manifesto
cuttings
2026 : September
snips and bits gathered from Flower – House and Leisure Volume 22 – in honour of the garden
collaged by LOOKBOOK Studio
‘What stops me in my tracks is a sweet, nostalgic scent.’
(p27 – from the Editor’s Letter by Charl Francois Edwards)
‘Never fully understood through looking alone, scent’s beauty resides in something invisible.’
(p112 – adapted from ‘Sweet Scent’ by nose, Kelly Fung)
‘Plants ask us to trust that there is more happening than we can see. They remind us that we begin by paying attention.’
(p33 – Cynthia Fan unpacks ‘What Flowers Know’ in her journal piece)
‘So dig where you stand and cultivate the soil beneath your feet.’
(p84 – adapted from Rory Tsapayi’s love letter to his mentor, Koyo Kouoh)
‘We don’t bloom every day. Every day is not a happy day. There are days when we’re growing. There are days when we’re learning. There are days when we’re tired’
(p58 – Nzwi Dyirakumunda from Akanaka Blooms reflects on life in flower farming)
‘And within that humility comes gathering.’
(p78 – a sensation felt by Suné van Tonder at STOOP, a flower shop founded by Anas Osman)
‘Nothing beautiful becomes itself alone. Blooming is a moment, but thriving is the possibility of blooming again, and helping something else bloom beside you.’
(p44 – Bielle Bellingham steps into Flower-mode and introduces us to her ‘Superbloom Theory’)
‘Love is so powerful; it’s like unseen flowers under your feet as you walk.’
(p5 – Bessie Head sets the scene for the Flower, Volume 22 – extract from Bessie’s book ‘A Question of Power’, 1973)
‘Because I grow completely outside and with the seasons, I work in God’s world where I can’t control anything, and that is both wild and wonderful.’
(p44 – Teneale Coetzee’s take on the wonders of flower farming in ‘Flower People’)
‘The practical consideration of roots, twigs and leaves are economically efficient for these plants, but when they burst into bloom they leap into the spiritual realm hobnobbing with bees, bugs, birds and butterflies. On my knees, nosy nose with a bloom; that’s my ultimate gift. Koinonia with the Gods.’
(p256 – Gundula Beutschlander poetically closes Flower with the Last Word)
