Happy Birthday......!

Here are some ideas to celebrate the birthday of your friends or colleagues, just sending one of this cake and flower bouquet or fruit and flower bouquet…..

From different point of views....

From any angle, flowers always look beautiful.  Different perspective gives different impression…..

The color says it.....

Pink 
Think of grace, gentility, and happiness....

 

White

 Associated with innocence, humility, and reverence....

 

Yellow

Evokes feelings of joy and lightheartedness, and a symbol of friendship....

Peach

Conveys gratitude and appreciation, and express sympathy......

Coral
Sends message to be desired.....

Orange
Symbolizing of energy, enthusiasm, and warmth....

 

Tulip

The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, of which around 75 wild species are currently accepted and which belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends west to the Iberian Peninsula, through North Africa to Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, throughout the Levant (Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan) and Iran, North to Ukraine, southern Siberia and Mongolia, and east to the Northwest of China.  The tulip's centre of diversity is in the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan mountains. It is a typical element of steppe and winter-rain Mediterranean vegetation. A number of species and many hybrid cultivars are grown in gardens, as potted plants, or as cut flowers.

Tulips became popular garden plants in east and west, but, whereas the tulip in Turkish culture was a symbol of paradise on earth and had almost a divine status, in the Netherlands it represented the briefness of life. 

The Black Tulip is a historical romance by Alexandre Dumas, père. The story takes place in the Dutch city of Haarlem, where a reward is offered to the first grower who can produce a truly black tulip.

The Tulip is also viewed prominently in a number of the Major Arcana cards of the Oswald Wirth Tarot deck. Specifically: Arcanas Zero,One, Four, and Fifteen.

Today, Tulip festivals are held around the world, for example in the Netherlands and Spalding, England. There is also a popular festival in Morges, Switzerland. Every spring, there are tulip festivals in North America, including the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley, Washington, the Tulip Time Festival in Orange City and Pella, Iowa, and the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, Canada. Tulips are also popular in Australia and several festivals are held in September and October, during the Southern Hemisphere's spring.

Just sharing your feelings with tulips...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip 

Sympathy flower etiquette

Choosing sympathy or funeral flowers can sometimes seem rather confusing, and people often worry about inadvertently causing offence. Below, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions on this subject.

Do I have to send a muted bouquet of sympathy flowers, or can I send something more lively?

Because of the dual message of flowers, that of sympathy for a loss but also hope and the spirit of life, it can sometimes be difficult to decide the style of the arrangement. Should it be subdued and quiet or colorful and expressive? According to the florists at From You Flowers, our preferred supplier, both are acceptable.

I missed the funeral service. Can I still send flowers?

Sometimes it takes a while for the news to get to distant friends and acquaintances. No matter how much time has passed since the death, it's never too late to send a note with some flowers to show how sorry you are.

What do I write on the sympathy card?

Florists usually help out on this with cards printed with messages such as "With Deepest Sympathy." All you have to do is sign your name, but you can include a personal message also if you wish. 

I'm not sure where to send the flowers. Will the florist know?

Florists work closely with funeral homes and also have access to the obituaries. If you provide the name of the deceased, they can help you find the time and the place for the flowers to be delivered.

I don't want to send anything inappropriate, but I don't know the family very well. What do I do?

Flowers are a universal gift of sympathy. If you're not familiar with the family's background, it's safe to send a basic bouquet. Sending an arrangement in the shape of a cross can be inappropriate if the family is of a non-Christian religion.

Which sympathy flowers are best to use?

For the service, larger flowers, such as standard chrysanthemums, carnations, gladioli, snapdragons, lilies and roses are best for creating striking memorials. Smaller flowers, such as lilies, daisies, liatris, delphinium, carnations and roses are used for home arrangements. Check out the symbolism guide below for further help.

The symbolism of sympathy flowers

Many peoples, from the ancient Greeks to contemporaries of the Victorian era, have attached messages and meanings to different kinds of flowers. Today, people usually pick flowers based on their beauty or taste, rather than by the meanings behind them.

Why not point out the symbolism of your flowers?

If you do take the time to choose your flowers based on the meanings of their colors or symbolism, why not include that in the message of your card? It will only add to the thoughtfulness of your gift.

While it's not necessary to make sure your flower arrangement has a literal translation, here are some flowers you may want to consider to send an extra message of caring to the bereaved.

Flowers and their meanings

Alstroemeria: friendship

Carnation: pride and beauty

Chrysanthemum: fidelity

Delphinium: heavenly

Hydrangea: heartfelt expressions

Irises: the Christian resurrection

Lily: life

Protea (king): courage

Queen Anne's Lace: sanctuary

Rose: love

Statice: remembrance

Colors for funeral flower arrangements

Traditional funeral flower arrangements called for flowers in the colors of red and white (and occasionally blue) only. Today, people more often create a special bouquet with a more personal message, perhaps with some of the deceased's favorite flowers.

In everyday life, we associate the color blue with a feeling of depression. But blue flowers, such as the iris or hydrangea, can have a calming appeal.

The color pink conveys a sense of joy and life. A pink bouquet of pastel roses or camellia will brighten anyone's day.

Purple has long been the color of royalty and ritual. These days, it usually represents accomplishment or admiration. But taken in a less literal sense, purple can add drama to any bouquet.

Today, people consider red roses to be the symbol of romantic love. But they are also appropriate as sympathy flowers for their symbolism of strength and courage.

White usually makes people think of innocence, reverence and spirituality. For funeral flowers, white is a tasteful addition to any bouquet, conveying modesty and elegance.

Yellow usually expresses a feeling of celebration and life in bouquets of bright flowers such as daffodils. As a symbol of friendship, it can be a meaningful addition, when used sparingly in sympathy bouquets.

Green tones bring with them a feeling of closeness with nature. The color often complements the bright blooms of flowers, but it can also be used by itself in a live arrangement to bring a message of resilience and renewal.

http://www.thelightbeyond.com/sympathy_flower_etiquette.html 

Classic flower arrangements

Classic style will always stay forever, never out of date.  Therefore, classic flower arrangements will always be the favorite design ever.  Unlike contemporary arrangements, which allows free style, classic flower arrangements have some rules regarding the size and color of the flowers.

The arrangement will always follow the sequence from the bottom to the top, and always be the same.  As for the size of the flower, it will be arranged from the bigger sizes in the bottom, to the smaller sizes on the top.  The flower bud will be put as filler like leaves, and some small flowers like the baby breath.  The color will be started with dark color in the bottom to the brighter on the top.  The letters S,L and C (or inverted S,L and C) shapes are often used in classic arrangements. It looks stylish and will not be boring to look at.

Why does the bride throw the bouquet at her wedding?

Throughout Europe and North America, it is traditional for the bride to throw her bouquet at the reception and for all single women present to compete in catching it. The woman who catches the bouquet is said to be the next who will marry. But how did this custom originate?

In medieval Europe, a bride typically did not expect to wear her wedding dress again, and the dress was considered good luck for other women, a type of fertility charm. After the wedding, single women chased the bride and ripped pieces off her dress, leaving her in tatters. Over the years, wedding dresses became more expensive and it became traditional for women to keep them, either as a memento or to pass on to a daughter for her wedding day.

To prevent guests from ripping the wedding dress, brides began throwing other objects as a distraction, one of which was the garter. Later, the bouquet became the most traditionally thrown object. The wedding bouquet is particularly suited to this use, as flowers symbolize fertility, and as perishable items, they are not something the bride would wish to keep. The bouquet is also a safer item to toss than the garter, as unruly and impatient wedding guests were sometimes known to try to take the garter from the bride while she was still wearing it.

http://www.wisegeek.org/why-does-the-bride-throw-the-bouquet-at-her-wedding.htm

Just sharing your feelings with flowers.....

Flowers will always have it ways to showing your feelings.  During your good times, bad times and even the hardest time of your life, flowers can brighten your day.  

My life is always surrounding by flowers, from my childhood until now.  During the good times, bad times, and even the hardest time of my life, people around me keep sending me flowers.  I recall that in my childhood, my parents had a friend that has a rose garden.  Every time we visited the garden, I was very excited. I will walk around and imagining being a princess surrounded by colorful roses, white, pink, yellow, orange, and definitely red roses.  

As a teenager, my boyfriend kept sending me pink roses.  In my graduation, a friend handed me a beautiful flower bouquet.  In my office, many colleagues sent me flower bouquet for my birthday and promotions every years.  And I was very impressed when I have a business visit to my partner, and as a welcoming gift, they gave me a blue roses bouquet, what a surprise! 

But, most of all, I also got flowers at the hardest time in my life.  When I got divorce, the moment I got home from the court, a flower bouquet came and the card said: “Congratulations on your new life. Cheer up……”. And, it did cheer me up! 

So, just sharing your feelings with flowers….

Note: A sharing from a friend, Baby (http://baby-godlovesme.blogspot.com/)