Why Is Gorse Called the Hope Flower and What Are Its Uses?
Gorse is a beautiful, hardy shrub native to Europe. In winter, it appears as evergreen before bursting into life in spring. Gorse has bright yellow pea-like blossoms, making it easy to spot amid other early spring flowers. This plant weathers harsh, cold conditions to come out on the other side with flowers the color of the sun. That sort of strength and beauty makes gorse the “hope” flower. Below, you’ll learn how to incorporate those hopeful, enduring qualities into your own life, and you’ll see how useful gorse can be.
Who Benefits from Gorse?
Gorse’s tiny yellow flowers perfectly represent the “hope” it has come to symbolize. They’re the reward for beating the hopelessness of a bleak winter and staying strong through the storm. If you’re experiencing “storms” in your own life and struggling to stay hopeful about your future, gorse can help.
Numerous life events leave people feeling hopeless. Financial struggles, difficult medical diagnoses, job woes, and much more leave you feeling as if you’re stuck. If you can’t find your own way out or feel like every step forward takes you two steps back, change your outlook on life. Don’t let those feelings of hopelessness guide you any longer.
That’s how the gorse plant thrives - overcoming the odds and growing despite them. By incorporating gorse into your life, you’ll access those same admirable qualities and get the boost of hope you need to blossom. Dr. Edward Bach described gorse as the plant for those who have lost hope and belief. If that sounds like what you experience and you’re searching for a way to combat it, gorse is the answer!
How is Gorse Used?
Gorse is as useful as it is hardy. Not only does it push back feelings of apathy and hopelessness, but it’s often good for the environment and can be helpful for farmers. It’s been used for several different tasks, historically, making it far more than just another weed or nuisance sprouting up from the ground. Here are just a few things gorse can do and how you can use this versatile plant.
Flower Essence
Flower essences are perfect if you want to harness gorse’s ability to bring hope back into your life. Use gorse flower essence as a supplement by taking it orally or adding it to food or a drink. It can be dropped into a lotion or even added to a warm bath, too. Regardless of how you choose to use your flower essence, it distills all the most desirable benefits of gorse into something easily accessible. Flower essences are a powerful tool for healing, calm, or whatever you’d like to achieve. In this case, gorse flower essence brings the lost sense of hope back into your life and helps fight off the pessimism that holds you back.
Foraging
Gorse grows all year long and isn’t difficult to find in the areas where it’s a native plant. This shrub is a member of the legume family and the flowers and buds are edible, making it particularly useful for foraging. Additionally, the yellow blossoms can be used to make dyes.
Farming
Gorse can serve as a barrier against deer or other grazing animals. It’s also a “nitrogen fixer” plant, so it feeds the soil around it.
Final Thoughts
Gorse is an impressively adaptable, resilient plant that is well-deserving of its nickname “The Hope Flower”. Its sunny blossoms are a reminder that there is always hope for something better to come. That’s an energy everyone needs more of, and you can get it by bringing gorse into your life!