Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin

In what was touted as the number one lockdown book of Italy, a multi-generational story about friendship, lost love, and mystery centres around a cemetery in Burgundy, France, and its caretaker, Violette Toussaint. An avid gardener, she spends her days tending to the roses and lavender plants that grow on the gravesites, when a mysterious stranger arrives and disrupts her life in ways she (and the reader) could never have imagined. Spanning numerous decades and frequently changing points of view, you’ll want to immerse yourself deeply in this beautifully written story with themes of life and death that unfolds with an unexpected conclusion.

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The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

This New York Times best-selling novel is a captivating exploration of the human psyche through the lens of floral symbolism. It follows Victoria, an emotionally wounded foster child with a profound connection to flowers as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and redemption at age 18. But before she leaves her last group home, she slips a dahlia stem under each girl’s door as a symbol of dignity. Homeless, Victoria gets a job working with a florist, and connects with clients by choosing flowers for their specific meaning. Through the Victorian-era floral language, Diffenbaugh weaves a poignant narrative that delves into themes of love, forgiveness, and the lasting impact of trauma on one's ability to connect with others (all from the vantage point of having been a foster mother herself). The novel's strength lies in its ability to blend the delicate beauty of flowers with the raw complexities of motherhood and the human experience. 

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Mrs. Van Gogh by Dr. Caroline Cauchi 

This book re-imagines the life of Vincent Van Gogh’s real-life sister-in-law, Johanna Van Gogh, in 1880s Paris when she married Vincent’s younger brother, the art dealer Theo Van Gogh. It’s an exciting time: the Eiffel Tower is being built, and the art scene and night life of Montmartre is emerging, with the likes of Toulouse-Lautrec, Dégas (and his talented mistress, the sculptress Camille Claudel) and Picasso frequenting now-famous cabarets Le Chat Noir and Le Moulin de la Galette. Most of the book takes place over two years in which she married, had a child, and witnessed penniless Vincent’s most productive period as well as his descent into insanity. With each chapter named for a Van Gogh painting, the story gives historical context to the Sunflower series, as well as other famous floral paintings such as Irises, Blossoming Orchards and Poppy Flowers. Widowed at age 28, Johanna inherits more than 1,000 unsold paintings and sketches by the late artist and singlehanded changes the course of art history by making Van Gogh one of the most famous post-Impressionists of all time.

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