For centuries, flowers have been a symbol of love, and when February rolls around their exuberance is hard to miss. This year, the usual pre-Valentine’s crowd weaving in and out of markets, florists, stations and corner shops is noticeably absent, with most staying at home and away from loved ones. There has, perhaps, never been a more significant time to let those near and far from us know that we love them, and our team at Elizabeth Marsh Floral Design has put together a heartfelt collection to inspire your gesture, be it classic and thoughtful or bright and extravagant. Our options that range from effortless bouquets to ornate foliage encompass insight and care, and are designed with the intent to make the recipient’s heart soar upon opening the door to them. We know above all never to underestimate the power of roses, and their timelessness serves as a reminder that while this crisis is ultimately impermanent, love is forever.
“Valentine’s Day has become a huge cliché and the real challenge is to be authentic. Often, it is the simplest gestures that speak volumes and that carry the message home.” - Liz
While many – possibly most – associate Valentine’s Day with romance, it is most importantly a day to celebrate love in all forms. Often, due to its romantic connotation, it seems that February the 14th sparks either elation or the blues. But if we think of love in the bigger picture (this year, perhaps the biggest one possible), everybody loves somebody. And whether you are sending that love to your mother or father, your significant other, a best friend or an old friend, a grandparent or neighbour, a teacher or helper, flowers show how much you care in ways that words cannot.
This past year, the saying “we are all in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat” began floating around once again and continues to ring true: this month in particular, with some families having been torn apart or separated, and others cramped together in the closest possible quarters. Whilst we are all certainly sailing different boats across a sea whose waves have touched us in different ways, the universal remedy – and perhaps the only way to move forward without losing sight of the light at the end of it – is to #remainpositive. The need to recognise your loved ones is more important now than ever before, and the act of thinking about and then expressing how much you care for someone not only brightens their day, but reminds you of wonderful people in your life that have stayed by your side – whether physically or emotionally – throughout months of strangeness.
“If I’m watching television and have roses in the room, I often find my attention drifting from the film to the flowers.” - Liz
At Elizabeth Marsh we know that roses are never just roses, and approaching one of our busiest times of year in this current climate has made us think extra hard not only about their power, but about what that power entails. Maintaining our award-winning work with private clients, hotels and restaurants alike has allowed us to capture the spirit of a room: it has given us the opportunity to walk into a space, work our magic, and to leave that space so that whoever strolls through its doors will become ensnared by its charm. Be it a classic rose box or a deluxe assortment, we continue to be amazed by the impact that carefully curated bouquets can have on our mental and emotional wellbeing – and we can only amplify their effect, which has lasted for centuries.
Many of you will know your homes inside out by now. Kitchens, sitting rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms have been repurposed as offices, and the presence of family members has replaced that of colleagues, with some communal spaces now too communal for comfort. The ability that flowers have to make you see those spaces in a different light, to divert your eyes from the walls you’ve stared at for days on end towards a new burst of colour at the centre of your table or mantle is immense. Take Christmastime for instance: walking into your living room and catching a first hint of spruce or fir; that once-a-year scent that cannot be disentangled from gift wrapping, baking, a first snowfall, your favourite holiday films, and above all, your loved ones. Think of the atmosphere that the tree creates, how the room takes on a new meaning, how reading by the twinkling lights is just that much more enjoyable – and remember that odd feeling that emerges when the tree is taken down, making it hard to recall that for eleven months a year its space is unoccupied. Flowers make the space they enter one to remind you how loved you are, and of who you love. Quite simply, they encompass kindness, thoughtfulness and care: they remind us that even in the strangest of times, we can still count on the little things to remind us not only of better days ahead, but of the better day that is today; one that gives you that tingle in your feet when you watch your loved one open the door to the smell and sight of love. Then they are set down, placed somewhere central, and are here to alleviate your cabin fever and to remind you why you loved the cabin so much in the first place.
“Flowers are energetic beings, and as humans, we innately gravitate towards them.” - Liz
While some of you have been under the same roof, others are away from their loved ones and missing them sorely. For perhaps the first time, whether that special person or people are living in the same neighbourhood or in a different time zone, the separation remains the same. Mental resilience is crucial and can be difficult when feeling lonely or cut off from someone you love. Sending flowers on a day that, in other times, you might have had very different plans for, is an act beyond a simple gift. Flowers are a way to make your presence known: not only from the moment they are received, but every time that person catches sight of them. Our collection has been designed with the purpose of embodying you when you yourself cannot be physically present. They serve to remind us that we are not alone, but more importantly, that we are loved. Our bouquets bring people together at a time when we can’t always be with each other, and encompass the one thing we have always been sure of, as echoed through poetry, literature, music, art, and life itself: through crises and wars, pandemics and lockdowns and times of trouble, love is here to stay.