Overview:
Through the ages, flowers have been the inspiration of great works of art, poetry and music. We give flowers to express love, joy, congratulations, sadness and grief. In this piece, we will examine the role that flowers play in the world and in our lives. We will consider the meaning of flowers, analyze famous quotations, design a flower garden, learn about flower poems and paintings and maybe even write a poem!
The Secret Meaning of Flowers
Flowers have a language of their own and that throughout the course of history people have attached meanings to flowers to communicate messages.
Shown below are two columns. One is for various flower types. The other represents their traditional meaning.
Can you pair these flowers with their meanings?
Flowers Meanings
Daisy Peace
Forget-me-not Endurance
Cactus Childishness
Iris Pride, sunshine
Sunflower Faithfulness, virtue
Violet Good fortune
Apple blossom Wisdom, faith, hope
Buttercup Good luck, be mine
Four-leaf-clover True love, good memories
Olive branch Loyal love, innocence
Answers: Daisy: loyal love, innocence, Forget-me-not: true love, good memories, Cactus: endurance, Iris: wisdom, faith, hope, Sunflower: pride, sunshine, Violet: faithfulness, virtue, Apple blossom: good fortune, Buttercup: childishness, Four-leaf-clover: Good luck, be mine, Olive Branch: peace
Remember: These are traditional meanings. Different cultures often have different meanings!
Flower Quotations
Here are a variety of quotations, attributed to different people and different cultures. How do you feel about these?
Flower Quotations
Here are a variety of quotations, attributed to different people and different cultures. How do you feel about these?
"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck."
- Emma Goldman
"Where flowers bloom so does hope."
- Lady Bird Johnson
"The world is a rose; smell it and pass it to your friends."
- Persian Proverb
"The earth laughs in flowers."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Different Gardens
Shown below are several different types of gardens. Also shown are resources where you may look up how to structure a specific type of garden.
* Drought tolerant garden
* Fragrance garden
* Edible garden
* Deer Resistant garden
* Color (yellow/orange, blue/purple, or cream/white) garden
* Shade garden
* Full sun garden
* Bird or butterfly garden
* Cornell's Home Gardening Website http://www.explore.cornell.edu/scene.cfm?scene=Home%20Gardening
* The United States National Arboretum Website http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/gardeningr.html
* Perkins & Jackson's Garden-Inspired Living Website
http://www.jacksonandperkins.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgmenbr=201&cgrfnbr=2
* Burpee Website http://www.burpee.com/jump.jsp?itemType=GATEWAY&itemID=9
This site contains a "Growing Zone Finder" to guide students in determining what plants will grow in their area.
Flower Poems and Paintings
The Poem Hunter website is an excellent resource for flower poems. http://www.poemhunter.com/poems/flower/
The ARTCYCLOPEDIA website provides examples and links to Georgia O' Keeffe's flower paintings. http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/okeeffe_georgia.html
The Japanese often write haiku poems about flowers. A traditional Japanese haiku has a total of seventeen syllables divided into three lines:
First line: five syllables Second line: seven syllables Third line: five syllables
Can you write a haiku about flowers?
The Flower Hut is a Charlotte Florist located in Charlotte, NC. We have been supplying floral arrangements and fresh flowers since 1988, and enjoy sharing floral ideas with our friends and neighbors.
The Flower Hut
6300 C E. Independence Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28212
Visit Our Website.
Our Shop
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Long Lasting Flowers
A few weeks ago, a man came into our store accompanied by his young daughter. He placed his order and, as I was wrapping up his roses, I heard the following exchange:
Girl: "Daddy, what's the difference between Supermarket Roses and Flower Hut Roses?"
Daddy: "About a week."
He was right, but why?
Chances are, the Supermarket roses are pre-wrapped at some "flower factory." Then they are shipped -- often by non-air-conditioned truck -- to the store. There, they may be stored in the same cooler with fruits and vegetables. Finally, they are plopped into water -- often without being recut -- in a display cooler until sold.
From start to finish, there are several errors. First, the "flower factory" receives their flowers direct from the growers -- just like the Flower Hut. Then, they are dry-wrapped and placed in storage until they have an order. During this (undetermined) time, the roses are slowly dehydrating. When they are shipped, they loose even more moisture. At the Supermarket, if they are dry-stored with fruits and vegetables, they are exposed to ethylene gas that is a natural by product of fruits and veggies. Simply stated, Ethylene is to roses what carbon monoxide is to humans.
When they are put out for sale, the store may cut the stems before placing them in the display cooler. If they do not cut them, the dried-out stem ends will not absorb water. Even if they are cut, they may not be placed in water immediately. And that is important, since UC Davis studies have shown that if a rose is recut but not placed in watter almost immediately (10 seconds or less) then the stem will oxidize shut and the rose's ability to absorb water is greatly reduced.
Finally, when the roses are on display, only the stems are refrigerated. The heads and foliage remain at or near room temperature.
Each one of these errors can dramatically reduce rose life.
In contrast, the Flower Hut receives almost all its roses direct from the growers -- via Miami. But they are flown to Charlotte, not sent by truck. And they are kept in cold storage until we pick them up.
When we receive them, they are re-cut, placed in special hydrating solutions, and stored at 35 degrres F in our HUGE walk-in cooler until we sell them. And we never allow fruit or vegetables in our coolers! And we never pre-wrap our roses.
Girl: "Daddy, what's the difference between Supermarket Roses and Flower Hut Roses?"
Daddy: "About a week."
He was right, but why?
Chances are, the Supermarket roses are pre-wrapped at some "flower factory." Then they are shipped -- often by non-air-conditioned truck -- to the store. There, they may be stored in the same cooler with fruits and vegetables. Finally, they are plopped into water -- often without being recut -- in a display cooler until sold.
From start to finish, there are several errors. First, the "flower factory" receives their flowers direct from the growers -- just like the Flower Hut. Then, they are dry-wrapped and placed in storage until they have an order. During this (undetermined) time, the roses are slowly dehydrating. When they are shipped, they loose even more moisture. At the Supermarket, if they are dry-stored with fruits and vegetables, they are exposed to ethylene gas that is a natural by product of fruits and veggies. Simply stated, Ethylene is to roses what carbon monoxide is to humans.
When they are put out for sale, the store may cut the stems before placing them in the display cooler. If they do not cut them, the dried-out stem ends will not absorb water. Even if they are cut, they may not be placed in water immediately. And that is important, since UC Davis studies have shown that if a rose is recut but not placed in watter almost immediately (10 seconds or less) then the stem will oxidize shut and the rose's ability to absorb water is greatly reduced.
Finally, when the roses are on display, only the stems are refrigerated. The heads and foliage remain at or near room temperature.
Each one of these errors can dramatically reduce rose life.
In contrast, the Flower Hut receives almost all its roses direct from the growers -- via Miami. But they are flown to Charlotte, not sent by truck. And they are kept in cold storage until we pick them up.
When we receive them, they are re-cut, placed in special hydrating solutions, and stored at 35 degrres F in our HUGE walk-in cooler until we sell them. And we never allow fruit or vegetables in our coolers! And we never pre-wrap our roses.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
New Website
In response to a number of requests, we have increased the quantity of items online. We have also diversified our line to include more non-wire-service items.
We did this by adding a second website. Please visit our new site at Charlotte Flowers from a Charlotte Florist
BUT we know that some items -- like the "Happy Face" -- are popular in all environments. So expect to see a few "old standbys" mixed in with the new addirions!
Please let us know how you like the "new look."
We did this by adding a second website. Please visit our new site at Charlotte Flowers from a Charlotte Florist
BUT we know that some items -- like the "Happy Face" -- are popular in all environments. So expect to see a few "old standbys" mixed in with the new addirions!
Please let us know how you like the "new look."
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
New FREE Wedding Flower Planner Available
One of the biggest problems facing many brides-to-be is that there was no "easy" way to figure out "how many of what" they need for their wedding.
Well, all of that just changed! Just go to the wedding section our website, http://flowerhut.com/frweflpl.html and DOWNLOAD our FREE Wedding Flower Planner.
OR call us at 800-525-3162 or email us at sales@flowerhut.com.
This useful new document allows the bride to figure out what she needs in the privacy of her own home. It also conains 7 FREE ideas on how to maximize her floral value and eliminate un-needed costs! An added benefit are the SAMPLE weddings that also contain BUDGETARY line-item pricing.
Once the bride has her planning form filled out, and fabric swatches (samples) in hand, she can make an appointment to meet with one of our bridal consultants who will finalize the quotation and fine tune the bride's floral package.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Illegal NC Florists
Would you buy flowers from someone that you KNEW was doing something illegal?
If you are like most people, the answer is NO!
But that is what is happening RIGHT NOW in North Carolina.
That's because there is a new law on the NC books.This law -- Senate Law 2009-199 -- is designed to protect consumers of perishable goods -- such as flowers -- from deceptive advertising practices. This law became effective October 1, 2009.
Basically, it makes it illegal to misrepresent a business's location such that consumers are led to believe that the business is located in a town where it is not actually located. There are very stiff penalties for violation.
The law may be viewed and printed out at:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions...PDF/S625v3.pdf
On October Second, I wrote the NC Department of Justice regarding several deceptive advertisemnts that I found online. Now its time for others to "chip in."
If you are like most people, the answer is NO!
But that is what is happening RIGHT NOW in North Carolina.
That's because there is a new law on the NC books.This law -- Senate Law 2009-199 -- is designed to protect consumers of perishable goods -- such as flowers -- from deceptive advertising practices. This law became effective October 1, 2009.
Basically, it makes it illegal to misrepresent a business's location such that consumers are led to believe that the business is located in a town where it is not actually located. There are very stiff penalties for violation.
The law may be viewed and printed out at:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions...PDF/S625v3.pdf
On October Second, I wrote the NC Department of Justice regarding several deceptive advertisemnts that I found online. Now its time for others to "chip in."
I urge ALL NC florists and intertested consumers to research their “Yellow” directories as well as doing a search for: “Florist In YOUR CITY”. Accumulate a list and write the NC Department of Justice with this information and a request that the DOJ take action against these Deceptive Advertisers.
The NCDOJ contact information is:
State Of NC
Department of Justice
9001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-9001
Attention: Julie D. Daniel
Department of Justice
9001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-9001
Attention: Julie D. Daniel
When you write, please be as specific as possible with regard to the website URL and company name/address.
Bill Miller
Owner
The Flower Hut
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Solving The Economy's Problems
This is from an article in the St. Petersburg Times. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on
"How Would You Fix the Economy?"
Dear Mr. President,
Please find below my suggestion for fixing America's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered. - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage. - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!
P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...
Mr. President, while you're at it, make congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!
"How Would You Fix the Economy?"
Dear Mr. President,
Please find below my suggestion for fixing America's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered. - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage. - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!
P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...
Mr. President, while you're at it, make congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!
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