On our flower farm, we intentionally grow a wide variety of wildflowers each year. And over the years, we have learned there are some particular wildflower seeds that not only fail to germinate in the holes we plant them in, but they choose their own little area to grow and thrive in that's suitable for them. This is usually in a less cared for area of the garden that didn't have any soil prep or compost lovingly worked into it. Or the place of choice is right in the middle of a what is intended to be a walkway or even a bed with completely different flowers. So ironic! They certainly live up to the "wild" in their name. But isn't that how love is too? If you force it to grow in one small, contained area, it will most likely not thrive and cease to grow at all. But given the right amount of freedom and space, love can grow in the most downcast and hopeless of hearts.
Speaking of love and hearts, everyone all over the world is celebrating love today. Today is the Day of Love...Valentine's Day. My kids were really shocked and confused as to why they had school on such an important, nationally recognized holiday. I gave them this gem of an answer; "Guys, we are to love others all the days. This shouldn't be a day that's any different from other days of the year. We gotta treat others with kindness and love every day!". Of course, this was not the right answer and they still felt like it was a joke to have school on V-day. So, needless to say, we will still recognize and celebrate Valentine's Day as most do; with candy, kindness, cards, and you guessed it, FLOWERS!
The top selling flower on Valentine's Day is the red Rose. And, fun fact, we do not actually grow any on our farm(gasp!). The closest blooms we have to a rose would be the Lisianthus (pictured below) and Ranunculus (pictured above).
We actually do not have any blooms right now on our farm, but we have many seedlings and hardy annuals showing some promise and green despite the freezing temps and snow we have had this winter.
Anyway, the tradition of giving flowers on V-Day dates back to the 18th century, when people gave particular flowers to convey a particular message. This type of communication is called floriography, which is cryptological communication through the arrangement of flowers(interflora.co.uk). If you were too shy to confess your undying affection for a lovely lady, you just sent her some red roses on V-Day and she knew right away how much time you spent longingly thinking of her...you just had to hope she liked you too and that she didn't find it creepy how much time you longingly thought of her!
People could and did have conversations through just a bouquet of flowers. Now we have social media, email, and texting to instantly profess our love. Regardless, I suppose a bouquet of red roses still holds the sentiment it did long ago.
At Agape Fields, we strive to make sure that what we put out into the world sends a message, too. Our flowers are nurtured and grown from seed to bloom, are meticulously harvested, and then lovingly arranged into bouquets, buckets, and arrangements that hopefully convey our love and appreciation for those on the receiving end.
So, a message to our seeds: please, just grow where you're planted. To our kids: yes, you still have to go to school on Valentines Day. And to our supporters and loyal customers: we hope our flowers convey the message that we cherish and adore you! Because we truly, honestly do.
"Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT.
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