Gardenia Flower Meaning and Legendary Stories Explained
From spring to early summer, you can see the white flowers of the gardenia. Its elegant fragrance makes it impossible to ignore, so let us take a look at the gardenia flower meaning and legends in detail below.
Gardenia Flower Meaning and Legends in Detail
The Gardenia Flower Meaning
Gardenia flower meaning - joy.
The dreadful summer has arrived; summer is like a fever, burning hot regardless of human suffering. Yet at this time the gardenia still blooms full of vitality, bringing people unknown hope and surprise.
Gardenia flower meaning - eternal love and promise.
The gardenia begins forming buds in winter and does not bloom until summer. Perhaps you may complain that its gestation time is too long, but without such a long preparation period, how could its fresh, far-reaching fragrance come to be? Perhaps it waited so long just for a promise, the promise of exuding fragrance every summer.
Gardenia flower meaning - a lifetime of waiting, perseverance.
The gardenia's green leaves stay evergreen through all four seasons, enduring wind and frost without withering. It blooms every year in the hottest season; what seems like a casual bloom has actually endured three seasons of waiting. A lifetime of waiting is the most beautiful and also the promise of love. Beneath its plain, refined appearance lies a beautiful and resilient essence of life.
Legends about the gardenia flower:
I wiped away the thick dust on the desktop and finally found the ancient code of law. On its dark red cover, a blooming gardenia was still delicate and lovely - it had been painted by Collaire herself.
Suddenly I remembered that the gardenia was Collaire's favorite. Back then, the area outside the city was filled with gardenias, and when summer came they all bloomed together, filling the air with a moving fragrance. Collaire would sit among the flowers, raising her delicate eyebrows and smiling gently, her plain and ethereal face reflecting a field of pure white gardenias, dignified and elegant. At that time, the armor I wore was silver, bright as clear moonlight, and the spear in my hand gleamed with steadfast luster in the deep blue night. At that time, Crestham was the capital of this country; at that time, I was a cavalryman guarding the capital, protecting our goddess Collaire.
Collaire was the exalted ruler, yet she had pupils as clear as spring water and a delicate, shy smile. I passed through the garden where the gardenias bloomed and saw her. I took off my helmet and saluted. "Good afternoon, honored Highness." "Thank you for your hard work." Collaire smiled softly, gentle and serene, "Look, how beautifully the gardenias are blooming this year." She wore a plain and elegant white robe, holy as an boundless sea of gardenias.
The code of law recorded that the successive rulers of this country were all incarnations of the Sun God. After succeeding to the throne, they had to begin ceaseless prayer, and when they finally grew old, the shrine maidens would choose a new successor to continue the prayers. Legend said that those who became monarchs had no emotions; they were born in dazzling golden sunlight, and as envoys of the god, their hearts were as still as water.
But Collaire defied fate. The old shrine maiden living at the top of the tower said that Collaire was born on a rainy day, when gray clouds covered the sky and not a single ray of sunlight could break through, and all that filled the air was wave after wave of rich, overpowering gardenia fragrance. Collaire was born with supreme spiritual power and a transcendent appearance, and later she became our queen, the only Sun Goddess born on a rainy day.
On a late autumn night, I was patrolling the palace courtyard. Suddenly a slender voice drifted over from the heavy darkness of the night: "In this season, the gardenias can no longer be seen." Looking toward the sound, I saw Collaire sitting alone on the city tower, her gaze deep and sorrowful.
"They will not, Highness. When next summer comes, they will still bloom bright and moving."
"Thank you." She looked at me, and a smile gradually appeared on her pale face, cold and clear as early winter moonlight. "But I know, they will never bloom again."
"Why?"
She did not answer, closed her eyes, and sighed deeply. Over many nights afterward, I could always see the despondent and melancholy Collaire in the moonlit, starry darkness. She would smile and ask me to sit beside her, then say, "When no one else is here, call me directly by my name."
"Collaire..." I knelt on one knee and kissed the back of her hand. Collaire smiled, and glistening teardrops slid down from her eyes, falling onto my palm, ice-cold.
"The gardenias bloomed beautifully this year, using up all their splendor, so they will never bloom again. Never again..."
The Culinary Value of Gardenia Flowers
Cold-Tossed Gardenia Flowers
500 grams of gardenia flowers, with appropriate amounts of chopped scallions and shredded ginger. Remove impurities from the gardenia flowers, wash them, put them into boiling water and blanch briefly, then remove and drain, let cool, loosen them with chopsticks and place them on a pure white porcelain plate, sprinkle with chopped scallions and shredded ginger, drizzle with sesame oil and aged vinegar, add salt and monosodium glutamate to taste, and mix evenly. This dish is fragrant, fresh and tender, and has the effects of clearing heat, cooling blood, detoxifying and stopping dysentery. It is suitable for conditions such as lung-heat cough, carbuncles and swellings, and bloody stool due to intestinal wind.
Gardenia Egg Drop
200 grams of gardenia flowers, 3 eggs, and appropriate amounts of chopped scallions and shredded ginger. Remove impurities from the gardenia flowers, wash them, blanch them briefly in boiling water, and cut them into small pieces. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them evenly, put the gardenia flowers into the eggs and mix evenly. Add oil to the wok and heat it until 80 percent hot, pour in the gardenia egg mixture and fry until cooked, sprinkle with chopped scallions, shredded ginger, salt and monosodium glutamate, and stir-fry evenly. This dish is fragrant, crisp and tender, and has the effects of clearing heat, nourishing the stomach, soothing the intestines and regulating qi. It is suitable for conditions such as stomach heat with bad breath, swollen and painful gums, and difficult bowel movements.
Stir-Fried Gardenia Flowers with Small Bamboo Shoots
200 grams of gardenia flowers, 150 grams of shelled small bamboo shoots, 100 grams of cured meat, and appropriate amounts of chopped scallions and shredded ginger. Remove impurities from the gardenia flowers, wash them, and blanch them briefly. Cut the small bamboo shoots diagonally into thin slices, and cut the cured meat into small cubes. Add oil to the wok and heat it until 60 percent hot, pour the gardenia flowers, small bamboo shoots and cured meat into the wok together and stir-fry several times, add chopped scallions and shredded ginger and continue stir-frying until cooked, then add monosodium glutamate and salt to taste. This dish is light, fresh and fragrant, crisp, tender and refreshing, and has the effects of strengthening the spleen, opening the appetite, clearing heat and benefiting the intestines. It is suitable for conditions such as poor appetite with sluggish intake, reduced eating, abdominal bloating and constipation.
Gardenia Egg Drop
200 grams of gardenia flowers, 3 eggs, and appropriate amounts of chopped scallions and shredded ginger. Remove impurities from the gardenia flowers, wash them, blanch them briefly in boiling water, and cut them into small pieces. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them evenly, put the gardenia flowers into the eggs and mix evenly. Add oil to the wok and heat it until 80 percent hot, pour in the gardenia egg mixture and fry until cooked, sprinkle with chopped scallions, shredded ginger, salt and monosodium glutamate, and stir-fry evenly. This dish is fragrant, crisp and tender, and has the effects of clearing heat, nourishing the stomach, soothing the intestines and regulating qi. It is suitable for conditions such as stomach heat with bad breath, swollen and painful gums, and difficult bowel movements.
Stir-Fried Gardenia Flowers with Small Bamboo Shoots
200 grams of gardenia flowers, 150 grams of shelled small bamboo shoots, 100 grams of cured meat, and appropriate amounts of chopped scallions and shredded ginger. Remove impurities from the gardenia flowers, wash them, and blanch them briefly. Cut the small bamboo shoots diagonally into thin slices, and cut the cured meat into small cubes. Add oil to the wok and heat it until 60 percent hot, pour the gardenia flowers, small bamboo shoots and cured meat into the wok together and stir-fry several times, add chopped scallions and shredded ginger and continue stir-frying until cooked, then add monosodium glutamate and salt to taste. This dish is light, fresh and fragrant, crisp, tender and refreshing, and has the effects of strengthening the spleen, opening the appetite, clearing heat and benefiting the intestines. It is suitable for conditions such as poor appetite with sluggish intake, reduced eating, abdominal bloating and constipation.