Pugh’s Flowers Blog

How did flowers and lace join Valentine's Day? Most of the items linked to Valentine's Day came from old-fashioned customs that used lace handkerchiefs and floral bouquets to pass on non-verbal messages. When the custom went out of style for everyday use, the original meaning was lost and eventually they became part of the Valentine's Day tradition. Giving flowers dates back to the 1700s when Charles II of Sweden introduced the Persian custom of "the language of flowers" to Europe. Books about the meanings of particular flowers were published, and entire conversations could be carried out using only a bouquet of flowers. The rose has become the traditional Valentine's Day flower. As it has always been a popular flower, the meaning of the red rose is still well known as the flower of passion and love. The red rose is also the favorite flower of Venus, the goddess of love, which helped give the rose its symbolic meaning. Lace Centuries ago, a woman would drop her handkerchief in front of the man she liked. This was a form of encouragement to him, and if he picked it up for her an introduction could be made. Lace has always been part of women's handkerchiefs, and it has since been linked to romance. Cupid He is the winged child whose arrows are shot into the hearts of potential lovers. His victims are supposed to fall deeply in love with someone. In both Greek and Roman mythology Cupid is the son of the goddess of love and is always part of celebration of love and lovers. The heart The heart is linked to Valentine's Day because it was once considered the source of all human emotions. The custom of drawing a heart shape is believed to come from early attempts to draw an organ no one had ever seen. The symbol progressed to become known as a sign of love. Why does an X mean a kiss? In the Middle Ages, a lot of people couldn't read or write. When they had to sign a document, they would make an X in place of their name. In front of witnesses the signer would kiss the X to show themselves trustworthy. The kiss has since come to be represented by an X. It's for the birds: Lovebirds are often part of Valentine's Day. Found in Africa, these brightly colored birds sit very close together with their mates, earning them their name. Doves are also part of the tradition. They are symbols of love and loyalty because they mate for life. A pair of doves will also share the care of all their babies. Love knots A love knot is a symbol of everlasting love, because its winding loops have no beginnings or ends. In times past, they were made of ribbon or drawn on paper to prove ones undying love. Did you know? Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are the biggest holidays for giving flowers. One of the earliest Valentine's Day gifts were candies. [...]

Learn How To Care For Vased Arrangements Here.  The best way to make vased flower arrangements last as long as possible is to change out the water daily, and if possible, trim a little of the stems so they can drink in more water. Another good idea is to keep any cut flowers out of direct sunlight, too hot or too cold temperatures and away from your kitty cats!

Looking for simple solutions to make your house or office festive for New Year's but tired of all the red and green? Remove the red stems and ornaments from your centerpieces and garland, then slip in greens, blues and whites. Take a fruit like a pear, insert a wooden skewer and it's easy to slip into any arrangement. You can also cover pine cones in glue, shake with glitter, then let dry. These are eye catching when gathered in a fruit bowl, or insert them into garland for a little bit of bling!  Check out this video for more ideas and examples: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/30/repurpose-christmas-decor_n_4518535.html Go to pughs.com to order your New Year's decor here.

Do you feel intimidated when your neighbors start their “Griswold” worthy Christmas lighting and displays the day after Halloween? Do you join the masses or do you look for new ideas to keep the season festive but manageable? Here are some easy tips to create beautiful focal areas in your home for the holiday season. Focusing on high impact areas such as your mantle, kitchen, dining room and front porch entry will keep you and your guests in the holiday spirit! Create a highly visible and welcoming entry to your home by tripling up the wreaths on your door. Connect them all with holiday ribbon, add jingle bells for a more festive feel. Re-purpose your garden urns by filling lanterns with white lights and snuggle them with garland or wreaths in your pots for a new twist on porch decor. A front porch entry with plenty of holiday impact The staircase is another area to focus on to create a warm, welcoming point in your home. Garlands are a wonderful way to dress it up. However, you don’t need to fuss with yards of ribbon, consider other alternatives. Keep it simple by adding a few neutral stockings, minimal burlap ribbon (if any), and consider playing up the steps with seasonal phrases hi-lighted with candles. Warm, welcoming holiday staircase Allow your fireplace to become a holiday hi-light as well. Incorporate decor items that you have in your home and dress them up for the holiday. Start with a simple garland, add tall decorative vases that you have on hand, fill with branches, pine, feathers, etc. I like to take the cuttings from the bottom of my tree and place them in my mantle vases. Stack a few hard cover books for interest or height, add stockings, candles or other holiday trim. Easy and elegant mantle decor The kitchen is the heart of the home and regardless of the size, you know that family and friends are going to gather there, no matter how hard you try to shoo them out. Add a few holiday touches, the goal here is not to add clutter! Hang a lightweight wreath or two to your kitchen window, adding holiday charm without taking up valuable counter space. Beautiful kitchen wreaths We can’t forget the Dining Room, where your family and friends will gather to enjoy your signature dishes. Keep your table trimmed all season with this easy idea, that looks complete whether the room is in use or not. Run a garland down the length of you table, add lanterns, pillar candles and pine cones. For a more glamorous option, use glass hurricanes and colorful ornaments. Lanterns and candles add holiday flair to your dining room table A few last tips to keep the holiday decorating stress at bay. With today’s open floor plans, remember to carry the theme of your decor throughout your home to create a flowing holiday design. Keep it simple and easy. Overdone holiday trim looks busy! Create spaces where the eye [...]

Looking for ideas to make your table festive? Here are a few images we have gathered that might help. Of course floral centerpices always add an elegant touch but other details can really make your home one to remember this holiday.  We love DIY projects since they make your decor so personal. Happy Thanksgiving!  Painted Acorns    Thankful Turkey Pinecone    Nut Variety    Radish Place Card    

  Pugh's Flowers would like to announce the Recycle the Vase Program going on now through the end of December, 2013. Pugh's will accept all usable vases and in exchange, Pugh's will pay $1 per vase, up to $20. Money will be loaded onto a Pugh's Flowers gift card with no expiration date. Gift cards can be used on in-store merchandise or local orders. Vases are accepted at all three Pugh's Flowers locations. (2435 Whitten Rd., 5645 Poplar Ave., and 1622 Union Ave.) Recycling reduces trash in landfill sites, which cuts down on the cost of waste disposal and the clearing of more land for new landfills when the current landfills become too full to store any more waste. Recycling is an easy and less expensive alternative to clearing more land for new landfills. This program is encouraged to offer area residents a reward for their recycling efforts. Vases will either be reused to spread more cheer, or taken to a local glass recycling plant if reusing them is not an option.

The trick to making Thanksgiving and Christmas home décor look thoughtful, cohesive and well planned is color. Period. No matter what you add to the room, there must be a main color to unify it to the room. To the eye, upon seeing the festive décor, the unified color will assimilate it automatically with the existing décor. It’s easy to choose flowers and containers in colors matching your home décor. For example, if you have a burgundy and beige dining room and you want to add a spice of Thanksgiving to your table in a tasteful way, you must add burgundy. Simply ask Pugh's Flowers to incorporate a touch of burgundy in the centerpiece in the container, flowers or foliage. For Christmas, the same rule applies. Instead of red and green in your burgundy room, choose burgundy and sage green, or a palette of reds, burgundies and purples. Another quick and easy trick is putting flowers into holiday décor items. A floral arrangement in a simple glass container looks even more festive when placed into another vessel that screams Thanksgiving, such as a cleaned out pumpkin, gourd or cornucopia. Other Thanksgiving container ideas: Wrap corn stalks around tall floral vases with raffia for a fall harvest look or place flowers in flour sifters or old mixing bowls to create a baking theme. For Christmas, I once asked Pugh's Flowers to create two tall holiday floral arrangements in glass vases. When I brought the floral arrangements home, I placed the flowers with their glass vases inside two big, black, shiny boots — just like Santa’s. Here’s an idea that’s outside the box: Cover the container with flowers. Take what seems ordinary and cover it with flowers in the appropriate colors — voila, instant holiday décor.