Novalis and the Allure of the Blue Flower
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, better known by his pen name, Novalis, was born on May 2, 1772.
Novalis was an 18th-century German poet, writer, mystic, and philosopher of early German romanticism. Though tragically short, his life left an indelible mark on the literary world. Novalis's love affair with the blue flower, a symbol of his romantic yearning, is as captivating as his own life story.
All last week, I watched videos about Novalis. He fell in love with a girl who tragically died of tuberculosis, and then Novalis himself died of tuberculosis at the age of 28.
In his short life, he accomplished so much - perhaps partially because Novalis claimed to have had three moments of mystical revelation. These visions, he claimed, deepened his understanding of the world, time, and humanity.
Novalis's fascination with the blue flower stemmed from his mystical revelations.
To Novalis, the blue flower represented romantic yearning. It also meant a point of unification between humanity and nature. It represented life, but it also described death. This is how the blue flower became a meaningful symbol of German romanticism.
As a gardener, I can certainly relate to Novalis' obsession with blue blooms. All blue flowers are captivating, and their allure is undeniable. It's easy to understand why blue blossoms became such a significant symbol in Novalis' writing.
In botanical history, blue flowers are rare and exquisite gems that evoke a sense of wonder.
Blue flowers, in all their glory, command our attention, drawing us into their world of enchantment.
Novalis writes,
It is not the treasures that have stirred in me such an unspeakable longing; I care not for wealth and riches. But that blue flower I do long to see; it haunts me and I can think and dream of nothing else.
This sentiment resonates with any gardener who has fallen under the spell of a blue flower. Blue flowers arouse our curiosity and cause many gardeners to ask questions about their origins.
But as Novalis reminds us, the answers may lie not in the concrete but in the questions themselves. In the pursuit of the blue flower, we find a deeper connection to the world around us, a sense of wonder and mystery that enriches our lives.
Novalis' words echo the experience of many gardeners:
"He saw nothing but the blue flower, and gazed at it for a long time with indescribable tenderness."
In his masterpiece, Henry of Ofterdingen, Novalis writes about a blue flower with a poetic and profound passion. The flower that inspired Novalis is universally suspected to be a heliotrope or cornflower, becomes a symbol of Henry's longing and a source of inspiration.
Henry of Ofterdingen is the source for many marvelous quotes about blue blooms.
Novalis wrote,
It is not the treasures that have stirred in me such an unspeakable longing; I care not for wealth and riches.
But that blue flower I do long to see; it haunts me and I can think and dream of nothing else.
I remember my own early days as a gardener when I first discovered the Delphinium. The tall, blue spikes were a vision of beauty, and I wanted to buy as my garden budget would allow. I felt just like Henry of Ofterdingen; I could not stop thinking about my blue Delphiniums, imagining them at maturity around the 4th of July when the beautiful blue spikes would stand about five to six feet tall in front of the east corner of the porch.
Of course, my dream of the Delphinium always surpassed what the actual Delphinium looked like, yet I still grew it. I loved them.
Those blue flowers certainly do command our attention.
Well, I'll end with one final flower quote from Novalis.
An insightful philosopher and a lover of nature, Novalis loved questions, and he believed that most of life's answers could be found in nature.
So, in this quote Novalis asks a series of questions and like all good philosophers, Novalis knows that the answer is in the questions and that the questions are more powerful than the answers.
Novalis writes,
What if you slept?
And what if, in your sleep, you dreamed?
And what if, in your dream, you went to heaven and plucked a strange and beautiful flower?
And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand?
Ah, what then?
