Iris

In Greek mythology, Iris was the winged messenger of the gods long before Hermes staked a claim to that role. Often appearing as a majestic rainbow, she is usually associated with new endeavours… Making her namesake flower the perfect inaugural ‘Flower of the Week’ at Floom!

The distinctive, vibrantly coloured flowering of the iris has inspired many iconic appropriations through history - stylised irises can be seen in certain fleur-de-lis that grace coats-of-armsfar beyond your favourite sports team. The City of Florence, the House of King Louis VII… All featured the iris in various shades of bright colour. Perhaps most famously, Van Gogh made them the centrepieces of some of his most recognisable paintings.

Like many of our favourite flowers, the name also belongs to some of our favourite people, and we’ll sign off with this fittingly Floom-esque quote from one of our favourite authors, Iris Murdoch: “People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.”