Didn’t Christmas go quickly? No sooner was I looking forward to the festive season, planning the meals, buying and wrapping the presents than it was all over and we had that period of limbo before New Year.
For the first time this year I’ve experienced what Christmas and New Year means in Cyprus and was surprised to hear more greetings of ‘Happy New Year’ than ‘Happy Christmas’, even before Christmas! Of course Cyprus considers Easter of more importance than Christmas and Epiphany of more importance too in terms of gifts and parties but it made me think of how important the New Year is.
It’s a new beginning, the chance to turn over a new leaf but like Janus, the two headed god who faced the past and the future and after whom January was named, we need to look to the past to tell us what we need to do in the future.
We all make New Year’s resolutions, usually to give up smoking, cut back on the beer and wine or to lose weight but what about focusing on how we live our lives in relation to others rather than the selfish ‘What can we do for ourselves?’
I’ve used this New Year to think of the way I live my life and again, like Janus looking back, I’ve not been too happy with how I’ve lived my life in 2011. I’m hoping that I keep to my goals this year and that when doing the same exercise next year I can look back on 2012 with a little less guilt. Like all things we try to do for the long term it requires willpower but the best boost to willpower is the benefit we get from what we do.
I’ve started this year by listing all the things I felt went badly last year, the friendships taken for granted, people slighted, good deeds left undone and my worst trait, criticism of others. I know to my embarrassment that some of the people I’ve criticised have heard what I’d said and I’ve felt ashamed for what I’ve said. The hardest thing now is to admit fault, admit the deed and try to mend bridges. I think if we all did it, looking at our faults then trying to correct them, no one, including me, would have cause to criticise.
So what’s the best way to start again? I’m a bit of a chicken when it comes to confrontation and prefer to prepare the ground a little first in the hope of softening the blows. So I’m turning to ever effective salve – flowers. Three people initially are going to get flowers from me apologising for my faults and looking forward to a year of renewed, strengthened friendships. I’m glad that Cosmea Gardens can send flowers worldwide as well as sending flowers in Cyprus. Going to a florist could mean more embarrassment so I’m also pleased that Florist delivery is also a whole lot less embarrassing than handing over the flowers yourself and is a nicer touch too. I’m hoping that upon receipt, I get a phone call which will be the start of the mending of the relationships where I can admit fault whilst they’re in a good mood!
So, if you want to make 2012 a better year, don’t just think of yourself, think of others and by sorting out your relationship with them, bring yourself the inner peace that will begin 2012 on a happy note.

I had to return to the UK recently and was shocked at the attitude of several people I met whilst there.

My first encounter was on a train when a young woman was sat underneath a sign asking passengers to be considerate to other people by not playing loud music on MP3 players and to keep their feet off the seats. You’ve guessed it, she was ignoring both pleas.

Next, I saw a petite young woman struggling to heave a large suitcase on the train and position it safely. When it came to her stop I asked if she needed help getting it off the train and found she was unsure whether accepting help would put her in any danger and so refused.

On my return to Cyprus I found someone’s boarding pass they’d dropped on the way to the gate and imagined what they would feel once they realised, probably too late, that they’d lost it and wouldn’t be able to take their flight. I immediately handed it in to an airline desk who said they’d find the person. I was disgusted though by a youth next to me who said he would have gone to the gate and laughed whilst watching the person’s growing panic as they realised their loss.

I know these are only isolated cases and people can’t be generalised about but to me it seemed sad in this season of goodwill to all, that this could happen.

Still there are those that make up for the shortcomings of the human race. We had friends around on Sunday and afterwards received a very thoughtful text from them telling how much they’d enjoyed the day. The text was followed up by a bouquet of flowers from Cosmea Gardens as an apology from the husband for drinking all the wine he had brought with him as a gift!

I don’t know if you’re like me or not but at this time of year it’s always hard to think of what to get for Great Aunt Bertha or cousin Tilly for a Christmas present. Did you know that last year 34% of presents received were classified as ‘unwanted’ generally meaning that the good idea to get Uncle Eric that rotary soup maker wasn’t such a good idea.

Some people go for gift vouchers or cash but that seems too impersonal or shows a lack of thought, so what’s the alternative?

It’s a bit unusual, and personally I’ve thought it a bit unseasonal to do so, but why not send flowers. They last for a good while at this time of year, brighten up drab days and the everlasting message that flowers are sent with love fits in nicely with the season. Last year I sent my aunt a bouquet from Cosmea Gardens; red carnations and gold sprayed bracken and it looked beautiful. The carnations had a slight scent that pervaded the rooms of her house and the colours were in keeping with the season. Each time I spoke to her in the year she brought up that gift. So it shows that if you’re stuck for ideas, give flowers!

Although the weather is noticeably cooler, I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas, so it’s time for some tips on how to make your home look effortlessly festive.

I love poinsettia plants and although there’s a myriad of colours to choose from these days, I still love the ones with the red bracts. You can spice them up by putting them in a festive looking container or simply get a terracotta pot, paint it green and then when dry, daub some wood glue in patterns such as bells, snowflakes or Christmas trees around it and press on some contrasting glitter. Don’t forget to bung up the drainage hole before putting the plant in it or you’ll have a soggy mess on your table!

If you want to keep the pot plain, then a quick squirt of spray-on glue over the leaves, followed by a dusting of silver glitter gives an instant effect.

If you can get hold of any evergreen foliage, it doesn’t have to be holly or ivy, make up a wreath by intertwining the stems and tie in red or gold ribbon in bows, add small Christmas decorations or small sprayed pine cones – there are hundreds in Cyprus at the moment – then hang it on your door or over a fireplace.

Finally, if you can’t afford one of the really expensive real Christmas trees this year which, to be honest, won’t survive long in the Cypriot climate, buy an Araucaria, otherwise known as a Norfolk Island Pine, which looks exotically similar and which will grace your garden afterwards. A 1.2 metre specimen in a pot can be bought for around 20 euros, less than half the equivalent for a Norwegian Spruce. Check out Cosmea Gardens for their range of festive plants and have a Plant-astic Christmas this year.

I was feeling a bit low for a week or so and I think it’s because it’s autumn, even in Cyprus, and the days are getting shorter, the weather’s unsettled and the temperatures have dropped considerably – but should I really be that depressed about it all?

We’ve got plenty of friends back in the UK who’ve said that the constant rain, gale force winds and even darker days are making them miserable and when I look out of the window, I now feel a little ashamed. For here in Cyprus, now is the time when you can get out and see the island without being exhausted by the heat or dripping with perspiration. There are still many sunny days and warm evenings and if it does rain, it’s all over in minutes and the sun shines again.

My guilt came out in talking to my parents who hadn’t been out of their flat in days because the weather was so bad. They’d decided to live off the food in their freezer and sit in and watch TV, shutting the world and the weather out. It would be cruel to describe our sunny, warm but very windy day to them and so I decided to send them a bit of sunshine in a bouquet of flowers from Cosmea Gardens.

I’m a great believer that flowers lift even the darkest of moods and they really appreciated the thought, only I then got to thinking – wasn’t I the one that was feeling low? Again, part of the joy of sending flowers is in the giving and seeing the look on the faces of those receiving them, and after all, I’ve still got sunshine so perhaps I should count my blessings!

Aren’t friends great?

We’re lucky (??) in that by living in Cyprus we have a steady flow of friends who want to come and stay with us. OK, it means several trips to the airport each month but we can keep in touch with home and have someone to share the trials and tribulations of life abroad with.

Our most recent guests have just returned to the UK and after dropping them off very early at the airport we returned home. I doubt we were in the apartment for more than half an hour when there was a ring on the doorbell.

We joked that it was our friends returned from the airport having missed their flight but upon opening the door we found it was a courier who was delivering an amazing bouquet of flowers.

My wife undid the small envelope and read that it was a thank you from our friends. What was more surprising is that it was a bouquet prepared by Cosmea Gardens. I guess the friends must have seen me working on one of my posts and picked up on the name. We’ve phoned them to thank them for their thoughtfulness but I had cause to think that although the bouquet was welcome, we had already received our thanks from the warm smiles on their faces as we showed them the true Cyprus that these days is too often hidden behind the consumerism.

All summer long I’ve been mesmerised by the sight of trees on the road past Coral Bay outside Paphos which have bright green frond-like leaves and vivid scarlet flowers with yellow centres. To say they’re striking is an understatement and I’ve spent ages trying to find out what they are.

I recently holidayed on my second favourite island, Cuba, and saw the same trees there. A local told me that they were called Flame Trees and when I got to a computer I found out that they’re also called the Royal Poinciana and they have been voted into the top five most beautiful trees in the world.

I looked at them in a new light once I’d returned from my holiday and find that each time I pass the tree I’m reminded of my holiday. I got to thinking about flowers that evoke memories and talked to my parents about flowers that brought back memories for them such as Montbretias that remind my dad of his mother and lilac that reminded my mum of her mother. For me, roses always remind me of my wife as they’re her favourite celebration flowers and I’ll be buying some more on Saturday for it’s her birthday. Try thinking about the flowers that bring back memories for others and stir up some with a bouquet from Cosmea Gardens.

I’ve just spent over a month in the UK experiencing what you might call the English summer which, with its usual washout had left gardens and parks looking dull and bedraggled. All it did was to make me wish for the sunnier climate of Cyprus so last Wednesday we grabbed the easyJet flight out of Gatwick and headed for the sun. Before leaving, I texted a friend to ask them to open up the windows so it wouldn’t be too oppressive in the apartment.

We arrived late in the evening and struggled with our bags up the stairs and flung open the door, glad to be home. I wasn’t prepared though for the surprise that greeted us when we went into the dining room for they had organised a bouquet of all my favourite flowers that brighten the island so even though it was dark when we arrived we immediately had a taste of what we’d missed back in the UK. There were the roses that bloom through the most intense heat set against white bougainvillea that in the garden looks like fresh snow in the wintry sun backed with rolled banana leaves. What an amazing creation I thought and looked at the label that accompanied them – Selected and hand-tied especially for you by Cosmea Gardens I should have known!

So it goes to show that if you want something really special or just to say something as simple as ‘Welcome home’ Cosmea Gardens are the ones to help.

This last weekend saw the horrific killing in Norway of nearly a hundred people, many of them young, whose lives, full of potential, have now been extinguished.

After initial media images of the terrible carnage, we now have the tender photographs of relatives and loved ones laying floral tributes to those who were killed. But, as with all major incidents these days, the tributes have been supplanted with many times more from the public expressing their shock at the event and their empathy as well as sympathy with the families of the victims.

The advertising slogan used to go something like ‘Say it with flowers’ and often, when words can’t quite express what we want to say on occasions such as this, flowers do convey our compassionate thoughts and are there as a semi-permanent reminder both at the scene and in photographs.

Flowers can say so much at happy times too so if you’ve got something you want to say but don’t know how to say it, try flowers from Cosmea Gardens.