Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Feng Shui Flowers

Feng Shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3000 years ago in China. It is a complex ancient art that reveals how to balance the Feng, meaning wind, and the Shui, meaning the water. Balancing the energies of any given space ensures health and good fortune for people inhabiting it. 

Followers of Feng Shui believe the land is alive and filled with Chi, or energy. By focusing that Chi in the right ways, you can live a fuller, healthier, more balanced life. Harmony and balance with life are the major principles of Feng Shui teaching, and Feng Shui can affect every aspect of our lives.

If you need a little pick me up, buying yourself flowers and plants is always a treat, and can help boost your Feng. We've all heard how colour affects moods, well Feng Shui takes that idea to a whole new level. Colour is one of the easiest ways to shift the energy in your space with Feng Shui. Each colour is an expression of one of the five Feng Shui Elements: 
  • Fire supports energy to all your career efforts and will help achieve recognition. Colours: red, orange, purple, pink, strong yellow.
  • Earth helps create stability, nourishment and calm protection for all your relationships. The earth element is also needed to maintain one's health and inner balance. Colours: light yellow, beige, earthy/sandy colours.
  • Metal brings the qualities of sharpness, precision and efficiency; its balanced presence will help you live with clarity and lightness. A good presence of metal element in your home or office will help sustain the energy of calm, crisp clarity and eliminate distractions. Colours: grey, white.
  • Water brings a refreshing energy of calm, ease, purity and freshness. Water element is also the ancient symbol of abundance, thus a potent feng shui cure for wealth. Colours: blue, black.
  • Wood brings the energy of vibrant health, vitality and growth. Wood element is also an expression of abundance, thus it is used as a feng shui cure for wealth and prosperity.

Try to affect your Feng Shui by simply ordering an arrangement of fresh flowers in a certain colour or shape, and you will see how you can enhance, balance or reduce specific moods in a space.

Use houseplants and fresh flowers to bring more wood element into your home or space. now that you know what each element of Feng Shui represents, using them in your own life can be as simple as adding the element's colour or symbol into your decor through painting, artwork, fresh flowers, photography, or anything else. 

To increase energy to get through a tough situation order a bunch of red and orange flowers to improve your fire element. Have a big project at work? Why not order white orchids in a silver vase to stimulate the element of metal, which encourages clarity and preciseness.

Call us, 514-938-1234, visit our website, or visit us!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Bonjour from Paris

The weather in Paris has been unusually hot and sunny lately. How do I know this? I will be spending the summer in this lovely city and blogging for The Flower Pot from here.

One of the best aspects of Parisian life are all the great open markets where you can find all the staples of French nutrition: cheese, bread, wine, fruit. An integral aspect of the market are the flowers that are sold: there are so many, and so many different kinds, it creates a beautiful carpet of colours you get to choose your bouquet from, and the florist will always have good advice and friendly conversation. Whatever you do, don't forget to say "Bonjour"!

It's not at all unusual here to find people buying their groceries for the week along with a bouquet of flowers to brighten their kitchen while they cook. Flowers have their own important place in the fabric of Parisian lives. Generally, Europeans are very private people and don't easily invite people into their homes. If you are fortunate enough to get an invitation, be sure to bring a bouquet of flowers for your host!

For us here at The Flower Pot, flowers are obviously very important, and we have a few floral offerings that were inspired by Paris and its relationship to flowers. Watery Bouquet is a European style bouquet in water filled with beautiful lisianthus', gerberas, hypericums and roses. Not only does this style of bouquet last much longer because of its water bubble, but the natural quality of this particular arrangement makes it the perfect choice to decorate your kitchen: not too fancy, but always beautiful.

My next stop is the Chateau de Versailles where I'll be visiting the wonderful French gardens. Here symmetry and geometric shapes are all the rage. Hedges are grown in geometric patterns around fountains and trees are sculpted into various forms and shapes. For example, the trees behind Notre Dame de Paris have been shaped into rows of perfect squares!

While I'm off gallivanting abroad, my colleagues at The Flower Pot are always available should you need floral advice or gift ideas. Call them, 514-938-1234, or stop by for a chat in our cosy Griffintown shop.