Plaza Flowers, one of our New York affiliates created a beautiful centerpiece of peonies, hydrangeas and roses, in an antique Baccarat for designer Dennis Basso’s dinner party highlighted in August, 2008, Town and Country magazine.  Visit their site at www.plazaflowersnyc.com

Matthew Robbins of Artfool, has an impressive four page spread featuring his striking yellow orange, and red designs in Martha Stewart’s Weddings magazine, Summer 2008 issue.

He uses yellow cattleya orchids , lemon phalaenopsis orchids, calla lilies with apricot-tinged parrot tulips; lady’s slipper orchids, frilly gloriosa lilies, butterscotch ranunculus, and blush colored tulips to make his boutonneires, bouquets, and table arrangements. Red and orange poppies, hot-pink sweetpeas, jasmine and finged tulips fire up an outdoor summer wedding reception. Vintage silver cups, a variety of silver pieces, shiny ribbon, copper mugs, compotes, and kettles contain Matthews amazingly lush arrangements.  Visit his site at www.artfool.com.

Clifford Miller of TFS Studio and Event Design in Los Angeles, is featured on the “End Page” of In Style Weddings magazine, Summer 2008 issue. For the prairie chic summer wedding of actress Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell, Clifford Miller created a green and white bouquet of roses and geraniums with steel grass. Evoking a country feeling, he used contrasting gingham fabric and vintage grosgrain ribbon. White ranunculus and fresh field blossoms filled rustic pitchers that were placed around the ceremony site.  www.tfsstudio.com.

Amy Marella of Hidden Garden floral Design in L.A. added her magic to an all-white color scheme, using two textually different blooms, white roses and white gardenias for the wedding reception of Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jeff Weaver and Jillian Malnofiski at the Ritz Calrton in Marina del Rey, California.

www.hiddengardenflowers.com

Winter seems wintry-er these days, with more snap to the cold than ever. In my neck of the woods, more often plagued by smog than snow, the days have been short, gray and nasty. As one long-spoiled by a mild, sunny clime, I’m having a heck of a time believing spring will ever come. To keep the faith, I’ve begun tricking myself – with a little pot here and a little pot there. And though I’m playing mind tricks with myself, it’s not the kind of pot you might think. The pots are full of daffodils.

Nothing cuts through winter’s drear better than a bright bundle of posies. Better still if they’re blooming in the pot. A stand of bright red cyclamen or a flourish of fragrant paper whites can fool you in to thinking spring is days away. Go for a big punch of color – pots of kalanchoe in hot pink or yellow, pulsing orange pincushion plants, or daffodils in their slicker-yellow shade are a great surrogate for sun.

If frilly little blossoms aren’t your cup of sunshine, a cactus or two might do. The giddy Christmas cactus, so named because it bursts into bloom at the holidays, is a virtual fireworks display of lurid fuchsia flora. Other long-lasting delights can be found in the orchid family. Easy-care “moth” orchids (phaleonopsis) in purple-veined chartreuse or intense magenta offer a welcome shot of visual heat in a pale room, or swirl nicely into a décor done in saturated colors. Don’t turn up the furnace when the gray days grate – crank up the color!

We got a very nice review in the-upcoming edition of Forum magazine of which I got a preview emailed to me today – featuring one of our fabulous affiliates in New York City called LMD Floral Events.Other than the Penthouse Forum, whom I sadly admit would hardly be calling me, I did not know whatthis Forum was until their very nice travel editor, and Donald Charles Richardson called me. I suppose there are so many magazines around these days that it is impossible to keep up with all the niche ones,so I don’t mind sounding stupid when I say to editors – “Huh? What? Sorry, No…Never heard of it.”Anyway – turns out that this Forum is this very high-end magazine that is printed twice a year and distributed only to its own advertisers such as Wilkes Bashford in San Francisco or Stanley Korshack in Dallas who then turn around and send it to their best customers. It is one of those B2B and B2C magazines and ya’ll thought those terms were web induced.Donald is just the sort of guy one wishes all editors were like though – with his friendly, baritone voice and worldly, but easy-going manner. I felt I was talking to a best-friend-of-a-friend’ kind of thing. The sort of person we used to say, ‘like an old shoe’ but as we baby boomers are aging that description does not imply the warm and cozy it used to and often is received as an insult, so I am learning not to use it anymore.Actually – I do not know why ‘old shoe’ is interpreted as an insult these days – maybe because people think old shoes ought to be thrown out? Whereas back in the day, old shoes were the best especially if they were hand-made. My husbands grandfather used to have his custom made and they would last for 30 yrs! So ‘old shoe’ used to mean, comfortable, ages well, good looking, well-made, classic – all those good things that I am trying to get across about Donald.I am going to try and get better about this Blog thing but one, I can’t find a voice I want to settle into because some days I am mad, some – dumb, others I can be both bored and boring, and on down the emotional line and they say you are supposed to have one voice. Well, who has that? I am a multifaceted, mercurial person hiding behind a professional façade! The other reason is what David Weinberger describes, “these niche publishers are finding that all of their content is miscellaneous,” or what Warren Buffet says about all this blogging, “At the end of the day we only have one pair of eyes.” Being an eco-freak, I hesitate to add to the web detritus even though they say it is just in the clouds – heck that is what they said about car exhaust and look what happened.Can’t you just imagine it? The eco-hazard of the future will be all these web musings distilled into 1’s and 0’s coming after future generations in swirls of uncontrollable mental pollution!Anyway – here’s the nice piece. And Donald, thanks!

Feel that nip in the air? Not yet? Well, wait a week or two and you’ll be reaching for your favorite sweater and raking piles of leaves from the lawn. Now that summer’s blooms have had their day and the abundance of autumn weighs in, why not steal a bit from the groaning board to mark the season? A laden branch is a beautiful thing. Consider these delicious options…Pomegranates: Stuff of myth, the pomegranate so tempted Persephone that she ate a bit of one and caused her annual banishment to Hades’ dark underworld for six months each year. It’s easy to see why – this ruby fruit is beautiful inside and out. Whether in a decorative spray or individually worked into an arrangement, this ancient fertility symbol is fall personified.Pears: Not just for partridges to perch on, a branch of blushing miniature pears brings a mouthwatering note to any grouping of seasonal flora. Fill a large glass cylinder with fat green Bartletts and tuck in tall sticks of cinnamon – it will be hard not to reach for one to eat. When you’re tired of the arrangement – simply add red wine, sugar, and poach till tender!Persimmons: Whether heaped in a rough stoneware bowl or still on the stem, it’s easy to see why these glossy orange fruit are such a popular subject in Asian art. They glow as if lit from within, and their curious calyxes look carved from jade. Pair them with bright leaves and gnarled branches for a sculptural combo. Later, the slow-ripening fruit will make delicious muffins…Quince: Looking like a cross between a pear and an apple, this hard, gnarly specimen is thought to be the true fruit that lead to the Original Sin. Whether biblical fact or fiction, its sweet, heady scent alone is enough to lead one astray. Pile them in a Limoges tureen with walnuts in the shell or place a branch with leaves and fruit on the mantel. Now, take a deep breath; it’s autumn in Paradise.Other fruits on the vine that look great in the vase are figs – like the photo here from House Beautiful’s September 2007 issue – bittersweet, snow in summer, lady apples and baby pumpkins. We love pretty.

Dear Reader, I Repeat: Pay AttentionIn my first post about the art of giving gifts, I told a tale on myself. I wrote about a simple gift – given to me by a near stranger – a gift subtle and powerful enough to spin me into full blown infatuation. I explained that the gift in question – a little bouquet of peach-toned roses – mimicked a flower I wore when I met the man who eventually gave me the present. The fact that he remembered the rose behind my ear a year later, and when we met again handed me a dozen identical blossoms, knocked me for total loop.Commenting on my post, a reader responded: “So the secret is peach-colored roses. Thanks for the inside information!” On reading the comment, my immediate response was, “D’oh! Men!!!” Okay, so my knee-jerk sexist response did nothing to further the cause of better gift-giving, but I had to wonder how he had managed to miss everything I wrote besides “peach-colored” and “roses”.So I say to him, “Yes Leonard, the secret to giving me a gift 20 years ago was peach colored roses.” But that said, one woman’s blindingly romantic rose may be another woman’s prosaic poison ivy. There is no one-size-fits-all present. Everyone’s taste is distinct. If anyone, male or female wants to give a gift that truly hits the mark, they need to pay attention to the target of their gifting.In the case of Carlo, my observant Italian friend, we spoke only briefly when we first met, but he was interested enough to remember the color of the flower in my hair, and rekindled the feeling of our first meeting with the bouquet he later gave me. The next time you have a floral gift to give, a bit of reflection and observation will set you in the right direction. Does this person dress in sharp, chic clothes? Here is a candidate for a simple, sophisticated arrangement. Have you seen her reading romance novels? Does she adore Jane Austen? A bouquet of old-fashioned roses or lilacs will do the trick.Is his home or office done in stark mid-century Modern or antique Asian? Orchids, my friend, send orchids.Without the clue of a flower behind my ear, Carlo would have had to conjecture carefully from other signals to give a gift as moving as the one he presented to me. But those signals come through loud and clear for all those interested enough to listen and pay close attention.

Everybody loves flowers. We love smelling them, looking at them and giving them
to people we care about. But how much do you know about flowers? Well, take
the quiz and let’s find out! Score a 9 or a 10 and you’re really up on your flora.
Score five or less and you’ve got some studying to do. Good luck!

1. What is the national flower of the United States?
a. Rose
b. Tulip
c. Bluebonnet
d. Carnation

2. What is the fear of flowers called?
a. floraphobia
b. stamenophobia
c. anthrophobia
d. there’s no such thing as fear of flowers

3. In cooking, tulip bulbs are sometimes used in place of what?
a. Potatoes
b. Sugar
c. Garlic
d. Onions

4. From where do nearly 60% of all USA grown fresh cut flowers come from?
a. Alabama
b. New York
c. California
d. Hawaii

5. What is the world’s largest flower?
a. Titan arum
b. Rafflesia arnoldii
c. Sunflower
d. Magnolium leonardii

6. What is the world’s smallest flower?
a. Hydrania
b. Wolffia
c. Miniature cherry blossom
d. Clivia miniata

7. What are the best selling cut flowers in the world?
a. Carnations
b. Roses
c. Tulips
d. Daffodils

8. About how many species of begonia are there?
a. 13
b. 130
c. 1,300
d. 13,000

9. The Peach Blossom is the state flower of which state?
a. Indiana
b. Delaware
c. Georgia
d. Kentucky

10. Which is not another name for snapdragons?
a. Calves’ snouts
b. Lion’s lips
c. Toad’s mouth
d. Monkey jaws

ANSWERS:

1. The ROSE is the national flower of the United States. It was signed into law
by President Reagan on October 7, 1986 in a ceremony that was held, of course,
in the White House Rose Garden.

2. The fear of flowers is called ANTHROPHOBIA. Symptoms include
breathlessness, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitations, sweating and madness.

3. In cooking sometimes tulip bulbs are sometimes used to replace ONIONS.

4. More than half of the cut flowers grown in the United States come from
CALIFORNIA.

5. The largest flower in the world is the RAFFLESIA ARNOLDII. It is found in
Indonesia and can grow three feet across and weigh fifteen pounds! When in
bloom the rafflesia emits a smell similar to rotting meat, which attracts flies for
pollination.

6. The WOLFFIA is the smallest flower in the world. It is a type of duckweed. A
bouquet of a dozen plants would easily fit on the head of a pin!

7. The best selling cut flowers in the world are CARNATIONS.

8. There are about 1,300 species of begonia. And if you are one of the many
people addicted to growing these beautiful flowers you are known as a begoniac!

9. The peach blossom is the state flower of DELAWARE. The flower was
adopted in 1895 because of Delaware’s reputation as the “Peach State,” having
over 800,000 peach trees at the time. Did you pick Georgia? Gotcha!

10. There are a lot of colorful names for snapdragons, but MONKEY JAWS is
definitely not one of them!

We have seen that flowers have their own language, with secret meanings based on the type or even the color. For some, a woman’s heart might leap with joy upon the receipt of a dozen red roses from the object of her desire, because red roses represent romantic love. But send her a bouquet of yellow roses and you might create a different reaction altogether. Yellow roses represent friendship, which can be a lovely thing, except perhaps if the recipient had something a little more intimate in mind!

Did you know that herbs, too, have their own meaning? For example oregano represents happiness, as it should. After all, have you even once been unhappy while eating a slice of pizza? It should also be no surprise that chamomile, a favorite tea, represents comfort and sage stands for wisdom. And the Cowardly Lion would have done well to exchange his bravery medal for a bunch of fresh thyme, which represents courage.

The belief in the power of herbs goes back to ancient times. People believed that strong smelling herbs would help to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. And so brides began to carry flowers and odoriferous herbs on their wedding day, a bouquet that might include chives and even garlic. Imagine carrying a nice bunch of garlic as you made your stroll down the aisle—I wonder why that particular tradition never caught on?

Herbs are not just benign plants that smell nice (or not so nice) and have secret meanings. For thousands of years folklore has valued herbs for their magical properties. In India people were often buried with basil, believing that the herb would be their ticket into heaven. During the Middle Ages it was believed that a spell cast by a witch could be repelled by wearing a charm made of dill leaves. Dill leaves were also burned to end thunderstorms. In ancient Greece it was believed that if you anointed yourself with marjoram you would dream of your future spouse, and by planting it in graves you could assure eternal peace for the deceased.

In ancient times it was believed that sprinkling rosemary around your house would bring good luck. Students also often wore a braid of rosemary around their heads to improve performance on their exams. So remember, whether you want to dream about your future spouse, score big on your upcoming SAT’s or are just looking for the nerve to tell your boss a thing or two, there is a herb out there just waiting to help!

Fine Florists often incorporate seasonal herbs in their arrangements but be sure to give a day’s notice for any specific herbal message you might have in mind.

While many of nature’s most fragrant flowers are widely available and generally sturdy, some of the sweetest blooms are here for a minute and almost untouchably tender. Still, for all their fragility, they’re worth the velvet glove treatment for their poetic beauty.
Lily of the Valley: Lovely miniature bells on luminous green stalks, these are truly one of spring’s cutest shoots. Their characteristic bright scent and pure white shade make them a natural for wedding bouquets. Send a vintage cachepot full of the growing blooms to make Mother’s Day an-old fashioned delight, and nothing makes a more dapper, romantic boutonniere. But heads up – even the smallest bouquet is commands a larger budget!

Chocolate Cosmos: These dusky blossoms, the color of fine, bittersweet chocolate, add a bit of mystery to any bouquet. Their dark, velvety shade hits a striking noir-ish note, softened by their simple, daisy-like form. Though they don’t broadcast their cocoa-y perfume, nuzzle a bloom and you’ll get a clear whiff of the stuff that truffles are made of.

Sweet Peas: Like a little flutter of silk, the lovely, ruffled sweet pea tells us summer is near. These girly flowers are sweetness personified, from their silk hanky delicacy to their bee-dizzying perfume. Imagine a bundle of pink and purple blooms in a milk glass vase set on a farm house table, and you’ll get a good idea of their girl-next-door appeal.

Gardenia: Billie Holliday wore them in her hair. Screen sirens of the 30’s pinned them to their furs. Prom queens wore wristfuls of them as they danced the night away. Curved like sculpted ivory into a bas-relief blossom, gardenias are fragile, evocative flowers.

Set afloat in a shallow bowl they’ll tint the air with a honeyed, pervasive perfume. (Try drifting a few in a warm tub as you soak, and feel like Cleopatra). And though they may be tender and bruise at the slightest touch, they’re worth the star treatment for their creamy beauty and sultry scent.