Archive for February, 2008
Did you “blow it” for Valentine’s Day? Did your sweetie give you the worst Valentine’s present ever? Was it the most unromantic gift you could think of, like a toaster or vacuum cleaner or worse? Did he (or she) forget Valentine’s Day all together? I mean, what’s wrong with a new MOP anyway? After all, it would be a great way to make your getaway from that relationship. February has long been known as the month of romance. From Valentine’s Day (February 14th) to Dream of Your Sweetheart Day (February 13th) to Cuddle Day (February 25th), February brings many opportunities to shower your love with affection. However, up to now, no day has existed for the romantically challenged who want to show their affection without spending a fortune. Romance isn’t about how much money you lavish on another. It’s about attracting the object of your affection. Romance is about making dreams and fantasies come true. It’s a time to ignite the soul and recreate adventures of the heart. Romance does, however, have a price. Romance is about timing, imagination, exploration and creativity. Hence, National Romance on a Budget Day® was created to be celebrated on February 28th. It’s a time to put on your thinking cap, kick in your creativity gauge and UP the romance meter. National Romance on a Budget Day® is a time for true romantics to cultivate loving sensual relationships.
While you’re at it, take the Eden Florist “Romance” Survey and you could win one of many prizes including the book Romance on a Budget – 199 Cheap Thrills, Romantic Antics and Love-Changing Experiences, and 52 Weeks of Romance in a Box! Be sure to order flowers too!
February 28th, 2008
“A flowerless room is a soul-less room, to my way of thinking; but even one solitary little vase of a living flower may redeem it.”
Vita Sackville-West
Pisces February 20 – March 20
The idealist, Pisces, is also sensitive, kind and compassionate, unselfish, intuitive and understanding. Your ruler is Neptune, the God of the Sea. Pisces takes great pleasure in dreaming and getting lost in thought. Pisces loves solitude, mystery and has a penchant for the outrageous.
Dainty flowers such as lilacs, white orchids and freesia appeal to the dreamy Piscean.
Need to order flowers for the Pisces in your life? Visit EDEN FLORIST
February 28th, 2008
Excepted from Paulo Coelho’s book “Like The Flowing River
In ancient China, around the year 250BCE, a certain prince of the region of Thing-Zda was about to be crowned emperor; however, according to the law, he first had to get married.Since this meant choosing the future empress, the prince needed to find a young woman whom he could trust absolutely. On the advice of a wise man, he decided to summon all the young women of the region in order to find the most worthy candidate.
An old lady, who had served in the palace for many years, heard about the preparations for this gathering and felt sad, because her daughter nurtured a secret love for the prince.
When the old lady got home, she told her daughter and was horrified to learn that her daughter intended going to the meeting. The old lady was desperate.
‘But daughter, what on earth will you do there? All the richest and most beautiful girls from the court will be present. It’s a ridiculous idea. I know you must be suffering, but don’t turn that suffering into madness.’
And the daughter replied: ‘My dear mother, I am not suffering and I certainly haven’t gone mad. I know that I won’t be chosen, but it’s my one chance to spend at least a few moments close to the prince, and that makes me happy, even though I know that a quite different fate awaits me.’
That night, when the young women reached the palace, all the most beautiful girls were indeed there, wearing the most beautiful clothes and the most beautiful jewellery, and prepared to do anything to seize the opportunity on offer.
Surrounded by the members of his court, the prince announced a challenge.
‘I will give each of you a seed. In six month’s time, the young woman who brings me the loveliest flower will be the future empress of China.’
The girl took her seed and planted it in a pot, and since she was not very skilled in the art of gardening, she prepared the soil with great patience and tenderness, for she believed that if the flowers grew as large as her love, then she need not worry about the results.
Three months passed and no shoots had appeared. The young woman tried everything; she consulted farm labourers and peasants, who showed her the most varied methods of cultivation, but all to no avail. Each day she felt that her dream was farther away, although her love was as alive as ever.
At last, the six months passed and still nothing had grown in her pot. Even though she had nothing to show, she knew how much effort and dedication she put in during that time, so she told her mother that she would go back to the palace on the agreed date and at the agreed time. Inside she knew this would be her last meeting with her true love, and she would not have missed it for the world.
The day of the audience arrived. The girl appeared with her plantless pot, and saw that all the other candidates had achieved wonderful results: each girl bore a flower lovelier than the last, in the most varied forms and colours.
Finally, the longed-for moment came. The prince entered and he studied each of the candidates with great care and attention. Having inspected them all, he announced that he has chosen the servant’s daughter to become his new wife.
All the other girls began to protest, saying that he had chosen the only one of them who had not managed to grow any plant at all.
Then the prince calmly explained the reasoning behind the challenge: ‘This young woman was the only one who cultivated the flower that made her worthy of becoming the empress: the flower of honesty. You see, all the seeds I handed out were sterile, and nothing could ever have grown from them.’
(Thanks to Maria Sipka for sharing this with the Women’s Global Business Network on Xing)
February 26th, 2008
Although Valentine’s Day is behind us, I am still reminded of this fast-paced fun holiday on a daily basis. Reminders come via phone messages and emails thanking us for a great job or suggesting ways to improve upon what we have done.
One of the most pleasant surprises came in the form of an article written by a new customer about Eden Florist and his experience with our shop. I was blown away by what he wrote and the fact that he shared it with his colleagues and friends in such a profound way that I just had to share the news with you.
Here’s the link to the article in Travel Trade Magazine: http://www.traveltrade.com/news_article.htm?id=980&p=news.htm written by Jim Smith, CTIE – President of Market Share, Inc and Brand Congruency
You can be sure that this will end up in the Media Section of Eden Florist for all to see!
Here’s a link to a blog post I wrote on my personal blog entitled “Are You in Control of Customer Service ” which you may also find interesting.
Thanks for stopping by!
Heidi Richards Mooney
February 25th, 2008
Read this wonderful story of Sunflowers….
In Dreams, Love and Sunflowers
by Julie Jordan Scott
My six-year-old daughter Emma is the personification of passion in a compact, package. She and I planted a “Sunflower Farm” two years ago in our front and back yard. Sixteen seeds, sixteen incredible flowers became alive in our yard.
We became fascinated in the study of these plants themselves. Sunflowers are filled with vitality unlike any thing else I have ever known. Big sister Katherine and I gleaned 2112 seeds from a single sunflower blossom. This fact burrowed into my being, planting its possibility in my veins.
To read the rest of the story, visit: Holistic JunctionTo learn more about Julie Jordan Scott – www.5passions.com
Read the history and meaning of SUNFLOWERS.
February 23rd, 2008
SUNFLOWER – Botanical name Helianthus Their scientific name Helianthus comes from two words, Helios meaning sun, and Anthos, meaning flower. The sunflower often follows the sun which is how got its name.The Common Sunflower has a long history of association with people.
Nearly 3,000 years ago it was domesticated for food production by the Native Americans. The seeds of the wild type of sunflower are only about 5 mm. long. It was only through careful selection for the largest size seeds over hundreds of years that the cultivated sunflower was produced. Lewis and Clark made mention in their journals of its usage by the plains Indians. It was brought back to the Old World by the early European explorers and widely cultivated there also.
Long before corn and beans were brought to America, the Early American natives used the sunflower: they ate the seeds, ground the small kernels into flour, extracted oil from seeds for their hair, and used the seeds, flower petals, and pollen to make dyes for face paint, cloths and baskets.
The Aztecs (Peru) worshiped sunflowers, they placed sunflower images made of gold in their temples and crowned princesses in the bright yellow flowers.
Making their way to Europe in the early 1500’s sunflowers were used for gifts carried by Spanish settlers returning home. The sunflower is the National flower of RUSSIA. The great Russian ruler Peter the Great liked sunflowers so much when he saw them in Holland he took seeds back to Russia. By the 1700’s sunflower seeds were being eaten all over Russia.
In many parts of Europe sunflowers provide leaves for smoking, flower buds for salads, flowers for dyes, and oil for cooking.
The tallest sunflower grown on record was 25 feet tall and was grown in the Netherlands.
The largest sunflower head on record measured 32 1/2 inches across its widest point and was grown in Canada.
(source: http://www.gpnc.org/sunflower.htm and http://jstait.addr.com/sunflowers/info.htm)
Brighten someone’s day with Sunflowers from Eden Florist!
February 22nd, 2008
What’s your floral signature? Your mom’s? Your best friend’s? This quiz can help you learn about your own floral personality or customize the perfect arrangement for someone you love.
Just answer the seven questions on the quiz with yourself or a loved one in mind. Choose one answer per question, then click Submit for results.
Click here to take the quiz http://www.aboutflowers.com/quiz/quiz_intro.html
February 21st, 2008
Rose Water Skin Tonic - one of the oldest skin-fresheners discovered by an Arabian dermatologist in the tenth century – in Victorian times rose water was mixed with glycerin for use as a skin softening treatment.
Rose Water is still used today in many beauty products from toners to soaps to lotions to sea salts and is very easy to make.
How to make:
Make rosewater from freshly picked roses either from your garden or from your local florist.
Remove the petals from the roses and thoroughly rinse in cool water to remove any debris and pesticides. If you are unable to get fresh rose petals you can use rose hips or rose otto essential oil from any company that sells essential oils such as MountainRoseHerbs.com. If you use rose otto essential oil just add about 4 drops of the essential oil to 8 ounces of spring water and refridgerate.
Supplies needed:
- Between three and five roses (approx. 5 rose hips).
- 2 cups of spring water
- Heat resistant glass bowl or pouring cup and cover. I use an extra-large pyrex measuring cups.
- Wide mouthed glass jar
- Cheesecloth, cotton gauze or kitchen strainer.
Instructions:
- Remove the petals from the roses to gather one, packed cup of rose petals.
- Put the roses petals in heat-resistant glass bowl and cover with two cups of boiling water.
- Cover the bowl with a plate or cover to a pot.
- Let the rose mixture sit for 25 – 30 minutes.
- Pour the water into the wide mouth glass jar straining the mixture in cheesecloth or kitchen strainer (to collect petals).
- Discard the rose petals. I throw in my yard.
- To keep rosewater longer, after it has cooled add 1 tablespoon of alcohol, (vodka works) to the mixture as a preservative – shake well. Rosewater will keep for about 4 weeks on a shelf and longer if stored it in refridgerator. If no preservative is used, rosewater will keep for 7-10 days.
You can mix equal parts rosewater with glycerin and put in a decorative bottle, which also makes a nice gift.
Rosewater can be stored in a plastic spray bottle for a refreshing mist, an excellent way to keep your skin hydrated.
February 19th, 2008
Yesterday’s Question: What spring flower was ‘born to be purple’?
“The blue flag,” a kind of iris. Henry Wordsworth Longfellow wrote a poem in which he referred to them as “born in the purple.”
In those days, the color purple was associated with royalty. The common people weren’t allowed to wear purple clothing.
Thanks to everyone for commenting!
Heidi
February 19th, 2008
As a designer, my surroundings are important to me. When the area in which we work is beautiful, and uncluttered, it relieves our minds to work on the important tasks of running our business. It also allows us to be more creative.
The Society of American Florists (SAF) did a study about Flowers & Plants on Workplace Productivity Study.
Here are the findings:
In 2003, SAF partnered with an internationally recognized research team at Texas A&M University to learn how flowers and plants in the workplace impact productivity and problem solving. The exciting results of this groundbreaking study:
Problem-solving skills, idea generation and creative performance improve substantially in workplace environments that include flowers and plants.
Specifically, both men and women who work in environments with flowers and plants demonstrate more innovative thinking as compared to environments with sculpture or no decorative objects.
Men who participated in the study generated 30 percent more ideas when working in environments with flowers and plants than ones without.
While men generate a greater abundance of ideas, the research shows that women generate more creative, flexible solutions to problems in workplace environments with flowers and plants.
As a result, flowers and plants prove to be natural additions to any work environment.
“The research shows that flowers and plants can be important in the most meaningful way to businesses in the modern economy,” says Roger Ulrich, Ph.D., behavioral scientist and the study’s lead researcher.
”Productivity, in the form of innovation and creative problem solving, can mean the difference between mild and great success.”
(source: SAFNOW.org)
So I encourage everyone to surround yourselves with flowers, homegrown or flower shop purchase… does not matter. Flowers add beauty and as you have read, can increase your productivity, attitude and success.
So, if you want to be more productive or help someone be more productive, send flowers!
Have a beautiful day… and more!
February 15th, 2008
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