Saint Valentine's Day

I probably shouldn't comment on Valentine's Day because it's bad to bite the hand that feeds you, but I really don't like this holiday. The truth of the origins of Valentine's Day and its patron saint are completely lost. So why do continue to encourage traditions of expressing love on this specific day? The answer is simple---economics. Yes, Valentine's Day is our busiest day of the year---it's so busy Mary and I always take a vacation from our regular jobs and spend a couple of days to a week working at our shop because the hardest thing about running a small business is finding honest, reliable help. Here's a video i made the night before the big day in 2005.

The reason i don't like Valentine's Day isn't because I support Singles Awareness Day nor because I don't like working long hours at our shop. I don't like Valentine's Day because of the flower that represents love at first sight---the red thornless rose. Unlike the red roses that grow without thorns (much like a seedless watermelon) pictured here, the red rose commonly accepted by society has a long vase-life, a long stem, and a large bulb with several petals. There are so many different breeds of roses, with several new ones introduced each year, even Disneyland has its own breed of rose, seen here on the left. But with hardiness and size comes a price---big, thick, sharp thorns. So every rose that comes through our shop has to be hand-cleaned of its thorns.

Do you want to know why our roses are red? Roses are red because of my blood!

When i tell people my parents own a flower shop they often say how fun it would be. If any of you feel the same way, then please, come spend the week before Saint Valentine's Day with us. We'd be happy to have you. And your blood can make our roses red.