Sunday, February 7, 2016

Flowers for Valentine's Day

Orchid
A gift of flowers on Valentine's Day can invoke a feeling of love, affection, friendship, or romance.  (Maybe all four, if you're lucky!) Flowers have long held meaning to the giver and receiver.  The Victorian era established a dictionary of floral meanings- a definitive language of flowers.  Selecting the perfect flowers for your Valentine is easy with a little help from your local florist and a romantic spirit.  Speak with your heart and send your Valentine a poem of love.

I will share some of my favorite classic floral meanings, but first let's discuss the less romantic basics of purchasing cut flowers. 
Roses
A. Buy them direct from your local florist and contact them directly.  Floral wire services can be easy, but so is doing a Google search, of a shop if you don't know of a good one.  If you use a telafloral service they take a percentage of the sale off the arrangement.  Let's say you order a $100 arrangement.  The service might take $20 of that, giving the florist only $80 for your arrangement.  Take a minute to find a quality local florist and give them a call to order your flowers and your $100 purchase will really be a $100 arrangement. 
Don't let your flowers (especially roses go without water!)
B. Like all living things, flowers need water to survive.  Keep them out of water and your are sentencing your flowers to a much shorter shelf life.  Insist that your cut flowers leave the florist in a vase or tubes of water.  This is especially true for roses. Roses that experience time out of water often end up 'necking'.  Sounds sexy, but it's not when it comes to roses.
A rose 'necking'
According to Vanessa Diffenbaugh's book, The Language of Flowers, Below is a list of flowers and their meaning.  Because it's a holiday of love, I only share the more romantic flowers that are readily available from florists.  Some flowers can represent broken hearts and sadness, but who has time for that?
Tulips
What will your flower poetry say this Valentine's Day? 
 Ranunculus
Alstroemeria=======Devotion
Baby's Breath=====Everlasting love
Freesia==========Lasting friendship
Pink Carnation====I will never forget you
Ivy============Fidelity
Orchid==========Refined beauty
Ranunculus======You are radiant with charms
Red Rose========Love
Orange Rose=====Fascination
Pink Rose=======Grace
Purple Rose======Enchantment
Tulip===========Declaration of love

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You can learn more about me on my website: www.juliesharrison.com.
 
Happy arranging your Valentine poetry this year!
 
xoxo Julie