A spellbinding guide to the entwined evolution of humans and flowers—and what they can teach us about life

The love story between flowers and humans is millions of years old. Over millennia of ecological changes and challenges, flowers have inspired us, comforted us, and taught us some of our most profound lessons about freedom and desire, beauty and belonging.

Naturalist Mary Porter Kerns has spent a lifetime seeking out the guidance of the flowers in her beloved Appalachian Mountains and teaching others to do the same. In her intimate exploration of the floral world, you’ll find:

• The history and cultural significance of all kinds of flowers, from the prehistoric magnolia to the five-petal wild rose
• The mind-bending science of plant intelligence, communication, and sentience
• Simple tips for reconnecting with nature and receiving the lessons of the flowers through journaling, meditation, and creative exercises

Whether you’re a nature lover, a spiritual seeker, or simply looking for ways to be more present to the beauty all around us, The Flowers Are Speaking invites you to build deep reverence for our beloved Earth—an urgent necessity for us as individuals and as a species, today and in the future.

Why I Wrote This Book

For as long as I can remember, I have sensed that the flowers have much more to share with us than just their beauty. They have felt like living beings—alive, intelligent, and somehow capable of meeting us in relationship.

The Flowers Are Speaking grew from my desire to understand what I was experiencing more deeply. I followed the flowers into science, evolution, history, myth, and discovered the millions-of-years-old love story between us—and the hard-earned wisdom they have to share.

What I discovered only deepened my sense that flowers have something important to teach us—not only about themselves, but about being human. And about how important it is to our future on this planet that we learn to revere the Earth once again, as our ancestors did.

My hope is that this book will help you see flowers differently, experience the living world more intimately, and trust a little more deeply what you already sense.