A Florist's Daughter

{Peonies | via}

For most of my life I've grown up in a home filled with vases of fresh flowers in every room and window. My dad was a wholesale florist who provided bouquets and plants for small markets, which meant our home became the place for the beautiful "leftovers." One of my first jobs was helping dad prep the flowers for the bouquets. I can say my love for flowers began there--in a cold warehouse filled with floral fragrances and a daffodil tucked behind one ear. 

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It's hard to describe how something as simple as a flower holds so much meaning to me. It's not only because of the beauty and romanticism associated with flowers, it's about the opportunity they provide to "fill-in-the-blanks" in our lives. This past year I read the book, The Language of Flowers, and thought to myself, "Where has this book been all my life?" Essentially, the book speaks of a heart-wrenching story of a girl in the foster-care system and how she uses flowers as her preferred form of communication. 

This language of flowers expressed in the book was created by the romantic early Victorians who thoughtfully planned every bouquet in order to deliver their desired message. Following the success of The Language of Flowers the author compiled a "dictionary" of sorts that describes the meaning behind 50 common flowers. Here is a great write up to discuss the guide further. 

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QUICK TIPS: Maintaining Flowers at Home

• Before placing the flowers in water, trim the stems at an angle (at your desired length), which helps the flowers drink the water more easily.
• If you don't have the packet of flower "food" that the grocery store usually provides with a bouquet, place a teaspoon of regular bleach into the water instead. This helps clean out bacteria from the vase and surprisingly isn't harmful to the flowers!
• Trim the stems again and change the water every 3 days.
• Fun tip: Purchase flowers with white petals and place a few drops of food coloring (any color) you'd like into the water. Over the next few days you'll notice the petals turning into the color of the dye! It's a perfect tip to use during holidays like St. Patrick's day when a specific color is involved.

xo,

Elissa