Arrived yesterday, from Rose Cart Florist in Sunnyvale CA, a rainbow variant of their Another Year Rover floral arrangement, as a present for my 80th birthday (tomorrow). Their basic item:
(#1) Their ad copy: “Turning another year older is a lot more fun with our signature birthday a-DOG-able®! This party pooch arrives wearing a festive hat, surrounded by a mix of colorful blooms to liven up their celebration. A great gift idea for any age, he’s here to deliver your best wishes in truly original style.”
Some details of the arrangement:
One-sided [meaning it’s meant to be viewed from one side] 3D arrangement with white carnations; red mini carnations; Athos poms; lavender monte casino; purple statice; accented with assorted greenery
Arranged in the shape of a dog, complete with eyes, nose, plush party hat and colorful curled ribbon
Artistically designed in a willow dog bed basket lined with sheet moss
Our florists hand-design each arrangement, so colors and varieties may vary
Some of this is florist-talk, so a few notes on the flowers:
— Athos green pompom chrysanthemums, to give them a full description:
(#2)
— lavender Montecasino asters: Montcasino / Monte Casino asters come in a variety of colors, mostly in the lavender to purple range, as well as in white (here in lavender):
(#3)
— purple statice. From my 7/12/17 posting “Neighborhood gardens, heavy on purple”:
Several gardens within a block of my house have plantings of Limonium latifolium [statice], a tall perennial with big crinkly leaves and clusters of papery lavender-blue and white (mostly blue) flowers, seen in close-up here:
(#3)
The actual arrangement. In situ, in my living room:
(#4) Note the rainbow party hat
The larger yellow and pink flowers are both carnations. The intense deep pink flowers are a variety of Sweet William. From Wikipedia:
(#5)
Dianthus barbatus, the sweet William, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. It has become a popular ornamental garden plant. It is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant growing to 13–92 cm tall, with flowers in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems. Each flower is 2–3 cm diameter with five petals displaying serrated edges. Wild plants produce red flowers with a white base, but colours in cultivars range from white, pink, red, and purple to variegated patterns
And huge thanks to Ned Deily, posing as “Bull Cook of the Little Town”, who was the actual donor of the arrangement in #4. The Little Town is Bethlehem PA, where Ned grew up and where he lives now. Bull Cook is a reference to George Leonard Herter’s preposterous and magnificent Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices (see my 5/5/12 posting “Old recipes IV: George Leonard Herter”) — an enthusiasm Ned and I have long shared.
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