Though it’d be surprising to find a culture that doesn’t imbue plants with specific meanings, in Asian tradition flowers and trees are especially symbolic. The “three friends of winter,” or Shou Chiku Bai, in Japan and China — and their associated qualities — call forth worthy ideals with which to ring in yet another new year. It’s almost like a deck of those cheesy angel cards just spilled on the floor.
Evergreen pine/Shou
longevity*strength*friendship for life
pines tower like Ents at the entrance of the SF Botanical Garden
Bamboo/Chiku
flexibility amidst endurance*tolerance*open-mindedness
open-minded, full canopy: the bamboo forest in the SF Botanical Garden
Cherry and plum blossoms/Bai
inner beauty*transitoriness*renewal of nature
Ugggg, this photo sucks! But come the first week of February -- and I set my calendar by this -- the first baby-pink, rose-like blossoms appear on these three trees at Page and Cole. See? Transitory beauty.
