Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, wherein there begins a full moon.  From that date, the festivities continue for seven days, and a Passover feast called Seder is enjoyed.  During Seder, several delicious and symbolic foods are savoured, with four cups of wine!

 Preparation for the significant event often involves a thorough “spring cleaning” of one’s home, sometimes even calling for a new paint job. Offering gifts, such as lovely and colourful flower bouquets, are a nice way of adorning the table for Seder.  Getting the home ready may include the addition of fresh greens as well as spring blooms, to create a feeling of welcome and promise.  Hydrangeas carry the pleasantness of spring.  Bright daisies bring in sunshine and joy.  And azalea topiaries add something distinctive to any home.  Violets are soft and friendly, while tulips are boisterous and cheery.  Flowers forever contribute to a fun yet classy sophistication of any event.

Besides eating luscious delicacies and traditional Jewish foods, Passover festivities encompass, Passover rituals, social gatherings, and fun Passover games. Creative activities are also a part of Passover, intended to make beautiful pieces of artwork.  Trying something new is always a welcomed extra.  For instance, bouquets of fruit, or eatable arrangements, are tasty and refreshing inclusions to meals enjoyed throughout the event.  Bringing a unique and inspired air to Passover can be easily accomplished with a little colour and bountiful fragrance.       

 Some of the more well-known rituals that are observed during this time involve bread.  For instance, afikomen, which is a type of bread, is hidden by children who receive a reward if the bread is not found by their parents.  Chametz, (any type of leavened bread, such as rye, wheat, or barley), look engorged or bloated and are expected to be removed from homes as a representative way of removing arrogance from the soul.  Matza is also eaten.  Matza is unleavened bread that has no “puffiness”.  Including Matza within the meals is a positive commandment or “mitzvah”, enjoyed during Seder, the first meal of Passover.  Plates of dried fruit and nuts (kosher) can provide even more appetizing selections before or after meals. 

 The combination of all of the rituals and festivities above make the entire seven days of Passover a myriad of colour, scintillating aroma, scrumptious food, creative flair and one talked about event!

Arrangements that include fruit are not a new phenomenon.   Chefs around the world use imagination to slice and carve out original designs, the likes of which were never seen before.  I’ve seen watermelons carved to look like peacocks, papaya shaped into shoes, apples that look like butterflies, and pears carved into violins. 

But, what I find most inventive and practical at the same time is a fruit dish, sliced to look like a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  It serves as a conversation piece as well as provides a delicious cocktail for guests.

Often these arrangements will use a mix of fruit such as pineapple, oranges, cherries, melon, grapes and strawberries.  Sometimes the arrangements will also include fun extras to evoke even stronger bursts of flavour, like chocolate or marshmallows.  Brought together, the colours are vibrant, the fruit is juicy, and the fragrance is refreshing.  

Although making a simple eatable arrangement on your own is said to be relatively easy, in actuality it does involve time and patience.  Special tools, such as carving knives, make it easier, as well as particular wooden picks, and some skill in removing seeds and such from the centre of something like a melon base.  Not exactly my forté, but, could be an activity right up your alley.

OR…you could simply purchase an arrangement that’s been already designed for you and pay relatively little for it considering all the work involved.  Plus, save time on a day that you’ll more than likely be trying to prepare for a house full of guests.  The arrangements purchased will also provide more intricately designed pieces, with more variety in its shapes and colours. 

If you are planning an event, and looking to try something different, I strongly recommend an eatable fruit bouquet.  Add a little extra fun and vibrancy to any party.  Soooo fruity!

Representative of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is intended to remind us of the hope that an act of rebirth presents us.  Decorated eggs and Easter bunnies became tied to the holiday because they too are a sign of rebirth.   

Because rabbits have frequent multiple births, the bunny (or hare) has come to denote fertility.  In addition, the hare was the sacred animal of Eastre, the goddess of spring and fertility.  It was the Saxons who later devoted the month of April to celebrating this goddess.

Eggs too embody the concept of fertility and have been linked to springtime festivals for many years. According to ancient Romans, all life comes from an egg.  In addition, to many Christians eggs are seen as the seed of life.

With spring and its rebirth role, there are particular flowers that remind us of events like Easter and its epitomization of abundance and renewal.  People select Easter flower arrangements to add beauty and refreshing fragrance to their homes or even church.  Popular choices include, Azaleas, Tulips, White Easter Lilies, Hyacinths and Daisies.   

In any event, eggs, bunnies, and flowers all provide wonderful Easter tidings and similarly stand as symbols of resurrection, joy and revival. 

Happy Easter to all!

Finding new, yet still representative, ways to celebrate Norooz can begin simply. Baskets of dried fruit and nuts are already made available.  Or even presenting friends with a Money Tree, symbolic of good fortune, can all be found here. 

Background

In 2009, Canada passed a bill to add Norooz, to the national calendar.  The Iranian calendar differs in dates, thus, while it is 2011 in the Gregorian calendar, it will be 1390 this Persian New Year.  Norooz,  is recognized by Iranian peoples as being one of the most important holidays in their calendar, but is now being observed and celebrated in other parts of the world, including parts of Asia and south eastern Europe. 

Norooz is celebrated on or about March 21^st, the day that the center of the sun is reported to be vertically overhead the equator.  Even though late March will provide the day for festivities, the preparations for said day begin at the start of the Month.

Traditional Preparations and Festivities

The first part of preparations includes a spring cleaning of the entire house.   It is symbolic of “rebirth”.  New clothes are purchased and flowers are displayed in the home, most popularly the hyacinth and tulip.

A traditional table setting, known as the Sofreh or Haft-Sin (seven S’s) is displayed in each home, until the New Year.  The table is made up of seven items, all beginning with the letter “S” in the Persian alphabet.   The items all correlate to certain elements of life, such as, wheat sprouts (sabzeh) to symbolize rebirth, vinegar (serkeh ) symbolizing age and patience, or apples (sib) symbolizing beauty and health.  Over the years the table’s items have expanded to include, coins symbolizing wealth (sekkeh), a mirror symbolizing cleanliness and honesty, a holy book like the Qur’an, and a hyacinth plant (sonbol).   

Short visits between friends and family are expected within the 12 days prior to the New Year, wherein the visits are reciprocated.  Varying traditions and festivities are followed until the 13^th day, when gifts are exchanged and people picnic and party outdoors in an attempt to avoid the bad luck associated with the number 13. 

Gift exchange between friends and relatives include dried fruit and nuts, liquor and flowers.  These are terrific choices.  Gift exchange should not be confused with “eydi” (New-year gift), wherein the head of the household presents family members with fresh bank notes or coins as a gift.   

Haji Firouz, is seen as the herald of the event.  A man in bright red clothing and a painted black face dances and sings along the streets intending to spread good cheer.  He too is a symbol of rebirth, as he represents the Sumerian god of sacrifice who is killed at the end of each year and then reborn at the start of the New Year. 

The festival of fire (Chahârshanbe Sûrî), is another important event wherein bonfires are created and jumped over in a symbol of letting light in or the good, and keeping darkness, the bad, out.

Embracing the holiday of Norooz, is the same as embracing the future and new life.  Regardless of your own rituals for spring, opening the door to a revitalization like Norooz, is a great motivator for your future.  Wherever you may be this Norooz, have a happy, safe and prosperous New Year.

Many of us immediately associate two common events when thinking about the month of March; spring and St. Patrick’s Day.  Having originated in Ireland, it has traditionally been recognized as an Irish holiday in honour of their most well-known patron saint, but is now celebrated throughout the globe in commemoration of the Irish event.  Countries outside of Ireland that are included in the festivities are Canada, the U.S., Japan, and Argentina, just to name a few.   

The Festivities

St. Patrick used the 3 leaved shamrock to explain the blessed trinity, and since then shamrocks have been adopted as the St. Patty’s Day logo while green has taken over as the symbolic colour.  In fact, each year the Chicago River gets dyed in green in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. 

St. Patrick’s Day festivities can go on for 3 to 4 days with parades, fireworks, concerts and performing art.  Irish beer and whiskey become the drinks of choice during this time, and hats, leprechauns and Irish song are warmly welcomed and shared among all. 

Enliven St. Patrick’s Day with Flowers

In keeping with the spirit of the event, add more life and cheer to any party or bring the luck o’ the Irish to a loved one.  Keep it natural – no dyed flowers or arrangements.  Use the greens of Mother Nature to create a distinct and significant display.  Green cymbidium orchids, or even white roses or calla lilies are colours that play off of each other to produce that Irish zeal.  Using fruits and vegetables can also add some dimension and creativity to your display, particularly for a party.  Combine floral arrangements to include green grapes, or artichoke heads.  White roses with green artichoke heads poking in between make for a  fun yet elegant arrangement.  Water based glass cylinders, holding submerged flowers can be spruced up with some green or white coloured LED lights.  This would also be a fun touch to any party display.   Using such designs are sure to bring the Irish spirit to friends and family. 

 This year, make certain that those special Irish eyes are smiling.

Both shows offer fun activities for the whole family, including trips to Pelee, wine tasting, scavenger hunts, garden tips, and more.

Canada Blooms in Toronto

Canada’s largest garden and flower festival will be held at Direct Energy , beginning March 16^th and running until March 20^th.  The show is intended to provide a dazzling display of flowers and gardens, demonstrations, and shopping, but it doesn’t end there.

This year’s theme has been titled “Rhythms”.  “Spring fever” is expected as the show marks the 40^th anniversary of the JUNO awards.  Celebrity gardens will be designed with floral instruments and musical notes. 

Ten international competitors will participate in the Toronto Garden Club event, it being the largest in its 15 year history.  Green for Life will be the event’s spectacular entrance garden.

Canada Blooms costs $18 for adults, $16, seniors/student, and free for children 12 and younger.

The hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., except closing at 6 p.m. on March 20.

Visit: www.canadablooms.com

Stratford Garden Festival

This year’s theme is “On the Edge”.  It is representative of that time between winter and spring.  Floral displays will prevail, with small water gardens, lighting and landscape designs.

Nine gardens will be alluring visitors, all differing in artistry and design.  Metal sculptures, fabric panels and organic food will all provide designs from quiet oasis to vegetable gardens.  These attractions are sure to instil excitement for spring. 

Beginning March 3^rd and running until the 6^th, the Stratford festival begins with a gardener’s treat.  Gardeners are welcome to come learn tips and get their hands on seeds, pottery and other tools and accessories that will make any gardener anxious for winter to disappear.  The workshop will be held at the Stratford Rotary Complex

Guest speakers include Carson Arthur of HGTV, Frank Ferragine from Breakfast Television, and Paul Zammit of the Toronto Botanical Garden.  Other gardening experts featured at the workshops include Shauna Dobbie, Beckie Fox, David Hobson and Lorraine Johnson.  Here people will enjoy learning things like, how to maintain orchids on  windowsills, seasonal flower arranging and keeping inexpensive and easy vegetable gardens.   

In the evening of March 3^rd, visitors can attend the garden party, enjoying wine tasting at Pelee Island Winery,  a martini from Diageo, or a brewski at the Stratford Brewing Company.

Musical guests, The Steve Smith Trio, will delight in song, while visitors dine and prepare for the auction hosted by Mayor Dan Mathieson.  It will include items such as trips, theatre and dinner packages.

March 3 is also Seniors’ Day.  A free cup of tea and gourmet cookie will be served. 

Kid’s activities and Family Fun Night will begin on March 4 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Kid’s can laugh and play through a scavenger hunt, and other activities.  A silent auction will be held for children items as well, such as a CD, T-shirt and book autographed by prized celebrity, Justin Bieber.

Sponsored by Orr Insurance, the Stratford Garden Festival is intended to raise funds to support medical research and lung-health education initiatives.

Stratford Garden Festival tickets are $9 for adults, free for children 12 and younger

The Garden party is $30.

Hours are March 3, noon to 5 p.m.; March 4, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; March 5, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and March 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information visit: www.stratfordgardenfestival.com or E-mail: dherman@on.lung.ca; (519) 271-7500.

 Come out and enjoy a blooming Ontario!

Middle-eastern influence and design of varying gardens during this time, eventually made their way across Europe and Asia, and then again were revived in Europe in the 13th century. 

Today, gardens have extended their creativity.  Unusual gardens now open the floodgates for imagination and excitement.  From shoes to buildings, distinctive gardens have become one tourist attraction that shouldn’t be missed.

These Shoes were meant for…planting?

Alamo Square Park, located in the heart of San Francisco, has a very unusual characteristic.  Using old discarded shoes found in the trash, city gardener, David Clifton, used the shoes as interesting containers, and planted varying flowers in the middle of the park.   Today, he still gets floral donations from fans, and uses bark, leaves and other debris to maintain his shoe collection.

Enchanting Archways

Costa Rica’s famous landscape artist, Evangelisto Blanco, created a spectacular display of conifer cypress trees, in Francisco Alvarado Park.  The trees have been twisted and manipulated to look like monkey motorcyclists, dancing elephants, and bullfight rings.  Most amazing of all, is a large and enchanting archway which instils intrigue and creates a desire for exploration.

A Garden that “Rocks”

In 1965, a city sanitation worker in Chandigarh, India named Nek Chand Saini began making animal and other figures out of rocks, broken crockery, marbles, bottles and more.  It was a secret project he kept hidden on the edges of the city.  When city officials finally stumbled onto his secret, he was worried that it would be destroyed.  In the end, the city officials thought it was brilliant and they appointed Saini as the head of his newly inaugurated Rock Garden with many assistants to help him. 

What grows up, must grow down

Osaka, Japan – This is the location of an unusual garden, one that grows vertically along a building wall, rather than horizontally on the ground.  Vertical Garden on Building Walls is a 9 floor building with extruding pockets on the building wall, holding mostly bamboo plant species.  The plants remain hydrated using a computer-controlled irrigation system.  It has become an interesting city landmark.   

Certainly there exists many many more unique gardens throughout the world, some even more unusual than a garden made from old shoes.  Regardless, the beauty of a garden, fun or elegant, is an experience that is always remembered.

Golden Globe

Elton John, a British pop idol, is famed for exorbitant and lavish fashion and style, as well as his music.  In addition to his extravagant taste in clothing, furniture, and cars, John is reported as having spent over £290,000 in one year on floral arrangements around both his home in Windsor and his Holland Park home.   “Yes, I like flowers”, was his response when questioned. 

Elton John is lucky enough (and rich enough) to have his floral creations cater to his specific preferences not simply with respect to flower choice, but colour and presentation as well.  Fresh floral displays are created each week, in nearly every room in his home and throughout his garden.  Seasonal changes are also considered when his arrangements are designed. 

However, regardless of whether a person has $50 or $50,000, a passion for flowers will inevitably find their way into said person’s life.  Both formal and informal flower arrangements can be worked on together with your florist, particularly if you bring along a few basic tips.

Formal or Informal?

Deciding what style best suits your specific room or décor is a good place to start.  A more formal style tends to keep arrangements simpler – little colour variation, fewer fillers, and modest vases.  Informal arrangements are the exact opposite – colourful, a-symmetrical, and unique and eye-catching containers.  Colour will be easier to gauge once you’ve selected what style.

Colour

Colour tends to reflect your style choice.  Formal arrangements are noted for displaying one colour.  This includes creating an arrangement with varying shades of the same colour.  For example, flowers that are dark purple combined with flowers that carry a lighter shade of purple.  Informal creations could display flowers from opposite colour schemes like blue with orange or green with purple.  Related colour schemes are also a pretty combination such as orange with yellow or blue with purple. 

Symmetry and Shape

We tend to immediately categorize balanced and symmetrical floral designs as formal.  For instance, white carnations packed tightly into a vase with a round shape and little else protruding, appears more balanced and formal.  Flowers that are a myriad of colours, shapes and sizes, some tall, some shorter with the addition of different fillers and leaves hanging loosely over the vase, carries an air of casualty.  Depending on what you’re looking for, choosing the flowers can be simple, or an engaging event with your florist.

Vases

A fun or sophisticated container doesn’t necessarily have to be a crystal vase.  Tin watering cans, baskets or a lovely ceramic water pitcher can both ensure charm and elegance.  A more formal arrangement looks for a vase with symmetry and class to balance the overall statement it makes.  Whereas, with an informal arrangement, containers are intended to be fun or uneven, it being more important that the flowers themselves are first spotted. 

Flowers

Working with your florist, and having an idea of what you want your design to look like, will draw your attention to the right flowers.  Focal flowers and intermediate flowers provide the emphasis on both the style and colour scheme.  Focal flowers are taller and more central, whereas the intermediate flowers are shorter and maintain the colour scheme chosen.  Filler flowers and filler plants are added to do just that – fill.  These flowers remove any gaps, and hide unattractive stems.  Filler plants provide green foliage that hangs softly over the edges of the container.

In the end, when all is chosen and brought together in an unusual presentation, the flowers produce a warm, colourful and feel-good atmosphere, sure to brighten up any home or garden.  We may not have the ability to spend as much as Elton John does on flowers, but that doesn’t mean that we still can’t have the most fabulous and pleasantly unusual spectacle of floral artistry.

Champagne Dreams Bouquet

Prince William and Kate Middleton are definitely the talk of the town these days. There have already been numerous magazine spreads about the royal wedding, speculating what Middleton’s dress will look like, how she’ll pull up to the venue, who is included in the guest list, and of course, their floral arrangements.

Floral lineage, as it is called, is closely linked to royal brides-to-be and their wedding bouquets. Ironically, most brides don’t worry too much about using the same types of flowers their mothers had used for their own wedding days, but royal bouquets can be closely tied as generations pass. They too provide floral ideas for brides-to-be.

Surprisingly, royal bouquets aren’t often designed using too rare or exotic type flowers. In fact, many royal brides carried varying types of orchids, or lilies of the valley – both simplistic, but graceful, and easy to obtain.

White roses and carnations were also choice flowers. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1923) was reported as having carried a bouquet of lilies of the valley and white roses. Just before her, Queen Mary (1893) also carried lilies of the valley, orange blossoms and “The Bride”, a type of white carnation.

Queen Elizabeth II (1947) carried three types of orchids including, cattleya, odontoglossum and cypripedium. Sprigs of myrtle were added as well, again, creating a simple but elegant bouquet.

White stephanotis was often used within royal bouquets to add innocence and purity. Princess Anne (1973) used all the flowers mentioned so far – white roses, lilies of the valley, stephanotis, myrtle, plus, a new addition, white heather.

Freesias and gardenias could be clustered together to create beautiful headdresses, like one used by The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.

Last, but certainly not least, was the bouquet of the late Princess Diana. Building a trend in cascading bouquets, her flower arrangement has been unparalleled in composition (and weight!). It included beautiful large gardenias, odontoglossum orchids, roses and lilies of the valley. Intertwined among the larger flowers, were freesias, stephanotis, and myrtle. Greens such as ivy, Veronica hebe and tradescantia put the final touches on this marvellous floral masterpiece.

It’s rumoured that Kate will carry a bouquet fashioned from the arrangements of earlier queens and princesses. Orchids or roses, and the possibility of a posy of snowdrops, just like Queen Victoria in 1840. Elegant and sophisticated, Middleton will carry on the floral lineage of the royal family, and there is no doubt it will always be remembered as glamorous and chic.

Cymbidium orchids

Floral inspiration and design has always been readily adopted within the realm of artistic culture. Not only do we have renowned floral designers around the world, but, there is a myriad of artists, writers, even fashion connoisseurs who understand that the “flora and fauna” of their creations will bring their art to new heights. Taking a look at some of these contributions to floristry, we can see how the boundaries between flowers and art are quite fuzzy indeed.

Constance Spry

Constance Spry was a social activist, teacher, author and, of course, florist in the early part of the 20th century Britain. Inspired by 17th century artists and books, Spry managed to develop a classy style of floral arrangement to illustrate the beauty of imagination. Self-expression was an important part of Spry’s teachings, stressing that modelling one’s home to exhibit an elegant flair did not have to cost much and could often be done using unique choice selections such as wood, hedgerows, vegetables and even wasteland patches. Her committed energy to providing the wealthy and not-so-wealthy with peonies, violets, wild and hedgerow floral arrangements, enabled her to quit teaching and open up her own shop, Flower Decorations, later to become the title of her first book. Through her own gardening trials and tribulations, Spry’s books included DIY-type tips from weeding, to what to do about wilting poppies, ivy polishing and lilac leaves. She supplied creative arrangement advice such as framing iris’ with alder, combining strawberry leaves with dahlias, and fashioning old containers to look like chic vases.

Georgia O’Keefe

Not a florist per se, rather, she is a legendary painter of flowers. She holds a fascinating life history, each page of her life contributing to her popularity and merit as an early 20th century American artist. Moving around various cities across the U.S., O’Keefe pushed her unique flair in a manner considered inappropriate for women at the time. Her first large scale floral painting, Petunia was completed in the mid 1920s; her style bringing a new appreciation for flowers to North America . Other choice works include: Oriental Poppies, Jimson Weed, White Rose with Larkspur, Sunflower, Blue Morning Glories, and more. Her art is now renowned the world over.

Jeff Leatham

A more contemporary floral designer has recently made an even greater splash in the industry since his interview with famous talk show host, Oprah Winfrey. Interviewed on an Oprah segment called “Inside Glamorous Dream Jobs”, Jeff Leatham, better known as the rock ‘n’ roll florist, proved that floristry is where it’s at. A TV celebrity, Leatham told Oprah that colour is one of his first points of inspiration before putting together a floral arrangement. A florist who manages to get people to stop in their tracks to admire his/her own stunning floral design, Leatham notes, is a way of knowing “you’ve done your job”.

Floristry and artistry is a combination of design, deep rooted in the concept of expression. Floral arrangements today are still considered, simple but profound ways to connect to the world. Say “I love you” through roses, “Happy Birthday” through daisies, and “Congratulations” through hydrangeas. Anyway you say it, floral design can always bring out the physical beauty in your words.