There is no way to prove it, but flowers have likely had a
following since the very first seedling sprung up through the
earth.
The late Dorothy Parker, American writer and poet (1893-1967),
called flowers “Heaven’s masterpiece.”
Henry Ward Beecher, minister, social reformer, abolitionist
(1813-1887), referred to them as “the sweetest thing God ever made,
and forgot to put a soul into.”
Not surprising, as these beauty queens of nature can be
stunning; the rose with petals as soft as velvet, the daffodil,
like sunshine on a stem in the midst of winter … and with the
exception of daisies and such, a blossom’s fragrance can be
downright intoxicating.
The sheer presence of flowers in a room can add a cheerful
touch, or a romantic backdrop, and when they are gathered into a
bouquet, they generally bring a smile to the face of their
recipient.
It’s no wonder they are still among the most popular on the
Valentine’s Day gift list, along with candy and iPods, according to
a Web site called everythingvalen-tinesday.com.
Candy is dandy, and, well, iPods for Valentine’s Day are likely
a generational thing, but the fact that Cupid’s holiday competes
with Mother’s Day as the busiest day of the year for florists
indicates there are still plenty of people who prefer to “say it
with flowers.”
Why?
“Because flowers speak to the heart in a way other objects
don’t,” said Bonnie Z, owner of Dragonfly Farm in Healdsburg.
“There is a vitality and a beauty in flowers. … Florists get to
touch on a lot of different aspects of people’s lives (with
flowers) – from births, to weddings, to deaths, to ‘thank-yous’ and
‘I love yous.’ There is ‘I’m sorry’ in there, too,” she said,
adding, “But, what other symbol that we have is consistent
throughout all those different occasions?”
For instance: a dozen red roses on Valentine’s Day, to the
dismay of some florists.
“We encourage people to be more creative for Valentine’s Day.
Red roses are too ordinary,” Z said. “People want something a
little sweeter and less ordinary. We do a lot of spring mixes, with
tulips and freesia and soft colors of roses,” she said, noting she
doesn’t think people really appreciate the typical red rose
bouquet. “I think it’s just too conventional.
“Instead of the dozen red roses, there are a lot of other
wonderful flowers: freesia, tulips, ranunculus … in the garden. On
Valentine’s Day there should be flowering plum, there are all sorts
of herbs, mints and rosemary, and daffodils,” said Z, who not only
makes floral bouquets, but also grows the makings for them, weather
permitting.
There are not a lot of flowers growing outdoors this time of
year, she said, which is why she supplements her Valentine’s Day
bouquets with flowers from the San Francisco flower market, or Neve
Brothers Wholesale Cut Flowers, in Petaluma, which grows roses and
an array of other flowers in greenhouses.
“We have hundreds of wonderful things in the garden for Mother’s
Day. We have roses, hydrangea, peonies, lilac, viburnum … lots of
different flowers,” she said. “We grow six acres of flowers.”
“We field grow, though there isn’t much now,” echoed Gail
Thomas, owner of Pooh Corner Farm, in Sebastopol. “This time of
year we buy flowers from wholesalers.” Thomas said she would buy
from a local greenhouse grower this time of year, if there were
one. “And, people buy from us all the time, but we field grow
outdoors.”
Asked if she had ever considered setting up a greenhouse, Thomas
said: “From my perspective it’s tremendously expensive. You are
talking about not only heating in the winter, but also cooling in
the summer. And, at least 10 months out of the year we have a
significant number of flowers, so the question would be whether
your return would be that great if you were going to install
greenhouses.”
Asked the same question, Z replied: “My problem is I already
have three jobs, working in the garden, I meet with clients, and I
do the flower arranging … so it’s a time issue. Our year is too
short, we all work like crazy, and farming is full time.”
However, for the average customer, where the flowers are grown
isn’t as important as what they look like in the vase, which is why
Z and fellow florists strive to think outside the box.
“We try to make our bouquets unique and special – not your
typical flowers – filled with lilies and hydrangeas and tulips,”
said Nancy Pledger-Lewis, owner of Atrellis in Windsor. Speaking of
unique, Pledger-Lewis, who has been in the floral business for 20
years (about two years in her current location), said one time a
man had his wife’s bridal bouquet recreated and then delivered to
the restaurant where they were having Valentine’s Day dinner.
“Having bouquets delivered to restaurants or hotel rooms is very
romantic,” she said.
“We have also had people sprinkle rose petals in the shape of a
heart on a bed with a trail leading to the bathtub,” Pledger-Lewis
said, without elaborating on what happened next.
“I think the perfect thing, of course, is to send a beautiful
arrangement to someone’s work,” Z said. “You get extra points for
doing that, you know, ’cause you walk in with flowers for someone
and everyone in the office says, ‘aw.’”
