Early Spanish settlers in Florida referred to the state of the “Land of Flowers.” There seemingly was a large pool of blooming choices. But it might be reasoned out that just like Delaware, which honored its prevalent industry, perhaps the Floridians also thought it best to have the Orange Blossom as its final choice.

Georgia’s Floral Emblem is the Cherokee Rose. Apparently there are many kinds and varieties of roses. This was referred to as indigenous to its soil even though its origin was traced back to China.

Sun-kissed Hawaii is well known for the imagery of the Native Yellow Hibiscus to represent the state. To us, this is also known as the “Gumamela” and is almost always seen as a hair ornament for Hula dancers and greeters from many movies, TV shows and international Adverts. Between 1912 and 1923, locals had a beautification drive which eventually led to this enactment for the Hibiscus.

Idaho’s choice stemmed from an art contest in 1890 for the design of the State Seal. A transplanted New Yorker won the US$ 100 reward with a design using the local Syringa  “Philadelphus lewisii”. Her design came along with the description “The state flower, the wild Syringa or Mock Orange, grows at the woman’s feet, while the ripened wheat grows as high as her shoulder.”

A lot of credit is paid to the 1893 World Exposition that was held in Chicago for spurring a great interest in selecting State Flowers. Citizens of Illinois held elections for this and the top three choices were the persistent Goldenrod, the Wild Rose and the Native Violet. The Violet won handily and was soon sponsored by the state Senator as its official representative by 1908.

Moving over to Indiana, its choices for the state flower was long clouded in controversy.  The Peony has held on its position for 50 years but a trail of other choices such as the carnation, tulip tree blossom, zinnia, and the dogwood colored its history.  Apparently, choice was seen as very important over all these years.

The Wild Rose is the choice of Iowa State. It took an Extra Session of its 1897 General Assembly and a poem by an Army Major to pass the bill.  The poem goes:

THE ROSE OF IOWA.
[Copyright applied for by S. H. M. Byers.]

Let others sing of mountain snows,
Or palms beside the sea,
The state whose emblem is the rose
Is fairest far to me.

References:

www.homeofheroes.com

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We’re adding a great new venue for you to receive the latest and greatest from Island Rose. Through Facebook, we will be publishing interactive promotional campaigns and other activities aimed at keeping your relationships alive and well! All you need to do is visit our Facebook page and click the “Like” button. You will instantly receive Island Rose news feeds in the comfort of your Facebook page.

As an extra incentive, we will be publishing a huge 30% off discount coupon for those who “Like” our page before September 1, 2010. This will be delivered via the Facebook news feed in your page so watch our for it.

If you don’t have a Facebook page, we encourage you to sign up and get connected with us as well as your friends and family through Facebook!

Wishing you a life full of lasting relationships.

Sincerely,

Dustin Andaya
Marketing Director

PS. While you’re at it, we encourage you to write on our wall so that we can get to know you better. Post your testimonials, dedications or messages to your loved ones or our staff and we will reply.

PPS. We’re all friends here, please keep all messages in good taste and within the purpose of the page. Any profanity, offensive language, spam or posts promoting products or services will be removed.

Featured Blog Articles: Send Love to Manila – Read on through the article published on a popular website and learn how helpful Island Rose is at keeping those special relationships for Filipinos abroad. Online Safety Basics – Here are some tips on how to purchase online securely. Basics of Arranging a Bouquet – This article gives you an overview of Flower Arrangement 101.

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The ancient Greek and Romans were agreeable to placing these rings at that particular finger, but with them these rings were not always made with precious metals or jewels specially when it came to engagement rings.  They were not very formal about this and its use was not a promise for a marriage but more of a lasting friendship.  To even further diffuse the romantic side of things, the Romans used to carve key symbols on these rings. Signifying that these were the keys that gave the woman the right to half the man’s wealth. But of course later on it was tweaked a little and oral history told that it was instead the key to opening the man’s heart.

This is the same finger that westerners  prefer their engagement rings to be. The Engagement ring is actually a declaration that the woman, upon its presentation is already reserved for marriage. As attested by http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_after_marriage_proposal_until_wedding there are no written rules as to how long the engagement period is supposed to be prior to the actual wedding, so ideally, wearing this symbolic ring will remind the bearer of a promise, and fortunately ward off other sumptuous offers during this precarious period.  Taking it again from the said site, the average engagement period is 1.5 to 2 years.

But according to http://www.mamashealth.com/wedding/engage it is the French which actually popularized its use in this romantic gesture. 16th Century Frenchmen used to bestow “Gimmal” Rings to their beloved.  We still see some of these today not only as matching rings but as rings that are designed to be intertwined together.  So, the man and woman wear this separately during the engagement period then the man would actually take his off during the wedding day and “connect” it to the woman’s by virtue of its interlocking design. These would actually serve as her wedding band while the Man would wear a complimentary kind. Nice!

But these were predominantly made of gold, and the Italians were the culprits that shifted the practice of buying diamonds as the preferred choice for an engagement.  They fondly believed that diamonds were made from the flames of love and would be the best ambassador of an everlasting bond of love.

Over the years, mass marketing in the west continued to influence these traditions as the world’s premier supplier of diamonds. It became a global market place even in the early 20th century, and DeBeers began to own this niche by attaching the notion that an engagement ring should equal two months salary of the man.

In any case lavish or simple gifts, flowers, banquets, endless parties and other romantic overtures will never hurt and never belittle a lifetime promise of trust and devotion. And just like that the engagement ring may not be made of the hardest and shiniest material known to man, but the message of the engagement should still prevail to this day as a testament to our rich history in the art of love. It was in a Mel Gibson movie, the epic “Braveheart” that tugged my heartstrings best. It was when our hero presented the ring of straw as their engagement and wedding band to his beautiful damsel, who although was later slain, became his great inspiration to defend his countrymen and unite a bitterly divided nation. And that was just a ring of straw, imagine what would have happened if he gave her a diamond.  Smile!

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Make sure to use the freshest flowers on your wedding day. Visit www.islandrose.net for a wide array of flower color themes that will best suit your wedding entourage.

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Presently, the national flower of America is the genus Rosa or more commonly known as the Rose.

As most nations developed more cultural icons containing national, state or regional pride came into meaning.  Logically, most of these icons are the items that a place or locality is best known for.  According to http://www.50states.com/oregon.htm, the state flag of Oregon uses a beaver on its reverse side; Iowa uses a bald eagle and California uses a Grizzly Bear.

Montana uses the pick, shovel and plow, while a Shield is used by New Jersey. Massachusetts uses an American Indian while Alaska uses the color blue to symbolize nature along with their wildflowers. But enough about flags.

What this article discusses are the state flowers or floral emblems that represents the majority of the US states and the official national flower.

The majority of the research material for this article was taken from www.netstate.com/states.

Starting off with the great state of Alabama, that first had the Goldenrod as its state flower in 1927.  30 years later an elite ladies group disagreed with this and made a plea to change it to the Camellia (Camellia japonica) although it is originally from China.  They took notice that the Goldenrod was more of a weed and a wildflower and got their way by 1959.    But just to add to that the State also selected an official wildflower soon thereafter and that is the oak-leaf hydrangea.

Alaska’s choice was rooted in its history almost a hundred years ago.  The early settlers who formed a lodge called the Grand Igloo selected the diminutive for-get-me-not. In 1913 this was brought into legislation through the use of a poem and finally this was passed into law by 1959 as the official flower and floral emblem of the 49th state.

As far back as 1863, Arizona already had the giant cactus on their state seal. Although the seal underwent numerous versions over the years the floral bloom of the giant cactus was eventually chosen in 1901. Officially it is called the Saguaro Cactus Blossom.

Arkansas on the other hand refers the Apple Blossom as the state’s floral emblem.  This went through a tumultuous affair as choice was quite a battle between two Women’s Club’s with the Passion Flower losing the affair.

California as one of the more famous of the 50 states chose between 3 candidates in the 1890’s. These were the the California poppy (Eschscholzia), the Mariposa lily (Calochortus) and the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri).  It took over 13 years for this to translated into law but still the California Poppy stood tall and is now regarding as the State’s best representative.

14,472 votes of school children made the Rocky Mountain Columbine, officially known as the White and Lavender Columbine, as Colorado’s choice.  Quite fond of their natural resources, citizens enacted a law to protect this resource in 1929.

Connecticut, which is another mountainous area, adopted the Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) as its official flower in 1907 right after approving the state seal and flag.

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Enjoy America’s national flower delivered right to your doorstep. Order online at Island Rose – Philippine Flowers and Gifts and choose from a variety of roses.

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As one of the Internet Boot Camp Mentors, Dustin Andaya, founder and CEO of IslandRose.net, spelled out some tips of how to increase visitors and clients “hits” among e-commerce sites. He shared how Island Rose’s Rewards Club Program converted initial and first time visitors to the company into repeat clients by continually bringing them back to their website. He explained how the “rewards points system” in the site gained consumer’s trust and attracted more clients through effective marketing. In addition, Island Rose Rewards Club members were the first to receive the newest promotional announcements via the website through a virtual monthly newsletter distributed in a timely manner.

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For more information on the Internet Marketing Boot Camp 2010, visit http://im-bc.com/.

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Floristry or floral arrangements is a large topic, so our focus will only be in the basics of creation of acceptable floral bouquets. The topic itself of bouquets is mostly associated with weddings. It is the primary icon that is top of mind in western society.  Being the best showcase for most styles of bouquets, it would be best to mention the commonly used types of bouquets according to http://weddings.weddingchannel.com/wedding-planning-ideas/wedding-flowers/qa/what-are-the-different-bouquet-styles.aspx, which are the following:

Arm or Presentation Bouquet: Also commonly used in pageants, awards and competitions usually using long stemmed flowers such as roses and calla lilies, and is arranged to be “cradled” by the arm.  Imagine it running through an arm’s length, leaning perpendicularly chest high on the individual while still allowing a free hand for a congratulatory shake.  Depending on the actual choice of flowers used, it can be complimented with other fillers or left pure for simplicity.  It is traditional fastened with a striking ribbon whether by hand or braided. The simplest kind can even use a minimum of six roses.

Biedermeier: http://www.yourdictionary.com relates to the origin of this style to a 19th century German style of furniture design which is solid, comfortable and simple making it a very popular choice for today’s modern weddings. This is a very compact arrangement using flower bulbs with very uniform sizes – arranged in tight concentric circle from the center outward. From the top it is viewed like a target and from the side looks like a Top. Accents are hardly used, sometimes using two or more colors as an option. This uses most floral tape, some ribbons and some wires to give the handle a tight, rigid grip.

Cascade or Teardrop: The third most popular bouquet of choice is a very eloquently flowing design. It’s a top-heavy arrangement that has the flowers tendrils drooping towards the ground. This uses a full armament of fillers and accents that gives a very royal and opulent atmosphere to the occasion.

The next 5 types are not so frequently used but may serve as a unique flavor to very progressive wedding decorators or arrangers.

Throw Bouquet: it’s actually a scaled down version of the bridal bouquet which is really designed to be easily thrown at the single ladies in the audience.

Nosegay: a smaller version of the Biedermeier that uses similar flowers that are also tightly wrapped with ribbon or floral tape.

Pomander: This is best partnered if the bearer intends to wear gloves. It’s a hanging ball of flowers slipped on the wrist via a ribbon.  The ball effect is created by fixing the stems on a Styrofoam type floral aid.

Tussy-Mussy or Hand-Tied: This is a very natural concept, loosely tied together with a sparse mix of blossoms falling usually to a cone-shaped design.

Finally, the Composite: The most unusual bouquet concept that intends the creation of a giant customized flower using other flower parts.

In describing the styles above, we have mentioned the most important materials in making a bouquet. http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-arrange-flowers6.htm aptly describes bouquets as large corsages. Remember those things you gave or received from your date during prom? Girls either had to wear it on your wrist or pin them on their dress. It was usually made up of a single large bulb flower with minimal accents or a dainty orchid arrangement.

The five things you must have with you at all times would be floral tape, chicken wire, ribbons, and sharp scissors. For a sturdy arrangement, first try using long stemmed blossoms. Wrap some wire along the stem to give it more support and give you the ability to bend them into shape later on.  Don’t forget to trim the ends.

Arrange the stems and the desired fillers on a clean table and without disturbing the arrangement above, clasp them together at least one hands length from the bottom to make a handle of sorts.  It doesn’t have to be too wide as women generally have smaller hands. While holding together, look at the set from the sides and above if they are symmetrical and balanced, if so tie them together from where you hold them with wire and floral tape. Make sure it’s tight and trim the ends again to prevent any pricking.

Take the ribbon and cut three times the length of the desired bow. Do not depend on the bow to keep the arrangement together that is why we use the floral tape and wire. There’s an entire art into making ribbons, but for starters go for the shoelace version and just extend the ends for a drooping effect.

That’s basically it, with a lot of practice and experiments on other materials you can try doing the other styles mentioned here even from the luxury of your home. Cheers!

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Get the freshest flowers when making your own flower bouquet. Send it to your doorstep straight from the farm. Order at www.islandrose.net.

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These lurkers are actually very intelligent people. They can gather insurmountable amounts of personal data, which are strewn all over the web and then compile and refocus it to be a marketing campaign tool = junk mail or much worse.  Face it, there is more than a 90% chance that if you are a surfing online denizen, that you have already posted your name, address, perhaps even phone number on a social networking site.  With the help of a good designer, programmer and copywriter, these sharks can lure a good number of people just like you; and with great aplomb “bait” you to give up even more personal matters that can lead to social or financial disaster.

A good example would be flower delivery services. This covers almost the entire world and remains as one of the most popular Internet services available today, next to emailing and social networks. It seems like a low risk deal but whom can you really trust with your personal ID’s, messages and credit/bank ID?  Online transactions nary need a physical signature anymore, so what businesses need to operate on are safeguards on top of other safeguards.  Websites can be hosted from anywhere in the world but there are four main signs/marks/seals or logos to look for which have propelled the commercial side of the web forward by placing its anointment of trust to only the worthy websites.

First look for a Privacy Policy.  Any website that collects any form of information should have one. May be a seal or logo or a link to a company statement on how it promises – “beyond a shadow of a doubt” how it will handle your personal information and any transaction done through the website.  This to my knowledge was one of the earliest implemented standards that reputable commercial websites inculcated that placed a blanket and binding trust agreement between itself and its clients.  Beyond customer satisfaction, this covers that all your information will strictly be used for official business only.

Secondly, look out for a Business Verification seal.  This is a country dependent verification service that has proven that the web entity is a genuine, registered business entity with full accountability.  This means that if your roses don’t arrive or arrive in poor state then there are real people you can run after and complain to.

Thirdly, look for an SSL Certificate.  One of the most known “Secure Sockets Layer” Certificate authority in the world is Network Solutions.  This is like a combination of the Privacy policy and the Business Verification plus much more.  This is the certificate that encrypts and protects all information from the “buy” button on that website all the way to the endpoint or the server of the credit/debit card company and back again, all in a snap.  This not only protects the customer and the seller but the banks as well.

Lastly, look for a Vulnerability Scan Mark.  McAfee is lonely at the top of this field. Being elders in the anti-virus field, it has risen above the rest and now tests and guarantees websites for being hacker safe.  As I mentioned before these sharks and lurkers are very intelligent people and will only stop when they get frustrated.  Now with the tens of millions of websites out there only a handful can successfully get this Vulnerability Scan Mark, because these elders will not stop until you fix all the issues your website has. It doesn’t stop there, since hackers also continue to improve their skills over time, the McAfee service counters this by redoing the scan 365 days a year. Yup, all year round and throughout all occasions.

We are creatures of habit. So before you commit to an online service provider, which more than likely you will be using again and again (because it’s just so easy), look for these four things.  Barring any Acts of God, these four “promises” will virtually guarantee that each time you do engage in online commerce everything will come up smelling like roses.

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Online purchasing gives you hassle-free transactions. However, better make sure you are dealing with a non-fly-by-night e-commerce sites. Island Rose is one of the pioneers in online flower delivery service in the Philippines.

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Want to say you care with more than an email or text? Make your presence felt at birthdays, baptisms, anniversaries, or any occasion even if you can’t physically be there with the help of Island Rose.

With an abundance of options from flowers, candles, bears, and even chocolates, you’re bound to find the perfect gift. Gone are the days when you need to hassle someone from the Philippines to do your errands – buy the gift, wrap it, and give it to the celebrant. You can now do all that with a credit card and a few clicks online from anywhere in the globe.

Island Rose even gives you the option to pay in your preferred currency (Dollars or Pesos). Make sure to check out their delivery areas before ordering.

Calima

Send your lola flowers, just because. She’ll surely love the Calima’s arrangement and she’ll be thrilled with the out-of-the-blue gesture. (P1,260 for 1 dozen and P1,795 for 2 dozen).

Sweets for you sweet? Send Belgian chocolate bliss to your significant other just to say you miss them. (P460 – P990)

Give your super woman (and super busy) mom a Luxury Bath Crate complete with towels, bath gel, body milk, and massage oil that will give her a much-deserved reason to unwind. (P2,950)

Your sister just passed her licensure exam; send her a Glitter bouquet together with your love. (P1,360 for 1 dozen and P1,895 for 2 dozen)

Messenger Bear™

Your best friend’s first baby! Congratulate the happy couple and order a Messenger Bear. (Available in Light Brown or Ivory, P990)

A colleague from your previous company was recently promoted. Send the Noblesse her way to show her how proud you are of her. (P1,260 for 1 dozen and P1,795 for 2 dozen)

Your newly wed cousin and his wife are finally moving into their new home. You may not be there for the house blessing, but you can still send your best with the Passion Home Fragrance Set. (P1,350)

With these gifts, Pinoys abroad (and here) can easily send their love and well-wishes.

Visit Island Rose’s website by clicking here.

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Shower your loved ones with our Combination flower bouquets. You can choose from a variety of our flower arrangements or you can customize your own bouquet by choosing up to four colors of roses. Start spreading the love.

BUY NOW!

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By popular demand, we are bringing back our double-up shopping spree to Island Rose Rewards Club members.

Once again, you may double your order of any flower bouquet for only $4 or 190 pesos. You can find this option as a drop down menu upon check out. Enjoy huge savings by taking advantage of this offer on top of your rewards points and membership privileges.

Surprise your loved ones and shower them with flowers. Order as much as you want until August 15, 2010 or while supply lasts.

Wishing you a life full of lasting relationships.

Sincerely,

Dustin Andaya
Marketing Director

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910 – 1997)

Featured Blog Articles: Island Rose’ Bridal Bouquets in The Wedding Planner – Check out which Island Rose bridal bouquets are featured on a prestigious wedding magazine. Celebrity Moms receive flowers from Island Rose at Moments – Watch the clip and see how these celebrity moms loved the roses from Island Rose. Putting Up a Proper Traditional Filipino Wedding Entourage – Learn from this guide on what a traditional Filipino wedding should be.

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