To Pick or Not to Pick?

We’re all guilty of romantic susceptibility at some point. For me, that hopeless romance manifests itself in flowers; specifically, flowers as gifts. I love giving flowers. In a pot, in a vase, fancy or country quaint, flowers make amazing gifts that brighten up any room. The search for unusual, unique blooms that make a statement can often lead to a nature hunt rather than a flower shop visit, as those of us who have more sensibility than sense often turn to wildflowers for our gift-giving needs.

But unlike Marianne Dashwood, we live in a world where wildflowers have to eke out a niche existence, growing in tiny biological enclaves easily threatened by outside invaders. My favorite local wildflower, mountain laurel, used to bloom in abundance, but is now being choked out by other plants. Even with legislation to revive and encourage its growth, mountain laurel and other, much more rare wildflowers can be plucked out of existence by appreciative hands. Every time a bloom is picked from a wildflower plant, that’s one less pollination opportunity and fewer flowers the next season.

Wildflowers are lovely, but so are flowers grown for the express purpose of decorating. These hothouse plants are neither dull nor commonplace, and are engineered to last much longer than their wild counterparts. Many flower shops carry unique and beautiful blooms you won’t find growing in your backyard, especially in winter. Personally, I love to give lilies as gifts, for their long petals and variety of colors. I’m also a big supporter of buying gifts online. There are some elegant arrangements of lilies in pink, white and yellow over at 1800flowers.com, which can save you the time of having to hunt through a dozen local shops for the perfect gift.

Sorry, Miss Marianne. When it comes to gifting flowers, I’d rather give a gift to us all and let the wildflowers flourish.