With Valentine's Day fast approaching, men worldwide are in search of the perfect Valentine's Day gift for their sweetie. Most men I know stick to the tried and true. After all, you really can't go wrong with roses, especially long stemmed red roses.
But why red and not, say, white or yellow or even pink? In Victorian times, red roses were seen as a symbol of loyalty, strength and passion, and over the years they've come to symbolize love. So giving your sweetheart red roses is a sign of your loyalty, love and commitment to the relationship, even if you can't find the words to tell her out loud.
White roses symbolize purity and humility; pink roses signify grace and yellow roses are joyful and exuberant. All have their place, but Valentine's Day is definitely a red rose day.
So now that you know what color of rose to buy, how do you know whether or not the roses you buy are good, or not so good? Just because they look nice, and smell pretty, doesn't mean that they're going to last more than a few days, particularly if you bought a dozen for $9.99 from a street vendor.
To ensure that you're buying fresh roses, here are some things to check and look for;
Check the stems. High quality, long stemmed roses, have stems that are at least 30 inches long. The stem should also be the width of a pencil. Anything less than this length and width, and they're not long stemmed roses. But that doesn't mean their quality is any lower. Scrawny stems are in indication of lower quality, so for Valentine's Day, buy the best you can afford. That may mean getting just two or three top quality long stemmed roses instead of a dozen inferior ones.
Freshness. To determine whether the roses are fresh or not, give the buds a squeeze. If they feel mushy, they're old and won't last but a few days. If, on the other hand, the buds feel firm, kind of like squeezing an onion, then they're fresh.
The florist should put each rose in a 'water pick', which is a very, very small vase, just big enough for the stem. You'll also get a small package of floral preservative which you should use in the first vase of water.
Using a deep vase will ensure that more water makes contact with the stems, and will make the roses last longer.
Change the water every day, and be sure that you use room temperature water, not hold or cold water. To extend their life, put them in a cool room each night.
And don't forget to tell her you love her!
Author Resource:-
This article was written by Shawn Wilson, a member of the customer support team at Datepad, where internet dating is always free. Datepad has a massive directory of informative dating articles along with a great list of dating site reviews on their dating blog.
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