Bloom where you are planted

I'm not particularly fond of receiving flowers but I do love gifting them. In a sense, I think I am more of a practical person who prefers receiving presents that are lasting or functional, like a handmade card or a frying pan. That said, I do acknowledge the power of a beautiful bouquet and I've seen how it can brighten up a home and bring joy, comfort and solace. Many of my good friends love flowers and even my daughters said that they love them too because "Flowers are pretty" and "Flowers make me happy". 

As my girls grow up, I wish to let them know that it's perfectly okay to have their own likes and dislikes which might be vastly different from mine or from each other. I want them to know that as individuals, they have the freedom to choose their own paths in life and write their unique stories too. So even if they love things that I never felt affection for, like flowers, durians and creepy crawlies, by all means, go ahead.

Recently, I decided to present the little girl with a surprise bouquet because I wanted to congratulate her on a job well done. You see, for the first time in her life, she achieved the Edusave Merit Award and was longing for the day when she would go onto the stage to receive her prize. For years, she had witnessed her elder sister doing it and finally, it was her turn to be in the spotlight and her turn to shine. Her excitement was plain to see and she told me how she was eagerly looking forward to the award ceremony. Alas, the pandemic thwarted plans and eventually, the ceremony was cancelled, much to her disappointment. 

It would have been logical to ask her to shrug it off, see the bigger picture in life and understand why things had to be the way they were. It would have been easy for me to say "There's always next year" and dismiss her efforts for the past one year. It would have been mean to make comparisons like "If your sister can do it year after year, so can you." I wanted her to know that I understood how much it mattered to her and as a result, it mattered greatly to me too. I wanted her to know that I was so proud of her for working hard and that with or without a ceremony, she was a champion in my eyes. Most importantly, I wanted her to be appreciate the present, learn to be contented and be positive even when life gets hard.

Well, guess what we did in the end? The big sister and I went to collect the certificate and vouchers from the community centre when the little sister was in school. Then we set up a makeshift stage at home using whatever we could find. When she got home, we told her we were going to have a mini award ceremony right in our home! I became the emcee while the big sister became the prize presenter - she said she was an MP, haha. We read out the little sister's name with pride and saw her beam from ear to ear as she made her way up the 'stage' to receive her prize and take a photo with her beloved sister. That moment was definitely a special one for all of us and one that we will fondly remember.

Besides my heartfelt congratulations, these flowers you are holding contain a very important message from me to you, my dear. It is to bloom where you are planted. For you can and you will.

This gorgeous surprise bouquet came from FARM Florist and when the little girl saw it, she said "So huge! So nice!" which made me thankful to see that she loved it. The big sister also told me to pass all of the flowers and leaves to her when they have dried up so that she can use them as decorations in her scrapbooks and handmade cards. I must say that is definitely a good way to maximise usage and make sure no petal is wasted, right?

Our bouquet was a sweet combination of roses, eucalyptus, thlaspi, caspia, eustoma, alstromeria, eryngium, hypericum and sweet william. Yup, more than half of them sound foreign to me, which was why I decided to leave it at the hands of the experts to create this beautiful bundle. I can safely say that the flowers looked fresh and pretty when they arrived at our doorstep and the floral scent instantly gave our living room a nice fragrance too.

Looking back, this is the first bouquet I have ever presented to this soon to be 8-year-old. Yup, I've bought several bouquets for my mum on special occasions in the past but never for my daughters, even though they are growing up to be big girls who love all things pretty. This was a first and hopefully it reminded her of how much she is loved and how she is my pride and my joy, no matter what happens.

There, our dining table looks much better now, doesn't it? Like I said, I don't deny how flowers can freshen up a room and I have to say that the vibrant hues that greeted us every morning helped to start our day on a good note too.

My conclusion is regardless of whether you are a flower lover or not, they are definitely a good way for us to show care for our loved ones and inject colour and positivity into our lives too.







As most of us are still staying home as much as possible (I hope), let's not forget to send some love to our family and friends during this period and let them know we are thinking of them. For those who are keen to get a bouquet or two, visit www.farmflorist.com. Their website is easy to navigate and you can browse by product catergories, search for occasions or filter by price too.

I was intrigued to see that on their website, there is a tab that says "ONE HOUR FLORIST". Apparently, they promise to deliver your flowers within 60 minutes and in the case that they are late, you are entitled to a receive a full refund on your order. Fwah! This would definitely come in handy for me as many a time, I forgot it was a friend's birthday till the day itself and I would wonder if I could get a gift in time.

Last week, I had planned to send a care packages to two of my best friends who are currently going through rough patches in life and have tough decisions to make. Besides packing a bag full of fresh fruits, jellies, gummies, snacks, Milo and Barcardi Breezers - which will eventually be shared with their spouses and kids - I wanted a gift that was solely meant for each of my girl friends. Yup, this would also be one of the times when I would say flowers work best because they bring happiness, love and most importantly, hope.

I chose to get these bloom boxes instead of bouquets because they looked pretty and seemed much easier to carry around since I would be personally delivering them to my friends. I was half afraid that the flowers would not be arranged neatly or that they would not be as fresh as I like due to the 60-min delivery guarantee. Well, luckily my worries were unfounded because the blooms were as fresh as can be and sat snugly in the boxes when they arrived. Don't you just love the striking red colour of these gorgeous roses?



I looked through their catalogue and saw that as of now, there are only four items available at One Hour Florist. Yup, hopefully this will expand over time so that customers can have a greater variety to choose from. Nonetheless, seeing how this list includes popular choices like bloom boxes, hand bouquets and heart boxes, it should suffice to meet most needs for the time being. The best part is still the reliable 1-hour free delivery which does not require a minimum order value.

After writing a message for my friends - nothing beats a handwritten one - it was time to mask up and head out! See how fuss free it was to carry the bloom box? Yup, I could carry both the box and the personalised care package in one hand!

Were my friends surprised? Yup, totally. It greatly warmed my heart to see their smiles too and knowing that they felt touched by this simple gesture. It was my way of reminding them that flowers do not bloom without a little rain, that every flower blooms at a different pace and that no matter what happens, our friendship will always blossom and never wilt.

We just have to try to make life fruitful, even when it throws lemons at us, and be reminded that we are never alone in this journey.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored collaboration between A Happy Mum, FARM Florist and One Hour Florist. All opinions are my own.