Tulip Mania
“It’s spring fever. And when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” Mark Twain This gaggle of giggling sprites sprinkling sunshine and happiness from corner to corner remind us to rejoice for spring has sprung. Even when trees remain lifeless and bare, the happy border of crocus and daffodils confirm spring is on its way. “A tree can be tempted out of its winter dormancy by a few hours of southerly sun— the readiness to believe in spring is stronger than sleep or sanity.”...
Read MoreBridal Lily
One of my absolute all-time favorite flowers is the Lily of the Valley. Resembling tiny bells or baby bonnets dangling from a slender stalk, the lilies arrive every spring to disperse their heavenly fragrance. According to the book The Language of Flowers, Lily of the Valley symbolizes a Return to Happiness. The author opines “It is the sweetest flower imaginable. With its dainty white bells and unmistakable green scent, it is said to lure the Nightingale from his nest and lead him to his mate.” Personally, I found it romantic that Kate Middleton chose Lily of the Valley interspersed...
Read MoreAddendum to Roses and Romance
Although Valentine’s Day is still a few weeks away, I’m hopping on cupid’s bandwagon because in today’s culture of texting and tweeting, some guys apparently need a wake-up call when it comes to romance. A recent lead story in the New York Times decried The End of Courtship, and the details were truly disheartening. (We touched on this trend in Flirting.) Apparently Millennial girls are drowning in a tsunami of boys with bad manners. The story opens with a social media manager in Philly, who thought she had a date for Friday night. The guy finally texted her at 10:30 p.m., with this...
Read MoreRoses and Romance
When I spied this luscious bouquet, it stopped me in my tracks. I couldn’t help but wonder if the gentleman who bestowed this on his sweetheart longed to give her live roses, but this hankie was all he could afford. That speculation immediately brought to mind the terrific anecdote about how actress Helen Hayes first met her husband. (Hayes is one of the select few to have attained EGOT status – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony.) Attending a swanky soiree one evening, bored to tears, Hayes was contemplating how to gracefully exit, when she was suddenly approached by the man who would...
Read MoreThe Wedding Bouquet – Toss it or Keep it?
Ok, I’m being a bit facetious here because I’m not referring to the traditional bouquet toss, but rather to the current trend in bridal bouquets which makes me want to toss them to the curb. Rather than compliment the bride, today’s bouquets often make her look like she just breezed in from the farmer’s market. Of course styles and fashions constantly change, even when it comes to something as time-honored and traditional as a wedding dress. Bouquets used to consist of a cascade of flowers. The arrangement was formal and refined. Then in the 1970’s Age of Aquarius, things relaxed. Suits...
Read MoreThe Big Sizzle
Flowers of all description are far and away the most popular image to be found on handkerchiefs. Thousands still exist, and are used and enjoyed daily. The ones that caught my eye and left me smiling however, were the gigantic flowers that seemed to have bloomed at Findhorn. Who carried these beauties? It had to be someone with the chutzpah of actress Rosalind Russell or the zip of a wise-cracking Eve Arden. These were classic “dames” in every sense of the word, who captured the silverscreen in the 1940s & 50s, and were as bold and colorful as these remarkable hankies.. Rosalind...
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