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Contrary to common thought, the roots of Valentine’s Day are not grounded in paganism.
The truth is, the event was originally a Christian holiday created hundreds of years ago to honour two martyrs of that time who were decapitated.
In the third century during the reign of the Roman Empire, Emperor Claudius II beheaded two men in different years on the same day, February 14. They were both named Valentine.
One saint identified by a ring he wore bearing a symbol of cupid was killed for performing illegal marriages.
These were of young soldiers and their brides who were forbidden to marry by their leader, who believed that if they did tie the knot their focus would not be on the battle field, but rather on their marriage bed.
The other martyr was condemned for preaching Christianity and refused to convert to paganism.
When the Romans lost their power and Christianity took over, Valentine’s Day was introduced by the Catholic Church on February 14 and set aside to celebrate romantic love.
Today this sentiment is expressed through the gift of flowers, teddy bears and cards which the sender purposely does not sign.
Thus, the recipient’s imagination in guessing who the suitor might possibly be adds to the thrill and excitement of the day.
Most think that Valentine’s Day is set aside for lovers.
But if so, why did one of our dreaded school teachers (who once hit me on the head with a hockey stick) at our girls’ high school gift the spinster school principal of that time with a Valentine’s Day card?
The answer to this question is that Valentine’s Day can also be an opportunity to show our affection and appreciation to anyone we admire.
Gardeners may be especially blessed at this time with the opportunity to personalise the gifts they give or receive.
Roses, especially red roses, are a symbol of love, romance, beauty and perfection.
This can take the form of cut flowers or a rose bush.
Chatting to rose fundi Halmar Taschner on the topic, he recommended the following highly perfumed roses which are all hybrid teas:
Alec’s Red is an old favourite with full petalled cherry-red blooms that mature to carmine. It is a healthy, vigorous grower.
Ecstacy produces velvety, strongly fragrant crimson-red blooms that change to magenta with age.
The bush grows to medium height and is a good bedding rose.
Oklahoma has huge, full, highly perfumed blooms of a deep velvet red.
The bush is strong growing, flowers prolifically and has a well-rounded shape.
Mister Lincoln is a classic, highly perfumed garden cut rose that is easy to grow.
Its large, rich red blooms have a velvet sheen and are borne on strong, sturdy stems.
Avon has large, velvet-red blooms with a powerful fragrance. It makes a beautiful standard rose.
Belle Rouge also produces excellent cut flowers.
Not being that fond of red roses, I wondered why it would not be appropriate to choose or receive as a gift a rose bush of other colours with names that are equally expressive of love as the colour of red roses.
For example: Beauty from Within, Bewitched, Delicate Beauty, Priceless Pearl, Warm Wishes, Dreamweaver, Party Girl and Casanova are just some which come to mind.
Their rose colours are meaningful too.
Deeper pink roses communicate a sense of appreciation, pale pink express admiration, joy and gentleness, lavender roses tells someone you are enchanted by them, and they also represent love at first sight and desire.
White roses represent new beginnings and budding love, purity, innocence, grace and humility, yellow ones symbolises friendship, gladness and joy and are a sign of remembrance or affection, orange says you find someone irresistible as the vibrant colour represents life, energy, passion and excitement and softer peach roses express sincerity and gratitude.
Roses are not the only meaningful flower to give someone on Valentine’s Day.
Carnations are also impressive. Their message too is one of love, devotion and fascination in a relationship.
Carnations symbolise motherly love, which follows the Christian legend that the flowers grew from the Virgin Mary’s tears as she watched her son Jesus carrying his crucifixion cross.
A carnation’s colours also have different meanings.
White is a symbol of pure love and luck, light red of admiration, dark red is love and affection, pink is gratitude and yellow means disappointment or rejection.
Perhaps purple carnations aren’t a good omen to include in wedding flowers as they represent fickleness and impulsiveness.
The bride is likely to leave the groom standing at the altar.
Carnations are the January birth flower and are a perfect gift on a first wedding anniversary if offering a sign of love and commitment is intended.
Why not grow your own? Here is how.
I have taken cuttings of carnations from flower arrangements and rooted them with great success.
It’s best to do this between late summer and early autumn, so keep the flowers from any arrangement you receive now.
Select the strongest side shoots from half way up the stem from the eighth, ninth and tenth nodes.
Snap them off with your fingers or use a knife which has been disinfected. (See the diagram for guidance).
On each shoot, remove the lowest pair of leaves and dip the bottom of the cutting in rooting hormone or honey mixed with a little water.
Prepare a pot with a rooting medium comprising one part peat (from a peat block that has been soaked in water) and two parts perlite.
Make a hole with a pencil or kebab stick and insert the cutting in the hole with a spacing of 2.5cm.
Water them. Then place them in a sheltered position in the garden out of direct sunlight.
Keep the soil moist, otherwise the cuttings will not take.
The cuttings should be rooted in about two to three weeks.
Prepare to plant them in individual pots. Make up a mixture of one part peat, two parts of sifted garden soil and one part clean river sand.
Or use a potting mix available at your nursery.
Harden off the cuttings by placing them in a more open position until a root ball has formed.
Now they are ready to plant in the garden.
Planting: Choose a site which receives at least six hours of sun a day. The soil must be fertile and well-draining.
Add compost to the soil but do not mulch the area as it prevents air circulation.
Cut off the spent flowers, cutting the stem down to the next leaf node.
Carnations are perennials and will come back and flower year after year provided the soil is well draining and fertile. Water them weekly.
• In the Garden is written by feature writer, garden enthusiast and former teacher Julia Smith, who has returned home to live in Chintsa East. The column looks to inform both novice and accomplished gardeners on how to make the most of their green patches.
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