by Kate Karam, of Monrovia
The here today, gone tomorrow, fragrance-free, been there, done that bouquet of a dozen red roses, while lovely and traditional, can never truly express the joy, exuberance, passion, and swoony sort of beauty of Valentine’s Day that a living plant can. This year we challenge you to go beyond the bouquet. Here are five insanely romantic reasons why you might want to walk past the flower shop to the garden center this Valentine’s Day.
Cut flowers come and go, but plants, given now, will literally grow with your relationship. At the end of the day, what plants really are, is a promise. A promise that if you care for them, they’ll reward you with a sublime beauty that gets better and better year after year. (Love is like that too!) A well-nurtured living plant can remind you of and reflect the way you also nurture your relationship with your partner.
We never want to hear that giving flowers is “just something we do on Valentine’s Day.” This year, resolve to make flowers part of your daily, weekly, monthly routine. Whether enjoyed from your living room window or snipped blossom by blossom into a bud vase, live plants truly keep giving. There are all sorts of plants that, depending on your zone, either bud up or bloom in February, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Plant one or two this year and next February bundle up, pour a glass of something chilled and sparkly, and take in the show…together.
While giving a bouquet of cut flowers may seem like a nurturing, generous, romantic act, the truth is that giving a life plant is infinitely more nurturing (and dare we say, romantic). Humans need nature, and so nature needs humans to be aware of the environmental impacts of consumer choices. While you can buy local cut flowers, nothing is of more benefit to balancing the planet than installing a flowering plant that helps to clean the air and can provide food and habitat for pollinators.
While romantic pink and red blooms are the obvious choice for this holiday, knowing your Valentine Day sweetheart’s floral preferences is even more of a caring and sexy gesture. The most meaningful floral treat for your Valentine may not be a bouquet of roses (or even a bouquet!). Some of us feel a big smile coming on when we see a garden filled with daisies, sunflowers, or lavenders. Picking out that plant (and offering to plant it, of course) shows that you’ve been paying attention–and that’s what really makes your honey happy.
And for some Valentines, floral gifts may not be the best expression of love at all. Go beyond the bouquet in a big way by choosing something deliciously edible. Fast forward to a warm summer day when you pluck some sweet, juicy berries from a plant given on Valentine’s Day and feed them (champagne here is optional, but nice!) to your sweetie. Who’s a rock star now?
Click on the links below to find out more about the plants featured in the blog image gallery above:
Loropetalum, Ever Red® Fringe Flower
Viburnum, Eastern Snowball
Rose, Sweet Mademoiselle™
Rose, Plum Perfect™ Sunbelt®
Pink Double Knock Out® Rose
Blueberry, Sunshine Blue
Raspberry, Shortcake®
Hellebore, Gold Collection® Pink Frost
Hellebore, Gold Collection® Cinnamon Snow
Images courtesy of Monrovia, Skagit Gardens, Star® Roses & Plants and Kordes® Roses