Flower of the Week: The Crocus

Crocus

crocus longiflorus

image via Flickr

In the day of Queen Victoria, the crocus was the symbol of Gladness and was meant to be a word of caution and to not abuse.

Funny, with Valentine's Day just behind us, Crocus was dedicated to Saint Valentine and appears to pop up around this time of the year.  Eager for that early pollen, after the winter months the Bee makes the cup of the crocus open.

The scent of crocuses is mysterious and alluring and has been said to dispurse drowsiness and quicken the pulse.  It is said that Cleopatra made an oil for her hands from this sweet flower.  In Greek mythology, Homer put crocuses in the bed of the King and Queen of Heaven. 

I don't know about you but, I am so ready for these early blooms and hope to see them growing in gardens very soon.

Valentine Inspiration

Maybe this won't shock you guys as much as it shocked me, but Valentine's Day is this coming Tuesday! You'd think that's fairly obvious, what with our days filling up with requests for romantic bouquets, but time is slipping by so quickly! We know you guys are crafty and creative and not inclined to pull boxes of perforated sheets of V-Day cards off your local drugstore shelf, so here's some inspiration for pretty greetings you can pass on to your loved ones, from handmade to vintage to a few fantastic finds from Etsy.

Scraps of textiles, printable ephemera, pages from old books - you probably have everything you need to create gorgeous handmade cards already sitting around your home.

If peeling glue off your fingertips isn't your thing (and if it's not, we want to know why.) check out shops like Uncommon Objects on South Congress for cool vintage cards like these hanging in our window:

For fellow Etsy fiends:

Paper Cut Watercolor card, $8.00

Tiny Envelopes card, $6.00

Letterpress Heartbeat card: $4.00

XO!