Yellow Daisy

If orchids are the debutantes of the flower shop, daisies are the Eliza Doolittles. They make look small and plain, but many arrangements would be nothing without them. Daisies are the workhorse of the shop. They can be used as the main flower of an arrangement. Many people insist on them because of their long-lasting quality, but they are also just a fun flower that makes you smile when you see it. They can also be the backup to other flowers, used to fill in the blanks in many arrangements. The nice thing about daisies by the stem is that you usually get at least four or five nice flowers per stem and many times they are very nicely staggered on that stem.

I am reminded as I am getting ready to leave the flower shop at the end of summer yet again, and getting ready to go back to school, how sometimes we take the things around us for granted. Daisies are like that. We don't spend a lot of time really thinking about them, yet they are always there for us, ready to make us smile. We use the word "daisy" to refer to young girl scouts before they even get to be "brownies", because they are so fresh of face and cute. The meaning behind the daisy is one of innocence. That fits the daisy perfectly. It makes it a great flower to give to anyone and it is perfect for all occasions. So send someone some daisies, just because!

Yellow Snapdragon

As a young girl, my mother used to send me to stay with her mother from time to time when my grandfather would go to visit his relatives. She always had a few things for me to play with: a small chalkboard to write on and a hula hoop that I loved since we didn't have one at home. I would stand in her backyard and play with that thing twirling and twirling first around my waist, then my legs and arms and if I was adventurous maybe around my neck. When I tired of that, I would take the hula hoop and use it like a big round jump rope and roam around the backyard. I loved my grandmother's backyard. She grew vegetables and flowers in it. One of my favorite flowers that she grew every year were snapdragons. We didn't have anything like it growing in our yard, and I absolutely loved to pick off an individual bloom and make it look like a roaring lion! Each flower has a throat that looks just like a mouth with a tongue and the way the flower blooms the rest of it looks like a lion's mane. Every time I went to her house I would while a way time playing out fantasies with those flower lions.

Snapdragons are used at the flower shop, but mainly in funeral arrangements. Their long tall stalks are perfect for giving height to any arrangement and they are a great substitution for people who don't like gladiolas. Working with people who come in to make arrangements for funerals is a tough position to be in on a daily basis. There are people who call in who are crying and it is hard to know what to say to them sometimes. I just tell them to take their time. You commiserate with them, but you get off them phone just a little down. It's even harder when they come in person to the shop. I like it when they tell you about the person who died. It makes it just a little more personal when you are making the flowers for them. The hidden meaning behind snapdragons is not a very nice one. They can mean deception or concealment, but they also have another meaning, one of graciousness. I will always be grateful for the time I had with my grandmother, and the time I spent in her garden.

Fabulous Freesia

Saturday's post on stephonotis got me to thinking about other sweet-smelling flowers. It's funny how different flower smells affect different people. There are some people who order flower arrangements based on how long the flowers will last: carnations, daisies, anthurium. They feel they get more for their money with flowers that hang around for a while. There are also those who order a flower arrangement and specifically ask that certain flowers are not put in because of their smell, lilies are probably the most noted flower. I am among these people. I can't abide the smell of lilies. And then, there are the people who order an arrangement with flowers specifically for their smell: roses, lavender, stock, and freesia come to mind. Freesia is one of those flowers that not many people really ask for, but those who know, freesia with it delicate purple flowers and perfumy smell are always a great addition to an arrangement. The symbolic meaning of freesia is one of sweetness, friendship and trust which makes it appropriate for many occasions.

We had an arrangement the other day for a woman who was turning 109 years old! It is incredible to me to even think about living that long. I don't know if she has lived her entire life in this area, but if she has I find it amazing at all of the changes that have taken place in her lifetime. All of the changes in technology, television, and cars! She has lived longer than the flower shop has been in existence as we are celebrating only 70 years this year. In that time, the shop has moved three times, but we have stayed on the same street! We have seen the tire companies come and go and with them many people. But we have learned to change with the times, redirecting our focus and finding new customers. It makes me wonder what the shop will be like if it makes it to 109! I hope I am still around to find out!

Sweet Stephonotis

In one of my earlier posts, I talked about a young bride stopping by the flower shop to pick up her bouquet wearing her veil. We came to find out later that her wedding was to take place at one of our local wooded parks. We are lucky to live in area that has a fabulous park system with miles of wooded trails and picturesque meadows, streams, and fields. A week after the "wedding" their was story in the local paper about her wedding. Apparently, the judge who was supposed to marry them never showed up. They had a relative step in so they could go through with the ceremony, and they said that they had a good time but that it really put a damper on the whole day. No kidding! The judge apparently left for Europe the following day and could not be reached. I haven't seen a resolution to this story, but if I do, I will certainly let you know!

We had another bride who came in with some pictures of the bouquet she wanted as well as the corsages and boutonnières. My brother was not in that day so we told her to call back the next day for a price on her bouquet. It was a pretty picture. The bouquet was made up of stephonotis and baby's breath with ribbon throughout. So, she called back the next day to get the price, I answered the phone. I asked my brother for the quote and he told me to tell her $175.00. I think she about hit the floor. She was definitely not expecting it to cost that much, and you know what, neither did I. Stephonotis is also known as Madagascar jasmine. It is extremely popular for wedding bouquets because it is a delicate flower that has a sweet, delicate fragrance. It is also an expensive flower, and each one has to be wired individually to be put into a bouquet which is very time consuming to the designer. So, she said she wanted to call and check other florists' prices and to hold onto the order. I really expected her to call in a few days to cancel, but instead she called back yesterday to say that she got some money to pay for it. My guess is that some nice relative offered to pay for it which is really nice for her! You could hear the excitement in her voice though. Since, the meaning of stephonotis is marital happiness, I guess it really is a nice way to start off her marriage. She was really happy to be able to have the bouquet of her dreams and it made me happy that we are going to be able to do that for her!

Red Anthurium

The tropicals came in yesterday afternoon which got me thinking about anthurium. We have tropical flowers shipped by Fedex every couple of weeks. There are all kinds of pretty things that come in one big box: orchids, birds of paradise, ginger, different types of greens, other assorted bits that I am not sure of and the anthurium. They are packed in wet shredded newspaper that I have to carefully sort through to get them all out. Anthurium is the type of flower that people either love or hate. I know because I have been on both sides. When I was younger, I thought they were the ugliest thing in the flower shop. I really couldn't understand why anyone ever wanted in their arrangements, but that has really changed as I have gotten older. It's like a lot of things in your life that change as time goes by, tastes change, preferences change. The meaning behind anthurium is ardent passion which understandably from its shape is easy to understand! The wonderful thing about these tropicals is that they are one of the longest lasting flower I have ever seen.

There is an older gentleman who works for the flower shop. He used to own his own shop and this is actually his second time around working for us. His main job is to make many of the funeral baskets, vases, and standing sprays. I think that he is truly amazing. He is the first one to work in the morning, and I absolutely love listening to his stories. He was telling us a story today about how he missed his entire eighth grade year due to being on bedrest because of rheumatic fever. He wasn't allowed out of bed for six months! He was telling us how he would hear his friends out playing ball so he would stick his hand out the window and his friends would throw it to him until they hit the side of the house which would make his mother come look to see what the commotion was. I really find it interesting listening to the stories of his life.

So, as I said, it's his job to make many of the funeral arrangements. Two weeks ago, he made this beautiful driftwood arrangement with anthurium and some greens. It was so elegant in its simplicity. Every so often, there is an arrangement like that. One that you can't stop looking at. It's almost like looking at a painting and just thoroughly enjoying just because. Even the other designers remarked on this particular piece and that's not something that they do very often. I don't know if it's because they are so used to looking at arrangements that they become desensitized to them, but I have a hard time not remarking on the beauty of their arrangements!

White Cattleya Orchid

I have lived almost my entire life in this midwest city. The flower shop has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a very young child I can remember my father taking me and my siblings to school on his way to the shop. When he was ready to go he would stand at the door and yell, "All aboard"! That was his way of telling us to pile into the van which actually was the delivery van for the shop. There were no seats in it. We all sat on the floor amid the sandbags that were used to hold the arrangements into place and keep them from tipping over while in transit. There would always be a fight over how many sandbags each of us got to sit on, the more the better although if you piled up more than three invariably as my father rounded a corner you would lose your balance and topple over.

One of the earliest jobs that I got at the flower shop was making corsages for Mother's Day and Easter. Back in the day, corsages were a huge money maker for those holidays. Families would order corsages for each female in the house to wear to church at Easter and no self-respecting mother was without one for Mother's Day. I used to sit with several older women who had probably also been making corsages since they were young girls in the basement of the shop and make corsage after corsage. Many times, carnations were used, but the better corsages were made from orchids. Many people favored the smaller cymbidium orchid but the largest and most expensive corsages were made with the softball-size cattleya orchids. Now, these holidays come and go with few women receiving corsages to wear. I think it's kind of sad that corsages have been relegated to weddings and high school dances only.

These days the emphasis on corsages is small and dainty. No one wants to wear the mammoth cattleyas anymore. It takes a self-assured woman to pull one of the fantasy flowers off. We had a family friend who passed away recently. She was a nurse who had been sick for several years. She had a nurses cap in the casket with her and pinned to side of it was a beautiful white cattleya. The flower meaning behind orchids is delicate beauty. Orchids should not be only for special occasions. They should be given to celebrate the delicate beauty that we see in each other. Given the chance, we should show our friends and loved ones just how much they mean to us. Flowers are a perfect way to do that. Don't wait until it is too late.

Hot Pink Peony

One of the most dramatic flowers seen in gardens and in flower shops is the peony. I know that many people consider the peony to be an old-fashioned kind of flower, but they really are quite a show-stopper. I have a neighbor who has a whole hedge made out of peonies and when the bloom her whole side yard is transformed by these enormous flowers. Peonies used to be a typical flower for weddings but I don't think that they are used as much as they once were, but they are symbolic of riches and good luck which make them quite appropriate for any wedding bouquet. Because they are so large it sometimes is harder to use them in a regular flower arrangement.

Our flower shop has an order every year for a particularly large wreath for a gathering of people in our town. This is a major event that is attended every year by thousands of people from all over the world. My brother always makes this particular wreath and I think that he outdid himself this year. He used three large groupings of different types of flowers on different sections of the wreath. There was one grouping of white with large lilies and stock serving as the major flowers for that section. There was also a grouping of blue with delphinium and iris for the main flowers. At the top of the wreath was a large grouping of the most beautiful hot pink peonies. Some of the flowers were as big as a babies head! It was one of the best things that I have seen come out of our shop. I was so proud because I got to help deliver it and listen to the wonderful comments of all of the people who saw it. I really love and appreciate days like that!