Sweet Sunflower

Several years ago, I spent some time in the south of France. They grow a tremendous amount of flowers there for the perfume business as well as the flower trade. There were acres and acres of farms with bushes of sweet-smelling lavender glowing violet in the noonday sun. But, it was the miles and miles of blossoming sunflowers that really caught my attention. Sunflowers have a sort of primeval look to them.Standing over five and six feet tall, these mammoth flowers that follow the sun through the day have such a fragile look to them. I never imagined that there was such a need for these fantastic flowers. The meaning behind the sunflower is loyalty and constancy. The sun motif is so appropriate for summer flower arrangements. They always make an arrangement look larger than life! Not everyone is happy having the sunflower in their arrangement though. They are one of those flowers that some people relegate to the garden. They don't think that they are fancy enough for an arrangement. The nice thing about the the sunflower is that they do come in several sizes which make them appropriate for almost any occasion.

One of my big jobs at the flower shop is waiting on customers. There is nothing that I like better than to help someone pick out an arrangement especially for the young men that come into the shop. I say that because usually they have no idea what they want. They might come in wanting roses because that is all they know, but if I can get them past that, then I know that it is time to open the flower cooler and let them see all of the fabulous choices. It is always such an eye-opening experience for them and usually a good one! I always think that an arrangement with many different flower types is better than an arrangement of just one flower type. And I feel that I have done my job well when I can get a young man excited about flowers!