Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Say it with Flowers, but what kind?

Let's just say that I've made someone close to me very, very angry. That they are right to be angry, I've been a really stupid superhero...

Can we say that? And let's say that in a lame attempt to patch things up- and I know it's lame, but I'm grasping at straws- I fly to Somewhere to buy a bouquet of flowers that are beautiful and unique enough to get me forgiven...or let me back into the house, at the very least.

Let's just say that.

What would I buy? I need to be in another country. Any country will do. And I need to know what flowers I could get there.

I'll take any and all suggestions.

If I flew to England I would buy...what? Italy? Spain? Greece? er...other places? The more specific the better.

Here in the southern US, it would be a fistful of kudzu...

Any takers? Or is this too silly to answer?

Thanks!

CC

I just received a beautiful arrangement of pale peach callelilies (sp?) and pale pale green blossoms (apple? snowballs?). The packaging by the florist was beautiful and the flowers and colours made the room come alive.

My husband, on the other hand, brought home a dozen red roses mixed with baby's breath and that made my heart flutter. (Also packaged nicely by the florist.)

All this occurred in Canada, but came from a hot house, I'm sure.

More exotic? I don't know. In the end, it's the thought that counts, not the kinds of flowers.

gerry

How about you fly to lots of different countries and collect a flower from each one? A tulip from Holland, a carnation or a rose from England, an orchid from...um...wherever orchids come from, etc (but please don't pick one of those orchids that looks like a flesh-eating triffid - pick a pretty one). That might be the grand gesture you're looking for to patch things up. You'd have to be careful you didn't damage the delicate blooms while you were flying at superspeed, too, so that would be an extra penance for you.

Yvonne

Hey CC...

Because your question really made me laugh...

From http://www.800florals.com/care/meaning.asp :

MISTLETOE - Kiss me, Affection, To Surmount Difficulties, Sacred Plant of India
MYRTLE - Love, Hebrew Emblem of Marriage
PEONY - Shame, Happy Life, Happy Marriage

(I looked up peony on the net and found out they're from China. They're also the state flower of Indiana.)

Hi,

Found this. Maybe will help.

I'm sorry flower
http://daisymaisy.net/sorry.htm

http://rclub.com.ua/services/love_romance/sorry.htm


Official State Flowers and Provincial Flowers in the U.S. and Canada
http://www.800florals.com/care/state-flowers.asp


National Flowers
http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/flowers/pcd17.html


The Meanings Of Most Flowers
http://www.800florals.com/care/meaning.asp


The Meaning of Roses
http://www.800florals.com/care/meaningroses.asp

Glossary of Flowers
http://www.800florals.com/care/glossary.asp


More:

The Symbolic Meaning for Flowers
http://www.tobysflowers.com/flwr-mean.htm

http://www.craftassoc.com/flowers.html

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3693/flower.html


MAF

I'll suggest this flower because I absolutely love the name: frangipani. Also known as plumeria, it is grown in warm tropical areas in the Caribbean, Polynesia and the South Pacific, South America, and Mexico. Even tropical Australia and N.Z. grow them. The flower is used for making traditional leis and comes in whites, yellows, pinks, reds and multiple pastels.I don't know if the flower itself has a meaning, but a lei certainly does.

Jude

Well, most exotic but recognizable flowers can still be found in florist shops just about anywhere, regardless of their native habitat. Orchids, for example, are a symbiotic species of flower that naturally grow only in the crooks of the upper branches of rainforest trees. Many plant nurseries, however, have special humidified greenhouses to grow them in far more convenient locations. So, you could go to, say, Brazil, and carefully fly through the rainforest's canopy until you found a particularly beautiful orchid, and then carefully take a few of its blooms. Or, you could walk a few blocks from your house, find a decent neighborhood florist, and buy a carefully cultivated specimen that looks pretty much identical.

Similarly, my flower of choice would probably be the Bird of Paradise, a plant native to the tropics and nearby regions. Although I have seen them growing outdoors in Florida (like many plants, they're not native to the area, but they can grow there), they'd never be able to survive here in New Jersey. Still, I can buy them easily enough from a nearby florist.

If you're going for a motley bouquet (which would have to be very carefully arranged, so as not to clash), I'd personally say that you'd have to include some Gardenias in the mix. Small, delicate, and unobtrusive, they give off an absolutely delighful fragrance. Similar to Jasmine, actually, but somewhat stronger.

On a recent trip to Alaska, I came across Fireweed. It says different things to different people. I don't think it's normally found anywhere else, but there, it's common enough to have earned the name "weed." To some, it's a beautiful and exotic flower, one of the few splashes of color in that mostly frozen region. To others, it's an annoyingly ubiquitous weed. I found it charming, my mother thought it ugly. In any case, it's a rare and exotic plant. It might go well as part of a bouquet. It's also one of the very few native Alaskan purple flowers that is edible rather than poisonous.

A search for pictures of the plant proved difficult. Most sites want to show a close-up, which doesn't really give you a good idea of what it looks like to most people.

This is about the best I could find.

Searching around, however, showed me this page, which has a listing of many types of flowers, some of them quite rare. The site started out as a listing of plants native to upstate NY, but it now includes information about Fireweed and Jewelweed, among others.

Going back to he first site, I browsed the pictures of Alaskan flowers and came up with the Alaska state flower. It might be appropriate for you, or it might just bring up unpleasant topics. You'll have to think about this one yourself and decide which it means to you. The flower is, of course, the Forget-Me-Not.

Other than that, I can only suggest a trip to a botanical garden. Walking through their exotic greenhouses, you can find many rare and beautiful plants, often from around the world. Generally, they won't be the sorts of plants you'd be able to find at a florist's shop, either.

If you don't have botanical gardens convenient to you, you could always try online. A search for "botanical gardens virtual tour" turned up several likely hits, such as:

Huntington Gardens
The Desert Botanical Gardesn of Pheonix, Arizona
The Phipps Conservatory
The Selby Gardens (They're in Sarasota, FL. I've toured there myself a few times)
Hawaii Tropical Gardens


One last comment. I'm just about alone in this, but I, personally, have never cared for the symbolism of cut flowers. To me, what you're saying when you give someone cut flowers is, "Here. I have found a thing of beauty and cut it from its life source for you. It will wither and die quickly, no matter what you do. Your best efforts will only sustain it for a few days. Enjoy." On the other hand, a well-chosen hardy potted plant can say something very different. "Here. I have found a tiny seedling. If we care for it properly, it will grow and flourish. It can last for years, decades, perhaps even longer than either of us. Every year, if we tend it properly, it will bloom anew, bringing fresh flowers into our home."

I understand that cut flowers still have their place, and that they have a much bigger immediate impact. I also understand that some people are better able to tend flowers and plants than others. There aren't many plants that can survive being coffeed instead of watered, for example. I just wanted to take a second and share my thoughts on the matter.

Good luck in your quest. Hope I've been of at least some help.

Paul

Also, I think a factor in the giving should be a knowledge of the person's favorite flower, if they have such a thing.

Tank (who has never been much of a flower person since it wasn't something seen in our household as my mother didn't really care for flowers)

Here in Greece, the two most easy-to-find-in-a-field flowers are daisies and poppies (as well as others which names I don't know). But I don't have a clue about their meaning.

AnnaBtG. (not a big help, is she?)

Well, this is an abundance of riches.

Thank you to all who contributed.

Basically, I need to send a superhero out of town on a futile mission- flowers to appeal to a rightfully hard heart- and you've given me so many ideas...perhaps he'll tour?

Yvonne likes the grand gesture, a flower from here, another from there.

Paul feels he should bring a potted plant. And made an eloquent argument on its behalf.

Jude named a flower I can't pronounce, but it sounds like you could dance to it.

And WandaD did my homework for me! As did Maria, QueenoftheCapes, and AnnaBthG.

Gerry did mention the classic red roses. And it isn't a classic for nothing.

In short, this is great. I have no idea what I'll use, but you gave me a lot to work with. Thank you!

One of my goals as a lazy writer is to never research. You know, since it's fiction, I just make my facts up. (So don't try any of my stuff at home.) But flowers? Eh. I drew a blank. In that regard, I'm kinda with Tank's mom. And hey...Tank has a mom! Just think on that a minute...

CC

CC,

I received the most gorgeous arrangement for Mother's Day! The flowers are pink, orange,and green, long-stemmed in a brown pot with a huge heart on the front. It's still just as beautiful as it was last Sunday, laid out in such thick, rich colors on a background of plain old white paper. And it was presented with the brightest, missing a front tooth grin I've ever seen. (My six year old lovingly made me an arrangement of sponged flowers and a hand written 'For Mom, Love Carter' heart shaped note.

I might be biased, but this was one of the most beautiful arrangements ever! They will certainly make me smile for some time to come because I taped it to the closet door!

SQD (who knows it's not what you're looking, but I just had to share)

Jude

Brief note on the pronounciation issue:

Merriam-Webster Online not only has a pronounciation guide, but it also has audio clips for most entries. The clips are of American pronounciation, in as unaccented a voice as possible (if something like "unaccented" can be said to exist).

So, if you want to know how to say a word, you can look it up there. For Frangipani , it looks like there are two clips, but both sound the same to me. I think the second one is there because there's an accepted alernate spelling (with the second n doubled). Anyway, to hear the word, just click on the little red speaker icon. It'll pop up a new window that will play an audio clip of one of the nice m-w staffers saying the word.

Paul

Orchids grow abundantly (they're roadside weeds) on the island of Hawaii and are very beautiful. Roses, OTOH, are classic and my personal favorite. Every anniversary Hubby gives me a red rose for each year we've been married. Well, now we are at 41 and roses are very expensive. So every 5 years is a white rose. Maybe the Superhero could start the tradition early?

Artemis

I'm not a flower person myself, having allergies to some pollen. However, irises were my mother's favorite, and they are certainly beautiful and more unusual than roses.

I just looked up their meaning, and according to the Meanings of Most Flowers site, it is:

IRIS - Fleur-de-lis, Emblem of France, Your Friendship Means so Much to Me, Faith, Hope, Wisdom and Valor, My Compliments

What sources do you choose for the meanings of flowers?

Shakespeare, if you're looking for classics:

There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies, that’s for thoughts.

(Hamlet)

You could use those in an ASU fic.