There is nothing that brightens a place up like fresh flowers. The pretty colours, the smells, they are beautiful, and they bring so much joy.

The tradition of giving flowers has a rich history. Historical tales dating back to ancient Greece, Rome, China, and Egypt show that flowers were an essential aspect of social customs. In Greek mythology flowers were used as representations of gods and goddesses.

The tradition of giving flowers carried on to the Middle Ages, where it was especially popular among the English and the French. The tradition of assigning meanings to each type of flower became popular across Europe, a tradition that is thought to have begun in Turkey.
The Victorians practised the custom of gifting flowers often and there were strict rules and formalities attached. Expressing feelings verbally did not sit well with Victorians so they chose to convey their thoughts through the giving of flowers with different varieties coming to symbolise different feelings.
We love having fresh flowers around the home. Not only do they make the place look pretty and homely, but we get to spend mornings arranging them. We sit down together with some tea and biscuits and busy ourselves with the task of snipping and pruning and arranging. We are always so proud of our displays and the joy that they bring.

Whilst working away at our arrangements we have interesting discussions about our gardening antics and share our horticultural knowledge with each other. The lifestyle team always do a little research too and enchant us with stories and facts about the flowers we are working with. For example, did you know that carnations can symbolise varying emotions depending on their colour? Red symbolises deep love whereas white is a symbol of pure love and striped carnations are given to convey regret.

It is wonderful to be able to learn so many new things whilst taking part in fun activities, I suppose that is the gift that time gives us. We are never in rush anymore; each activity and event can just be enjoyed and savoured, we live in the moment and enjoy every single one of them.