Flower Power...

Now I realize, not everyone shares my "soft spot" for flowers. There are those who feel flowers only die...why spend the money? Others see them necessary only for weddings, funerals, or a means to get themselves out of trouble. In truth, the power of a single flower can bring a whole bunch of unexpected joy!

Remember as a child picking dandelions in the back yard and bringing a bouquet to your mom? Trust me, your mom remembers. Every mom everywhere has tucked that joyous moment into her heart. It's all about love.

By the way, if you've always considered the dandelion to be a weed, it's time to do some rethinking. The dandelion (taraxacum officinate) belongs to the family of flowers called Compositae. This is a pretty impresssive group of some nine hundred genera and thirteen thousand species. This means the dandelion is a distant cousin to such flowers as the chrysanthumum, dahlia and the sunflower. That's not bad company to keep!

NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER

Email me at dalerohman@sbcglobal.net for Dandelion Wine recipes or Mama's Dandelion Salad.

In the beginning...

When I was a kid my father gave me a small patch of ground behind the garage and told me I could plant anything I wanted. He was never disappointed when it didn't turn out to be tomatoes. (He was in the produce business.) Zinnias and marigolds were my choice. My bouquets to mama were always rewarded with a hug and a whisper, "flowers add beauty to our lives."

You'd love my mother. She's 96 years old...feisty as hell and still vocal with her favorite words to live by. I visited her yesterday at the nursing home just in time to hear her tell her roommate to, "wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which one fills up the fastest!" Then turning to me with a smile, she took the bouquet I brought and again in a whisper uttered, "flowers add beauty to our lives."

THE BEST REASON FOR GIVING A FLOWER IS FOR NO REASON AT ALL.

Let me introduce myself, I'm Dale Rohman, America's Flower Man® and I'm totally new at this blogging thing. My grandkids think I'm a real hip and cool PaPa, so I decided in order to keep that image I decided to get into the 21st century. So here goes!