Valentine Flowers at Triple Oaks Triple Oaks Nursery and Herb Garden in Franklinville, New Jersey

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Valentine Flowers at Triple Oaks
posted on: January 25 2010

Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so are you! Do you remember sing songing that little rhyme? Of course as   kids we had many other ‘endings’ that were not so nice. Did you ever pluck the petals from a daisy and say he loves me, he loves me not?
Flowers have long been associated with love and Valentine’s Day. Of course my thoughts turn to fresh flowers each Valentine’s day and have for the more than 29 years I have been a florist. I have experienced first hand the madness, joy, confusion, and all the other emotions that go with giving or getting flowers for Valentines Day. They are beautiful and special and say so very much. From a single rose to a large bunch of mixed blooms to a vase of red carnations they make someone feel happy and special.
   The teacher in me wants to teach everyone how to best take care of their flowers when they are received. If they are not in water it is always a good idea to recut the stems so that they can drink or absorb water. Most flowers from a florist shop will come with a package of floral life to mix into the water. This not only feeds the bloom, it keeps the water clean so that bacteria will not clog the stems. Do not listen to all the old wives’s tales that say to put pennies or soda in the water. It will not work. Vases must be clean so there are no bacteria in them from previous flowers. I use bleach to make sure that all the vases are sparkling clean.
Fresh, youthful carnations last the longest of all flowers, often staying for several weeks if they are kept cool and in clean water. Alstermeria buds will also last for weeks if they are youthful when purchased. These two are the longest-lived of all blooms. Godetia, which come in several colors and looks like morning glories also lasts very long when the water is kept clean. Bulb flowers such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths when cut last only a few days, but are very wonderful vased as a spring bouquet. Cut some forsythia or cherry blossoms to add to the bouquet, they will soon pop out. Most blooms in the mum family last long too.
Of course roses are in the news this week, with the price usually the keynote in most rose articles. However I would rather reflect on the rose in memories. Many folks have a special memory surface when they see or smell a rose. I often think of the red climbing roses that grew all over when I was a teen. They were somewhat fragrant, were on the small side, but bloomed at prom time. I remember helping to decorate the Delsea High School gym with armfuls of them for our prom.
   I remember a rose corsage with puffs of tulle at my 13th birthday. Then there were red sweet heart roses tied into a nosegay for the Valentine dance that was an annual event way back then. I recently found this packed away on a closet shelf for more than 40 years! Vivid in my memory are the beautiful white roses of my wedding bouquet, fragrant and romantic in my mind forever. And I still have the cards that accompanied red roses at the births of sons 1, 2 and 3.   Now there are fragrant roses we grow in the garden and pick for the kitchen table and the nightstand. Roses have always signified a really special occasion as well as a fragrant treat to enjoy.
    Now why are these beautiful blooms so very special? Well, the rose is one of the oldest flowers known to man, and still one of the most popular. China was the first to cultivate roses. They were cultivated for about 5000 years before they were brought to the Europe. Throughout history they have come to symbolize love, luxury, passion and pleasure. People have filled their mattresses, their baths and their gardens with them. They have used them in food, for perfume, and as gifts.

   The Rose is the flower of love, with many legends giving them a romantic history. Some folks rebel and will not buy a rose at Valentine’s Day. But certainly the red rose is the flower of the day. According to a Greco-Roman legend the flower sprang from drops of bloodshed by Venus, lover of Adonis. How appropriate for Valentine's Day.
It is said that roses are American's favorite flower with the exquisite red rose being first on the list. Many roses today open up which gives them a few more days of vase life. Not all commercial roses smell good, which is a flaw of the breeders as far as I am concerned. It is said that we sacrificed scent in some roses to gain longevity. Often it is the pastel roses that open like big cabbage roses as soon as they get out of the cooler that are most fragrant. I noticed this week that some of the colors that came in a mixed box of rose were fragrant.
The ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Romans and Greeks cultivated roses extensively. As early as six hundred B. C., the Greeks named the rose queen of flowers and it was used lavishly, with accounts of rose petals covering banquet floors and thrown in the streets in front of the victorious.
Attar of Rose was one of the most highly prized perfumes of the ancient world. Atar is the essential oil extracted from rose petals and it takes several hundred pounds of petals for just a few ounces of this oil.
    With its varied uses, long history, and unmistakable beauty, there's no wonder why the rose has been regarded through the ages as the symbol of love. Surprise someone with a rose on Valentine’s Day or any day to say you care.