On his way to the Kyiv train station to greet his wife and daughter , Oleksander Tryfonov made a stop.

He bought two red roses from one of a half-dozen flower shops lining a dimly lit underpass 91裸聊视频� something beautiful for the two most precious people in his life.

91裸聊视频淚 haven91裸聊视频檛 seen them for two years,91裸聊视频� Tryfonov, a burly 45-year-old driver said of his family. 91裸聊视频淔lowers are important for women.91裸聊视频�

Flowers have always been linked with Ukraine91裸聊视频檚 culture, but , their significance has only grown, with blooms becoming a symbol of both resistance and hope.

Despite 91裸聊视频� or perhaps because of them 91裸聊视频� Ukrainians take every chance they can to fill Kyiv and other cities with flowers from the country91裸聊视频檚 vast rural heartland, anxious to reconnect with and rediscover their roots.

Deep purple petunias and yellow rock roses burst out of planters that line Kyiv91裸聊视频檚 backroads and grand boulevards. Some are fixed to lampposts; flowers can even be spotted in .

They are depicted on Ukrainian banknotes, textile patterns and murals 91裸聊视频� next to advertising billboards and army recruitment posters. Across the country, young men on dates and soldiers, sometimes missing a limb, carry bouquets on their return home.

Ukraine91裸聊视频檚 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy famously brought a bouquet on a hospital visit in 2022 to a teenage girl injured while fleeing advancing Russian forces outside Kyiv.

At an underpass flower stall below Kyiv91裸聊视频檚 central Maidan Square, vendor Olha Semynog sells bunches of flowers for $2.50 each. For those with more in their pockets, she can go all the way up to a giant bouquet for $75.

Even during wartime, her busiest day, she says, is March 8 91裸聊视频� International Women91裸聊视频檚 Day. Her business has also picked up with men drafted into the military sending flowers home with online orders.

On the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, where the , residents still tend to the gardens of their damaged or completely destroyed homes. A park in Kyiv, near the left bank of the Dnieper River, features a large flower installation, welcoming from Ukraine91裸聊视频檚 Western allies.

Flowers, explains Iryna Bielobrova, head of Ukraine91裸聊视频檚 Florists91裸聊视频� Association, are inextricably linked with Ukrainians91裸聊视频� culture, traditions and celebrated stages of life. They are also an emotional connection with the land.

91裸聊视频淟ife cannot be bright, full, and rich without flowers,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淲reaths of flowers are preserved for years, and embroidered shirts are passed down to younger generations.91裸聊视频�

Bielobrova fled in the aftermath of Russia91裸聊视频檚 2022 full-scale invasion, moving to the Netherlands, the world91裸聊视频檚 flower-producing powerhouse. In comparison, Ukraine had a modest pre-war export market.

Once in the Netherlands, she worked with other florists who fled to make sure flowers were present whenever solidarity events for Ukraine were held in European capitals.

Sunflowers, grown since the 1700s in Ukraine, have become 91裸聊视频� a symbol of Ukraine91裸聊视频檚 defiance and resilience in the war.

Fields of the shoulder-high flowers are often seen across Ukraine and Zelenskyy91裸聊视频檚 Cabinet named the flower the symbol of national Remembrance Day in 2020.

91裸聊视频淭hey provide an escape from the horrors of bombings, destruction, pain, and tears,91裸聊视频� said Bielobrova, who has returned to Ukraine from the Netherlands and lives in Kyiv.

91裸聊视频淓motions are easily expressed with flowers,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淓ach flower speaks for itself, and together in a bouquet, they tell a whole story.91裸聊视频�

Flowers, Ukrainians say, stand not only for tradition but also for hope and healing.

Dobropark, a 370-acre (150 hectare) privately run garden and recreation area west of Kyiv, was rebuilt after a Russian attack and occupation that lasted for more than a month in 2020.

91裸聊视频淭his entire area was occupied by the Russian military,91裸聊视频� the park91裸聊视频檚 landscape designer Olha Lyhvar said.

When the Russian forces pulled out, the park91裸聊视频檚 tractors and electric buggies were also gone, she said. A three-story hotel that once stood on the property was leveled to its foundations.

Today, people come to the park to 91裸聊视频渞econnect with nature,91裸聊视频� she said, standing next to a door frame 91裸聊视频� all that remains of the bombed-out hotel.

91裸聊视频漃eople come here and can feel the force of life and see that it continues despite everything,91裸聊视频� Lyhvar said. 91裸聊视频淲e must live on and find for ourselves joy and beauty in what surrounds us.91裸聊视频�

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