If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And of thy meager store
Two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
- Sheikh Muslih-uddin Saadi Shirazi
For myself I hold no preferences among flowers,
so long as they are wild, free, spontaneous.
Bricks to all greenhouses!
Black thumb and cutworm to the potted plant!
- Edward Abbey
Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns.
I am thankful that thorns have roses.
- Alphonse Karr
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows
Quite over canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with elgantine.
- William Shakespeare