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Don’t you just love this year; two Easters, two Christmases (if you include Epiphany) and now two Mothers’ Days.

I was one of the good sons who remembered to send a bouquet to my mum in England on March 10th and very well it was received too!

Now, thumbing through some details from Cosmea Gardens I find that they’re offering a discount of 10% on flowers ordered for the International Mothers’ Day on May 12th.

Perhaps you are happy that sending flowers and a card on 10th March are enough but I can’t resist ordering more flowers for my mum, especially with the discount (but I won’t tell her about that). She’ll be very surprised, for being very religious, she always thinks of Mothers’ Day as being linked with Mothering Sunday, the middle Sunday in Lent. She is of course right traditionally for Mothers’ Day was a day in Lent when everybody was given the day off from work so they could return for a church service at their ‘mother church’ in their home town and consequently, be able to visit their mothers at the same time. Interestingly, only Ireland and Nigeria celebrate it on the same day as the UK whilst everyone else celebrates on the second Sunday in May.

The story of the use of that date goes back to the United States when, after the end of the American Civil War, a mother who’d lost her son in battle wrote a ‘Mothers’ Day Proclamation’. Julia Ward Howe’s words were a call for peace, the laying down of arms and reconciliation. Some of the American states began to recognise the day as a holiday and eventually, after the involvement of Woodrow Wilson in 1914, it was declared a fixed national holiday as the second Sunday in May when Americans are encouraged to think of the millions of mothers everywhere who’d lost sons and daughters in battle. Many homes and public buildings, offices and shops show the American flag as a gesture of support on that day.

So, why not take a second chance to make a fuss of your dear mum and send her a card accompanied by a beautiful bouquet of flowers from THE best flower shop; Cosmea Gardens.

Order yours today and at the checkout enter SPECIALMOTHER in the voucher code box on orders of 50 euros or more and get your 10% discount.

I always love that wait for the phone call from my mum, counting down the hours until she receives the flowers and the opening words of the call ‘Thank you very much, the flowers are so beautiful’.

As with flowers sent and received at any time, the pleasure of them is twofold. The recipient has the delight of the gift and the beauty and fragrance of them for weeks to come whilst the sender gets the joy of knowing they’ve made someone happy.

It’s up to you now, so book soon as the discount won’t be around for ever, go on; give her a second ‘Happy Mothers’ Day’!

We’re now in Holy Week in the Orthodox Church with Palm Sunday today and the lead up to Easter in full swing. The latest possible date for Easter in the Orthodox calendar means that in Cyprus we’re assured good weather for the festivities of Easter Day and the local youths are already getting in high spirits for the midnight bonfire on Easter Saturday.
The shops are full of Easter gifts; from chocolate to a variety of porcelain animals, but amongst the fattening and tat there are beautiful flowers that would make a special Easter gift for the person you love.
A trip around Cosmea Gardens flower shop in Larnaca shows that the floral year is definitely in full swing. There are beautiful gerberas in a wide range of colours, local and imported roses.
I’ve made a note to visit Agros soon to discover the damask rose beds and try some of the wonderful rose products there. May is the time when the petals are carefully picked and you need to be there very early in the morning if you’re going to help as a willing volunteer.
Back in the florists, you’ll find plenty of lilies and I’ve noticed of late, the use of arum lilies in the bouquets. This is quite apt for, although not a true lily, the arum lily is often referred to as the Easter Lily. The true Easter Lily; lilium longiflorum is strongly and beautifully scented and is used at Easter because of its almost translucent whiteness, a sign of purity representing the risen Christ, cleansed of the sins of the world he took to Calvary.
I like alstroemeria in bouquets, especially the white ones whose speckled throats are tinged with yellow and green, or the pink ones with white throats. I almost always steer clear of the garish orange ones which either get lost in an equally garish yellow and orange creation or which look completely out of place in any other bouquet.
For the background to an Easter bouquet, I’ d avoid the bear grass which is now definitely going out of fashion and instead use the broad leafed greenery like phormium tenax or, as a nice complement to the white flowers, use some silvery eucalyptus. Don’t forget the gypsophila which hides any unsightly stems and you’ll have the perfect Easter gift.
Now, before you write all this down and head for Cosmea Gardens, you may want to consider asking them to do all this for you. A lot of us are quite competent flower arrangers but if you’ve not got the time, or the patience to make a professional job, why not leave it to the experts. You can get simple bouquets from €20 or go wild with a spectacular arrangement for up to €50.
Ordering online is simple and with delivery all over the island and abroad available at almost a moment’s notice, you can at least say you chose the flowers you sent this Easter.
Whatever you do, have a happy and joyful Easter – Χριστός Ανέστη αγαπητοί φίλοι.

Easter is a distant memory now in the UK with hot cross buns polished off until next Lent and Easter eggs broken up and scoffed but at least many places in the UK are still waiting for the flower of Easter; the daffodil or Lent Lily because of the bad weather.

In Orthodox countries such as Greece and Cyprus, people are getting edgy now, for we have to wait for the latest date it’s possible to have Easter in the Orthodox Church; the 5th May. By that time summer will be in full swing whereas in the UK and the rest of Western Europe, Easter was still firmly stuck in winter. The late date of Easter will also push back Pentecost nearly to the end of June but at least the cooling water fights of Kataklysmos will be appreciated then!

So why is Easter so late in Orthodox countries this year?

The reason is all to do with the calendars that each religion uses. The Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar whilst the western church uses the Gregorian calendar. The calendars comprise exactly the same number of days, leap years and number of days in each month but because the calendars base their calculations on different aspects of a ‘year’ there is a discrepancy. The Julian calendar is based on the tropical or solar year which is slightly shorter than the actual year according to the Gregorian calendar and is now currently thirteen days behind. Bearing in mind the fact that the date of Easter is rather complicatedly based on the first Sunday after the first paschal new moon after the spring equinox, it’s no wonder people aren’t sure how it’s calculated or what the date of each Easter is! Even more interestingly is that Easter Sunday is always on the fourteenth day of the lunar month following the spring equinox.

This year it means a four week gap between the Gregorian Easter and the Julian one, enough time for you to celebrate it in the UK, almost forget about those extra pounds you piled on with eggs and buns (or lose them!), and then celebrate it once more in an Orthodox country. Unfortunately for a tourist though it means you get hit with a double whammy on flight prices for both Easters.

However, the benefit is that if you forgot to get a special someone an Easter gift, you could always play it cool and suggest you prefer to follow the Orthodox Church’s view on Easter and that’s why those Easter flowers from Cosmea Gardens have turned up four weeks later!

By getting your Easter flowers for Orthodox Easter, at least you’ll have a wider range of flowers to choose from and just a quick look around Cosmea Gardens’ shop shows the increasing range of cut flowers that bloom as the weather gets warmer.

You’ve got plenty of time still to save up for those Easter flowers or you could just be very organised and order them now – and if your memory is as good as mine, you’ll be just as surprised as the recipient when the flowers are delivered in just under three weeks’ time!

This week we’re going to get the chance to celebrate women twice in the space of two days and despite the so called ‘Battle of the Sexes’ I’m still happy to celebrate all that women do in my life.
The women in my life include my mother, my wife, the little orphaned girl that we’re guardians for and our dog who is definitely a girl dog.
I’m seriously outnumbered, but for 99.9% of the time that suits me down to the ground and each of them helps me get through my life in their own inimitable ways.
My mother is still fussing over me, 31 years after I left home and still reminds me to get a haircut, checks how often the bedding is washed and maybe less helpfully, checks up, unfortunately within earshot, whether my wife is feeding me properly. She’s lovely but is unfortunately ill at the moment having just been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and at the same time a chronic chest infection and bronchitis. She’s on the mend though and now, after many decades of mild indulgence, has finally realised that she needs to look after herself if she’s going to continue to look after me.
My wife is the rock in my life, unfortunately we’ve not been lucky enough to have children but still live against hope that it might happen. She is an absolute angel and truly the best woman with whom any man could want to spend his married life. We’ve had plenty of ups and a few downs but if today was my last on earth, I’d still say I’ve lived as full and vibrant a life with her as anyone could wish.
I feel desperately sorry for little girl that we are guardians for. She has no mum or dad and no family elsewhere to speak of so, despite not being blood, we are all she has. When Mother’s Day comes, she’ll be laying a little posy on a grave, no doubt thinking of the unfairness of life, whilst both my wife and I can give gifts to, talk to and see our mothers still. She’ll need special attention on Mother’s Day.
Our dog is fabulous too. She’s called Sophie and in her own way loves me with a passion and a jealousy worthy of any woman. She fights to get near me, shoves my wife out of the way and tries to make as big a fuss as possible to ensure that in return I give her the most attention. If my wife and I hold each other, touch or kiss, she’ll try to break it up and if she fails, she’ll go off in a huff and sulk for hours.
This year on Mother’s Day, I’ll be buying flowers for my mother from Cosmea Gardens, partly because they’re without doubt the best florists I’ve ever used but also because this Mother’s Day they’re offering five euros off any order of 40 euros or more as long as the flowers are ordered by the 10th March. All I have to do is enter the code HAPPYMUM at the checkout and the savings are automatically deducted. Come to think of it, at that price I might order flowers for all the women in my life, for at some point or other I’m sure they all mother me! But I love it!

International Women’s Day is celebrated this year on the 8th March and whilst it passes almost unnoticed in many countries, it’s an important day for it recognises the role women play in society whilst underlining the shameful fact that in many countries worldwide women aren’t treated equally to their male counterparts.
Several occasions are put forward for its inauguration but the generally accepted one for an international marking of the occasion is in 1911 when women across Europe demonstrated primarily for suffrage – the right to vote and to hold public office, but secondarily and potentially more importantly, to be granted the same rights in the workplace as men.
Since then it has been celebrated annually but in many different ways. In many of the eastern European countries it’s celebrated as a national holiday but in Montenegro and in China, it’s only a holiday for women!
In other countries it’s taken on a less serious note and is seen more as a celebration of women rather than a chance to highlight inequalities. In countries such as Serbia, Croatia and Romania, it’s treated a little like Mothers’ Day or Valentine’s Day when men offer gifts or flowers to the women in their lives.
Whilst not celebrated like this in Cyprus or the UK, if you’re looking for a good excuse to buy a gift to show your mother, sisters, girlfriends or wives how much you love them, order a hand delivered bouquet of flowers for them from Cosmea Gardens. You can guarantee they’ll be very happy but they’re likely to be very surprised too as few know about the occasion.
On a serious note, this year’s International Women’s Day highlights the continuing saga of violence against women, particularly topical in the light of the recent Indian bus rape story and the Oscar Pistorius story in South Africa. These are high profiles examples of violence to women but every day in every country women suffer domestic violence in the home, behind closed doors and are either too ashamed or too scared to speak out about it. This year, the organisers of the occasion want governments around the world to hold to their promise of eradicating violence against women, not just in the home but in parts of the world where violence against women is commonplace. Sadly, this has been the theme of the year for six out of the last eighteen years and still the problem persists.
Let’s hope that finally this year, the people who can do something to wipe out this blight on human relationships take that step forward.
For now, thinking of the happier side to the day, which woman in your life would you like to send a bouquet of flowers to? Who would you want to tell that they mean so much to you? Who do you want to tell that you hold them in the highest regard and that your life wouldn’t be the same without them?
We’re sure there are plenty, so, to make sending that special gift easier click here to discover the beautiful bouquets that the woman in your life would love to receive.

It’s just under two weeks now until the start of Carnival season in Cyprus and, whilst you may be thinking we’re a little late this year, don’t worry – it’s the divergence between the western and Orthodox calendars that is to blame.
In the UK, you’ll be well into Lent and have had the traditional Pancake Day celebration, in New Orleans and Rio, the Mardi Gras carnivals have been and gone in a riot of colour but here, we have to wait until the 7th March for the start of our celebrations which this year will carry on for a whole TEN days.
In Paphos, the main part of the festival has to wait until the 16th March – coincidentally my birthday, when young and old will take to the streets to celebrate before the dourness of Lent takes over.
Limassol has the biggest carnival in Cyprus and it’s believed to be the third biggest worldwide, but biggest or smallest, it’s always a riot of colour, music, noise, drama and costume.
A little like the Venetian carnivals, Cypriot revellers wear masks, a throwback to when Venice ruled the island and the shops are already full of ready to wear masks, maracas, balloons and more to ensure everyone has the time of their lives.
Lent in Orthodox countries is very different to that in the west. Instead of the black veiled crosses and sombre mood, Orthodox Christians see the time as one of happiness after receivin forgiveness of their sins and for the coming of springtime and the resurrection, a little like the west celebrates Advent.
Interestingly, by the time Clean Monday has arrived, we’re already in Lent for it begins as the special service called Forgiveness Vespers gets underway on the Sunday evening before.
On the first day of Lent; Green or Clean Monday, Orthodox Christians will go out for picnics and fly kites, ask for forgiveness from others and begin Lent cleansed from their sins. Flowers that are typical of this time are white lilies to show purity and cleanliness and if you want to make a gift of flowers to anyone in Lent, aim for white and you’ll maintain the tradition of the season.
Fasting is taken seriously by the devout but don’t worry; in a country that loves its food there’s plenty you can eat and still be a good Christian. It’s only meat, eggs and fish that are not allowed and twisting the rules slightly, the Cypriots now make the most of meals made from shellfish as is the custom for the Clean Monday feast.
On a secular note, with Clean Monday being a portent of spring, take a leaf out of Tennyson’s book and if your thoughts lightly turn to love, order a bouquet of flowers from Cosmea Gardens for that one you want to make special in your life and use it to invite the lucky girl to help you fly your kite on Clean Monday or to accompany you, masked, to the carnival, perhaps followed by a romantic meal afterwards. Whatever you do, enjoy the carnival and may your kite fly high!

It’s just over three weeks now until Valentine’s Day and already male friends of mine are getting edgy over what to buy their loved ones on February 14th.
I must admit that I’m inclined to join them, realising from past experience that cutting back on the 14th means days or even weeks of payback from wives or girlfriends.
Carl, my friend from school whom I’ve known now for forty years split up from his wife last year – and before you ask, not because of a bad Valentine’s gift. He’s recently got a new girlfriend who he is keen to impress and is spending lots in the hope of cementing the still slightly fragile bond between them. He’s regularly waving the air tickets to Paris at me, so much so I’m beginning to wonder if he’s actually inviting me. He’s got a limousine to pick them up at the airport and booked a ‘chic little hotel’ for their stay.
It would be nice to have the money to be able to do that kind of thing every Valentine’s Day but alas, for most of us it’s not possible.
Geoff, who I work with has been married now for five years and each year gets his wife a huge but tacky card and takes her out for a ‘specially overpriced meal for the occasion’ where he sits and tells her how wonderful she is.
For me though, my wife knows how much I love her and says I don’t need to show her on Valentine’s Day because I do so during the rest of the year too. Sounds like a good get out if only I could believe her. I just know that if I don’t do anything then I’ll be for it!
Out in Cyprus, the focus on commercialising every occasion isn’t so prevalent and so we’ll still go for a meal to our favourite restaurant but in the morning, before she wakes, I’ll bring in a bouquet of flowers ordered from Cosmea Gardens and it’ll be there for her when she wakes up. I’ve just noticed that Cosmea Gardens are offering 10% off a bouquet of flowers of €50 or more, ordered online if you quote the code HAPPYREADER and order before the 13th February but don’t tell wives or girlfriends! There’ll be the card – my wife loves the ‘Tatty Teddy’ cards which aren’t too sickly – and some chocolates, specially brought over from England by a friend.
I’m not sure how well my friends will get on with their partners on the big day and wonder too what they might expect to get in return by way of a gift. I know that my Valentine’s Day will be as happy as all the other days I spend with my wife and, despite the relatively small amount of money I’ll be splashing out this Valentine’s Day compared to Carl I think the look of surprise and pleasure she’ll have on her face when she wakes up will be just as good.

The weather here in Cyprus has recently improved dramatically after some unusually cold weather that saw snow fall on our balcony on the coast near Paphos.
Taking the chance for a walk this afternoon in the warm sunshine I was surprised to spot a wild narcissus flower. I hadn’t realised they flowered in the wild in Cyprus and knelt down for a closer inspection. It had the strong sweet perfume of the narcissus you buy in a florist but was a pale greenish white and had a lustre to the petals that made them glisten in the sunshine.
Leaving it for others to enjoy I went home to check out my find and came across some very interesting facts.
The daffodil was originally a variant of the asphodel, another plant that grows locally here in Cyprus. I was surprised to find out that daffodils are common to North Africa, thinking that they were a spring flower from colder climates.
The narcissus was well known to the ancient Greeks who believed it was linked with the youth Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool and couldn’t move away, eventually dying of hunger. They believe that the gods turned his remains into a narcissus flower which is said to represent a face. Whereas roses are the symbol of love, a narcissus is a symbol of unrequited love as Narcissus’ love was never returned.
Whilst the flower is seen as a symbol of vanity in the west, in the Far East and particularly China, the flower is considered lucky, as in a fable, a man who found a flower received great riches as a result. As it flowers around the time of the Chinese New Year, it’s a symbol of that time of year whilst its fragrance is used commonly in Chinese perfumes. In the west it flowers in late spring and so is then linked with Easter and in German its name means ‘Easter Bell’.
The narcissus is the national flower of Kurdistan and its variant, the daffodil is the national flower of Wales.
In the Middle East the flower represents beautiful eyes and is often grown with violets to represent hair and roses where the petals represent healthy cheeks.
The narcissus hides a secret though for the flower has a poison coursing through it and concentrated in its bulbs. Many people have been accidentally poisoned by it over the centuries thinking the bulbs were onions. That said, a paste made from the mashed bulb is often used in traditional Japanese medicine to clean wounds whilst recent studies suggest that a compound in the plant may be effective against Alzheimer’s Disease leading to a large scale trial of the compound.
Finding that single narcissus has certainly opened up a world of learning for me and if you want to start on a lifelong relationship with narcissus, order a bouquet of spring flowers from your favourite online flower shop; Cosmea Gardens and let the heady, sweet perfume fill your home with the scent of spring.

One of the best known traditional Christmas carols is the Holly and the Ivy. Since first hearing the carol when I was around eight or nine, I’ve wondered what Holly and Ivy have to do with Christmas.
These days we’re used to seeing images of Holly on Christmas cards and in the Christmas wreaths that are sold to squeeze even more money out of shoppers during the festive season.
I remember asking my mother why it was linked with Christmas and she told me that the red of the berries represents the blood of Christ shed for us upon the cross whilst the prickles of the leaves represent the crown of thorns.
The fact that Holly manages to bear fruit at the coldest part of the year and remains green and healthy alludes to the everlasting love of Christ. The same can be said of the ivy which grows well under extraordinary circumstances, even after having its roots cut off.
The story linking holly to Christmas goes back to Roman times with a link to the festival of Saturnalia which, after the rise of Christianity, turned into the festival of Christmas. The druids also hold holly in high regard, mainly for its everlasting qualities. An old druid tale tells of how a holy man journeyed far through a desolate wintry land where all the trees and plants were dormant and dark. Riding through a forest he spied a bank of green, dotted with red, and on approaching it found it to be the holly. He then declared it as sacred through its ability to live whilst all else seems dead.
Holly and ivy were seen as fertility symbols to the pagans and the idea of the holly wreath came from the wreaths that were hung on doors of couples who want a family. Today they are seen simply as Christmas decorations with little or no knowledge of their true meanings. Wouldn’t it be funny if the original idea was successful – there’d be plenty of babies born in August and September?
The idea of the steadfastness of the holly extended through to the Tudors when Henry VIII wrote a song called Green Groweth the Holly in which he compared his love with the longevity of holly.
The carol we know so well first appears in 1710 but then a second version with slightly different lyrics appear a century later in the carol we know as the Sans Day Carol which was written in Cornwall and sung on St Day’s day.
This Christmas, many holly wreaths will be sold but its prickly nature means that very little holly will make it into Christmas bouquets although there is a form of holly that is less vicious which sometimes does. On the other hand ivy often makes its way into bouquets because of its attractive wiry nature.
Take a look at the Christmas bouquets on sale at Cosmea Gardens and when you order one containing holly or ivy for a friend or family member, think about the story behind the plant.

Christmas shopping is what’s on everyone’s lips at the moment. From ladies who love the whole shopping idea, making lists, meeting up with friends to scour the shops, not once but several times, then it’s time to spend just as much on the wrapping paper, ribbons and tags making sure it’s all colour coordinated. I’ve even known people to rewrap gifts from others that weren’t in with the colours scheme, so they matched.
Men are different animals and will leave Christmas shopping until the last minute or leave Christmas shopping to their partners. I’d have to admit to being one of those but then my wife likes the whole Christmas shopping experience and who am I to deny her one of life’s few pleasures. Thankfully the only involvement I have is to get my wife’s present and to be sent out with a list once she’s found the store that stocks the items she needs. I hate shopping where I have to scour shops to find a product or not even know what I’m looking for. The wooliness of this kind of shopping drives me crazy and I’d rather internet shop or at least find out which stores stock what I need. It’s even better for me if the shop has its own wrapping service – that saves me the cost of the paper, label and ribbon and they do a far better job than me. The only problem is that it doesn’t look like I’ve done the wrapping, partly because it’s so neat and partly because, again, it’s not matching paper. This year when I go out to buy presents I think I’ll take this year’s wrapping paper with me then I’ll get away with it.
What I do like doing is to go food shopping at Christmas. There are so many goodies you never see at other times of the year from cakes to puddings, chocolates to cheeses. You can send me to a supermarket at any time over the Christmas period and you’ll be lucky if I’m back for Christmas!
But what about all those people where you really don’t know what to buy for them? You can brainstorm it, try subtly asking their family and friends or at worst ask them but last year I found a far better solution for female friends and relatives and even better, I could do the whole thing online.
I thought about the film Love Actually and in it, one character says that Christmas is the one time of the year that you can tell people what you really think of them and so I took the advice. I sat down with the list of my friends for whom I could think of no gifts and wrote a small dissertation on how brilliant, kind, helpful, supportive etc. they all were. I found it so much easier to give them the gift of my feelings that to think of a physical gift. I then chose a bouquet of flowers from Cosmea Gardens and added my epithets to the gift card and had them delivered as close as I could to Christmas Day. One friend said to me afterwards that she normally relied on the egg nog to give her a warm Christmassy feeling but that my gift and accompanying words had done the same but the effect had lasted a lot longer.
Try the same this year with your friends, I’ll guarantee they’ll certainly have a Happy Christmas and the thought of all that Christmas cheer will keep you going for the New Year sales!!