FILMS WITH FLOWERS

Relax with an uplifting garden-themed movie

SOMETIMES THE SETTING in a tv show or movie is such a prominent part of the story that it almost becomes another character. Examples include coastal Cornwall in the BBC series Poldark and the Rocky Mountains in Robin Wright's movie Land. Sometimes even a garden functions in this kind of way, becoming an integral piece of the story.

In the last issue of Horticulture, I wrote about poetry inspired by gardens. Now let's look at some films that feature a garden or gardening. These films don't have major plot twists or surprise endings. In fact, they may be pretty predictable. But if you can forgive them that, you might enjoy these wholesome movies that all recognize and celebrate the importance of growing.

All three movies I'll discuss are British; I think it's a testament to Britain's long-established gardening tradition. As Helen Mirren's character says in Greenfingers, presumably quoting Queen Elizabeth, "Gardening has been a national obsession for centuries. There cannot be any other occupation that absorbs equally every section of society." That absorption, and the healthy obsession that fuels it, are on full display in these flicks. I found all three on Amazon Prime Video.

GREENFINGERS
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Have you ever seen a Helen Mirren performance that wasn't a solid 10? In Greenfingers (2001), she plays garden author and horticultural celebrity Georgina Woodhouse. The colorful Woodhouse appears throughout the movie in floral print dresses and showy hats, some of them covered in flowers. When she's digging in the dirt, her outfit is more muted, but even then she doesn't forget to wear pearls!