Featured Flower: Roses
Roses. Popularized in story, poem and song, immortalized in art, symbols in both war and peace. Their visual beauty and delicate fragrance evoke even the deepest passions, so it's no wonder roses have been the symbol of love for centuries.
Wild roses, closely related to apples, are simple flowers, featuring only four or five petals and few colors. Garden roses are the more familiar variety, with their high petal count and wide color varieties. Growers have created literally hundreds of varieties in the past 150 years or so, providing florists and customers a great selection of sizes and colors. Every year, events such as SAF's Outstanding Varieties competition showcase more new hybrids suitable for commercial use. In fact, the rose seen in our masthead is Polar Star, a new variety which won Best in Show at the 2006 competition. Today, roses are the most popular flower sold, being very popular for everyday arrangements as well as weddings and funerals.
Just as varieties of roses change through the years, so too do the styles of arrangements. A dozen red roses in a vase with baby's breath is considered "old faithful" when it comes to saying "I love you!", but roses can be arranged in many intricate and exciting styles. The member floists here will be sharing some of their favorite varieties and interesting designs through Valentine's Day--you can see the most recent posts at http://floristblogs.com/tags/roses/default.aspx.
The most popular time of year for roses is Valentine's Day. This is also a popular time for customer confusion and anxiety. We hope that the posts and photos here help with that "What should I order" anxiety. For advice on not being scammed at Valentine's Day, visit FloristDetective.com's Valentine's Day tips.