Floriography, by Gina Margolies

June’s Birthday Blossom is the beautiful rose.  So much has been said of the rose. Poets have sung its glories, painters have displayed its beauty, and Cupid has single-handedly made it the most popular flower in the world. The star of the show on Valentine’s Day and at weddings, a popular addition on cakes, and a common motif on consumer goods, it does not seem an exaggeration to say there are roses everywhere. In the Western world of today, the rose represents love. Given as a gift or populating a bridal bouquet, roses prompt us to matters of the heart....

Welcome Spring (finally)  Spring has, finally, sprung here at Birthday Blossoms HQ. After an unusually cold and snowy winter which outstayed its welcome, New York City has greeted warmer temperatures with open arms. The annual explosion of flowers and greenery in the parks that dot the cityscape, the trees that line the streets, and the flower boxes that adorn brownstone windows has commenced.  In honor of the long-awaited spring weather, I did what I do every spring. I pulled up an image of Primavera, the painting by Sandro Botticelli, on my computer screen at work. (The real thing resides at the...

As of a few days ago, it is officially spring. Here at Birthday Blossoms HQ in New York City, it’s hard to tell. We had a few teaser days, but it is still fairly cold. On the way to work today, Birthday Blossoms staffers noted many people had on hats and gloves as they trudged through a weak sunlight which felt more winter than spring. Spring weather will eventually catch up with the calendar, but it’s hard not to feel a bit antsy after such a cold, snowy winter.  Our natural anticipation prompts us to look for the tell-tale signs...

February’s Birthday Blossom is the lovely violet, but we think you will agree that the rose gets all of the attention when the 14th of the month rolls around. It will surprise no one to know that Valentine’s Day is the single largest day of the year for rose purchases (more than 250 million), and that the red rose is the most popular choice. To honor the romantic rose, Birthday Blossoms would like to share this short poem by D.H. Lawrence, written in 1923. Nature responds so beautifully. Roses are only once-wild roses, that were given an extra chance, So...

The headquarters of Birthday Blossoms in New York City recently received the gift of over a foot of snow outside our door, courtesy of Old Man Winter. Accompanying the snow is a pocket of extreme cold which, according to forecasters, intends to hang around. Put those two sentences together and you get the perfect situation for a book recommendation. And what better than a book about flowers? Science tells us looking at flowers can make one feel happier. Which, naturally, begs the question, might a book about flowers make one feel warmer? As with many things, there is only one...