Professor Tolkien made no secret of his personal affinity for flowers. I only know about them what is absolutely necessary:
1. What roses look like.
2. That women expect them from their Significant Other on-
(a). Their birthday
(b). Anniversaries
(c). Mother's Day
(d). Any other day*
*(d), though arbitrarily determined, still carries the expectation that said Significant Other should anticipate the date and respond appropriately.
Tolkien's works are littered with references to flowers. He uses them to symbolize life and peace, such as in Lórien:
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At the feet of the trees, and all about the green hillsides the grass was studded with small golden flowers shaped like stars. Among them, nodding on slender stalks, were other flowers, white and palest green: they glimmered as a mist amid the rich hue of the grass.
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And he even makes them stand for the opposite of life in Minas Morgul:
Quote:
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Wide flats lay on either bank, shadowy meads filled with pale white flowers. Luminous these were too, beautiful and yet horrible of shape, like the demented forms in an uneasy dream; and they gave forth a faint sickening charnel-smell; and odor of rottenness filled the air.
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So, does the use of flowers add (or maybe subtract) from your enjoyment of Tolkien's books? Do they have any special emotional impact at a particular moment?