The names of common flowers change from decade to decade, so I spent a lot of time with old outdated dictionaries, with awful flower names like ‘mouse-eared chickweed.’ Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
I’ve always loved the language of flowers. I discovered Kate Greenaway’s ‘Language of Flowers’ in a used bookstore when I was 16 and couldn’t believe it was such a well-kept secret. How could something so beautiful and romantic be virtually unknown? Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
I’ve worked with homeless kids, kids in foster care, and I’ve never met a kid who couldn’t be reached. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
I was a screenwriting and studio art major in college, so even though I don’t have any training as a floral designer, I have a very particular visual aesthetic. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
There’s still something so pure and heartfelt and emotional and genuine about a bouquet of flowers that, even with all the advances of technology and the millions of ways we have to communicate with each other, flowers are still relevant in my opinion. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
My husband and I have been involved with foster youth since our early 20s. Right out of college and not yet married, we spent weekends mentoring a family of young girls. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
I founded Camellia Network with my dear friend Isis Dallis Keigwin. The mission of our organization is to create a national network that connects every youth aging out of foster care to the critical resources, opportunities, and support they need to thrive in adulthood. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
The Victorian language of flowers began with the publication of ‘Le Language des Fleurs,’ written by Charlotte de Latour and printed in Paris in 1819. To create the book – which was a list of flowers and their meanings – de Latour gathered references to flower symbolism throughout poetry, ancient mythology, and even medicine. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
Though politics is by nature divisive, surely we all can agree that foster children need stability, safety, education, opportunity – and love. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
We have been trained to broadcast our successes and hide our failures. But the truth is this: our failures humanise us, and they connect us to one another. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
