In the novel, Lily’s relationship with plants symbolizes her capacity to overcome the violence of her childhood. As a child, Lily kept a small garden plot of mostly vegetables in her parent’s backyard. Plants in this context symbolize hope, endurance, and sustenance because gardening was Lily’s main physical and emotional escape from Lily’s father’s abusive behavior. Though as an adult Lily doesn’t have the outdoor space to continue this practice, her decision to open floral shop fills the same role her garden once did. Like gardening, the nature of her work as a small business owner embodies her determination, creativity, and desire to spark joy in others.
Lily’s floral shop also symbolizes another victory over her father’s abuse. Six months after his death, Lily uses her inheritance from his estate to start her business. She worries that it may fail and prove correct her father’s assessment that she is a failure—but she leaves her prestigious marketing job to pursue her dream anyway. Her business flourishes just as her backyard garden once did. Ryle’s presence in Lily’s life as she takes this leap of faith helps influence the type of business she builds, ultimately contributing to her success. When Lily is brainstorming the type of florist she wants to be, Ryle’s assertion that nobody is fully good or bad echoes in her mind. She decides to embody this ethos in her work, highlighting in her bouquets the bold, dark side of flowers.
Understanding this duality of human character also becomes essential in Lily’s personal life. As she navigates Ryle’s increasingly abusive behavior, she wants to believe that Ryle can change so that they can build the happy domestic life they dream of having. This life includes building their home together in the apartment that Ryle buys for her, which has garden beds that would allow her to grow once more. But when Lily finds out she’s pregnant, her desire to build a good life for her child becomes more important that what she thought she needed. Lily’s decision to decorate a plant-themed nursery for her baby rather than creating the garden she originally wanted shows the redirection of her priorities at the end of the novel. In the end, Lily’s desire to move forward and provide a safe, happy life for her daughter trumps chasing the dreams she once had with Ryle.
Plants Quotes in It Ends with Us
“My father was abusive. […] Sometimes he would buy me stuff because he knew I hated it when they fought. When I was a kid, I found myself looking forward to the nights they would fight. Because I knew if he hit her, the two weeks that followed would be great. […] When I got older I realized that not doing something about it made me just as guilty. I spent most of my life hating him for being such a bad person, but I’m not so sure I’m much better. Maybe we’re both bad people.”
Ryle looks over at me with a thoughtful expression. “Lily,” he says pointedly. “There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who do bad things.”
I open my mouth to respond, but his words strike me silent.
“Someone once told me that there is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things. That stuck with me, because it’s so true. We’ve all got a little bit of good and evil in us. I want to make that our theme. Instead of painting the walls a putrid sweet color, we paint them dark purple with black accents. And instead of only putting out the usual pastel displays of flowers in boring crystal vases that make people think about life, we go edgy. Brave and bold.”
“We’re just alike,” he said, […] “Plants and humans. Plants need to be loved the right way in order to survive. So do humans. We rely on our parents from birth to love us enough to keep us alive. And if our parents show us the right kind of love, we turn out as better humans overall. But if we’re neglected…”
[…] I pointed at the row of trees that lined the fence to left of the yard. “You see that tree over there? [...] It grew on its own,” I said. “Most plants do need a lot of care to survive. But some things, like trees, are strong enough to do it by just relying on themselves and no one else.”
I run inside the store and grab the steampunk flowers and run them back to their car. Her face lights up when I hand them to her.
“I’m happy you’re pregnant but that’s not why I’m giving you these flowers. I just want you to have them. Because you’re my best friend.”
Allysa squeezes me and whispers in my ear. “I hope he marries you someday. We’ll be even better sisters.”
She climbs inside the car and they leave, and I just stand there watching them because I don’t know that I’ve ever had a friend like her in my whole life. Maybe it’s the wine. I don’t know, but I love today.
I decided to go with a nature theme. The bedding set is tan and green with pictures of plants and trees all over it. It matches the curtains and will eventually match a mural I plan to paint on the wall at some point [...]
As I stare back at him, I think about how easy it is for humans to make judgements when we’re standing on the outside of a situation. I spent years judging my mother’s situation.
It’s easy when we’re on the outside to believe that we would walk away without a second thought if a person mistreated us. It’s easy to say we couldn’t continue to love someone who mistreats us when we aren’t the ones feeling the love of that person.
Plants Symbol Timeline in It Ends with Us
