GardenSMART :: May In The Rose Gardens � Natures Gifts Unfolding
May In The Rose Gardens – Natures Gifts Unfolding
By Stan V. Griep, Consulting Rosarian Photographs courtesy of Stan V. Griep
We have all heard that April showers bring May’s flowers. Well it is true. The rains of April laced with their lightning charges of nitrogen help our roses and plants grow and produce their pretty bloom smiles. May is thus a great time to give roses and flowers as gifts. There may be birthdays, weddings, anniversaries that are great times to give the gift of natures smiling blooms. Join me in sharing these wonderful heaven sent natures’ gifts with others for many occasions.
There are special days such as May Day. While May Day has different meaning to different peoples, let us focus on one wonderful one. The first day of May was a time where hanging a basket of freshly picked flowers on someone’s door was a chance to express ones love or romantic interest to another. If the person leaving the basket of flowers happened to be caught leaving them, the recipient would chase after the person in hopes of stealing a kiss. It is a delightful thing to leave some pretty flowers on someone’s porch, ring the doorbell and run to watch from a distance as their eyes meet the pretty bloom smiles before them.
Mother’s Day is a very special holiday. It is a fantastic time to give either cut flowers/roses or flowering plants to your mother or wife. Roses make a fine gift for such an occasion and carry not only their natural beauty but also a nice fragrance and a special message in the color of rose or roses given.
If you do give a rosebush for Mother’s Day, there is one more step you really must take to show your love for them. Plant the rosebush! Yes indeed, this one special extra step is so highly appreciated you cannot imagine just how wonderful it is! Find a nice sunny spot that is easily seen from a large picture window, and plant the rosebush there. Or plant the rosebush near a window where they may sit to enjoy a morning cup of coffee or tea, or a place where they like to spend quiet time doing something they enjoy. The pretty blooming bush will give them a kiss of your love every single time they see it outside that window. Even in the winter months when the bush is draped with snow, she can look out and see the bush. The memory of this wonderful gift, the giving, the beauty of the blooms, and your careful and thoughtful planting will yet again deliver that special heartfelt kiss of love.
The color of the flower, whether cut roses or a blooming rose bush, is important due to the meaning behind such colors. Here are some colors and their traditional meanings:
Red - Love, passion, beauty, courage & respect White – Purity, innocence, heavenly Dark Pink – Appreciation & gratitude Light Pink – Admiration, grace, sweetness, sympathy Yellow – Joy, delight & friendship Orange – Fascination, desire, enthusiasm Lavender – Love at first sight, enchantment Coral – Desire Peach – Sincerity, appreciation Yellow w/red Tips – Falling in love, friendship Red & White together – Unity Red & Yellow together – Happiness & excitement
Even though the color of the blooms may have a certain meaning, a major consideration is picking a color that you know is your mother’s or your wife’s favorite. Giving the gift of a rosebush or flowering plant that blooms in your loved ones favorite color is truly a grand gift of thoughtfulness, caring and love.
When giving cut roses as a gift, there are some traditional meanings having to do with the number of roses. Here are a few:
A Single Rose - Love at the first sight. The single rose, no matter its color, depicts the utmost devotion to a single person.
2 Roses - Mutual feelings, particularly if they are red in color speak of two people who are deeply in love and together form their own blissful little world.
3 Roses - Stand for the three words in "I Love You," and seek to express this very simple still powerful message.
4 Roses – Nothing can tear us apart!
5 Roses – I love you so very much!
6 Roses - I love you, I miss you. Speaks to the need to be loved and cherished. I want to be yours!
7 Roses – I am head over heels in love with you. Smitten.
8 Roses – I am so greatful for your love and caring.
9 Roses – Together, as long as we live, eternal love.
10 Roses – You are perfect and beautiful.
11 Roses – Assurance that the recipient is truly and deeply loved, treasured.
12 Roses – The Dozen! – Be mine and mine alone!
13 Roses – Friends forever. (Be careful with this one! Friendship and love are not the same!)
Enjoy the beauty of the bloom smiles in your garden or landscape areas. They help make a stressed out, heavy heart feel far, far lighter!
Author bio: With 40+ years of rose growing experience, Stan V. Griep is a Consulting Rosarian for the Rocky Mountain Region of the American Rose Society as well as the Denver and Loveland Rose Societies, a Colorado Native Rosarian, and is a member of the American Rose Society, The Denver Rose Society, and the Loveland Rose Society. He is a “Cyber Consulting Rosarian” for the American Rose Society, Colorado Gardening on-line and GardeningKnowHow.com as well as a freelance writer and speaker. An award winning photographer, his latest book is available at Blurb.com: http://www.blurb.com/b/6909245-heavenly-gifts-for-the-soul .
All articles are copyrighted and remain the property of the author.
By Dan Heims, President, Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
Photographs courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
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