By Heidi Kyser
Co-Owner of Gaia Flower & Gift Shop in Las Vegas and Yoga Teacher at Yoga Sanctuary
I still remember the first (and last) time I told Peter that I didn’t believe in giving flowers, because it was such a wasteful, harmful practice.
“Somebody grows them – in a hothouse full of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, I’m sure – just so they can be cut down, put in an ugly glass vase the same as a dozen others you have stacked up under your sink, and then thrown away after a week. What’s the point?”
I wasn’t thinking. Too late, I could see his heart breaking as his expression sank. After all, I was talking to someone who owned a plant and floral company, whose livelihood depended on others’ belief in the kindness and thoughtfulness of offering flowers.
That was around 10 years ago. We were just friends then. Oh, how things change…
In the intervening years, Peter and I have grown to be partners, first in life and now in Gaia.
When we were dating, he would send me flowers with gentle teasing about my thoughtless remark from years earlier. After we moved in together, he would bring home from work arrangements that he’d asked his designer to make especially for me. While my friends complained about never getting flowers from their boy/girlfriends, I grew to expect them.
And, without ever taking me to task directly, Peter showed me, over the years, that there is unquantifiable value in giving flowers. Although I have become accustomed to having them around, it still amazes me how much their simple presence on a table brightens the mood. They are a joy to contemplate. And of course, I see now that they are a gesture from his heart to mine.
Now that we have Gaia, flowers are even more special than ever. Our shop (named after the Greek goddess personifying Earth) represents our chance to combine the thoughtfulness Peter has always understood flowers to represent, with the lighter impact on the environment that we are both committed to making in every aspect of our lives.
Burying your nose in a bouquet of ecoroses and breathing in deeply, I may not smell anything different than the fragrance of a conventional rose. But I feel the love more truly, more deeply than ever before. And that’s the point.
Comment from Yoga Rants and Raves: If you're looking for a beautiful Valentine's Day gift created with loving intention, visit or call Gaia in downtown Las Vegas. Here's a link to their website: http://www.gaiaflowers.com/
Photo Credit: Diane Taylor
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