A wedding is a once in a lifetime event. It’s a day where beautiful memories are created. Of the many things that make your big day unforgettable, decoration of the venue plays a very special part. Wedding decorations are incomplete without flowers and flowers done right can leave an everlasting impact on everybody.

Fresh flowers, we know, are a source of pure positive energy and perfect harmony. They bring this sense of happiness and a feeling of belonging. In a wedding decorated with beautiful fresh flowers the vibes that flow are pleasing with emotions overall pleasant. Also visually very appealing, guests really enjoy being a part of weddings decorated with real blooms.

As an experienced floral designer who has been all over the globe, I would like to give you a few tips on how you can choose your wedding decorator so that you not only get your money's worth but also positive energies from fresh beautiful flowers on your big day

• Please do not hire a decorator who takes the artificial flower route. They charge exorbitant amounts only to create lifeless designs out of plastic flowers. Plastic flowers don’t invite positive energies instead they create an environment that lacks any charm. Moreover, plastic flowers stored in warehouses are often dust coated and that only creates more negativity.
• Choose someone who loves flowers. It's your special day and fresh fragrant flowers that emit happy, positive and sensual energies is what you need. Often in weddings where real flowers are used, very little attention is given to the freshness of the flowers.
• Choose a decorator who can design the wedding of your dreams. Many decorators blatantly pick up designs from the internet without giving a thought to details like your vision, to whether or not the flowers compliment the venue and to the fact that the flowers may not survive tough weather conditions.

With the growing events business and ever increasing number of people quitting conventional jobs to jump on the events bandwagon it really is upto the client to make sure that they choose the right and experienced wedding floral decorator. Clients need to be aware if their decorator is indeed bringing in real value to your special day. We often look down upon the ones that sell bad flowers but then they are around because someone out there is buying them!

Choose your wedding floral decorator with care, ensure that your decorator knows the job. Ensure that your decorator knows the flowers. Be aware about what you are paying for.  Wouldn't you rather have fresh marigolds than a bunch of cheap plastic flowers?

We wish you all the very best for your special day and we hope that with our little guidance you will have the most gorgeously decorated wedding!

Colors of Spring

Look around you. Golden sun rays reflecting off your window, fresh green leaves sprouting out bashfully from tiny twigs, psychedelic butterflies dancing around pretty pretty flowers. Its that time of the year when nature profusely shows off her relationship with colors. It is springtime.

Colors dominate the spring season and what’s a better day than Holi to take a look at natures flamboyant display of her proud blooms. A peek out of your window or a walk down a lane is all that it will take.

Red represents passion. With the arrival of spring, we witness passion unveil as dense canopies of Gulmohar trees are set ablaze with bright orange-red blooms! No spring memory is complete without the image of quiet walks along paths sprinkled with beautiful Gulmohar petals kissing out feet.

Yellow, the color of hope and happiness, is displayed in abundance by nature throughout spring. One such show comes from The Golden Shower tree that puts on its happiest display as all its leaves give way to eye catching yellow-gold flowers that cascade down like chandeliers. As golden rays of the sun pass through these yellow blooms, it’s an assurance that happiness is all around us.  

Purple is the color of grandeur, and a Jarul tree during spring shows off its bold purple blooms with pride unmatched. As the brilliance of these  flowers fill up the skyline during this season, it’s plain to see why a Jarul tree is also known as The Pride Of India.

Pink is the color of love. Nature offers her love to us in spring with a gentle display of pretty puffs of pink flowers spread all over a Rain Tree.  With its umbrella like canopy and soft pink blossoms that drop down like rain, the shadow of a Rain Tree can be your perfect retreat to pen down a spring love poem.

White stands for innocence and purity and this is just the essence that the Indian Cork Tree radiates with its dainty white blooms. From now until the rains, fragrant white blossoms fill up the tree, creating an image of calm and peace. This tree in bloom is a reminder that innocence is one of the most beautiful things in the world.

Soak in the colors of spring and summer that nature so beautifully bestows upon us.

Meghaa Flower Box wishes you a very happy Holi and a very happy spring!

Floral Trends for 2017

In life, as in flowers, there is a spiritual dimension that one feels the urge to explore. Increasing maturity levels in designing spaces indicate an exciting trend for the year 2017 in the world of floral design.

The coming year is the year of wild arrangements, rich in colour and texture, in which all the materials used, harmoniously blend with each other to form a unanimous whole. No individual part of the arrangement outshines the composition and yet it maintains its own character that defines its uniqueness.

I have listed below the dominant trends for the following season .

ONENESS WITH NATURE

Being a master from the Ohara school of ikebana, I feel happy that the current trend focuses on more natural looking arrangements and this year the boring structural manmade sort of floral designs will be passé. The form of the flowers should flow naturally as they would, if they were not cut, and should not be tampered with too much or twisted and turned in a way that the flowers are exhausted and look completely unnatural. Asymmetry in design and texture is in vogue!

As someone who truly, madly and deeply loves flowers, I love that this year’s trend helps us to be one with nature. We can feel the connection with mother earth as we put together a bunch of carefully selected flowers and accessories together!

ACCESSORIES

Flowers are not the only stars in today’s arrangements . You can play with many many accessories for your flower arrangements like fruits, herbs (like rosemary, basil, oregano or mint) to add a fragrant note, candles, ribbons, dry material, wooden barks, fabric, paper cut outs, crystals , gold painted leaves or anything else that you fancy! Create a mood with your choice of accessories and ensure that the mood complements the weather and the occasion .

COLOURS

Green is the new white in the flower world. The green palette ranging from the pistache of the anthuriums, to the olive and sea-green of eucalyptus and emerald of the chrysanthemums, refresh our mind and spirit and spell sophisticated charm. Green combined with candles and an element of glitter in gold or silver with effective lighting to highlight the décor is enough to glamorize any occasion.

Other colours this season are morroccan blue, aqua and turquoise, greys, gold, and chocolate or deep brick red.  An eclectic mix of bold colours all together is also very much the fashion.

VARIATION

It is stylish to have different arrangements (but telling the same story) on every table in a party and its not necessary to have uniformity all over. In fact variety and creativity in design is appreciated .

FRAGRANCE

It is indeed a fun time for us florists because we can set the mood for any party! Send your guests home feeling sensual with the aphrodisiac scent of ylang ylang or add calmness and tranquility with lavender. Use essential oils or scented flowers and creepers (think jasmine, tuberoses- my personal favourite and eucalyptus) or herbs (basil, rosemary, oregano) to complement your floral mood. Create a perfumer's garden by planting beautiful scented flowers or evoke a sense of happiness at your best friend’s wedding. Fragrances are big this season.

VIDEOS

Apart from ambience lighting and decorative lighting, which can make or break the floral decor, videos are going to become part of ambience creation this year! I would love to experiment with a beautiful video on a water body at the next opportunity I get, or even a motion picture playing on white walls for setting the mood with my flowers!

Experimenting with videos and creative lighting would be the next thing to do in my already intriguing and beautiful job!

Significance of Holi - The festival of Colours

The grey skies give way to the warm rays of the sun. The bare arms of trees sprout with renewed life and hope. The winter wren flies away to cooler climes and makes way for the happy, soulful chirps of the cuckoos and the mynahs; thus heralding the beautiful albeit short season of "Phlagun"(spring) in India.

The month of "Phalgun" is considered one of the most important and auspicious months in the Hindu calendar. With the advent of this season, the farmers get ready with their winter harvests as do the ladies who are primed to sun out & grind their "masalas" and finish with their pickling for the year.

As for the children, who seem to have been indoors for what looks like ages, they are now ready to play "gilli danda", climb trees and get a taste of the juiciest mangoes!!! Thus, "Phalgun" is essentially a month of celebration and joy.. and the culmination of this gaiety comes in the form of the vibrant festival of Holi.

"Holi" is celebrated on the full moon night in the month of Phalgun and is known to be celebrated by throwing of colours on one-another.

But is "Holi" just about splashing colours? It should be noted that apart from providing joy, fun and camaraderie; the festival of Holi has significance in our lives and on our bodies as well.

It is said that Lord Krishna used to play Holi with "Tesu/Palaash" flowers or flame of the forest. These flowers have scientifically been proven to be good for the skin. The colour green was derived from the neem leaves which again is extremely good for protecting the human body against cold/cough and even skin infections.

Red sandalwood powder or the red hibiscus flowers soaked overnight give a beautiful red colour and have great medicinal value. Yellow colour was derived from Saffron, which till date is considered an expensive alternate to chemical beauty enhancers by leading cosmetologists, dermatologists and beauty product giants. Even the Jacaranda flowers can be dried in the shade and ground to give a wonderful blue powder which again is used for various dying purposes!

Some western physicians also believe that for a healthy body, colours have an important place besides the other vital elements. Deficiency of a particular colour in our body causes ailment, which can be cured only after supplementing the body with that particular colour. Biologists believe that the liquid dye or "Abeer" has the ability to penetrate the body and enter into the pores thus strengthening the ions in the body besides rejuvenating the human system.

In fact, people of Vrindavan and Mathura still play Holi with the traditional yellowish-orange coloured water extracted from the dried Tesu flowers. Marigold, Amaltas and yellow chrysanthemums are used for making yellow colour and their sattvic fragrance provide nourishment to the nervous system and are believed to have enhanced therapeutic effects on the whole body. 

Even kitchen ingredients like kasturi haldi and besan are used in the making of the holi colours and are considered extremely healthy for our skin.

There is yet another scientific reason for celebrating Holi, this however pertains to the tradition of "Holika Dahan". The mutation period of winter and spring, induces the growth of bacteria in the atmosphere as well as in the body. When "Holika" is burnt, temperature rises to about 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Following the tradition when people perform "Parikrama" (circumambulation or going around) around the fire, the heat from the fire kills the bacteria in the body thus, cleansing it.

People also spring-clean their houses before Holi which helps in clearing up the dust and mess in the house and get rid of mosquitoes and others pests. A clean house generally makes the residents feel good and generate positive energy.

'Holi' comes from the word 'hola', meaning to offer oblation or thanksgiving to the Almighty and this year we all must do just the same. By spring cleaning our houses, minds and souls; by playing "Holi" with organic home-made colours and by loving, laughing & sharing the sentiment - "Bura na mano.. Holi Hai!"

The Perfect Valentine Bouquet

There's a lot of ways you can share your feelings as Valentine's Day approaches, but few more traditional or beautiful than a bouquet of flowers. Fresh flowers have always been seen as an embodiment of beauty and is regarded as an expression of the wishes that reside in the heart of the giver. We can only conjecture that the incorporation of flowers into Valentine's Day festivities began with the same intention.

The most popular Valentine's Day flower and also my (all-time favourite) is the Red Rose. The mythological significance of the red rose is that it is believed to be the favourite flower of Venus - The Roman Goddess of beauty, love and romance; making it the perfect blossom to be gifted to someone you love.

Historians believe that the tradition of giving a red rose on Valentine's Day gained significance during the Victorian times when Charles II of Sweden introduced the Persian custom of "the language of flowers". Poets and bards furthered the tradition by eulogizing the red rose as symbol of passionate love and romance.

Though I am partial to red roses, there are quite a few thoughtful, romantic and surprising floral alternatives that say which mere words can't. Tropical arrangements like Orchids' and Anthuriums' are reminiscent of the exotic locales they hail from; adding a hint of fantasy to your floral mix. Orchids in particular are delicate and graceful, representing love, luxury and beauty. Red and pink Tulips' symbolize fresh beginnings, apt for giving at the start of your romance. Sunflowers', with their open face and bright yellow petals, convey warmth, happiness and adoration. Lilies' are elegant and refined which blends magnificence and beauty with purity and Innocence. Give these to announce your undying love for your partner. Carnations', Gerber daisies' typically look innocent and fun. Grab a bunch to say "I admire you", thank you", "you make me happy", "I love you".. all at once.

Choosing a bouquet that conveys your feelings can sometimes be a tough choice. I would like to suggest a few guidelines to help you with your perfect bouquet for that someone special. I'd like to quote poet/writer Sir Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who has beautifully worded my own philosophy -

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” 

                                                                 ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

As a floral designer, I have always believed that simplicity, uniqueness of design and use of excellent material is the mainstay of any gift. So, beware of flowers that are soft from the stem or when the petals seem translucent. This generally means that the flowers won't last and may not even make it past Valentine's Day. Ask your floral designer to discreetly wrap the bottom of the stems with some wet cotton and foil before wrapping it in the paper of your choice. This is to make sure that the flowers remain healthy and don't droop or wilt!

Make it a showstopper! The bouquet needn't necessarily be large, but a dramatic ikebana style or wrapping the casually put-together bunch with some handcrafted rice paper and matching ribbons, can definitely up the ante in the luxe department.

Add the finishing touches to your bouquet with a heartfelt message, your charming smile and sincerity.

Follow these simple steps and you'll spend the day blissfully in love and she'll spend the day in awe of her beautiful flowers chosen exclusively by YOU!

COOKING WITH FLOWERS

Monsoons are finally here and gardens all over the country are blooming. Not only are they lovely to look at, but some flowers are edible, adding a fresh, new dimension to your dishes. Although flowers are often used to decorate cakes, they can also be used in a wide variety of cooking. 

Rose petals make a heavenly sauce to spoon over desserts, a handful of lavender flowers will intensify sorbet, Squash blossoms can be fried in batter to become fritters, and gladiola flowers can be stuffed with egg salad or vegetable dips. 

Flowers have been used in cooking for centuries, from the Romans to the Incas. It was particularly fashionable in Victorian times; they were popular in salads, particularly violets, primroses, borage and nasturtiums, and were also preserved in vinegar to be used in the winter months. 

Cooking with flowers needn't be limited to the summer months. The flavours can be preserved by infusing butters, oils and sugar. 

Nasturtiums

These are often used as a decorative garnish because of their bright colour - however they also have a wonderfully peppery taste, so are great in salads or as an edible garnish.

Lavender

This is a particularly popular flower to cook with and is used in a wide range of mainly sweet dishes, from mousses to biscuits, scones to shortbread. 

Roses

Rose petals are often used in Indian & Middle Eastern cooking. Roses are very fragrant and can be used in sweet or savory dishes. 

Violets

These have a sweet taste and the deeper the colour, the sweeter they taste. As well as being a pretty decoration for cakes and salads, they go particularly well in sorbets. 

Calendulas

These beautifully golden flowers taste similar to saffron and are good in pasta and rice dishes. 

Of International Flowers by Indian Florist

My work as a floral designer has taken me to several countries and distant lands.. whether it was for learning in Singapore or Bangkok or for The Ikebana Masters' Seminar and Convention in Japan. Apart from learning new techniques or discovering flowers, on trips like these I realised how Indians have made flowers an imperative part of their lives. Indians not only possess a vast knowledge and intrinsic comprehension of their local flowers and floriculture but have successfully integrated them into their daily lives. In India, flowers are revered for their purity and beauty and hence used for every occasion.. be it birthdays, weddings, temple visits, decor, Shrungar or even death ceremonies. No occasion in India is complete without a floral touch! Flowers in India are like Chi.. the driving force behind all day to day routines. 

However, along with a sense of pride came a revelation.. an evident lack of variety in domestic as well as international assortment of flowers. The local markets in the above mentioned cities and elsewhere were thronging with an array of local and international variety of flowers and fillers like the beautiful and fresh tea leaves, solomon's seal and the sunset hued leucodendron, that were at the disposal of the local flower designers! So, why isn't the tall Salix and Amaranthus or the deadly cymboediums and the delicate freesias available for me to play around with, in my arrangements? 

It got me thinking. Our Indian subcontinent has the best of climate (Holland in Kashmir and Bangkok in Kerala), adequate rains and the soil to grow every variety of flower. We also have the cost advantage of labour and raw material as compared to many European countries, then why aren't the Indian floral markets displaying diversity? Why are our flowers half the size of the imported ones or how are their roses so perfectly sculpted? 

Yes! There are certain floriculturists' in Kerala who are producing world-class orchids, heliconias and other exotic gingers like shampoos and beehive which has brought down our need for import from Bangkok but our Indian floral market is still in its nascent stage. Even a desert country like Dubai or a place like Singapore which grows nothing except orchids, are privy to multiplicity of flowers from all over of the world! The locals there enjoy and work with the best from around the world! 

I realised that the Government of India has identified floriculture as a sunrise industry and accorded it a 100 % growth oriented status. India is the largest supplier of roses to Japan and Australia. India is also a major player in export of flowers to Bahrain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand and United Kingdom. So, it's entirely possible that the beautiful, big, long-stemmed, "dutch" roses you saw with the Italian vendor on your holiday to Venice was probably grown in India!

Most of the organized growers today are looking at export rather than domestic market mainly because of the price factor. Understandably so, as each rose stem is sold at Rs. 50 on a conservative estimate. Pune and Bangalore, the country's major rose growing areas gear-up to export lakhs of roses annually. After these export orders are met, the 'leftover' flowers which are unfit for export are then released into the domestic market. 

We, Indian florists' are hit both ways as most imported flowers are not within our reach. Import duty on flowers is levied at a whopping 60 %! Coupled with freight and documentation charges, flowers like the cymboediums cost anything from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 2000 to the end consumer making it unaffordable even to the most discerning of customers. 

As a small cog in the florist wheel, I take the liberty to suggest a few solutions to improve on our current floral markets. The exporters can be asked to reserve a small percentage of best quality flowers for local consumption before taking on export orders. Initially, this would bring down profits slightly but overall the exporter may cover up the cost through increase in demand and price. Spiritually also when we take something from our motherland and we give it back in some way the mother earth will lovingly support our production and lead us to abundance. 

Agreed that the high import duties may have been formed to protect the interests of the local growers but it's come with its share of negative impacts. The local growers have very little understanding of flowers in the international market. Reducing import duty would prevent stagnation and also inspire local producers to grow international and expensive varieties of flowers which in-fact would benefit them in the long run thus making India a front runner in the global floral markets. It has been Flower Box' continuous endeavour to make different flowers available to the consumer and the flower-lover in general, thereby raising the bar for flower design in India. We, at Flower Box, aim to create an awareness about flower design which is at its infancy in India unlike the fashion or art industry and also teach and promote flower design. Flower Box wishes for its customers and well-wishers to be able to enjoy, love and assimilate the goodness of flowers without being over-whelmed by its worth or availability.