The Language of Flowers

Since it's Valentine's weekend, perhaps a bit of info on the Language of Flowers might be apropos. The flower language is the original and literal way to "say it with flowers."  Each flower and herb has a meaning that has been traditionally ascribed to it over the ages. While this may seem a trifle obscure, when you get right down to it, everyone knows a little floral symbolism. For example, when one country is said to "extend the olive branch to another country" we understand that the olive branch symbolises peace. Because a mighty oak tree is so tall and solid, it is logical that the oak stands for strength, durability and steadfastness. Not for nothing are red roses a popular choice for Valentine's because they symbolize beauty, true love and passion. 

I've made a study of the Language of Flowers, and have collected many antiquarian floral dictionaries over the years. By assigning each flower or herb its proper meaning and assembling them into a little bouquet (more properly called a tussie-mussie), you can send a message or statement via the flowers. It's ideal if your recipient has a floral dictionary too, but if not, simply include the meanings in a note.

The tussie-mussie or "talking bouquet" at left contains flowers & leaves that signify young love. For example,
White Azalea means First Love
Forget-me-Not means True Love
English Daisy represents Innocence and Simplicity
Thornless Rose signifies Early Attachment
Bugle means Most Loveable  
 Hosta symbolizes Devotion
 Lilac represents First Emotions of Love
Taken all together, this lovely and fragrant tussie-mussie symbolizes Puppy Love.

Perhaps your love is more mature. For anniversaries I like to include Dogwood meaning Love Unchanged by Adversity and Ivy for Constancy and Friendship. Whatever your situation, there are flowers that say it best.
Happy Valentine's Day 
  

In Atlanta Now's the Time for Rose Pruning

The rose is a rose,

And always was a rose.

But the theory now goes

That the apple's a rose,

And the pear is, and so's

The plum, I suppose.

The dear only knows

What will next prove a rose.

You, of course, are a rose--

But were always a rose.

--Robert Frost "The Rose Family"

Collected Poems, 1930                                            

Just a couple of days ago, on a lovely, sunny 55 degree F. day, I got out my bypass pruners, donned my elbow-length, tough leather gloves and pruned my roses. It wasn't a moment too soon. In Atlanta shrub roses, floribundas and hybrid teas are already presenting those tight, red buds that jut out perpendicular to the green canes and declare spring is around the corner. Carefully removing deadwood and cutting tall stems down to outward facing buds, I snipped off rose hips and generally shaped them up. Now I can anticipate a flood, a veritable avalanche of roses come May.

Southeastern Flower Show Onceover Lightly

Southeastern Flower Show Onceover


The Southeastern Flower Show is a juried consumer flower show that heralds the coming of spring and has Artistic Floral Design, Discovery, Horticulture, Landscape and Photography Divisions, as well as a marketplace and programs on stage. This year visitors were invited to “Discover the Beauty of Green”. The idea was to celebrate natural beauty, green eco-friendly living, excellence in horticulture and a renewed focus on hort education.

                   
     SFS Banner                                                                                                       

My first volunteer gig, two days before the show opened, came as it was being staged. Tension was high as landscape garden displays and floral designers hustled to get their final touches together. As a “Horticulture Passer” I helped people to identify, register, groom and enter their treasures in the hope of earning a blue ribbon. The schedule demanded that the woody stems be in flower or fruit, and we had a lovely assortment of Prunus, Daphne, Edgeworthia and Hamamelis in the hardy category, as well as a couple of lemons and a lone kumquat in the tropical class.

                                                        Woody cut stems with ribbons bestowed by judges

A few days later I volunteered with the Plant Societies at the Herb Society’s table, flanked by the Rose and Dahlia Societies, and just down from the Daffodil and Native Plant Societies. Marvelous that there’s an organization for every interest, don’t you agree?
On my tour through the Show I saw lovely veggie containers and a locally-grown food display garden.

The children’s division boasted live chickens (with eggs), and one of the table settings had an exceptinal tablecloth made of Galax leaves!

Teaching the merits of locally grown, veggies overflowed from an educational garden and a chalkboard explained plant parts as food.

In the UGA exhibit I thought I recognized Golden Dream Boxwood from Garden Debut®, a real show stopper with glamorous evergreen foliage brightly splashed and edged with gold.

I ran into some familiar faces and met some new ones. Dr. Michael Dirr was signing his books in the hort bookstore.

The Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta continues through February 6, but there are shows in many cities around the country, so look for one near home. Do you prefer Home & Garden Shows, or Flower Shows? Let me know via your comments.




 

Investigating Trends in Gardening & the Green Industry

Welcome to my new blog! I want to open with a report direct from the floor of the Georgia Green Industry Association’s Wintergreen 2010 conference/trade show. I saw lots of old friends and made oodles of new ones, and while there I asked several people representing different aspects of our industry what they saw as trends for gardeners and horticulture overall.

I ran into Dave Hutsell and his enthusiastic comment was Youth! “I really think we should focus on involving the next generation of gardeners.” Without missing a beat he then listed courtyard gardens, container gardens and edible containers for decks and patios as part of the wave. Hutsell is Vice President/Sales for Greenleaf Nursery Company’s North Carolina Division. He had a boothful of beautiful plants, including some new introductions from the Garden Debut® consortium of plant breeders and growers. These are folks dedicated to the introduction of new and improved plant varieties for the landscape, the first of which will appear at Garden Centers this spring.

                   
   Garden Debut® booth   

Next , I talked with Alan Shapiro, Owner of Grandiflora Wholesale Nursery. Shapiro will be named the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Robert McGee Balentine Horticulture Trophy at the Southeastern Flower Show on Preview night, recognizing his “significant contribution to the field of horticulture.” Shapiro spewed out a quick catalog of trends. “Edibles, edibles, edibles,” was his initial reaction, followed by rain gardens, green roofs and sedums, antiques in gardens and native plants. An insightful twist was that “tortured plants” (like corkscrews and topiary) will made from overstock, and he allowed as how he thought trends will be less meteoric but will increase at a more steady pace.


    Antiques in Grandiflora’s booth (Alan’s not an antique)

Landscape Architect Paul Ozio, ASLA, noted that the continuing trend for lower maintenance remains strong and recognized natives and native cultivars as another trend.

Jim Darden representing Star Roses indicated the trend to smaller gardens would be well served by ‘Drift’ Groundcover Roses, with smaller size, continuous bloom nine months year and low maintenance.

Finally, there was a nod to the space-saving vertical gardening trend. Mobley Plant Farm had a wall of pansies growing in flats positioned nearly vertically.

  Pansies displayed as vertical garden

So what do you see as trends in gardening and the green industry? Share your thoughts on comments.