Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“I love two flowers in particular, the hibiscus and the poppy, beautiful blooms that die very quickly. For me they reflect the beauty and transience of life.”
Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy (1952–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Angela Cobbinah, ‘I laughed so much the day I painted the Queen’, Camden New Journal, 18 October 2022.
“Sikander burnt all books the same wise as fire burns hay. All the scintillating works faced destruction in the same manner that lotus flowers face with the onset of frosty winter.”
Shrivara (active around 1400) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I like being a woman, and it may be small‐minded of me, but I also like being given flowers, having the door opened for me, being cherished by a man. And a woman should look after a man, mother him. It's give and take. It evens out. I'm a complete romantic – and very happy to be one.”
Glynis Johns (1923–2024) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Miss Johns Hits a High Note by Robert Berkvist in the The New York Times (11 March 1973)
“You tell me then that I must perish like the flowers that I cherish. Nothing remaining of my name, nothing remembered of my fame? But the gardens I planted still are young— the songs I sang will still be sung!”
Gary Jennings (author) first seen 1484 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quarta Pars, p. 113, also the novel's epigraph, attributed to "Huéxotzin, Prince of Texcóco, ca. 1484
“But once people have had a huge glut of progress, they'll get bored. They'll start talking to the wind and flowers and stones again and listening to the song of the stars.”
Þórbergur Þórðarson (1888–1974) said by 1974 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To make babies, the bride and groom had to dress up nicely, put flowers in their hair and lie down together on a very big bed. The next thing you knew, many mornings later, there was a little baby crawling between them”
Fatema Mernissi (1940–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Flowers are a gift of the Creator and their beauty speaks a language all their own. To offer a flower is a sign of sharing and caring between the giver and the receiver.”
Ambrose Battista De Paoli (1934–2007) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A gift of flower seeds with a message from Papal Nuncio welcomes new born babies at Red Cross hospitals all over Japan (8 May 2004) Fides News Agency
“Thirty years of sowing and watering have allowed Radio Veritas in Taiwan to collect flowers and fruits of evangelisation. Let us ask the Lord to continue to guide our work of evangelising over the radio.”
Philip Huang Chao-ming (born 1954) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Radio Veritas Chinese section in Taiwan marks 30 years of service to evangelisation over the radio (23 September 2006) Fides News Agency
“Midwinter Notes On my shelf of photographs the dead have come to outnumber the living. They stand like artificial flowers among the real ones, so lifelike even God might be fooled. ...Only after our garden became a graveyard ...did the white stem rise from the hermetic bulb, ...five lavender petals ...a brilliant contradiction, out of phase, like an angel strayed into Time, our world.”
Lisel Mueller (1924–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Spring, the breath of youth, sends a driving force through my whole being. I have just returned from a walk. The moon was full, the air laden with a unique fragrance from jasmine, damask roses and al-naseem flowers from the gardens of the surrounding houses. (p184)”
Fadwa Tuqan (1917–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And have we lost the right To look on a blooming bough Without remembering how Once with high promising We were a part of spring— We who are now the dead Leaves of other years strewn where flowers spread?”
Zoe Akins (1886–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Flowers are good. There’s a way they take away stress and you can think positively when you have a look at something interesting, something attractive.”
Tophace Kaahwa (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Student is like a seed, plant it, nurture it, you give it as much attention as needed and at the end it will start flourishing and give you flowers.”
Ikram Blilou wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We went away, away ... in this case to the , where we consumed s and s according to our natures, and as returned amateurs seemed to grow like water-flowers under the greening buds of the s, in the flowing tides of that street.”
M. F. K. Fisher (1908–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sleeves of dancers move with the melodies; the voices of singers rise and fall with the music. P'ien the Wheelwright tried to explain it, but couldn't; nor can the artificial flowers of critics describe it.”
Lu Ji (Shiheng) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wound is healed, the secret told, the riddle becomes plain, the reconciliation is made between man and what surrounds him. Each happening depends on the other. But if it was for all time, the flowers might go on blooming but the spirit would wither. It would be sad beyond all telling if the finding of the Grail were to happen once for all. Because then it could not happen again for anyone.”
Naomi Mitchison (1897–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I hate to be reminded of the passage of time, and in a garden of flowers one can never escape from it. It is one of the charms of a garden of grass and evergreens, that there for a while one is allowed to hug the illusion that time tarries.”
E. V. Lucas (1868–1938) first seen 1906 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Listener's Lure (1906), p. 22
“All flowers are flirtatious—particularly if they carry hyphenated names. The more hyphens in the name, the flirtier the flower.”
Willard R. Espy (1910–1999) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Word's Gotten Out (1989), p. 116
“To see the rounds and morris dances, The leaden galliards, for her sake! To hear diose songs the shepherds make! One with his hobby-horse still prances, Whiles some with flowers an highway make.”
Barnabe Barnes (1569–1609) first seen 1593 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Parthenophil and Parthenophe (1593), Ode II, st. 10
“Looking along the horizon's endless line, Man seems a pigmy in these realms of space; ... Here are soft grasses, flowers of tender hue, Palimpsests of the old and coming race.”
Joel Benton (1832–1911) first seen 1887 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, vol. 33, no. 5 (March 1887), p. 776
“Your letters are always to me fresher than flowers, without their fading so soon.”
Sydney, Lady Morgan (1783–1859) first seen 1859 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Lady Combermere (11 April 1859); Memoirs, Autobiographies, Diaries and Correspondence (1862), vol. 2, p. 546
“Never does the heart of Woman throb with a softer and yet more embarrassing thought, then when the sudden consciousness is felt that she was born to love and to be loved. ... It is the first step into womanhood — a step that falls lightly, as if on flowers.”
Robert Shelton Mackenzie (1809–1880) first seen 1843 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Titian, a Romance of Venice (London, 1843), vol. 1, ch. 5
“The singing of birds, A warbling band, And flowers, are words Which even a babe may understand.”
Arthur Cleveland Coxe (1818–1896) first seen 1879 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Winter is over and gone at Last", st. 2. Frank Foxcroft (ed.) Resurgit: A Collection of Hymns and Songs of the Resurrection (Boston: Lee and Shepard; New York: Charles T. Dillingham, 1879), p. 323. Often paraphrased…
“What a happy woman I am, living in a garden, with books, babies, birds, and flowers, and plenty of leisure to enjoy them! Yet my town acquaintances look upon it as imprisonment, and burying, and I don't what besides, and would rend the air with their shrieks if condemned to such a life. Sometimes I fell as if I were blest above all my fellows in being able to find my happiness so easily.”
Elizabeth von Arnim (1866–1941) first seen 1898 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (175 pages; 1st edition published in 1898 by in London)
“He that readeth good writers, and pickes out their flowers for his owne nose, is lyke a foole.”
Stephen Gosson (1554–1624) said by 1624 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“New religions are like weeds in our garden. Society’s gardeners will attempt to pull out weeds to make room for cultured plants and familiar religions. However, some weeds may be cherished flowers in other lands, and those deemed “invasive” might be edible or have healing properties.”
Susan J. Palmer (born 1946) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: How Media Defame “Cults”: The Case of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. 1. Inventing a “Cult”", Bitter Winter (July 28, 2025)
“I feel very bad today, I feel very sad, My thoughts are withered, sick, like flowers on a grave, Outside the windows, the sky hangs like a gray canvas. I can't love you or think about you today.”
Jan Lechoń (1899–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Although a man may be as simple as the flowers of the field; knowing when, but scarcely why, he closes to the bitter wind; and feeling why, but scarcely when, he opens to the genial sun; yet without his questing much into the capsule of himself—to do which is a misery—he may have a general notion how he happens to be getting on.”
R. D. Blackmore (1825–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You buy some flowers for your table; You tend them tenderly as you’re able; You fetch them water from hither and thither— What thanks do you get for it all? They wither.”
Samuel Hoffenstein (1890–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Onc. Barkerii.—A remarkably handsome dwarf Orchid from Mexico; the flowers are very large; the sepals and petals rich brown barred with yellow; the lip a bright yellow, about an inch and a half across. It produces its branching spikes of flower during the dull months of winter, which greatly enhances it value, and it lasts six weeks in bloom.”
Benjamin Samuel Williams (1824–1890) said by 1890 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My thesis is this thing that was initially going to be a grenade launched at my ex-prison, for better or for worse, and instead turned into some kind of positive seed bomb where flowers have sprouted beside the foundations I thought I wanted to crumble.”
Piper Harron wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Speed prevents us from recognizing ourselves, just like those trains that fly over beautiful countryside, preventing us from smelling its scents or recognizing its flowers.”
Paolo Crepet (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At my age, I’ve realized it’s much nicer for a woman to receive flowers rather than a handbag. I realized it—maybe a bit late—but I love it because it makes me feel more desired, more appreciated. To me, a flower is the symbol of femininity.”
Bianca Atzei (born 1987) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To God I offer all the flowers of the world that have blossomed under the sun.”
Benedetta Bianchi Porro (1936–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is to the poetical sense a ravishing prophecy and winsome intimation in flowers that now and then, from the influence of mood of circumstance, reasserts itself like the reminiscence of childhood, or the spell of love.”
Henry Theodore Tuckerman (1813–1871) said by 1871 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One of my first clients was the late, Jerry Perenchio. He had a special appreciation for flowers and through referrals, I was introduced to circles of other high-profile clients, helping me to become one of the best florists.”
Jennifer McGarigle (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m casual in the way I like to entertain at home while I love creating an inviting atmosphere for friends to be in; flowers, candles, music and good food. It’s fun and when imperfections come up, I don’t stress – there’s so much else to focus on and enjoy.”
Jennifer McGarigle (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“s like , s and s will flower better if any dead spent flowers are snipped off.”
Jane Edmanson (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“( Señorita Water-lily] is a of a delicate lavender-blue shade with golden s tipped with blue. It is very free, but the flowers are small, rarely more than 3 or 4 in. across. It hails from Mexico and Texas.”
Frances Perry (gardener) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (338 pages; 1st edition 1938; 2nd edition 1947)
“(C. esculenta of ). A robust species, growing about 2 ft. high, with large dark blue flowers, the irregularly spaces segments of which are twisted and wither independently. Western North America.”
Frances Perry (gardener) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(Bee-Balm; Oswego Tea). Robust plants with brilliant flowers, often grown on the banks of streams and lakes for the colour they impart to the surroundings. In masses they form striking effects …”
Frances Perry (gardener) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sometimes attacks in natural lakes, destroying the roots or eating the hearts of the flowers. Trapping and shooting are the only remedies.”
Frances Perry (gardener) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“WATER STAR GRASS C. An uncommon little aquatic with bronzed grassy foliage and small bright yellow flowers lying flat on the water surface. It is easy to grow, does not attract algae and merits more general cultivation. Tropical America.”
Frances Perry (gardener) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“at no point in my life did I sit down in a garden and inhale fresh air, watch flowers blooming under the blue sky and become inspired to write about broken men and the women who try to fix them”
Dudu Busani-Dube (born 1981) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was though I had been in possession of one of those small shells with Japanese flowers which are sold at street corners. When plunged into a bowl of water, the tightly sealed shell opens and the flat, dry, coiled-up, insignificant shreds of paper contained within float out and unfold their variegated and unsuspected splendour; with Gordon I had found my bowl of water.”
Edith Templeton (1916–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Flowers are organized into concentric s of s, s, s”
Vivian Irish wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Come to the orchard in Spring. There is light and wine, and sweethearts in the pomegranate flowers.If you do not come, these do not matter. If you do come, these do not matter.”
Coleman Barks (1937–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I like the old-fashioned flowers, Violets are for me — Have them made in diamonds by the man at Tiffany.”
Marve Fisher wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At that time there lived a venerable virgin, now advanced in age, named Apollonia, adorned with the flowers of chastity, sobriety and purity. Like a solid pillar strengthened by the spirit of the Lord himself, admired for the merits of her steadfast faith and for the virtues that the Lord had given her, she offered men and angels the edifying spectacle of herself. (p. 368)”
Jacobus de Voragine (1228–1298) said by 1298 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Gradually, each human spirit-soul is purified so that it may become a highly advanced spirit, just as flowers bloom, bring forth fruit, and eventually mature. The soul who committed misdeeds undergoes a process of atonement. Having successfully worked through this, it is able to move on to further spiritual growth. Some very advanced psychics are conscious of this process taking place.”
Motohisa Yamakage (1925–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source