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!