Chinese New Year Traditions

Chinese New Year Traditions

Chinese New Year Flower Meaning gold flowers kung hee fat choy lunar new year red flowers

Chinese New Year is a centuries-old holiday, dating back to when some of the first agrarian societies  celebrated the cycle of seasons, which is why it is also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year.  This year, January 28th will mark the beginning of the Year of the Rooster.

There are several legends about the beginning of the Chinese New Year, and they all include a beast called the Nian (which translates to "year").

The Nian

The Nian lived in the mountains, and towards the end of winter, (when it was particularly hungry) it would come into the villages to devour livestock, crops, and children. The villagers were helpless to stop the Nian until they discovered that the monster feared loud noises, fire, and the color red.

So the next winter, they lit firecrackers and decorated their homes with red lanterns, flowers, and scrolls.  The Nian never came to their village again, and the anniversary of "the passing of the Nian" is celebrated, without fail, every lunar new year.  

Colors of Chinese New Year

 The colors of Chinese New Year are solidly red and gold.  Red, as found in the legend above, is

believed to scare away evil spirits and bad fortune, and it also functions as an emblem of joy, virtue, and sincerity. Gold symbolizes fortune and prosperity.

As a child, my Popo (grandmother) would always pay us a visit during Chinese New Year, and she would bring lilies for my mother, and for me, a red envelope (known as lai see) with a few dollars inside. Now, as an adult, we have continued the tradition in our own way: my mother sends me lai see, and I send her flowers.  
 
Flowers of Chinese New Year

Flower and fruits hold a special significance during Chinese New Year.  Flowers symbolize rebirth and the upcoming spring, and fruit blossoms (such as plum and peach) symbolize the beginning of the growing cycle which will bring fruit later on in the year. Mandarin oranges indicate fortune and bamboo means luck.   Showcasing both flowers and fruit in the home during Chinese New Year is believed to bring good fortune to the household for the coming year.

L-R: Bamboo, Mandarins, Peach Blossom, Red Button Chrysanthemum

Some of the traditional flower choices for Chinese New Year include red chrysanthemums which signify longevity, lilies to help one forget his or her troubles, and golden sunflowers for good fortune in the new year. Traditional or otherwise, there is a plethora of red and gold flowers to choose from when celebrating Chinese New Year.  And, if you want to highlight any Year of the Rooster birthdays throughout the year, think of the unique celosia (photo below, top right).  Its interesting texture and form makes a great "Rooster" flower.

Clockwise from top left: Mums, LA Hybrids, Celosia, Daffodil, Tulips, Sunflower

Regardless whether or not you celebrate Chinese New Year, I think we can all enjoy "the passing of the Nian." May your year be filled with flowers and good fortune.

Kung Hee Fat Choy!
 

Baby it's cold outside, but it's warm fuzzies in here!

Baby it's cold outside, but it's warm fuzzies in here!

CA Grown California Flowers Christmas flowers Flower Meaning Flowers and Emotion flowers for delivery Sending flowers Sun Valley

The holidays tend to bring on a flood of emotions: Joy, surprise, anticipation, gratitude, love, maybe a little stress from time to time... Spending time with loved ones, carefully selecting the perfect tree, bedazzling the home, swapping gifts, cooking and eating traditional feasts, and traveling can truly cause one to experience every emotion on Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions (see image below) simultaneously. I'd argue that no other season has this impact on so many people.

Robert Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions, 1980 (Notice its floral shape!)


Like the holidays, flowers have an emotional impact on people, and their effects are resoundingly positive. Some of the top emotional benefits associated with flowers (according to a 2006 behavioral research study by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D. of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School) are increased compassion towards others, diminished feelings of anxiety, stress and depression, and increased energy, happiness and enthusiasm. All particularly beneficial during the holidays!


Increased compassion for others

Reduced feelings of anxiety, stress and depression

 

Increased energy, happiness and enthusiasm

As it turns out, these favorable emotional shifts aren't only associated with receiving flowers - the flowers just have to be present in the home. So, they can be given as a present to a friend or a present to yourself - everybody wins! According to Etcoff, placing flowers in a high-traffic area (oh, let's say maybe the kitchen or living room this time of year) gives the most emotional bang for your floral buck. This makes sense really - higher exposure to flowers = elevated feelings of elation.

It's cold out there. You could light a fire or spike your eggnog to keep warm, but why not use flowers to make things warm and fuzzy?

Happy holidays from Lily and the Sun Valley Team!

Crocosmia "Lucifer": Devilish name, Heavenly flower

Crocosmia "Lucifer": Devilish name, Heavenly flower

Around the flower farm CA Grown Crocosmia farmer's market Floral industry; Philanthropic flowers Flower Meaning flowers for delivery IFE 2011 Lucifer Crocosmia Sun Valley

Just the other day, I saw the first signs of Crocosmias popping up. These fiery blooms, native to South Africa, turn our Arcata 27th Street fields into a brilliant sea of red from July through August. Their season usually starts around the last week of June, but the unseasonably cool weather we experienced throughout California earlier this year slowed them down just a bit. Aside from their seasonality, here's what you need to know about Crocosmias:

Crocosmia is part of the iridaceae family, meaning it's like a first cousin of Gladiola and Iris (about which you can learn more here). The variety we grow at Sun Valley is nicknamed "Lucifer" for its brilliant red color. Think little horns, cloven hooves, pitchfork... Yep, that Lucifer.

Saffron spice

Despite the name, Crocosmia is an eye-catching delight to see and to smell (when dried), that is, if you enjoy the smell of saffron. The name Crocosmia actually comes from the Greek words "krokos" (saffron) and "osme" (smell). If you aren't sure if you enjoy the smell of saffron because you don't know what saffron smells like, I can't really explain it in words. All I can tell you is it is not your typical floral smell! I guess you'll just have to pick up some dried Crocosmia to experience it for yourself, since the flower is more affordable than the spice!

When growing Crocosmia, warmer climates require replanting of their corms (sort of like bulbs) each fall or winter. Arcata's unique cool growing conditions that I'm always going on about allow the crop to come back strong year after year (volunteer growth). Now that they're ready to harvest, our Iris team doubles as a Crocosmia crew, which works out since the fields are right across from each other. Similar to Iris picking, the crew can tell when Crocosmia is ready to pick from the amount of color (in this case, red) showing on the flower. It's all in the family, I guess!

Just in case you are now scratching your head and saying "What about Montbretia?", I'll tell you a bit about what makes Crocosmia and Montbretia slightly different beasts. The Montbretia is smaller, orange in color, and it comes in about 30 days after Crocosmia. Also, Montbretia has a higher flower-to-pod ratio than Crocosmia. Of course, this is all dependent on the weather, which way the wind's blowing, how active our bees are for the season, how much the dogs bark at night... You get the idea. Basically, the pods vary from year to year, which affects which pods we end up distributing in the fall. More on pods below.

Sun Valley Team Member harvesting Crocosmia

As it happens, there are several ways to enjoy Crocosmia after it's harvested. Of course, the exotic fresh cut flower is interesting enough to display as a single stem, or it gives an exciting twist to an everyday arrangement. (As with most cut flowers, cut stems and place in tepid water.) You can also prolong your enjoyment by drying the flower (for simple drying instructions, click here). But wait, there's more! Once the flowers are done blooming around September, Montbretia pods come in. I'm told that the pods are great for adding texture in arrangements. They can also be painted for extra pizazz. Since my arranging skills are still limited to putting a bunch of single varieties in a vase (see examples here and here), I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some of these pods and trying this texture thing out for myself.




Crocosmia field in full bloom

That just about covers my recently acquired knowledge of the heavenly "Lucifer" Crocosmia. If you have anything to add, please let me know in the comments. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to find the answers! Our Flower Resource page has a bit more information on Crocosmia as well. Check it out here: http://www.thesunvalleygroup.com/thesunvalleygroup/pdf/SV_RP_Crocosmia.pdf




STAY TUNED: For those of you who attended IFE 2011, we will be raffling off three iPads right here on the blog TOMORROW, so make sure to watch the video! Good luck to the entrants!

Lily's Boots: The Path to Iris Enlightenment

Lily's Boots: The Path to Iris Enlightenment

CA Grown Flower Meaning Flower quality Iris flower Patriotic flowers Sun Valley What is Iris

I really enjoyed learning and writing about Hydrangea the other day (read the post here), so I decided to continue down this path of knowledge acquisition, and Iris seemed like the perfect flower to study up on next.

Perhaps this is because Iris puts the blue (and white!) in "red, white and blue" and the Fourth of July is coming up quick. The more likely culprit is seeing it popping up around the farm a lot more lately. Getting a constant eyeful of Telstar and friends has brought the fact that I don't know much about Iris to the forefront of my consciousness. And as we all know by now, when I don't know something about flowers, I seek out some answers!

Here are the facts that have opened my eyes and broadened my Iris horizons:

What is Iris?
I'm starting simple here, and simply put: Iris is a bulb flower (at least the type we grow) with tall, straight stems and fancy flowers. I have to admit I knew that one already, but now that we're all on the same page...

The Meaning of Iris
Thanks to Google, I now know that Iris, derived from the Greek word for rainbow, symbolizes faith, wisdom, hope and valor. To the Chinese, it is the dancing spirit of early summer. It is also the flower behind the fleur-de-lis, one of the most well-recognized symbols in the world.

Oddly enough, when I read these meanings, each one of them rang true (except for maybe rainbow, but that's just me). Something about the Iris, perhaps it's long and sturdy stem or its strange, delicate-seeming blooms, seems regal and wise. The only thing I would add to the list is tranquility. One look at a bunch of Iris and I'm immediately transported to a quiet, sunny field caressed by a light breeze. This may seem cheesy, but you'd probably envision the same image, too, if you had that very scene just a short bike ride away from your office door!



"Sunny" Iris field (Ironically, it was cloudy the day I took this pic!)

The Cultivation of Iris  If you were to take that short bike ride, you would meet with one of our Iris Picking Team Members, who could tell you a bit about how the Summer Iris is grown and harvested at Sun Valley, which is precisely what I did this week. Here is a brief breakdown of what I learned:    

las llenas


Our Iris bulbs come predominantly from our partners in Holland, and until they're ready to be planted, they stay dormant in heated rooms (about 87 degrees Fahrenheit). Summer Iris bulbs are planted in lines of fresh soil in open fields during the springtime, usually in March, or as soon and as often as the rain allows. (Just a side note, these cool, foggy Arcata summers are ideal for growing Iris in the field.) The Irises grow for around two and a half to three months before they are ready to be harvested. The Iris crew knows to pick them when they become "las llenas" (loosely translated as "the full"), or when they are showing darker color through the leaves fully from the base of the bloom to the tip of the flower. It takes an experienced eye to notice this change, as it can be hard to detect on a cloudy day or when facing the sun. Luckily we've got an experienced Iris Picking Team always up for that challenge! After the Irises are graded, they are hydrated overnight in our warehouse coolers before moving on to their next destination: the customer!  

Experienced Iris Picking Team

 The Care of Iris

Almost as important as the proper production of Iris is proper care once it's in the vase (or bucket). As with most flowers, you should cut about an inch off the end of the stem and remove any leaves below the water line, then immediately place the flower into a somewhat warm water-preservative solution. (By the way, the type of water you're using can be a deal-breaker. Some tap water has too much chlorine or minerals that can negatively impact the vase life of your Iris. Water softeners can also be your Iris's enemy. For more fragile varieties of Iris, often times those with colors other than blue, you may want to use bottled water.) Now display the flowers in a cool spot sans direct sunlight and drafts. Check on the water level once in awhile and enjoy! 



The Iris's Iris

I can't close this post without mentioning the Telstar, which would don a cape and call itself "Wonder Iris" if it could walk and talk. It makes up a large percentage of our Iris growing program and for good reason: It is the only cut blue Iris to open fully every time, and it has the strongest stems and the longest vase life out of any other Iris. It's basically the cut Iris that all others aspire to be!



Buckets full of Telstar, the "Wonder Iris"



Now that I've shared this information with you, I hope that you are experiencing the same feelings of Iris enlightenment that I recently did. Whether it makes you think of the American flag, a sunny field or even a rainbow, this is a sublime and interesting flower, perfect for topping your tables this summer!

 

To learn more about Iris, please visit our Flower Resource page: http://www.thesunvalleygroup.com/thesunvalleygroup/pdf/SV_RP_Iris.pdf



Celebrate Your Women!

Celebrate Your Women!

Floral industry Flower Meaning International Women's Day Sending flowers Women's Rights

This afternoon, Lane and I had a little chat about women. No, we didn’t talk about dates for Valentine’s Day or red tulips. We talked about the day intended to celebrate women all over the world for their tremendous social, economic and political achievements: International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day originated 100 years ago in the US after the suffragettes marched through New York City for women’s rights. Do you know who most wholeheartedly celebrates the annual event now?

Russia.

Ever since these women fought for the right to vote in New York, women throughout the entire world have increasingly gained recognition as equals among men. This is something to be celebrated!

And it is. In Eastern European countries like Russia, every woman receives flowers on March 8^th. Every. Single. Woman. From the youngest malyshka to the oldest babushka, all females receive at least one flower to signify respect towards women in their countries.

Do you know how many women in the US receive flowers on International Women's Day? Let me put it this way: Men, have you ever given a female flowers on this day? Women, have you ever received them? (Great for you, if you answered "yes"!)

It’s time we bring this holiday back into the US full force and honor the women in our lives. Every. Single. Woman.

For more about International Women’s Day, please visit: www.internationalwomensday.com/