4 Tips on how to Arrange Short-stemmed Flowers in a Tall Vase

Summer is filled with an abundance of fresh flowers. They’re fragrant and colourful and there’s nothing better than bringing some of those stems from the outside, in. But sometimes these flowers have short stems. So what do you do when you have a vase that is too tall for your short-stemmed flowers? Here are four suggestions:

• Tape a grid: Take some scotch tape and tape a criss-cross grid along the top of your vase. Make sure the holes you create are quite small. You want the stem of a flower to fit through the opening, but not slip all the way down. If the stems are very thin, you could put a few together into the same space. Make sure you keep the water level topped up using this technique as the stems won’t be reaching very far down into the vase.

• Rule of thirds with a flower arrangement: In floral arranging, there’s the ‘rule of thirds’; the vase or container should be ⅓ of the total height of the arrangement and the flowers should be ⅔’s. This will create a balanced look. But, you can also do a ‘reversed rule of thirds’, so the flowers are ⅓ of the total height of the arrangement and the vase is ⅔’s. This is definitely a different look and may take you a bit of getting used to, but it will create a balanced looking arrangement.

• Attach to a long-stemmed flower or piece of foliage: A little trick you can do is take some floral tape, or a piece of twine, and attach your short-stemmed flower, to the longer stem of a flower or piece of foliage. The longer stem will go to the bottom of the vase while giving the flower some height. With this technique, once again you need to keep your vase filled almost to the brim with water, to make sure the tip of the short-stemmed flower is always in water.

• The upside-down container: Find a container in your kitchen that’s a bit narrower than your vase and about ½ to ⅔ the height. Turn it upside down in the vase and then fill the vase with water. The bottom of the container makes a false bottom in the vase. Your short stems will be able to rest on it giving them the needed height.

I hope these tips help. Let me know if you try any and how they work for you. And if you have any other tips, please share with us in the comments below.

Flowers From the Farmers Market

When it’s time for some flowers there are many places you can go to get them. Your local florist, flower farms, farmer’s markets, grocery stores, corner shops, and of course your own garden. All of them (yes, even the corner shop) have their benefits. In the upcoming weeks, we’ll look at each one of them. Today’s focus is on the farmer’s market.

It’s farmers’ market time! Farmers markets have been around for decades, in fact even centuries. The oldest continuously operating farmers market in Canada - Saint John City Market in New Brunswick – has been around since 1785! Today, the number of farmers markets continues to grow as they gain in popularity.

A lot of people go to the farmers market for produce, but it’s also a fantastic place to get flowers. Today we’re going to focus on why you should get flowers from a farmers market and what you should look for when shopping.  

When you shop for flowers at a farmers market you’ll be buying fresh, seasonal, and local product. The flowers will have had less handling, less refrigeration, and less time in storage, than flowers from further away. The farmers pick their flowers as close to market day as possible so they’re basically coming straight from the field to you.  And not only will you be getting high quality product, the money you’ve just spent is for local businesses so that keeps money in circulation in your community, creating a strong economy.  

These are the things you should think about when shopping for flowers at the farmers market:

• The best time to shop is early in the morning as that’s when the best selection will be available. 

•  When you first approach a stall, take a few minutes to check things out. Is the water in the buckets clean? Are the flower heads relatively closed? Do the leaves look fresh? If you can answer, ‘yes’ to those questions, the flowers are being cared for properly.

• Talk to the farmer. Ask where his farm is, what size it is, what growing practices they use. Find out if he uses any pesticides. Ask for tips on caring for the flowers. Starting a conversation between you and the farmer can turn into a rewarding relationship for both of you as the season goes on.

• When you’ve made your purchase, get the flowers in water as soon as possible. If you’re not heading straight home, consider bringing a bucket and clippers with you. Cut half-inch off the end of each stem at an angle and place immediately in the clean water. Then keep them in as cool a place as possible until you get home. 

• Once home, fill up your vase with clean water. Take each flower, remove any leaves that will go below the waterline, re-cut the stem, and place in the vase.

• Change the water every two days. A little bit of time and effort will give your flowers the best chance to thrive to their longest potential vase-life.

Top tip: Fresh edible flowers aren’t always easy to find, but a good place to look is the farmer’s market. 

Flowers from the Corner Shop

When it’s time for some flowers there are many places you can go to get them; your local florist, flower farms, farmer’s markets, grocery stores, corner shops and of course your own garden. All of them (yes, even thecorner shop) have their benefits. In the upcoming weeks we’ll look at each one of them. Today’s focus is: the corner shop!

Let’s face it; flowers from a corner shop get a bad rap. In many cases, rightly so, but with a little bit of looking around, you can find decent flowers at little ‘mom and pop’ shops. You just need to know a few things to look for when you’re shopping. 

My childhood memory of flowers in a corner shop are of bunches of carnations, all in one colour (always either pink, red, or white) wrapped in cellophane and on display right near the front of the store. I can’t recall if we ever bought any, but there were always some there, so somebody must have been buying them!

I actually like that the little shops tend to have bunches of flowers all in one colour. Monochromatic flower arrangements look great, but with the lower prices at a corner shop, you may be able to buy two or three bunches in a multitude of colours if that’s to your liking.

So why are flowers cheaper at the corner shop? There are a couple of reasons why.

First of all, not all flowers are created equal, meaning they’re not all the same quality. Take roses for example. Roses come in different stem lengths – 40 cm, 50cm, 60 cm, etc. Generally, the shorter the stems, the smaller the flower head and the cheaper the rose. Most florists use the standard 50cm and won’t go below that, but your corner shop probably has the smaller version. 

Another reason is the wholesalers often have a ‘specials’ section. This is for product that hasn’t been sold in a reasonable amount of time. It’s not really ready to be discarded, but they can’t justify selling it at their original price. Quite often this is where corner shop owners will purchase their product.

So what are you looking for when shopping? 

The first thing I would do is chat with the shop owner. Ask what day of the week they get their flowers in. Right away you’ve gained a bit of an inside scoop when you can get the freshest product.

Now take a closer look at the flowers. Make sure the blooms and leaves have no sign of wilting. Check the stems and make sure they’re green and not starting to turn black and there’s no sign of slime on them.  You want the whole flower from top to bottom to be as fresh as possible. 

I would also choose flowers that traditionally have a longer vase life – carnations, roses, alstromeria, and chrysanthemums are great examples. That way, even if they aren’t ‘the freshest of the fresh’, you’ll still get many days of enjoyment from them. 

Once you’ve made your selection and brought them home, here are some suggestions for making these often under-rated flowers look great. 

Unwrap them as soon as possible. Fill a vase with clean water and have it standing by. Take each stem and remove any leaves that will go below the water line. The leaves will create bacteria in the water, shortening the life span of your flower. Cut the stems at an angle to give them the biggest surface to absorb water.

Here are some designer tricks:

•  If you’re arranging the flowers in a vase, cut the stems at different lengths to give the arrangement a more natural feel. Then place the flowers in the classiest vase you have to give them that ‘expensive’ look. 

• If you’re giving them to someone as a wrapped bouquet, still process them as above and then reorganize the flowers to give them a fresh look. Discard that old cellophane they came in and wrap them in decorative paper, tying it up with a pretty piece of ribbon.

Next time you’re popping into your local corner store to pick up a carton of milk or the Sunday paper and you see those bunches of flowers by the door, why not pick up one or two and experiment with them. See how great you can make them look and for how long you can get them to last. 

If you have tips, or any stories to share about corner shop flowers, I’d love to hear them. 

Gladiolus - The Flower for August

Every month has a specific flower assigned to - it’s ‘birth month flower’. The flower for the month of August is the gladiolus.

Gladiolus is a dramatic, striking-looking flower. Its tall, elegant stems are topped with multiple flower blossoms with frilly, ruffled edges. ‘Glads’, as they’re fondly referred to, come in a multitude of colours – white, pinks, purples, oranges, yellows, and reds. They make superb cut flowers and are often used in memorial arrangements, as a tribute to loved ones.

The fun thing about gladiolus is its name. It means ‘little sword’ in Latin, and in fact, is sometimes called ‘the sword lily’. It’s also associated with the Roman word for gladiators. Legend has it when someone gives a gladiolus as a gift, the giver is ‘piercing the recipient's heart with love’. In the language of flowers, the meaning for gladiolus is ‘strength of character’ – another reference to their connection with gladiators. 

Gladioli’s vase life is one to two weeks depending on how you care for them. To get the best results, the first thing you need to do is make sure you select straight, strong, fresh stems with flower buds just starting to open up and show their colour. Once you get them home choose a heavy vase that is one-third the height of the flowers. This flower arrangement will be top-heavy. If you feel the base of your vase isn’t heavy enough to be stable and could tip over once the flowers are added, put some pebbles or decorative glass beads into the bottom of it. I also choose a wide-mouthed vase so the gladioli have room to fan out, letting the bottom florets be seen, as well the top. Then all you need to do is keep your vase topped up with fresh water to keep these flowers looking bright and fresh for as long as possible. 

Note: As well as being the flower for the month of August, Gladiolus is the flower associated with a fortieth wedding anniversary.

Floral Healing Therapy - an Interview

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I believe flowers make life happier and healthier. They truly have a positive impact on our mental, physical and emotional well-being. So you can imagine how excited I was a couple of weeks ago when I came across a little six-minute YouTube video called ‘I tried Floral Healing Therapy for my anxiety’.  Let me introduce you to Heather.

Heather has a business in Portland, Oregon, called ‘Floral Healing Therapy’. I reached out to her and asked if she’d be willing to answer a few questions about what she does, and she was kind enough to agree.

Hi Heather. Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions, letting us get to know you and your practice better.

How long have you been practicing Floral Healing Therapy?

I opened my private practice in April 2019. My love for flowers started early on and I’ve been a therapist for over 5 years.

Why do you think flowers are important for our mental well-being?

Flowers have a way of connecting us to the present moment. If we slow down and engage with flowers in a mindful way, meaning really paying attention to the qualities of each flower and how they come together as a whole, we can come up with creative solutions to our problems. Being around flowers improves our mood.

How do you incorporate flowers into your therapy work?

I bring fresh flowers to the sessions and the client arranges them. I encourage the client to do so slowly and to allow their feelings to arise naturally. After they’ve completed their arrangement, we talk about the flowers and the process. Flowers are full of good metaphors for life. We then end with a guided Floral Healing Meditation.

What type of reaction do you get from people experiencing your Floral Healing Therapy for the first time?

People are pleasantly surprised with how their arrangements turn out! A lot of people have beliefs about their creativity and in our culture, we often don’t try something in front of other people unless we know we will succeed. Floral Healing Therapy clients take a risk and they find that the process is empowering. Taking the arrangement home serves as a reminder of the progress they are making.

For those who don’t live in the Portland area, do you offer online sessions, and if you do, how do those work?

I offer video Floral Healing Meditation sessions for people who don’t live in the area where you bring some flowers for a guided meditation. I offer video Floral Healing Therapy to clients in Oregon and Washington, since I’m a licensed therapist in those states. FHT video sessions involve bringing flowers and arranging them during the session while talking through stressors and successes.

What plans do you have for the future with your Floral Healing Therapy practice?

My practice is ever-evolving. Since it’s a therapeutic modality I am creating from scratch, I want to design it for people who have a special connection to nature and flowers. Once we can gather in person again, I will be offering community meditations and flower mandala events. I want to offer training and certification in FHT so as many people can benefit from therapy and flowers as possible.

Here’s a tough question – what’s your favourite flower?

Foxglove! After I meditated for the first time, I stared into a foxglove and it’s been my favorite flower ever since.

Thank you so much, Heather. I’ve learned so much about you and how your Floral Healing Therapy works. I’m very excited to see where you take this in the future and when I next come to Portland, a session with you is at the top of my list for things to do!

Thanks for having me Mary!

I really appreciate Heather taking the time to answer these questions. If you’re interested in her practice you can find more information on her website or follow her on instagram @floralhealingtherapy .

Flowers and Honey

One fun way in which flowers make life better is through honey.

By now you realize that I love all things related to flowers – and that includes honey. In fact, I’m starting to get obsessed with it! I’m still at the beginning of my learning journey about ‘all things honey’, but I definitely already have some interesting information to share with you.

What exactly is honey? Honey is made from the nectar of flowers that are collected by honeybees. There are many different varieties of flower honey available – in fact over 300 types! The colour, flavour and sweetness level varies depending on what type of flower the nectar comes from.

Today I’m going to focus on two types of honey - ‘clover’ and ‘wildflower’. But before I do that, let me just briefly talk about the importance of buying local honey.

As you probably already know, the global bee population has drastically reduced over the past few years due to a wide range of factors. In general, the benefits of buying local honey are the following:

•  Bee farmers are committed to their bees, making sure they are cared for in a healthy environment. That helps the species thrive. 

• Having bees around to pollinate local crops benefits all agriculture in the area. Without pollination, crops don’t grow.

• Having bees locally helps the environment.  Once the honey is produced, if it doesn’t have to travel far to get to you, and therefore the carbon footprint is reduced and energy is saved.

• When buying local honey, you support your local economy; and that’s a cycle that we want to keep going.

These are all excellent reasons to buy local. Now, on to comparing clover and wildflower honey:

Clover honey: Clover honey is a ‘monofloral’ or ‘uni-floral’ honey, which means the nectar is predominately collected from one type of flower - in this case, clover. Clover honey is by far the most common type of honey. It’s light-coloured, mildly floral, and sweet. As the taste is clean and clear, with no bitterness, it doesn’t overpower anything it’s paired with. 

Wildflower honey: Wildflower honey tends to be darker in colour and stronger in taste than clover honey. I find wildflower honey very exciting because bees have collected the nectar from a multitude of local wildflowers so there are multiple ways it can taste. The types of flowers the bees visit could include poppies, forget-me-nots, marigolds, asters, lavender, dandelions, and cornflower. As you can imagine, the taste and colour vary depending on the mix of flowers the bees visit. Time of year is also a variable, and honey from a certain period in one year can taste very different from the same period the next year. 

Right now, I’m buying small jars of honey from different local farms so I can taste many different types. So far, there hasn’t been one I don’t like, although my favourite is from a very small place about an hour from where I live. Making honey is a hobby for this beekeeper rather than a business. Each season he fills up jars of honey, puts them at the end of his driveway and for $5.00 you take a jar home of the most flavourful honey you have ever tried. I literally end up eating it by the spoonful!

I’m going to keep up my research on honey over the summer months. I think this will be a fun little project for me and I look forward to sharing all that I learn with you. In the meantime, if you have a favourite honey, please let me know, and if it’s available to me, I will try it.

Top tip: Often when you go on a trip you bring gifts home for friends and family, or a souvenir for yourself. I’d like to suggest you bring home a jar of honey from the place you’re visiting. This supports the economy of the place you chose to visit and is a great way to say “thank you”, to the area that hosted you.

Purple Flowers

Having flowers in your environment enhances your surroundings. The colour of the flowers you choose plays a big role in what mood you create and what emotions you evoke. It’s time to explore the effect purple flowers can have on your day.

Purple is one of the most popular colour choices for flowers. Its shades range from pale mauve, to vibrant violet, to deep wine.

When you think of paler shades of purple flowers, think of lavender, lilac and heather. They ‘re calm and soothing, symbolizing charm, grace and elegance.

The darker shades of purple have always been tied to royalty and ceremony, symbolizing dignity, pride and success. They also create a feeling of mystery and enchantment.

Let’s take a look at purple flowers throughout the seasons:

Winter: One of the first pops of floral colour in winter is when the crocus bursts through the cold, icy ground, a bright little spot in an otherwise grey environment. But crocus aren’t the only purple flowers you can find at this time of year. Waxflower, with their tiny purple blooms on long stems, are great as a filler in an arrangement or in a big vase just on their own. You can also turn to flowering houseplants and get a splash of purple from cyclamens with their stacked layers of petals, or with that old stand-by, the African violet.

Spring: Spring arrives and purple flowers start to arrive in abundance. The deep purple anemone is a good representative for this season as it’s meaning is anticipation – and aren’t we all waiting for days to get longer and warmer! Verbena, campanula, hyacinth, columbine, and lilac are just a few varieties you’ll find.

Summer: This is when purple flowers arrive in abundance. Lavender, sweet peas, allium, foxglove, gladiola, lupines, lisianthus, hydrangea, morning glory, hollyhock, zinnia … the list goes on and on. You’ll be spoiled for choice.

Fall: As the days get shorter and colder, don’t despair. You can still find purple flowers to add a little bright spot to your day. Asters, cosmos and pansies are especially beautiful. Put a vase in the centre of your table to be seen by all who enter your home.

Throughout the year keep your eye open for what’s in season in your area, and make the most of their purple beauty both inside and outside your home.

PS: My favourite purple flowers are lilacs, lavender, and sweet peas. What are yours?

Larkspur - July's Flower

Every month has a specific flower assigned to it – it’s ‘birth month flower’. The flower for the month of July is larkspur.

Larkspur may not be one of the most familiar flowers, but never the less, it is the flower for the month of July. For me, larkspur is quite fitting for July, as it represents the strong bonds of love and I have two daughters who were born in this month; it’s a wonderful symbol for the feelings I have.

Larkspur is a tall, linear flower hosting dozen of little blooms along its strong stem. Even though it’s capable of growing up to eight feet, it still has levity and lightness to it. Larkspur has a crisp, refreshing fragrance and comes in hues of pink, purple, blue, and white. 

While in general, it’s meaning in the language of flowers is ‘an open heart’, the symbolism changes with the colour of the blossom. Pink symbolizes contrariness, purple strong bonds of love, blue dignity and grace, and white a happy nature. It’s interesting to note that all the colours have positive meanings except for pink. I wonder why?

As with all flowers, the best time to buy larkspur is when they are locally in season. They generally bloom from early spring into late fall. They make a beautiful display just on their own, or as a part of a mixed bouquet. The key to displaying them is to use a tall vase. I prefer one with a wider mouth so the larkspur has space to spread out allowing you to see the florets lower down on each stem.

Something I just recently learned is larkspur is a great flower to dry. Hang them upside down in a warm, dry room for a couple of weeks and they’re ready for you to use as a more permanent display.

Top tip:  The best time to cut larkspur for drying is when the blossoms are open about halfway up the spike and before any petals have started to drop off.

Lovely Lavender

Lavender – the magical herb. Loved by bees, butterflies and humans. It’s fragrant, calming and surprisingly versatile in the culinary world. 

Lavender has one of the most recognized floral fragrances. It’s mild, mellow, and sweet with herbal undertones, used in everything from perfumes, to sleeping aids, to cleaning supplies. I use a lot of lavender products. In fact, I have a whole ‘layers of lavender’ routine I use every evening before I go to bed. It’s definitely a favourite of mine.

Scientists are conducting ongoing research about the benefits of lavender.  Right now those studies include lavender’s effect on learning and memory, sleep and insomnia, anxiety and depression, and an assortment of aches and pains. 

Along with all the potential ways lavender can help make life healthier, there are also ways to use it to make life more beautiful. Here are some simple, creative ways to use lavender to enhance your home:

• Create a relaxing atmosphere by adding a few drops of lavender essential oil to your diffuser. The soothing fragrance will slow down your heartbeat and relax your muscles, easing stress. 

• Having a glass of prosecco or a gin and tonic? Add a fresh sprig of lavender to your glass to make your drink festive and extra tasty.

• When it’s time to vacuum, sprinkle some dried lavender buds down first to add a fresh fragrance to your carpet.

• Make a wreath of dried lavender for your front door. You’ll be uplifted by it’s beauty and fragrance every time you enter or leave your home.

• Tie a bunch of lavender and eucalyptus together and hang it in your bathroom where it won’t get wet, but the hot steam will reach it. The scent wafting around will be so relaxing you’ll think you’re at the spa!

•  For an easy, eye-catching centerpiece, take several small vases and put a few stems of fresh or dried lavender in each one and then randomly place them around your table.

And just for fun, here are some interesting facts about lavender:

•  Most lavender comes in shades of purple or blue, but there are some varieties that are pink or yellow.

•  In the language of flowers, the meaning for lavender is devotion.

•  Nectar from lavender makes a delicious honey.

• Lavender comes from the same family as mint

•  The name lavender comes from the Latin verb, ‘lavare’, which means ‘to wash’.

What are your favourite ways to use lavender? In the upcoming weeks I look forward to sharing some lavender recipes with you. 

Roses- Part 2

Every month has a specific flower assigned to it – it’s ‘birth month flower’. The flower for the month of June is the rose.

This is part two of “Getting to Know Roses”. Part 1 looked at how roses get their names and their meanings in the language of flowers. Now we’re going to compare ‘standard’ roses to ‘garden’ roses, and I’ll share tips and tricks on how to buy and care for them.

When buying roses as a cut flower, there is a world of difference between ‘standard’ roses and ‘garden’ roses.

 Standard roses: Standard roses are probably what you will find when you go to buy flowers at the grocery store, corner shop and even your local florist. They have one stem per bloom and their petals are almost a pointed shape that rotate around a tight center. They don’t open up a great amount and they likely have no – or very little – fragrance, but they do come in a wide range of colours.

Most rose farms in the world grow standard roses because they’re able to get many blooms per acre planted. These types of roses are a staple in any florists cooler as they have a long vase life (up to two weeks) and are reasonably priced. 

Garden roses: Garden roses are what you imagine when you think of a traditional rose. They have dense layers of petals around a rosette center and waft an unbelievably nostalgic fragrance. Their beauty is undeniable and their romantic nature makes them a very popular choice for weddings and events. There are fewer farms that grow garden roses, and those plants tend to be less productive, yielding blooms that only have a 5-7 day vase life. The difficulty in producing this delicate bloom, combined with the high demand for them, makes them more expensive than standard roses. 

Buying and caring for roses:

There are an endless variety of roses. They make wonderful gifts, are perfect decoration for a special occasion and enhance the beauty of any surrounding. 

When you’re going to purchase some roses – either standard or garden – there are some things you should know to ensure you get the healthiest product available and get the longest possible vase life from your purchase. Here’s what you need to know:

1 – The first thing you should do is ask the florist or shop owner when they received the flowers. This will give you a good indication of their freshness. The more days they’ve been in the shop, the fewer days they’ll be in your vase.

2 – There’s something called a ‘bullet rose’. These are roses with the petals so tight together that they’ll never open. To make sure it’s not a bullet rose, check the petals at the top of the flower and make sure they are a little bit loose.

3 – Make sure the petals aren’t ‘too loose’. If the rose is fully open, it’s not going to last much longer. 

4 – Check there are no brown spots on the petals. If there are, give them a miss as this means they were either unhealthy to begin with, or are dying rapidly. 

Now you have your roses, here are some tips on how to care for them:

1 – When you get them home remove all the leaves that will be below the water line once you put them in a vase. Leaves will add bacteria to the water causing them to perish quicker.

2 – Re-cut the stems at an angle and place them directly in a vase filled with fresh clean water.

3 – Keep the flowers out of direct sunlight, heat sources, and drafts. 

4 – Every 2-3 days, re-cut the stems and put in fresh water. 

5 – If you put garden roses in warm water it will help the rosebuds to open. 

If you shop knowledgeably for roses and put a little bit of time and effort into caring for them, you’ll be able to enjoy them day, after day, after day. 

We already know that the rose is the birth month flower for June. Here are some other fun facts:

• It is the national flower for the UK and the USA.

• It is the official state flower for New York, North Dakota, and Georgia.

• There are over a hundred species of roses.

• A ‘Black Rose’ is not actually black but a dark red.

• Roses are edible. Just make sure no chemicals or pesticides have been used on them.

And in finishing, I share with you again one of my all-time favourite quotes to reflect on:

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” – Abraham Lincoln 

How Does a Rose Get its Name?

Every month has a specific flower assigned to it – it’s ‘birth month flower’. The flower for the month of June is the rose.

The world has a love affair with roses. Their beauty mesmerizes us. Their shapes - classic, spray, garden, ruffled, sweetheart; their colours - reds, oranges, yellows, greens, purples, pinks, white; their meanings - love, friendship, joy, admiration, enthusiasm, adoration (all those beautiful positive feelings); and their fragrances - sweet, spicy, musky, fruity, fresh and intoxicating. Roses are truly the Queen of all flowers! 

Let’s get to know roses a little better. In fact, I’m going to make this a two-part blog post! This first part will look at how roses are named, along with their meanings in the language of flowers. The second part will compare ‘garden’ roses to ‘standard’ roses, and I’ll share tips and tricks on how to buy and care for them.

How roses get their names:

Bella Rosa, Coral Seas, Golden Angel, Lovely Lady, Tranquility –the names for roses are diverse, descriptive, imaginative, and just plain fun to learn. I was thrilled to find out there is a ‘Mary Rose’, and not only is it a lovely shade of pink (my favourite colour), but it’s a garden rose full of loose petals with a delicious fragrance. What could be better than that!

So where do roses get their names? The simple answer - the breeder gets to name the rose. Historically the breeder chose a name that described the flower’s heritage, or named them after family members. That evolved to using the names of royalty and then famous people. In today’s world, the name of the rose is quite important, as marketers want a name that is memorable and will sell. 

Are you wondering if you can name a rose? Well, you can, but that’s actually a very expensive process. However, for a more reasonable price, what you can do is name a single rose bush. What a great gift for a loved one! There are places in Canada and the UK where you can inquire about this.

Rose meanings in the language of flowers:

Now let’s move onto the meanings of the different colours of roses in the language of flowers.  While it’s universally known that the red rose symbolizes love, the meanings of the other colours are not as well known . Here’s a list:

• Pink (dark): Gratitude

• Pink (light): Admiration and joy

• Orange: Enthusiasm

• Yellow: Friendship

• Green: Rejuvenation 

• Purple: Enchantment

• White: Innocence

Using the colour and meaning of the roses together is a great way to customize a gift for a friend or loved one.

Coming up next, all about garden roses, standard roses and tips and tricks on how to care for them.

If there’s anything in particular you would like to know, put it in the comments below and I’ll get back to you.

Flowers - an Inspiration for Writers

Over the years I’ve gathered quite a collection of books, poems, quotes and song lyrics that reference flowers. It seems flowers, with their simple beauty, memorable fragrance, and vibrant colours, are a rich source of inspiration for creative minds. Previously I shared three favourite quotes from my collection with you. Today I’m sharing three more.

This selection comes from diverse sources. The first is Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States; the second is from Aaron Neville, an American musician; and the third is credited to Zen Shin. Zen Shin is not a person but a book, (full name Zen Shin Talks), a collection of short talks given by a Japanese monk.

When you read each quote and think about what it says, you’ll see no matter who wrote them, or when they were written, there’s something to connect with - something that makes them relevant today.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”  - Abraham Lincoln

“Be honest, be nice, be a flower not a weed.” – Aaron Neville

“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.” – Zen Shin

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Which quote speaks to you?