representing Miss October, calendula's orange glow

October's lovely flower is the striking Calendula. This garden annual represents sorrow and sympathy in the language of flowers. Perhaps it is a requiem for summer lost?
Calendula belongs to the Aster Family, once called the Composite Family. This is in reference to the presence, not of petals but of two types of florets, straplike and discoid (composites). The centres are the disk flowers. Each "flower" is actually a flower-head made up of florets. Consider adding the outer straplike florets to a salad of arugula mix, johnny-jump-ups and nasturtiums. Not only beautiful but very tasty with a raspberry vinaigrette.
It has other uses as well. Tincture or salves are available as herbal preparations for skin afflictions, most notable contact dermatitis from poison-ivy contact.