Thoughts on the human garden

I have lately been thinking about this garden topic and was trying to come up with an association between plants and MBTI – to better understand the human garden created by God...

I have been discovering lots of new flowers with Palau’s medidations and a bit of my own research on the matter as well. I have discovered, for instance, the word “floriography”, which means the language of flowers.

I was last night meditating on the following conclusions:

ESFJ – Peonies (feminine yet strong, called the queen of the garden, attractive odour and colours, is independent but doesn’t like to be alone (i.e. it prefers groups), adapts well and grows easily anywhere)

INFJ – Russian sage (blue-ish, fragile looks, isn’t “attractive” to everyone in the typical sense, with good drainage and full sun they give pretty, vivid, bright colours, but they are prone to die in cold climate)

ISTJ – Hostas (low-care, low-profile, adapt easily, quiet and calm but strangely are loved by deers and slugs, thick leaves, live better in partial shade but may handle the strong sun)

INTJ – Blue globe thistle (stubborn, long and tall, doesn’t like to be disturbed, always blooms, does well in poor soil, are beautiful even when dried)

ENFP – Alstromeria (popular and friendly – it’s the flower of friendship, yet delicate in appearance, looks pretty and fragile, is contradictory, its bottom faces upwards)

ISFJ – Anthurium (heartshaped, very welcoming, represent hospitality, yet their colour is strong bold typical red, long-lasting, beautiful and compelling in a traditional manner)

ENFJ – Lisianthus (feminine, fragile, still very outgoing, they may resemble tulips or poppies, and even roses or peonies, depending on circumstances – chameleon-like)

ENTJ – orchids (historically they represent virility, also strength, love, luxury, and beauty, ambition, are highly coveted)

ESTJ – Sunflowers (uncommonly beautiful because are pretty to the eye but also extremely utilitarian, obedient and faithful, warm but not so fragile, long-lasting, revered)

INFP – Bird of paradise (brightly coloured, unique and exotic, has a rare and even weird shape, it's artsy and shows creativity and the need for flying and trying out new things)

I have also thought of other options for the INFJ, such as heather - a flower that represents protection.

Another possible candidate is the Blue flower, for its distinctive nature. The blue colour, by the way, is associated with faithfulness and loyalty – our strong traits.

Let a Little Flower speak:

The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy

If all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers. And so it is in the world of souls, our Lord’s living garden.

God’s love is made manifest as well in a simple soul which does not resist His grace as in one more highly endowed. In fact, the characteristic of love being self-abasement.

These are field flowers whose simplicity charms Him; and by His condescension to them our Savior shows His infinite greatness. As the Sun shines both on the cedar and on the floweret, so the Divine Sun illumines every soul, great and small, and all correspond to His care – just as in nature the seasons are so disposed that on the appointed day the humblest daisy shall unfold its petals.

If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply that all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals, or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case.

As the early spring flowers begin to come up under the snow and open at the first rays of the sun, so the little flower has to pass through the winter of trial and to have her tender cup filled with the dew of tears. If our Lord had not lavished so much love and sunshine on His little flower, she never could have become acclimatized to this earth.