but still acted like she appreciated it. I always loved to pull the petals off and rub the velvet like softness between my fingers and rub hard enough to see if the color would bleed off and stain my fingers. 

The thought of having the flowers’ vibrant purple and white color tattoo my skin was something I was more than happy to sport around as long as I could. Having the color that I was so mesmerized by come onto my skin left me in amazement and made me wonder if all the beauty in the world could come into contact with anyone or anything. I was curious if that’s how other things got their elegance, from being around what brought it out in them. Along with being in my grandmother’s backyard, I started to point out the carnation in other situations when I wasn’t expecting to see it I became excited when I realized that it didn’t take much to see this plant around, even more so when I started to see it in different colors.  

One instance where the flower was handed to me was a parade of all places. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade that took place in downtown Scranton, PA in the month of March. The weather was bleak, the sky a light gray and the sidewalk colored in a deeper beige from the sporadic rainfall . Though the chill of the cold rain was in the air, the smell of spring was in the breeze. I remember after I had finished with my partaking in the parade of being a baton twirler, and thankfully starting early in the parade, I got to watch the ending of it with the rest of my family. When I wasn’t paying any attention to what was going on around me, that’s when the flower was presented to me by an older gentleman who was handing it out happily to those around. It was a green and white carnation that looked like it was painted with amint green color, and then the edges of it were dip-dyed in a dark, forest green that highlighted the ruffles of the petals perfectly.  

In that moment I realized that I didn’t have to be just in my grandmother’s backyard to get close to the plant, and I also wasn’t limited to just one color. Instead, I was opened up to the different vibrant shades that a carnation canportray. I learned that it could be a deep red, a pale pink, stark white, a chalky yellow, mint green and of course an aubergine purple. My favorites are when two colors are paired, such as purple and white or the green and white. The ruffled petals on the flower remind me of the tutus that I worefor ballet when I was younger. Those were the flowers I received after my ballet or twirling recitals. I had a whole bouquet to call my own, and I was able to admire it until the petals wilted and fell crowding the water the stems rested in. When I didn’t even want to be on the stage to begin with due to my shyness as a child, the flowers almost made the task feel worthwhile. Because I worked up the courage to do so, the flowers became my badge of honor.   

As I grew to learn more about the carnation, I started to see how people could be careless for this flower. It dawned on me that these might be the types of flowers that I gravitate towards and end up becoming the ones I am fascinated by. Even when these flowers can be seen as “cheap” and “weed- like”, they help to create an alluring atmosphere. Even if they do have their flaws, there is still beauty to be found within them, and they are always making me think back to that curious child that was more than happy to hold them in her grasp and hope that she could make the world around her bright and vibrant like they did.