Flowers and the Art of Giving
The act of giving a bouquet of flowers to someone you love is still the most romantic and appreciative way of gift giving.
Flowers given to say ‘thank you’, ‘I love you’, ‘I miss you’ or ‘I’m thinking of you’ don’t just give the receiver an opportunity to admire a form of beauty while feeling wanted, but also presents the act of giving in a form of natural beauty.
Rather than the thought that a husband is away again on a business trip, or that ‘everyone is too busy for me’, receiving a bouquet of flowers tells the receiver that they are not forgotten. What better than to have an elegant bouquet of red roses capturing the eye as the centre-piece of the table, to represent you to the person that you love!
Women love to be appreciated and shown it. While there are many ways we can show our appreciation, the act of giving flowers is a stand alone action. You are not doing a task or a chore to give someone a break from their usual routine - the gift of giving flowers is the ultimate in the art of giving: they are given simply for the sake of the receiver; for who they are and how much they mean to the giver.
There are many reasons why giving flowers is still the ultimate method in the art of giving. Here are six of them:
A picture is worth a thousand words
Perhaps the most significant reason for gifting a bouquet of flowers to someone is due to that well known saying: ‘A picture is worth 1000 words’. Flowers are picturesque; they symbolise the art of nature and design.
Flowers command the centre of a table, are framed on a window sill or nod with approval on a duchess. They speak of beauty, of friendship and of every form of love known in history. On the other hand, words are fickle. Emails and texts are a dime a dozen. A phrase of thanks can sound awkward or interpreted with other intentions. However, flowers – a visual image of emotions – have the ability to always be interpreted in a positive sense.
When you receive flowers your senses are aroused. The colour and form of the bouquet is aesthetically pleasing. The fragrance of a bouquet of flowers bring pleasure to the olfactory senses that we so often neglect. Even the joy of touching the velvety petal of a rose or the polished waxy foliage of a lily deepens our senses to every positive element of life.
Time for a trip to Venus, men!
Guys, don’t think that you need to learn a whole new language and do a six week course to know the right strategies to woo a woman’s heart. Florists are specialists – they know what works; there is an art to working an arrangement of fresh cut flowers. You don’t have to learn that yourself.
Use Youtube to learn how to fix a problem with the lawnmower, how to wallpaper a room or how to change the time on clock on your car; but go straight to the specialists to know what colour, type and variety of bouquet would be appreciated.
Yes, give flowers for Valentine’s Day, for an anniversary or a birthday – but better still, find a mundane, ordinary day in the life of that special somebody and make them aware just how much you are thinking of them.
Men can feel awkward about how to express themselves, or work commitments inhibit them from being present. Giving flowers reminds that special someone that you are thinking of them and wish you were there.
Giving flowers is in the essence of our souls
Can you remember making daisy chains when you were young? Or perhaps as a child you had a chance to have a small section of a garden to plant an array of flower seeds – one of the packets of mixed flowers – that bloomed into every colour of the paint palette.
Perhaps you went out day by day to see if the bud was going to open and infuse your world with colour as your corner of the garden grew in a mix of shapes and sizes of flowers. Perhaps you were one of those children who picked a mix of flowers from around the garden to bring in for mum to make her feel special. Maybe you still have that joy of trying to grow a Giant Himalayan Lily, a climbing rose or a cut from a heritage plant that came your way.
From our youthful romps out in the backyard through to our refined adult gardens – flowers are the very essence of our souls and our beings. They demonstrate love, care and hope all gathered together in a bouquet that symbolises our relationships with one another. The lily and rose have become universal symbols of relationships.
Red roses, white lilies, pastel arrangements, flaming orange hues to the quiet pinks all speak of what is in our souls and how we want and should express our thoughts for one another. Giving flowers means giving something of ourselves.
Every bouquet of flowers is special and unique
There’s seasonal choice in the gift of giving flowers. Simply buying a soft toy means you can buy the same toy at any time of the year. With flowers, there are different arrangements, different shadings and different flowers for different seasons – all that might suit various occasions for giving.
Your florist will be an expert about such matters. Fresh cut flowers – whether roses, orchids, lilies, or perhaps something more of a niche line for special occasions such as weddings or anniversaries – are the tools of a specialist. The local florist will know what works and how to arrange a bunch of flowers into an eye-catching bouquet. Get them to put their skills and knowledge to work for you. Be part of the process by choosing a time to give the special gift of flowers to someone’s day.
Flowers capture every colour of the rainbow
Colour is important: Everyone has a favourite colour and every event tends towards a certain style of flower. From a lily and red rose bouquet, to a pastel rose bouquet, or a dozen red roses to a more unique sapphire scented bouquet, colour distinguishes the flowers that you give.
If they are for someone who is house-bound, fresh bright flowers will feel like you have brought nature and life into their home. For a more formal occassion, a noble and timeless white and green bouquet will be most appropriate – not to forget the age-old dozen red roses to symbolise the love one has for someone else. You will know that special someone’s favourite colour – the asset about online florist orders is that you can see the images of the bouquet, and know that when you order they will be freshly cut for your occasion.
Men – you don’t need to fumble your way through a florist feeling like you are the thorn among the flowers. Contact your florist to order and to either deliver or for you to pick up ready to deliver yourself.
Every day is a good day to receive flowers!
When to give flowers: There’s never a time not to give a bunch of flowers. Flowers are more than just something to brighten up a room or someone’s day. They remind the receiver that someone is thinking of them; that someone actually cares about them.
Yes, we can give flowers for Valentine’s Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Christmas and Easter. But consider the power of giving a bouquet of flowers on any other day! What does that tell the receiver? It tells them that they are special, that they are wanted, that they are worth taking time over and to give them flowers just because they are who they are.
Ponder that thought for a moment... when was they last time that you bought flowers for yourself? Never? Recognise that you are someone who is special. Recognise the days when perhaps just for celebrating who you are, you buy a bouquet of flowers for yourself. Make it a special treat, select the style and colour and variation that display your personality.
Get them delivered to your doorstep, or walk in to your local florist and sift through the options just as if you were going clothes shopping. Splash out on yourself – look for what is going to make you feel good. Celebrate the end of a week, a promotion, a change in your life, a success in a personal goal.
Too often, we mean to catch up with someone but never quite get around to it, or simply send a one sentence text wishing them well. In this busy world many have forgotten about the true essence of the art of giving. A gift of flowers is the best way of executing this form of art. It has no strings attached. It is the simple act of giving to make someone else feel special.