“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.”  —Iris Murdoch, A Fairly Honourable

In honor of the newly engaged, newly weds and those celebrating a special anniversary, here’s another helping of romance trivia for you to enjoy.

Morning Kissing
Studies indicate that a man who kisses his wife good-bye when he leaves for work every morning averages a higher income than those who don’t. Husbands who exercise the rituals of affection tend to be more painstaking, more stable, more methodical, thus, higher earners. Studies also show that men who kiss their wives before leaving in the morning live 5 years longer than those who don’t.

On Bended Knee
One in 5 men proposes on one knee.

Phone Proposals
6% of men proposed to their girlfriends over the phone.

Roman Romance
Juno, queen of heaven and partner to Jupiter (a.k.a Zeus, the king of gods) rules over marriage, the hearth and childbirth. The month of June takes its name from her, making it most appropriate for weddings.

Sweetest Day
It began in Cleveland, Ohio during the depression years to give a “small token of friendship orphans, shut-ins, the underprivileged, and the homeless.” Today the holiday has expanded and become more commercialized as a romantic holiday.

Sweetest Day Origins
While sweetest day is not known in all parts of the country, it is extremely popular in others. Some speculate that it’s simply a Hallmark invented holiday to get more money out of our pockets. Do you know how it really came about?

The Longest Engagement
Sixty-seven years, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The happy couple finally wed at age 82!

Tying the Knot
The expression, “tying the knot” dates to Roman times, when the bride wore a girdle that was tied in knots - which the groom then had the fun of untying.

Know a couple celebrating an anniversary, newly wed or newly engaged?

Be sure to send your regards with flowers from EDEN FLORIST.

Surfing the net I was looking for Fourth of July ideas to share with Tulips Talk readers and I found an excellent article on the Southern Living Magazine website. Here’s an excerpt:

Independence Day stirs the heart with red, white, and blue. While you’re planning for the holiday, include a pot of patriotic posies for your table or set one by your front door. Better yet, jazz up your window boxes with stars-and-stripes colors. There are numerous flower combinations to consider, whether you have sun or shade.

To read the rest of the article visit: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3676/is_200007/ai_n8924612

Another article I found on Fourth of July Flowers by Wesley Berry, AAF  begins like this:

Your Fourth of July celebration could begin and end with a real bang when you use flowers to accent and decorate the day. If you’re thinking you need to stick with the traditional red, white, and blue carnation arrangements you normally see on Independence Day, think again! Flowers come in so many varieties and they’re so easy to customize to the occasion that the possibilities are endless.

If you’re planning on throwing a Fourth of July celebration, contact your local florist for help in choosing the perfect floral arrangements and other accents to make your party memorable and your guests feel special. When you decorate with fresh flowers, it shows your guests that you’ve taken the time to think about how you can make the surroundings beautiful and enjoyable for them. Your florist can make doing so easier than you ever thought possible.

To read the rest of the article, visit: http://www.thephantomwriters.com/free_content/db/b/fourth-of-july-flowers.shtml

For some great Patriotic Desserts, be sure and check out the Martha Stewart site.

I also found this article from the New York Times Archives (dated 1914) - “How to Use Flowers Effectively in Fourth of July Decorations — Attractive Souvenirs of the Day Which May Be Easily Made at Home.” You can read it here: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9905EEDC143AE633A2575BC2A9609C946596D6CF

Be sure and check out EDEN FLORIST to honor and celebrate Fourth of JULY with your family and friends.

Father’s Day was first observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington . Sonora Smart Dodd (Mrs. John B. Dodd) of Washington State proposed the idea in 1909 after she had attended a Mother’s Day service. Mrs. Dodd wanted to honor her own father. William Smart, who had been a Civil War veteran, who raised six children after his wife died in childbirth.

President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father’s Day in 1924. It took until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson declared the 3rd Sunday of June Father’s Day officially in the United States of America , but this was only for one year. On April 24, 1972, Father’s Day was assured annual recognition by Presidential Proclamation. In Australia , Father’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in September.

Remember to order flowers for DAD!

Memorial Day Flower Trivia

Our cheer goes back to them, the valiant dead!
Laurels and roses on their graves to-day,
Lilies and laurels over them we lay,
And violets o’er each unforgotten head.
~Richard Hovey

What is the nationally recognized flower of Memorial Day?   Red Poppies are recognized as the Memorial Day flower. These small red flowers were first worn back in 1915 to honor fallen soldiers. Here’s the story:

In 1915, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

Ms. Michael then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms.Michael and when she returned to France, made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women.

This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American Children’s League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans’ organization to nationally sell poppies.

Two years later their “Buddy” Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it.

If you’d like to order a patriotic centerpiece, visit Eden Florist Today!

Today is Limerick Day!

In case you didn’t already know it, a limerick is a five-line poem with a strict form, originally popularized in English by Edward Lear. Limericks are frequently witty or humorous, and sometimes obscene with humorous intent.

Hitory of Limericks:
Variants of the form of poetry referred to as Limerick poems can be traced back to the fourteenth century English history. Limericks were used in Nursery Rhymes and other poems for children. But as limericks were short, relatively easy to compose and bawdy or sexual in nature they were often repeated by beggars or the working classes in the British pubs and taverns of the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventh centuries. The poets who created these limericks were therefore often drunkards! Limericks were also referred to as dirty.

The word derives from the Irish town of Limerick. Apparently a pub song or tavern chorus based on the refrain “Will you come up to Limerick?” where, of course, such bawdy songs or ‘Limericks’ were sung.

In honor of Limerick Day (and being of Irish decent) … here’s a little ditty I wrote:

There once was a girl named Rosie
She really liked all kinds of posies
She could sit for hours
Just picking flowers
And walk in the beds on her tip tosies.

Have a happy Limerick Day… And if you are so inclined, send flowers and a limerick to your favorite lad or lass.  Just call Eden Florist at 800-966-3336 or 954-981-5515 or visit us online at www.EdenFlorist.com.

Warmest regards,

Heidi

Mother’s Day means sending flowers and cards and gifts to moms and wives for all the love they give all year. Finding just the right flowers or saying just the right words to tell a mom how special she is can be a challenge.

A WONDERFUL MOTHER  

God made a wonderful mother,

A mother who never grows old;

He made her smile of the sunshine,

And He moulded her heart of pure gold;

In her eyes He placed bright shining stars,

In her cheeks fair roses you see;

God made a wonderful mother,

And He gave that dear mother to me

Words written by Pat O’Reiley

Let us help you say “Thanks Mom, I love You” with flowers.

Give us a call us  954-981-5515 or 800-966-3336. Be sure to order early for best selection and preferred delivery times.

You can also visit us online at www.EdenFlorist.com for a look at our latest floral giftware collections.

Say it with Flowers this Mother’s Day!

We all know lilies and tulips signify spring, but what other flowers would make great Mother’s Day bouquets this year?  We’ve checked out the latest colors and compiled the most beautiful flower arrangements and bouquets sure to please even the most discriminating Mom. 

1. Roses

Roses are still the most popular flower among women of all ages and walks of life. If you’re looking for elegance this Mother’s Day, then roses are an excellent choice.

2. Mixed Bouquets

As assortment of brightly colored flowers will ’say’ to Mom, “You are The Best!”

Carnations, ever popular and traditional are always a good choice for Mother’s Day.

4. Gerbera Daisies

These flowers radiate peace and beauty. These are great in a vase or potted to enjoy for weeks to come. A popular flower for your Mom. 

5. Daisies

After a long winter, Mom is sure to enjoy daisies. They are bright, cheerful and say “I appreciate you Mom!”

6. Orchids

Graceful dendrobium orchids tastefully arranged in a vase are sure to please the modern Mom.

7. White Lillies

A bouquet of white lillies is stunning. White, the color of purity, peace and love is perfect match for a great mom like yours.

8. Tulips

Who can resist that feeling of springtime tulips bring. Go with the colors you love and mix and match for a bouquet your Mother is sure to love.

9. Exotic

Tropical flowers such as birds of paradise, anthurium and ginger arranged together say “Mom, you are wonderful!”

10. Potted Orchid Plants

Orchid plants require little care and bring so much joy, how could a mother resist?

3. Carnations

Mother’s Week is May 5-11 and Mother’s Day is May 11th. Remember Mom with flowers!  Call Eden Florist at 954-981-5515 or visit our website at www.EdenFlorist.com. Order Early!

• “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.” ~ Jewish Proverb 

• “A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to making leaning unnecessary.” ~ Dorothy Canfield Fisher 

• Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother. ~ Lin Yutang 

• “My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.” ~ George Washington (1732-1799) 

• “When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” ~ Sophia Loren, from Women and Beauty 

 ”Youth fades; love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) 

• “A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done.” ~ Unknown 

• “A man loves his sweetheart the most; his wife the best, but his mother the longest.” ~ Irish Proverb 

• “The commonest fallacy among women is that simply having children makes them a mother–which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician.” ~ Sidney J. Harris 

Mother’s Week is May 5-11 and Mother’s Day is May 11th. Remember Mom with flowers!  Call Eden Florist at 954-981-5515 or visit our website at www.EdenFlorist.com. Order Early!

Mother’s Day is the perfect time to visit with Mom, spend time with her, hold her hands,  look into her eyes and say - “Thanks, Mom!”.  Here are a few inspirational quotes and sayings about mothers and their love by some famous and infamous people throughout history.  Choose your favorite saying and add it to the card message you include with your order of FLOWERS for that special Mom.  

• “Mother is the name for god on the lips and hearts of all children.” ~ Brandon Lee 

• “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” ~ Washington Irving 

• “Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.” ~ Marion C. Garretty 

• “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.” ~ Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 

• “Richer than Gold You may have tangible wealth untold; Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be — I had a mother who read to me.” ~ Strickland Gillilan 

• “There is no velvet so soft as a mother’s lap, no rose as lovely as her smile, no path so flowery as that imprinted with her footsteps.” ~ Archibald Thompson 

• “The Miracle of Life nurtured by a woman who gave us love and sacrifice…MOTHER” ~ Joel Barquez 

• “This heart, my own dear mother, bends, With love’s true instinct, back to thee!” ~ Thomas Moore 

 To help you with your flower selection, call us at  954-981-5515 or 800-966-3336. Be sure to order early for best selection and preferred delivery times.  Visit our website at www.EdenFlorist.com for our selection of flowers, plants, giftware.

Along with America, at least 46 other countries, including New Zealand, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Turkey and Belgium celebrate Mothers Day, most on the second Sunday of May. Many people follow the custom on Mother’s Day of wearing a carnation. A coloured carnation means that a person’s mother is living while a white carnation honours a person’s mother who is dead. 

In Yugoslavia on “Materitse,” “Materice,” or Mother’s Day, the children tie up their mother, releasing her only when she has paid them with sweets or other goodies. 

In France children Mother’s Day is refered to as Fete des Meres. It provides children and adults to honour their mothers and give her gifts and treats. Mother’s Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in May. It is treated more like a family birthday. Everyone in the family gathers for a special meal. 

In Europe, people on Mother’s Day honor their mothers as well as the church. They respect the “Mother Church” - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. The church festival got blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. 

In Spain Mother’s Day is celebrated on 8th December. It is closely associated with Mother Mary - the mother of Jesus. On this children send special cards, chocolates, flowers and other presents to their mothers. But many children make their own presents for their mothers. 

In Sweden Mother’s Day is on the last Sunday in May and is a family holiday. The Swedish Red Cross sells small plastic flowers on the days leading up to Mother’s Day. The money raised from the sale of the flowers is used to help needy mothers and their children. 

Mother’s Week is May 5-11 and Mother’s Day is May 11th. Remember Mom with flowers!  Call Eden Florist at 954-981-5515 or visit our website at www.EdenFlorist.com. Order Early!