Women's Day 2017 for Women by Women

Women's Day 2017 for Women by Women

International Women's Day spring Womens Day 2017

Over the last century, women and men have marched, demonstrated, and protested for women's rights in the workplace, home, and government.  Women's Day is a celebration of all that has been accomplished with women's rights, with a nod of respect to the past, and an encouraged look to the future.   

When the first Women's Day took place in 1909, women had very few rights.  They weren't guaranteed equal protection under the law, they couldn't vote, own property, choose a career, sue or be sued. Since then, things have changed here in the United States -- let's look at what women have accomplished in the last year:

•  In January, Women's Marches were collectively held in over 673 cities, with an estimated 4.9 million participants.
• The number of women world leaders—presidents or heads of state—have more than doubled by last year, according to the Pew Research Center.
• U.S. Women were the biggest winners in the 2016 Rio Olympics.  
• Movies about or by women in 2016 saw more nominations across the board than ever, including Hidden Figures, The Eagle Huntress, and the Ghostbusters.
• An article in Floral Management Magazine, entitled Daughters of the Revolution, revealed that "Nearly 52 percent of managerial or professional positions are now held by women."  This shouldn't be surprising -- according to Census data, since 1996,  young women age 25 to 29 have had higher college attainment rates than young men,  and now, the rate of women college graduates in now higher than men. Not only that, more women are getting MBAs, and this generation will be entering the job market as leaders.

While income parity and other rights are still being fought for in this country, and while women in abroad are still fighting for basic rights, we should be proud of what we have accomplished in the United States thus far, and we should honor those efforts and support our international sisters.  Celebrate what we have accomplished, and embolden each other for the future. Honor and hearten women in your life with a symbol of strength, beauty, and fortification.

In spring, flowers are the first to break through the cold, hard ground.  With beauty and grace, flowers lead the way out of winter.  Use flowers to honor the women in your life. Celebrate any woman who has inspired or encouraged you in the special way that only a woman can.

Happy Women's Day, and fight on.

Welcome Spring with Women's Day

Welcome Spring with Women's Day

International Women's Day IWD2017 Tulips Women's Day

“The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.”  – Harriet Ann Jacobs

March 8th  2017, is a day to celebrate the social, political and economic achievements of women, and focus attention on areas still needing action. Flowers are a wonderful way to celebrate the victories and recognize the ongoing struggles women face around the globe.

Women’s Day has become a flower forward holiday, due to the ability of flowers to connect people. They aren’t some materialistic tchotchke, flowers are universally appreciated, and speak a language all their own. On March 8th, we celebrate the accomplishments of women and look to the future as women leaders, role models, mentors and community members continue to reshape our world and make it better.

March 8th is also about when we see the first hints of spring. It is not quite officially spring yet, but you can smell it in the air. The coming spring is best represented in floral terms by the mighty tulip. Tulips are strong, resilient and colorful, much like the women in my life. Tulips are unique in their storied history and the huge array of varieties. No other flower has as much personality as a tulip, and whether you prefer the classics, like Ad Rem and Ile de France, or go for the cutting edge varieties like Goldfish and Queensland; the eclectic essence of the tulip family is much a like a modern family tree, with roots across the globe and also sorts for hybrid connections.

Though Sun Valley is renowned for our ability to offer a huge selection of tulips year-round, spring truly brings a bounty. This is the time where the new varieties from Holland are harvested, turning the greenhouses into the tulip lovers equivalent of a kid in a candy store. There are so many new varieties to ooh and aah over, we can barely keep up.  [Note to self…Call your rep and ask what new varieties we have available!]

This year’s Women’s Day celebrations will take many forms, from marches, lectures and events, to simple expressions of gratitude and love.  No matter how you celebrate, be sure to grab a few bunches of tulips on the way and give every women you meet a flower!

Women's Day Celebration to Share

Women's Day Celebration to Share

#WomensDay International Women's Day kiribati tulips. parrot tulips

 "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions."
                                                                                                      - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Women's Day preparations are in full swing, not only on our farm but across the flower industry.

According to the United Nations, International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.

Here at home in the United States, we just refer to it as Women's Day, since this is where the holiday started in 1909.

My first encounter with Women's Day was about 10 years ago while serving in the United States Peace Corps. I was serving in the island nation of Kiribati which is a series of low lying atolls about half way between Hawaii and Fiji.  On the surface you may think this sounds like a pretty sweet assignment, and I won't lie to you some days were absolutely ideal, however, the reality of living on a desert island has some big challenges to face on a daily level.

Tulips in the sand

Start with no electricity and no plumbing. Then add no fresh running water, such as a stream or pond and no spot on the island higher than 4 feet above sea level. Being literally a desert island, the flora and fauna growing is very limited, since "soil" was very rare. The Kiribati people are of Micronesian decent, and they live a very unique lifestyle and have developed amazing skill sets to be able to live in this beautiful, but very desolate place.

Women's Day is celebrated as a huge event in Kiribati. It is probably the third biggest holiday of the year, behind their Independence celebration in mid-July and Christmas. The entire country slows nearly to a halt for several days of  honoring and recognizing the contributions of  women to Kiribati society.

The role of women in Kiribati culture is not an easy one. It is an extremely patriarchal society and women have a very tough situation. On the days surrounding March 8th, however, women get the spotlight.

Parrot Tulips on a deserted beach.

I was invited to a "botaki" which is basically a formal party. I had been to many botakis before, they followed a usual course, speeches, dancing, food, more dancing, and more speeches. Usually these events are led by men and take about four hours. For the Women's Day botaki everything was different. The women led the event and made the speeches, and where usually only men could ask a woman to dance, now women were able to ask men to dance.  As the special guest at the function, this meant my dance card was full.

One of the most wonderful parts of Kiribati culture is there reverence for their elders, and on this day the old women of the village are the most honored guests. Keep in mind that the average life expectancy for a women in Kiribati is about 62, and for a man is 58. So as a woman walking with a cane in her late 60s asks you to dance, it is an honor to accept. For most dancing at a botaki, everyone is dancing at once, but when this woman rose to her feat and came to ask me to dance, everyone else deferred, and we were given the floor.

Orange Princess Fancy Tulip

In social Kiribati dancing, couples do not touch, in fact eye contact can speak volumes. This was why I was shocked when this elderly woman basically bear hugged me, and to the delight of the entire village, danced me around the maniaba as I blushed head to toe.

This was my introduction to Women's Day. A day where regardless of your age, social standing or gender you take a few moments to show your appreciation, respect and love for the women in your life.

Make sure your bring all the women in your life flowers this Saturday, March 8th.

 

      

Guest Perspective on Women's Day 2014

Guest Perspective on Women's Day 2014

#WomensDay flowers International Women's Day Robin Baker

In preparation for Women's Day, fellow team member Robin Baker wrote a guest blog post for Flower Talk. Enjoy her perspective on this holiday, which is coming up Saturday, March 8th. 

Mount Blackburn, at the heart of the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska, stands at an impressive 16,390 feet. I could see its summit from the toe of the Kennecott Glacier over 20 miles away. I was sitting among the wildflowers in front of the lodge where I’d been working for the summer. The peak, the fifth highest in the United States, was first summited by a woman, Dora Keen, on May 19 in 1912, eight years before the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment which granted women the right to vote.

Sitting in the dusky Alaskan sun of late summer, I couldn’t help but be humbled by women like Dora Keen, Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the countless others who paved the way for the women of today. These women and many around me today, remind me not to limit myself to set ideas about what I can or cannot do based on my gender.

Mount Blackburn is the snow covered peak on the left.

We’ve come a long way. If I want to work for a multimillion dollar company, I can. If I want to be a CEO, I can. If I want to be an outdoor guide and summit 16,000 foot peaks, I can. If I want to be an engineer, plumber, doctor, artist, teacher, mechanic…I can. I can choose if, when and whom I want to marry and if and when I have children—a right some in the world are still fighting for.

All that effort, the step-by-step struggle Dora Keen took to reach the summit of Blackburn and the years of fighting and hard work by women like Susan B. Anthony bring us to where we are today. We are not quite at the summit, we are still en route. However, this is something worth celebrating.

Remembering this, I turned my attention from the distant summit of the mountain to the flowers growing beside me on the hillside. I was then sweetly reminded that it took many small details to make up the breathtaking landscape I was enjoying. The height of a mountain cannot dwarf the beauty of a resilient wild Alaskan flower. Instead, they work together to create a world of color that offers a myriad of tactile pleasures to enjoy. 

That’s why, this Women’s Day, I’ll be honoring and celebrating the women in my life by giving them flowers. Flowers remind us to slow down, appreciate the hard work and intricacy of beauty and growth that comes in all shapes and sizes. 

-Robin Baker 

In keeping with Sun Valley's Guiding Principle #3, "Inspire others and always keep learning", Robin also volunteers on the Board of the Emma Center, whose mission is to provide long term, integrated healing services in a safe, empowering environment for any woman who has experienced trauma.

Women's Day Homecoming

Women's Day Homecoming

#WomensDay Honor International Women's Day Love March 8 2014 Respect

"Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my steps, and preside over the White House as the president's spouse. I wish him well!"
                                                                                                           -Barbara Bush

Women's Day 2014, celebrated on March 8th, is fast approaching. What does this mean for you?

Women's Day's is finally coming back home to America, you may not realize this but Women's Day internationally is nearly as big as Valentine's Day. What? No...you must be joking?

It's no joke, worldwide an enormous amount of flowers are given and received for Women's Day. What color? What varieties? The great part about Women's Day is that the flower color or variety isn't as important as the quality and the size of the blooms or bouquet.

Check out our Women's Day themed bouquets.

How does one celebrate Women's Day? First, it doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman to join in the party. The theme of the day is to "Love, Honor and Respect" women, so it is perfectly acceptable for a man to give flowers to the women in his life, as well as, women to share flowers with all their friends, family, co-workers and colleagues.

This holiday doesn't have the pretense of Valentine's Day or even Mother's Day. The flowers you give can be much more creative, local and unique as well. No need for long stem blood red roses. How about tulips? Or iris? Or how about a big bunch of gerberas?

One of the most popular tulip varieties for this holiday in Europe is Strong Gold which, true to it's name, is a very big, vibrant yellow tulip.

Women's Day was started in America in 1909, and was called "National Women's Day". The international community helped spread this day across the globe, and it was soon recognized as International Women's Day.

Now over a 100 years later, we seeing a resurgence of this historic day in the United States where it was first celebrated. Ironically, it is coming at a time when the American Grown flower movement has never been stronger. What a great opportunity to celebrate a traditional American event, with flowers grown right on our own soil.

Disclaimer: If you are buried under snow, dig a tunnel to the store and get some California Grown blooms that with dazzle you spouse, your daughters, your teachers, your co-workers...and don't forget your mom!

Our "Honor and Respect Her" Bouquet.

Woman's Day has its roots in inspiring change and building on the advances woman have made toward equal rights and equal opportunities in our society. By giving flowers you recognize that you honor and respect all women, and are conscious of the progress that has been made, and the progress that still needs to happen.

Flowers are amazing in their ability to serve as signposts for the intangible. For centuries civilizations have used them as markers. Births, deaths, victories, defeats, love gained...and love lost. Flowers are the sanctity of hope and the currency of change.

Women's Day includes elements of both hope and change. By expressing ourselves with flowers on Women's Day, men and women alike share in the movement to Love, Honor and Respect all women.

 



 

Women's Day 2013

Women's Day 2013

Floral Marketing International Women's Day Lane DeVries March 8 2013. Produce News Women's Day

Valentine’s Day 2013 has almost come and gone.  Hopefully you have spoken to your Sun Valley Sales Rep, and you are all squared away.  As farmers, we are always looking ahead, planting the next crop, looking far down the line to the next flower event.  Once the glitter, red ribbon and cupids of Valentine’s Day have been swept away, it’s time for Women’s Day.  To give you some background, and inspire you to help make this holiday a big floral event, I would like to share an article from Floral Marketing in The Produce News.  This article was written by John Niblock last fall, and features an interview with our CEO Lane DeVries. Help us make Women's Day 2013 a successful floral holiday. 

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The movement to establish Women’s Day on March 8 as a floral holiday is gathering steam. Lane DeVries, head of Sun Valley Group in Arcata CA, offered in-store promotional materials to retailers at the recent International Floriculture Expo, and told The Produce News in early September that a half-dozen or so supermarket chains will be using the materials in 2013.




“Women’s Day started in America 100 years ago, and it is still an American holiday,” Mr. DeVries told The Produce News. “Now let’s turn it into the flower holiday, which it is in Europe.” He had proposed a campaign to make March 8 a floral holiday in a guest column in The Produce News in January 2012 (Page 80).

“Women’s Day in eastern Europe is huge,” Mr. Devries pointed out at the IFE show. “And in Italy it is bigger than Valentine’s Day.” In Europe, the event is called International Women’s Day, a title Mr. DeVries shortened since it began here. In China and Russia, it is a national holiday. “Yellow is really the most popular flower color in Europe for Women’s Day,” he added in an interview.

The Sun Valley point-of-sale materials have photos of tulips, care-and handling instructions for tulips and bear the Sun Valley logo. They come in groupings of six to four items. Sun Valley is offering free digital copies of the items so retailers can print them in-house. Or Sun Valley will print them with the store’s logo for $110 for the largest set to $39 for the smallest. So far, most stores have ordered the digital copies and are printing the materials themselves.

Materials include theme posters with slogans like “Celebrate the women in your life with flowers” and “Fresh flowers for the women who make your days bloom with happiness.” The posters come in two sizes with tulip care-and-handling instructions on the back. Other items include bucket flags, hang tags and bucket sleeves with a Women’s Day logo and photos of women with tulips. Sun Valley also offers special bouquets for Women’s Day. 

Our "Power of Women" bouquet

 Officials at supermarkets in the Midwest and Northeast told The Produce News that Women’s Day is a big floral holiday at their stores that serve European immigrant groups who celebrated the day in their native lands.

Christian Maldonado, a sales associate at Silver Vase interviewed at IFE, said that the timing of Women’s Day, between Valentine’s Day and Easter, would fit well. “This is an additional sales stock week anyway,” he said. “We’d be getting ready to ship for Easter. What we need is a communications program with point-of-sales materials.”

Joep Paternostre, chief executive office of Bloomaker in Waynesboro VA, also interviewed at IFE, was cautiously optimistic. “It would fit nicely in our growing cycle," he opined.

Front

Back

The first women’s day celebration was held in the United States in 1909 and was called National Women’s Day. It was adopted by other countries and became an international celebration in 1910. Last March 8, 2012, 268 events were held in the United States to inspire women and celebrate their achievements, up from 74 events in 2011.

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Here at Sun Valley we are excited to see this holiday get more exposure.  If you are interested in the materials mentioned above send us an email lily@tsvg.com or give us a call 1-800-747-0396.

Flowers for Girl Scouts

Flowers for Girl Scouts

Flowers and Emotion flowers for delivery Girl Scouts International Women's Day

Next Thursday (March 8th) is International Women's Day, a global holiday that commemorates the continuing political, social and economic achievements of women throughout the world. This year's IWD theme is Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures, meaning if we can spread the message of female empowerment to young girls today, we'll have "brand advocates" for female equality tomorrow.

What better way for those of us in the floral industry to show our appreciation towards young women on IWD than to donate flowers to organizations like our local Girl Scout troops?

Theirs is a mission to build "girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place." In essence, the Girl Scouts embody the very principles on which International Women's Day was founded, and they instill these values in girls early in life. Furthermore, the Girl Scouts of America have marked 2012 as The Year of the Girl. It's hard to ignore the correlation between the two themes.

This March 8th, why don't we give a little happiness (aka flowers) to these bright young women to go along with their badges?


Sun Pacific Bouquet's Girl Power Bouquet