Romantic Gestures

Valentines Day is a week away and flower prices are through the roof.  The wholesale price for a single rose is $2 or more.  This Valentines Day, think about getting your sweet heart a bouquet with a message instead of expensive, traditional roses.  Here are some bouquet ideas for you:


The flower dedicated to St. Valentine is the crocus.  This flower asks the receiver to not abuse the senders love.  Mix it with a Jonquil and it will ask the receiver to return affection.

A bouquet of red tulips declares your love.  Tulips are in their prime season right now and make a lovely bouquet. 

A variegated tulip tells your sweet heart that he/she has beautiful eyes.

Red carnations speak of your deep love and affection.  Or go with white carnations that symbolize pure love.

For new couples, getting a bouquet of hyacinths or purple lilac symbolizes the emotions of a new love.

For the ladies, you can give your men an arrangement with anthurium to express your intense attraction or a sunflower bouquet which represents a feeling equal to the power of the sun.  

For flowers on the more sensual side give a bouquet of snapdragons which state "lets be impetuous" or sweet pea's which mean "lasting pleasures".  

Flower of the Month: February

The February birth flower is the violet.  Used for culinary and medicinal purposes as well as a potted plant, the violet symbolizes faithfulness, humility and chastity.

According to this site, there were a few different meanings depending on the color of the violet.  If it was violet it would mean "I'll always be true".  If it was a cream or white violet, it would mean "Lets take a chance".

Violets are primarily a potted plant.  If I was asked to put violets into a design, I'd probably do a vegetative garden design with cut flowers and potted plants.  Similar to this design:

New Semester = New challenges

Last week was the beginning of the spring semester and the final semester of floral design courses at College of San Mateo.  Lots will be happening in the coming months including a Bridal Fair put on by the students and a grand finale party.

For our first design, we took bear grass and weaved the grass into a ring.  Then we took tulips and created either a bouquet or put the piece in a small container.  I added some Oasis Diamond Wire for some sparkle and this is what I came up with:

A little note on tulips:  they are funny flowers that keep growing even after they are cut.  If you ask for tulips in an arrangement, be aware that they typically last 3-5 days and if they are in a warm area they are likely to die sooner.  If you want a long lasting bouquet to send to people, don't ask for tulips!  However, in the Language of Flowers, tulips are very romantic flowers.  Here's a list of tulip colors and what they mean:

Pink Tulips- Caring

Purple Tulips- Royalty

Red Tulips- A declaration of love

White Tulips- Forgiveness

Yellow Tulips- Hopelessly in love

Coming soon:  Tired of giving or receiving red roses for Valentines day?  I am doing research on flowers and their meanings so you can order flowers with a message for your loved one!  Keep checking back for that entry!

The Elegant Dahlia

The dahlia is Mexico's national flower and one of my favorites.  There are so many different colors that go with almost everything and they have a great texture.  They are available for wholesale in the summer and fall months and have a vase life of 5-7 days if they are in their prime season.

In the Victorian era, giving the flower would symbolize sentiments of elegance and dignity.  It also symbolized a lasting commitment and bond between two people.   The dahlia is a great flower to have in your wedding bouquet or to give to someone you love!

Flower of the month: January

In the Victorian age, flowers carried special messages.  Lovers would ask for romantic trysts and enemies would send insults through bouquets.  I decided it would be fun to start a series in this blog on the “Language of Flowers”.  Check in on the first Monday of every month and learn the meaning behind your birth flower and once a week, I will post a new flower with the meanings and some facts about them.  I hope you enjoy it!

The flower for the month of January is the carnation.  The general meaning behind this versatile flower is fascination, distinction and love, however, there are so many varied colors that each has its own specific meaning:

Red:  Deep romantic love, passion

White:  Sweet and lovely, innocence, pure love and faithfulness

Pink:  A woman or mothers love.  

Yellow:  Rejection or disdain

Purple:  Capriciousness, whimsical, changeable or unreliable

Mauve:  Dreams of Fantasy

Striped:  A refusal

Solid color: An affirmative

Carnations are available year around and really go well in any arrangement.  Their petals add texture and interest to a bouquet.  They typically aren’t fragrant flowers, but sometimes have a very musty scent.  The design below was a pomander ball I did for a wedding last April using carnations and a line of green pin cushion flowers.

The Language of Flowers

A fellow classmate of mine told my class about the premier novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh called, The Language of Flowers".  I chose it as my book club pick for our January meeting, and just finished it today.

Set in San Francisco, The Language of Flowers is a  beautifully woven story of a girl, Victoria, who has been in the foster care system from birth.  At the age of nine she is sent to yet another home, but this time she is introduced to the world of flowers and the meaning behind each bloom.

The parts I loved the most about the book were the references to the San Francisco Flower Mart and the idea of using flowers not for their looks but for their meanings.  In the book, a woman who is unhappy in her marriage is given a bouquet of Jonquil to take home and its meaning, domestic happiness, changes her marriage.  A lonely woman looking for love is given red roses (love) and lilac (the first emotions of love) and realizes the man of her dreams is right in front of her.

The novel was inspired by the authors own experience with foster care children and a Victorian floral dictionary.  It turns out, the "Language of Flowers" got its start in the Victorian era.  When flowers were given to a young lady, usually by an admirer or friend, it was a secret message.  A secret tryst, or an exclamation of love or telling someone how you loathe them was sent in a simple, beautiful bouquet of flowers.

After doing some research, I've been inspired to post weekly on flowers and their hidden meanings, starting in January.  I will also include the time of year they are readily available, in case you ever want to use them for your special event.

Until then, I highly suggest you go out and get a copy of this book.  You will be in for a special treat!