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Shop George Thomas Florist for Easter and Passover

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Easter Treats Basket by George Thomas Florist

Did you know that Easter is the fourth biggest floral holiday of the year? It may not get the recognition of Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or Christmas/Hanukkah, but flowers and plants have long played an important role in Easter and Passover observances and are synonymous with the holidays in both home decorations and as gifts.

When choosing a floral gift for Easter, it’s important to keep in mind not only who it’s for, but also what it will be used for. Flowers are always appropriate for mothers, grandmothers, and other close relatives or loved ones. Of course, Easter baskets full of chocolates, Peeps, and other springtime treats are always a favorite for kids of all ages!

They also make excellent gifts for church or social groups as well as for co-workers or the staff of your child’s school or day care center and are certainly a perfect gift to take along if you have been invited to an Easter dinner or other Easter celebration.

Easter Lilies by George Thomas Florist

Lilies are popular symbols of Easter as they represent love, hope, and resurrection. White lilies are especially symbolic during Easter as they signify purity and divinity. Daisies, azaleas, daffodils, chrysanthemums, hyacinths, and tulips are also popular Easter flowers.

Celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 1, with a traditional Easter lily plant, or with a beautiful bouquet of fresh seasonal flowers from George Thomas Florist.

Did you know?

  • Egg dyes for Easter were once made from flower petals. Other natural items like tree bark, onion peels, and juices were also used to color eggs.
  • The first story of a rabbit (later named the “Easter Bunny”) hiding eggs in a garden was published in 1680.
  • Easter takes place on a Sunday, after the 40-day period called Lent. Lent is referred to as a time of fasting, but most participants focus more on giving up one significant indulgence.
  • Holy Week is celebrated during the week leading up to Easter. It begins on Palm Sunday, continues to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and then finally, Easter Sunday.
  • The 140th annual “White House Easter Egg Roll” is scheduled for Monday, April 2. This event has been celebrated by the Presidents of the United States and their families since 1878.

Passover

Passover, or Pesach, is one of the most commonly observed Jewish holidays. It begins annually on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. This year it begins at sundown on Friday, March 30, and lasts through Saturday, April 7.

Passover is a celebration of the Israelites’ being freed from slavery in Egypt. It is also observed as a celebration of spring, of birth, and of rebirth, and of taking responsibility for yourself, the community, and the world. The first night of Passover includes a special ritual dinner called Seder.

Flowers make excellent gifts for Passover. Traditional spring-blooming flowers are used to celebrate the holiday. Sunflowers, Gerbera daisies, roses, lilies, irises, and tulips are all excellent choices for this holiday season. George Thomas Florist offers a nice assortment of centerpieces and fresh floral designs that make excellent gifts for this celebration.

The Easter Lily Capital of the World

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It’s likely you’ve never heard of Smith River, California, but odds are that’s where your Easter Lily was grown. This fertile land – located in the far northwest corner of California – is home to less than 900 residents, but produces about 95% of the world’s Easter lily bulbs – making it the Easter Lily Capital of the World.

With towering redwood trees to the east and the sparkling Pacific Ocean to the west, this gorgeous river valley – comprised of about 600 acres – is considered the most ideal spot on Earth for growing Easter lily bulbs due to its nearly perfect growing climate and soil condition.

Easter Lily by George Thomas Florist

In fact, only five Easter Lily bulb farms – owned by four families – produce up to 14 million bulbs each year. So how did this small strip of coastal land become such a dominant force in the production of Easter Lilies?

It all began in 1919 when a man named Louis Houghton introduced some hybrid lily bulbs to the south coast of Oregon and planted the seeds – so to speak – of what would become the Easter Lily Capital of the World. Prior to 1941, nearly all of the Easter lilies plants in North America were imported from Japan, but WWII changed that when Americans found themselves cut off from their beloved white lilies.

By 1945, Houghton’s crop had taken off and there were around 1,200 growers producing bulbs all along the Pacific Coast. That number would steadily drop as growers found the bulbs difficult to grow commercially.

It takes at least three years to grow the bulb to commercial size, and each year the bulbs must be dug up and sorted by hand – then either shipped to the greenhouse or replanted for another year.

Unlike other crops that are planted, left to grow, and harvested later, Easter Lily bulbs must be planted, harvested and shipped within a span of three months. That means in order to force the bulbs to bloom in time for Easter, they require 40 days of a forced artificial winter by refrigeration followed by a brief growing period in a high-temperature greenhouse.

The growing schedule is crucial since the value of the bulbs drops considerably even one day past Easter. To complicate matters, Easter doesn’t fall on the same day every year and can vary by as much as five weeks, so timing is everything.

With Easter only days away, this magnificent plant is available now. Give us a call or stop by and pick one out for your Easter celebration or check out our selection of Easter flowers.

Are you considering an Easter lily this year? Here are some tips to help you make the most out of your beautiful new plant.

  • If your Easter lily came with a decorative plastic, foil or paper wrapper, remove that as soon as possible in order to prevent the lily from becoming waterlogged.
  • When choosing a “home” for your lily makes sure to choose a location away from drafts and drying heat sources.
  • Water your plant if the surface feels dry, but be careful not to over-water. Easter lilies require a medium moisture level and should never stand in water for any length of time.
  • Potted Easter lilies kept indoors need bright, indirect natural light but, too much exposure to sunlight can cause burning issues.
  • Remove the yellow anthers from the center of each flower to prolong the life of the blossoms.
  • Easter lilies can be planted outside in a sunny location after the flowers have withered away.
  • If you plant your Easter lily outside, cover the roots with mulch to help keep them shaded.
  • Once planted outside, the lily should be watered freely during the active growth period and be kept moist during the winter.

Remember: Easter lily plants are highly toxic to cats.

Welcome to Spring, Is it Easter Already?

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Easter Treats Basket by George Thomas Florist

Easter Treats Basket by George Thomas Florist

Sunday marks the first official day of spring, and this year Easter is not far behind. Can you believe Easter is only a week away?

Flowers are often associated with holidays, but perhaps none more so than the Easter lily. Lilies have long been popular symbols of Easter, representing hope and love. White lilies, especially, take on a special symbolic meaning for Easter as they signify resurrection and purity.

Lilies aren’t the only symbol of Easter, however. Daisies, tulips, azaleas, chrysanthemums, daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips are also popular Easter flowers, as are a variety of green houseplants, bringing life to every room.

Speaking of Easter symbolism

Traditionally, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ; and is the most important Christian holiday, but many people associate Easter with brightly colored eggs, strategically hidden from children by a small bunny. At first glance, that appears to have nothing to do with Christianity or the religious observance of the holiday, but they might not be so disconnected after all.

The term “Easter” gets its name from Eastre, which is the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes the hare and the egg. Where do eggs fit into Easter? The exchange or giving of Easter eggs actually dates back to before Easter, and the giving of eggs is actually considered a symbol of rebirth.

With that in mind, the symbolism isn’t as far apart as many people think.

Of course, one thing that kids of all ages can agree on is that Easter celebrations typically involve candy, and lots of it!

During the holiday, more than 90 million chocolate bunnies and 91.4 billion eggs are produced each year in the United States alone, making it the second biggest candy-consuming day of the year, behind Halloween.

Here are some more Easter fun facts:

  • The tallest chocolate Easter egg was made in Italy in 2011. It stood 34 feet tall and weighed over seven tons! It was heavier than an elephant and taller than a giraffe.
  • The art of painting eggs is called pysanka, which originated in Ukraine. It involves using wax and dyes to color the egg.
  • Americans buy more than 700 million marshmallow Peeps during Easter, making Peeps the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.
  • Americans consume more than 16 million jelly beans each year during Easter, or enough jelly beans to circle the Earth three times.
  • Seventy-six percent of people eat the ears off the chocolate bunny first, 5 percent go for the feet and 4 percent for the tail.
  • Cadbury produces more than 1.5 million Creme Eggs each year.
  • In the old days, pretzels were associated with Easter because the twists of the pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossing in prayer.

Whether you choose fresh flowers or a lovely plant for your Easter celebration this year, George Thomas Florist is here to help you find the perfect gift for your loved ones. Check out our selection or let us know if you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for – we’re here to help!