Flowers Guide
By admin | December 23, 2008
Flowers tend to be the gift of choice for many special occasions, including Mother’s Day, Easter, and Valentine’s Day. But did you know that flowers speak a language all their own? Every flower has a unique meaning based on its color and other distinguishing characteristics, so the next time you decide to buy a beautiful bouquet for someone you love, make sure the flowers you choose convey the right message.
Roses: Roses are the popular choice when it comes to flower selection. Modern cultivators of the rose tend to emphasize color and size more than any other aspect of the flower, whereas wild roses are often characterized by a strong, sweet scent.
For thousands of years, the rose has stood as a symbol for love and beauty. But the different rose colors also represent specific sentiments. For instance, red roses symbolize love, pink signify grace, and white convey innocence, purity, and secrecy. Yellow roses represent platonic love, and orange are symbolic of passion.
Lilies: Lilies are large-flowering and showy. They are often fragrant and come in a variety of colors including white, yellow, and red. Depending on the color, lilies can signify youthful innocence, purity, modesty, virginity, majesty, beauty, wealth, pride, and prosperity.
Tulips: Tulips are native to southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The European use of the word “tulip” was probably taken from the Persian word for turban, as flowers were often worn in the folds of a turban. Tulip meanings include: perfect lover, hopeless love, fame, love, and passion. They can say, “Believe me,” “There is sunshine in your smile,” and “I love you.”
Iris: Deriving its name from the Latin word for rainbow, the iris is a flower that comes in many colors, as you might expect. Irises symbolize faith, wisdom, valor, promise, and hope. The fleur-de-lys also represents the Kings of France and is the official flower for the city of New Orleans.
Orchids: There are many varieties of orchids, more than any other plant family. Orchids were very popular and widely distributed in the 19th century, resulting in about 25, 000 varieties. Orchids represent love, beauty, refinement, and mature charm.
Daisies: Daisies have been admired by people for thousands of years, and used as decoration for just as much time. In ancient Greece and Egypt, this pretty flower inspired the local artists to create hairpins and ceramics decorated with its likeness. The daisy embodies notions of innocence, loyal love, purity, gentleness, and romance. It also sends the message, “I’ll never tell” to someone whose secrets you have promised to keep.
Sunflowers: It’s no surprise where the sunflower got its name - this flower always faces the sun. Originating in Central and South America, sunflowers were originally cultivated for practical uses, rather than for beauty. The sunflower has different meanings, depending on the culture. In China it is seen as a symbol of longevity, while Native Americans leave a bowl of sunflower seeds on the graves of their deceased loved ones as a sign of grief.
Carnations: Hailing from the Near East, carnations have been a part of human culture for the past 2000 years. The origins of the name are contested, but it is generally thought to derive from the Greek word “carnis”(flesh), perhaps referring to the original color for which this flower was known. Carnations are the perfect emblem of womanly love, devoted love, and admiration. Carnations say, “My heart aches for you,” and “I’ll never forget you,” so if you send someone you love a bouquet of fresh carnations you’ve made the right choice.
Flower enthusiast, Gardening hobbiest, Plant Lover
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Replacing Tree Blossoms with Hanging Baskets
By admin | December 22, 2008
There is nothing much more beautiful than trees laden with blossoms slowly blowing in the wind. Once the blossoms fall, however the trees seem barren. You can solve this problem with hanging baskets of flowers.
Mother’s Day is a great time of year for flowers. My wife usually receives one or two baskets of fuschias, which are hung outside widows to be enjoyed along with the views from our home. But, there are only so many windows and overhangs for placing these baskets. We discovered last year that hanging baskets in trees gives unexpected beauty to areas that might otherwise seem plain. We use the holiday and take advantage of basket sales.
Hanging baskets of flowers on tree limbs allows gentle rays of sun to penetrate the leaves, and also gives rain a chance to quench the flowers’ thirst. Also, by placing the baskets within easy reach of watering cans or hoses, maintenance is kept at a minimum.
Last year we extended our deck around to the front of the house, which brought lower tree limbs within reach. Watering is a cinch and pinching off old blossoms is a snap.
With baskets in the trees, birds readily invade these miniature flower gardens (squirrels, too). Humming Birds flitting from basket to basket under a canopy of leaves is a wonderful site.
As guests visit, they often comment on the beauty as well as the placement of our hanging baskets. Our trees seem to blossom from spring thru summer with a little help from our “tree flowers.”
Don Doman is a published author, video producer, and corporate trainer. He owns the business training site Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which he says is the home of the no-hassle “free preview” for business training videos. He also owns Simple Home Repair (http://www.simplehomerepair.com), which has a multitude of ideas for home decorating and landscaping.
Tags: flowers, fruit trees, gardening, hanging flowers, hanging pots, landscaping, Mothers Day, yard workThe Man in the Looking Glass! The Conquering Hero!
By admin | December 21, 2008
As the bright yellow sun
climbs over the mountains
and winks at the green valley below,
blue children play among the flowers.
As I float peacefully on a calm blue sea,
enjoying the starlight
dancing all around me!
Rainbow creatures poke
their heads’ above the water,
and gaze at me adoringly.
But do they see the real me?
or do they only skim the surface
like a dog sniffing a bone?
Seeing the face in the mirror
but not the one standing here alone!
When the face in the mirror is mistaken
for the one gazing into the mirror,
it’s time to smash the mirror
and SET THE REAL MAN FREE!
I’m so different now,
that when I look back
on the person I used to be,
that person seems like a dream!
It’s like a butterfly
looking back at its former life as a caterpillar,
crawling along the ground like a grub
when now it can fly!
I feel sorry for that person,
sometimes I feel joy, sometime I feel shame!
Sometimes I have to shake my head
in disbelief, at some of the crazy things
that person was willing to do
to obtain “love” from others!
That was before I discovered that I’m the conquering Hero
he was SEEKING TO LOVE HIM ALL THE TIME!
Copyright 2001 El Veasey Publishing
VC L. Veasey is a musician, songwriter, producer, counselor
website http://blackmerda.com
email vclveassey at yahoo.com