On his way to the Kyiv train station, Oleksander Tryfonov made a stop. He bought two red roses from a flower shop. He wanted to get something beautiful for the most precious people in his life. His wife and daughter were returning from Poland to Ukraine. He hadn’t seen them in two years. 

Flowers have always been important to Ukrainians. But since Russia’s invasion in 2022, the people cherish them even more. The war goes on. But Ukrainians still fill their cities with the country’s flowers. The blooms are a symbol of hope.

Purple petunias and yellow rock roses burst out of pots along Kyiv’s streets. Planters hang from lampposts. Flowers grow even in prison yards.

Blossoms decorate Ukrainian money. People weave them into cloth. They pop up in murals next to billboards or army posters. Soldiers carry bouquets when they return home.

Ukrainians have grown sunflowers since the 1700s. Now the sunflower is the national flower. It represents Ukraine’s resilience (ability to hold on, bounce back, and persevere) in the war. Fields of the yellow blooms dot the countryside.

On the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, fighting damaged or destroyed many homes. But locals still tend their gardens. 

Iryna Bielobrova is a florist. She says that flowers help connect Ukrainians with their culture and land. 

Flowers help make life “bright, full, and rich,” she says. “They provide an escape from the horrors of bombings, destruction, pain, and tears.”

Pray for people in Ukraine and around the world who face hardships because of war. Thank God for the beauty of His creation.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. — Isaiah 40:8