I was searching for “how many roses to give” on Google, and stumbled into a forum with the same topic. Apparently, this guy wanted to surprise his girlfriend but he didn’t have a clue on the number of roses to give. Below is a very funny and creative answer from one of the forum members:

“…999 if ur gf is police;
911 if ur gf is FBI;
100 if ur gf work in telecom…”

I’d say this guy has a great sense of humor! Don’t you think?!

My previous post, 5 Reasons Why You Should Send Flowers in a Vase has gained a few insightful comments from a friend, Marcus. He posed a few interesting questions regarding the feasibility of sending flowers in vases and affordability of flowers in this country. I believe these are good indication of the doubts that many of us have, since there are many of us who are unaccustomed to sending flowers in vases. I’ve shared Marcus’ email comments and also my take on the issues that he has brought up. (Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Marcus!)

Marcus:
I dunno.. coz i still don’t get the idea of sending flower in vase.. ~?~

Me:
Hi Marcus, you’re not the only one here. Most of us Asians are not used to sending flowers in vase. It’s a cultural thing. Hand-tied bouquets have been here for 20-30 years. It’s gonna take some time to shake off the notion that only hand-tied bouquets are appropriate when sending flowers. =)

Marcus:
Apart from that, just a quick review of what’s in our everyday living.. we seldom have vase in our house because most of us will not spend money filling them with flowers everyday. Flowers aren’t cheap anyway due to geographical factor if compared to Europe and other cooler countries.

Me:
Yup, it’s true that most of us will not spend money buying flowers unnecessarily just to fill the empty vases in our house (assuming we even have a vase at home). Like I said before, buying flowers “out of the blue” just to put them in our home is not common at all in Malaysia. It’s mostly because of our culture. We only buy flowers when we need to, say for our loved ones, our best friend’s graduation, or as gifts of congratulating new businesses or condolences. We seldom buy flowers for our own house on normal days just because its not necessary.

My point is, yes, I agree that not many of us will buy flowers everyday to fill them with our empty vases. However, it is a myth that flowers are more expensive here in Malaysia compared to western countries. Contrary to popular belief, buying flowers here are in fact much cheaper than buying flowers in other countries, unless you get the imported ones.

Cut flowers are not expensive here as most local florists get their supplies from Cameron Highlands and to further illustrate my point, let me give you an example of the price. On normal days (meaning no big occasions eg. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day), one stalk of local rose or carnation = RM1.00 each (at most RM1.50 each). The “expensive” part is when you need a floral designer/florist to design, arrange, and deliver the flowers for you. Even so, you can always request the florist to work within your budget. Most professional florist will try their best to satisfy your demand as long as it is not too outrageous.

Sending flowers in vases are more environmental friendly and convenient for the recipients in terms of taking care of the flowers. Flowers in hand-tied bouquets last approximately 3-5 days, while flowers kept in vases can last up to 7 days or more, depending on the type of flowers and the care and conditioning that the flowers receive. Plus, the recipient gets a new vase to begin with so that she can get flowers for herself too!

Below is a very simple and clear step by step guide provided by realsimple.com for beginners on how you can arrange your cut flowers in any vase. For those of you who do not have a vase available at home, do not fret. You can substitute the vase with any empty jars or empty wine bottles available in your kitchen cabinets.

Photo by Natasha Milne

Step 1: Fill the vase with cool tap water, says Emily Weaver, owner of New York City floral design studio Chestnuts in the Tuileries. (Warm water can force unopened buds to bloom too quickly.)

Step 2: Measure the flower against the height of the vase and decide where to snip.

Step 3: Lay stems on a cutting board and, with a kitchen knife, cut on an angle, which exposes the stem to more water. If you prefer, use floral shears instead of a knife.

Step 4: Bind the flowers with a clear-colored elastic and trim any too-long stems. Finally, place the flowers in the vase.

Do take some pictures of your flowers and send them to me once you’ve tried the steps above. Let me know how it works for you. Have fun arranging your blooms and have a great weekend!

1. Increase cut flowers life-span
Cut flowers has longer life span if they’re arranged in the vase as opposed to being wrapped up in a hand-tied bouquet. To keep your flowers fresh, you need to change the water and cut the stems every 2-3 days, and make sure that the leaves should be kept above water level. Sending bouquet in a vase to your loved ones will ensure that the blooms get the necessary care and conditioning they need. The bouquet will have a longer display life in a vase and your loved ones will be able to enjoy the flowers longer.

2. Affordable
Sending flowers in a vase is definitely less expensive than regular hand-tied bouquets. The price of hand-tied bouquets are determined by the quality of flowers (country origins of flower, whether it is local or imported, quality of wrapping accessories used ie. papers, ribbons, laces etc), quantity of the flowers needed, and the florist’s experience on designing the bouquets. However, sending flowers in a vase eliminates the use of wrapping materials and thus, reducing the price of the bouquets.

3. Reusable
Vase is reusable. Your loved ones will be able to keep the vase and reuse it for other occasions after the bouquets are way pass their display life. Sending a bouquet in a vase gives you and your love ones the opportunity to play a part in the effort of environmental conservation. It also eliminates the use of papers and plastic so commonly used in hand-tied bouquets especially in Malaysia.

4. Greener alternatives
Due to the rising concern on environmental issues, it is essential for us to each do our part in saving the earth from further destruction caused by our human-kind. Massive deforestation is happening in many countries and it affects our quality of life and results in the declined of habitat and biodiversity, and is one of the main causes of atmospheric pollution, floods, displaced native tribes, soil erosions, and landslides. Sending flowers in a vase is another greener option that you can choose to help reduce the use of papers and plastics.

5. Hassle free and display-ready
When you send flowers in the form of hand-tied bouquet to your loved ones, he/she needs to go through all the hassle to untie the wrappings of papers, and find a right vase to arranged the flowers again. On the contrary, if your loved ones receive her bouquet in a vase, he/she does not need to worry about all the hassles mentioned above. And what’s great about this is most professional florists will include flower food in the vase which will provide the necessary nutrients for your beautiful blooms.

A floral parade in Putrajaya will be the highlight of the four-month long Flora Fest 2008 themed Colours of Harmony.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said at least 15 floats would be participating in the parade on July 26. The floats, which must use at least 70% of fresh flowers, would then be displayed in Putrajaya until July 28.

Flora Fest 2008, which started on March 1, is divided into seven segments including photography competition and exhibition, flora workshop, Florathon, design arrangement and decoration competitions, floral parade and float showcase and bazaar.

“Malaysia has almost 8,000 species of flowers and its flora and fauna should be given as much publicity as possible.

“Many of our indigenous flowers have yet to gain international recognition because they have not been given enough publicity and not because they are inferior in terms of beauty and colour,” she said at a press conference on Flora Fest here yesterday.

Bigger plans are also in store for next year, said Azalina who intends to make it a Flora and Forest Fest in 2009 to get locals and tourists to further appreciate nature.

“The Fest goes beyond parades. We are looking at incorporating nature walks and other eco-tourism activities for next year.

We also want it to be promoted in more destinations in the country,” she added.

Source: thestar.com.my