Rose ~ The Flower of Love

Botanical Name ~ Roseceae “Rosa” Family

White ~ I am worthy of you

Pale Pink ~ Innocence

Hot Pink ~ Infatuation

Red ~ Love, Passion

Yellow ~ Friendship, Honor

Peach ~ Beauty, Grace

One of the oldest flowers known to mankind, and perhaps the most popular,

the rose represents love, magic, hope and the mystery of life.

Nebuchadnezzarused them to adorn his palace. In Persia, they were grown for the perfume oil,

and the petals filled the Sultan’s mattress. In Kashmir, the Emperors cultivated

elaborate rose gardens and the roses were strewn in the river to welcome them

home.

Emperors filled their sitting baths and fountains with rose-water and

sat on carpets of rose petals. The Greeks associated the rose with the blood of

Aphrodites (the Goddess of Love) beloved Adonis. The Roman’s used roses in

feasts and orgies. From an image of Pagan love, the rose was transformed into

an emblem of Christian spiritual love connected with the Virgin Mary, with

Christ’s blood and with the Crown of Thorns.

The rose was created by Chloris, the Greek Goddess of Flowers, out of the

lifeless body of a nymph found one day in a clearing in the woods. Asking

for Aphrodite’s help, she gave the nymph beauty, Dionysus (the God of Wine)

gave her a sweet scent, and the three Graces gave her joy, charm and

brightness. Zephyr (the West Wind) blew the clouds away so that Apollo

(The Sun God) could shine upon her and make the flower bloom. The rose

was born and crowned the “Queen of All Flowers.”

To order Roses for someone you love and admire, visit: Eden Florist

“…In triumph over hearts that strive, I may see the Glory of Spring that hyacinth may a longer day endure. How well I, the skillful gardener, grew where from above the milder sun deals flowers and herbs anew.” – Sonia A Willars –

Hyacynth ~ Sport, Play, Loveliness, Sorrow, Please Forgive Me.

 Botanical Name: Hyacynthus

Family: Liliaceae

According to Greek mythology, there was a handsome young man from Sparta called Hyacinthus. Apollo, the Sun God, was his great friend. Apollo would descend to earth from his golden chariot in the sky just so the two friends could play together. One day when Zephyrus, the God of Wind; jealously watched, he blew a strong wind toward a disc that Apollo threw to Hyacinthus, striking him a fatal blow to the head. Apollo, filled with grief, created hyacynthus from the young lad’s blood, ensuring Hyacinthus’ memory would live on.

Be sure and order your flowers early for Mother’s Day at Eden Florist. Call 954-981-5515 or visit our website at www.EdenFlorist.com

  Marigold ~ Spirits far more generous than ours                              
Botanical Name: Calendula Family: Compositae

”Open afresh your round of starry folds ye ardent marigolds.”  
John Keats 1795-1821

The marigold has been associated with the sun’s journey across the sky, from nine o’clock in the morning until three o’clock in the afternoon. The Victorian’s believed they could set their clocks by the hour that this vibrant flower opened and closed its colorful petals.

Marigold flowers year-round and the name marigold is said to mean Mary’s gold after the Virgin Mary. The marigold has been said to signify grief; because the flower mourns the departure of the sun when its petals are forced to close.

Marigolds add a blaze of brightness to our gardens and to our lives as they search for the fiery brilliance of the sun.

Peony ~ Good Life, Happy Marriage, Bashfulness
Botanical Name: Peonia                         Family: Paeoniaceae

”Bashfulness so oft applies thus peonies are for the sky.”

Named after Paeon, Physician to the Gods, the first modern peony was grown widely in medieval England, especially in monastery gardens, although ancient peonies were said to come from China. Legend tells that mischievous nymphs hid in the petals of the peony causing this magnificent flower to be given the meaning of bashfulness. In eighth century China, the red peony was considered the King of Flowers, symbolizing abundance. It is said he first obtained the plant on Mount Olympus from the Mother of Apollo.

Peonies can live for a hundred + years if undisturbed.

Lily (lilium candidum) ~  Purity

” My beloved has gone to his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, 
and to gather lilies” - Song of Songs 6:2 -

The lily, regarded as the symbol of purity, is one of the oldest flowers in the world. It can be found painted on the walls of ancient Greek palaces where it was the personal flower of Hera, the moon goddess.  Legend has it that the first lily sprang from the tears dropped by Eve when she left the Garden of Eden. A garden is portrayed as the dwelling place of the gods in the religions and mythology of nearly every ancient nation in the world.  Indian literature states that the gods resided in the Garden of Indra, among fruits and flowers giving immortality to all who visited. Many sacred meanings – handed down from generation to generation - have been given to the plants that first grew in these incredible gardens, and since dedicated or symbolic to the gods and prominent figures of the world’s religions..

In biblical times all the way through the Middle Ages, the emphasis of flowers was for their fragrance, their healing powers, not for decorative purposes, and perhaps more so for their sweet smell since bathing was not a regular activity. Decorating with flowers is a relatively modern term. The bible only mentions picking of flowers once, as referred to in the above sited verse from Song of Songs.  And the Mishna speaks of the picking of lilies (Toh. 3:7). According to the Mishna, rose gardens existed for their fragrance and were used in preparation of perfumes.

Some of the flowers mentioned in the Talmud are the narcissus, jasmine and saffron, each widely used both for aromatic and medicinal purposes.

Abraham Ibn Ezra probably had the White lily in mind when he stated that the names Shoshan and Shoshanna are derived from the Hebrew word “Shesh,” which means six.  The white lily has six white petals, as well as a pistil and five staman – six in total.  This large, beautiful flower is often referred to today as the White Mountain Lily or Casa Blanca Lily and can still be found in forests in Galilee and Mount Carmel areas of Northern Israel.

“And the stately lilies stand
Fair in silvery light
Like saintly vestals, pale in prayer;
Their pure breath sanctifies the air,
As its fragrance fills the night.”

- Anonymous - 

Order a Lily bouquet from Eden Florist

To read more about the Language of Flowers visit Eden Florist’s Language of Flowers 

Narcissus is the Latin or botanical name for all daffodils. Botanists differ, but there are at least 25 species, some with a great many different forms, and several natural hybrids. In addition to the species, the current printout of the Daffodil Data Bank lists over 13,000 hybrids which are divided among the twelve divisions of the official classification.

Between Mohammed and the 16th Centry, daffodils were relegated to the wild and were essentially forgotten. However, around or about 1629 a group of Englishmen took the daffodil out of the weeds and put it into the garden. Daffodils were in favor again.

Daffodils were brought to Britain by the Romans who thought that the sap from daffodils had healing powers. Actually the sap contains crystals that can irritate the skin.

Greek mythology gives us the term narcissus. There was a young Greek named Narcissus. A nymph called Echo was in love with him, but Narcissus broke off the relationship. Heartbroken she hid in a cave and died. Later Narcissus, who was very handsome and quite taken with himself, saw his face in a pool, and as he leaned over to see better, fell in and drowned and became the flower.

(Source Suite 101,  American Daffodil Society, Urbanext)

Visit The American Daffodil Society for a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Order Daffodils and other Spring Flowers from Eden Florist

Near a misty stream in Ireland in the hollow of a tree
Live mystical, magical leprechauns
who are clever as can be
With their pointed ears, and turned up toes and little coats of green
The leprechauns busily make their shoes and try hard not to be seen.
Only those who really believe have seen these little elves
And if we are all believers
We can surely see for ourselves.
(Irish Blessing)  

Shamrocks have been symbolic of many things over the years. According to legend, the shamrock was a sacred plant to the Druids of Ireland because its leaves formed a triad, and three was a mystical number in the Celtic religion, as in many others. St. Patrick used the shamrock in the 5th century to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as he introduced Christianity to Ireland. In written English, the first reference to the Shamrock dates from 1571, and in written Irish, as seamrog, from 1707. As a badge to be worn on the lapel on the Saint’s feast day, it is referred to for the first time as late as 1681. The Shamrock was used as an emblem by the Irish Volunteers in the era of Grattan’s Parliament in the 1770’s, before ‘98 and The Act of Union. So rebellious did the wearing of the Shamrock eventually appear, that in Queen Victoria’s time Irish regiments were forbidden to display it. At that time it became the custom for civilians to wear a little paper cross colored red and green.

As a symbol of Ireland it has long been integrated into the symbol of the United Kingdom, along with the Rose, the Thistle and the Leek of England, Scotland and Wales. So today, on St. Patrick’s Day, a member of the British Royal Family presents Shamrock to the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army. The shamrock became symbolic in other ways as time went on. In the 19th century it became a symbol of rebellion, and anyone wearing it risked death by hanging. It was this period that spawned the phrase “the wearin’ o’ the green”.

Today, the shamrock is the most recognized symbol of the Irish, especially on St. Patrick’s Day, when all over the world, everyone is Irish for a day!The original Irish shamrock (traditionally spelled seamróg, which means “summer plant”) is said by many authorities to be none other than white clover (Trifolium repens), a common lawn weed originally native to Ireland. It is a vigorous, rhizomatous, stem-rooting perennial with trifoliate leaves. Occasionally, a fourth leaflet will appear, making a “four-leaf clover,” said to bring good luck to the person who discovers it.  (Source: Taunton.com and Funmunch.com) Take the shamrock personality test!  Here’s mine:

What Your Shamrock Says About You

You are brilliant, analytical, and somewhat of a perfectionist. You are ultra competent and knowledgeable.At times, people find you intimidating. You can be a bit sarcastic and harsh. You don’t really consider yourself a lucky person. In your view, people create their own luck. You are creative, innovative, and complicated. You definitely have a unique spin on the world.

Celebrate Saint Paddy’s Day with flowers from Eden Florist!

Tulips – Perfect Love

Family: Liliaceae The history of the Tulip is filled with intrigue, skulduggery, thievery, instant fortunes and broken hearts. And, although these flowers are synonymous with the Dutch, Tulips did not originate in the Netherlands nor were the Dutch always at the forefront of breeding these beauties.

The Dutch obsession with Tulips belongs to the relatively recent history of the Tulip. If only Tulips could talk, they’d tell many interesting and twisted tales about their history. Unfortunately they can’t talk which makes tracing their history a “mission impossible” - although many have tried. The attempts to trace the exact history of the Tulip have been thwarted by a lack of reliable documentation over the centuries although art from as early as the 12th century does give some clues.

 What historians have been able to establish is that Tulips probably originated thousands of years ago in a ‘corridor’ which stretches along the 40º latitude between Northern China and Southern Europe. It was first cultivated by the Turks as early as 1000 AD, The flower was introduced in Western Europe and the Netherlands in the 17th century by Carolus Clusius, a famous biologist from Vienna. In the 1590’s he became the director of the Hortus Botanicus, the oldest botanical garden of Europe, in Leiden. He was hired by the University of Leiden to research medicinal plants and, while doing so, he received some bulbs from his friend, Ogier de Busbecq, the Ambassador to Constantinople (presently Istanbul). He had seen the beautiful flower called the tulip, after the Turkish word for turban, growing in the palace gardens and sent a few to Clusius for his garden in Leiden. He planted them and this was the beginning of the amazing bulb fields we see today. In the beginning of the 17th century, the tulip was starting to be used as a garden decoration in addition to its medicinal use. It soon gained major popularity as a trading product, especially in Holland. The interest in the flower was huge and bulbs sold for unbelievably high prices. Botanists began to hybridize the flower. They soon found ways of making the tulip even more decorative and tempting. Hybrids and mutations of the flower were seen as rarities and a sign of high status.In the months of late 1636 to early 1637, there was a complete “Tulipmania” in the Netherlands. Some varieties could cost more than an Amsterdam house at that time. Even ordinary men took part in the business. They saw how much money the upper class made in the commodity and thought it was an easy way of getting lots of money with no risk. The bulbs were usually sold by weight while they were still in the ground. This trade in un-sprouted flowers came to be called “wind trade”.

The traders made huge amounts of money every month. People started selling their businesses, family homes, farm animals, furnishing and dowries to participate. The government could not do anything to stop “Tulipmania”; the trade was all about access and demand. Finally, the tulip did not appear to quite so rare as to justify such high prices. Over-supply led to lower prices and dealers went bankrupt while many people lost their savings because of the trade. This “Tulip Crash” made the government introduce special trading restrictions on the flower. It is said that the tulip became so popular because of its bright colours, dramatic flames and frilly petals. To have tulips in one’’ home was a way to impress and, when the wealth spread down the social ladder, so did the urge for tulips.   

The period of absurd speculation became known as “Tulipomania” (officially 1636 - 1637) and the phenomenon was so intense that it still puzzles historians and economists until this day. Such was the absurdity of the period that, at the peak of Tulipomania, a single bulb could be sold for a price which could have purchased a house in the best parts of Amsterdam! (The equivalent of 15 year’s wages for the average bricklayer).

Over the following decades, interest in the Tulip rose and fell but the Dutch maintained a commercial devotion to these flowers (today they export 1.2 billion bulbs annually).  In history, the Dutch will be remembered for their passion for tulips. After 400-plus years, theirs is an enduring love affair. First introduced to Holland in 1593, the tulip has become a symbol for the country. Today nearly half of Holland’s 47,150 acres of flower bulb farms are planted with tulip bulbs (23,412 acres).  

Like many flowers, different colors of tulips also often carry their own significance. Red tulips are associated with true love, purple symbolizes royalty, yellow tulips represent cheerful thoughts and sunshine. White tulips signify worthiness or “will you forgive me?

Source: http://www.tesselaar.net.au and http://www.holland.nl)

Order Tulips at Eden Florist:

Poppy

“Wealth and Success”  Botanical Name: Bocconia    Family: Papaveraceae

We are slumberous Poppies,
Lords of Lethe downs,
Some awake and some asleep,
Sleeping in our crowns.
What perchance our dreams may know,
Let our serious beauty show.

There are many kinds of poppy, including California poppies, Iceland poppies, and perennial poppies. Red poppies symbolize fantastic extravagance. On the other hand, yellow poppies stand for wealth and success. White ones can convey forgetfulness and sleep.  Poppy is among the most loved flowers. These plants generally bloom during the spring and early summer.

The field poppy was grown by the ancient Egyptians.

The poppy plant was sacred to Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain. She was often depicted wearing wearing a wreath made of the blooms and carrying corn, which she would offer as a sacrifice to the Gods.  The poppy has been called many names such as Thunder flower. The myth is that when children would pick the flower, the petals would fall and they would then be struck by Thunder.  One of the old country names was Cheesebowl because there is a little round bowl in the bottom of the flower’s head, filled with seeds set in something that resembles cheese. The poppy has also been associated with fertility, and represented the blood of dead warriors. Because of the its strong smell, it has even been called the headache flower.

When you need flowers, remember Eden Florist & Gift Baskets

Since March is Women’s History Month, I thought it only fitting to write about some famous women among the flowers.

Charlotte de Latour’s Le Langage des Fleurs in December 1819, was the beginning of the great proliferation of books about the Language of Flowers.

In fact, Latour’s book stimulated the publishing industry especially in France, England, and America, and also in Belgium, Germany and other European countries as well as in South America as Publishers from these countries produced hundreds of editions of language of flowers books during the nineteenth century. During its peak in America, the language of flowers attracted the attention of the most popular women writers and editors of the day, many of which are represented in the American floral dictionary.  

They include: 

Sarah Josepha Hale (best known for her poem, “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” published in 1830 in her book Poems for Our Children.) edited Flora’s Interpreter in 1832 which continued in print through the 1860’s. Hale was also the editor of the Ladies’ Magazine in Boston from 1828 to 1836 and co-editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, the most widely read periodical in the United States from 1837 to 1877.

Catharine H. Waterman Esling wrote a long poem titled, “The Language of Flowers” which first appeared in 1839 in her own language of flowers book, Flora’s Lexicon. Lucy Hooper, an editor, novelist, poet, and playwright, included several of her flower poems in The Lady’s Book of Flowers and Poetry, first published in 1841.

Frances Sargent Osgood, a poet and friend of Edgar Allen Poe, first published The Poetry of Flowers and Flowers of Poetry in 1841. 

Sarah Carter Edgarton Mayo, author of several flower books, was associate editor of the Universalist monthly, The Ladies’ Repository in Boston from 1839 to 1842. Her language of flowers book, The Flower Vase, was first published in 1844.  

Caroline Matilda Kirkland,  wrote Poetry of Flowers , first published in 1848 continued to be in print at least until 1886. One of the more comprehensive books, its 522 pages contained an extensive dictionary and numerous flower poems. 

Source: Flowers, the Angels’ Alphabet : The Language and Poetry of Flowers by Susan Loy