Viva Magenta named 2023 Pantone Institute Color of the Year

The Pantone Color Institute, the most respected predictor of color trends, has spoken, and they have welcomed us all to the “Magentaverse.” Viva Magenta, color 18-1750 on the Pantone chart, is from the red family. The color is thought to promote a joyous and optimistic celebration. Reds are power colors, and Viva Magenta is a bright, crimson shade that balances boldness with a feeling of fun.

“Viva Magenta welcomes anyone and everyone with the same verve for life and rebellious spirit. It is a color that is audacious, full of wit and inclusive of all,” according to Pantone.

natural meets digital

The “Magentaverse” reference is a play on the metaverse terminology. The metaverse is a digital reality that combines all aspects of social media, online gaming and virtual reality. Viva Magenta is expected to bring natural roots to this virtual world as much as to the real world of design, fashion, home decor, and a wide range of consumer goods.

In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real. PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta descends from the red family and is inspired by the red cochineal, one of the most precious dyes belonging to the natural dye family as well as one of the strongest and brightest the world has known.
Leatrice eiseman, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PANTONE COLOR INSTITUTE

color collaborations

The Pantone Color Institute collaborates with companies around the world to feature the Color of the Year in their products. The Color of the Year is like the ultimate influencer. Studies have shown that color impacts 85% of buying decisions. As soon as the winning color is announced, corporate creatives jump to work to integrate the trend into their product lines and market it to consumers. A rapid response to color trends gives manufacturers and retailers an edge over their competition. After all, in just 11 months, another color will be selected, and we start over again!

Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
Wayfair’s textured pillow cover
Mistana Oriental Rug – Wayfair
Macy’s faux fur textiles
Boho posters from Etsy
Cariuma sneakers
Estelle stemless wine glasses – West Elm
Hydrow Wave Rower
Spoonflower wallpaper in Big Damask

Today we are living in a unique multi-dimensional environment, one that combines physical and virtual. Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, explains, “As a result, space has been created where we are free to explore and be accepted for exactly who we feel we are, whether it be in a cybernetic universe, a conventional space, or a magical blend of both.”

what colors pair WELL with magenta?

When the Pantone Color Institute selected its pick for 2023, they also created a palette of coordinating colors. According to Pantone, the colors that best complement Viva Magenta are Pale Dogwood, Gray Sand, Gray Lilac, Pale Khaki, Fields of Rye, Agate Gray and Plein Air.

Some interior designers took this advice to heart, allowing Viva Magenta to be the star against more muted hues. In other cases, designers doubled down on the vibrant color by pairing it with another bold shade such as emerald, plum, or black.

bold florals

Florists are reacting positively to Pantone’s announcement, as nature offers many beautiful blooms that celebrate the 2023 Color of the Year. Roses, peonies, orchids, calla lilies, dahlias, ranunculus and hydrangea are only a few of the flowers available in a magenta hue.

“I think magenta is a beautiful color,” said Lilium designer Taylor Pritchett Zender. “I am excited to see the bold color used in weddings and events this year.”

Contact Lilium at 817-481-1565 or visit www.liliumflorals.com to see how you can enter the “Magentaverse” in 2023 with bold and beautiful florals.

Featured header photo courtesy of Rio Roses

Get More Mileage From Your Fresh Cut Flowers

There is everlasting love and everlasting life, but sadly, there is no such thing as an everlasting flower. If there is any downside to purchasing fresh cut flowers, it is the fact that they are perishable. Fresh flowers are so beautiful, we want them to stay that way as long as possible. While there is no method that will make your flowers everlasting, there are some tips that will make them longer lasting.

Location, Location, Location

When a flower is growing in the ground or container, the sun is its friend. But the moment a flower is cut, the sun and flower are no longer on speaking terms. Sunlight speeds the deterioration of cut flowers. Place your fresh arrangement in a cool location, out of direct sunlight. In addition, make sure your flowers are not sitting directly under an air vent.

If you have a boutonniere or corsage, store it in the refrigerator away from fruits and vegetables. An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but it makes fresh flowers sickly. Fresh fruits and veggies emit ethylene gas, which speeds up the aging process for flowers.

Water

If you are putting cut flowers into a vase, start with a fresh cut on all stems. Trim stems at an angle using sharp scissors or a sharp knife. This will help them draw water up the stem more easily. Floral stems have capillaries that are used to draw in water. If you use a dull blade to trim stems, you are squeezing the capillaries closed, preventing the flow of water to the flower.

Start with clean water and a clean vase. Many internet sites will advise adding various elements to the water, including aspirin, sugar, bleach, vinegar, or even a penny. If you purchased your flowers locally, however, the chances are your flowers have already been treated with a natural flower food and do not benefit from any of these additives.

If you receive an arrangement already in a vase, be sure to top off the water daily, making sure all stems are submerged in the water. For best results, pour out the water and completely replace it with clean water every two-three days.

Purchase Long-Lasting Varieties

At Lilium, we are often asked how long a customer can expect their flower arrangement to last. In general, five-seven days is what you can expect. Anything beyond that is a bonus. There are certain varieties, however, that are longer lasting than others. Lilies and orchids are among the varieties that stick around for a while. Tropical flowers, like ginger, heliconia, pincushions, and birds of paradise can last up to two weeks.

tropical arrangement — This arrangement is created using long-lasting tropicals, including cymbidium orchids, mink protea and monstera leaves

Ginger, heliconia. anthurium and mokara orchids fresh from Maui make a striking and long-lasting arrangement

Hydrangea is one of the most popular blooms used in fresh arrangements, but tends to be high maintenance. One of its unique characteristics is that it drinks from its petals as well as its stem. If you have a hydrangea that looks sickly, try submerging it (head and all) under water for a few minutes and it will perk back up.

Reliable Roses

There is a misconception that roses do not last very long. If you purchase premium roses that are cut at maturity, they will last longer. Roses cut too early will not open consistently, and their heads will droop. Lilium uses Corazon roses from Rio Roses. The Corazon is an award-winning Blue Ribbon rose with a proven track record. The blooms open 4″-5″ inches across, but in spite of the impressive show, the heads will not droop.

Lilium believes that educating consumers about properly caring for their arrangement or plant is an important step. We want customers to be satisfied with their purchases, while being realistic in their expectations of a perishable product. On every Lilium arrangement, potted orchid or plant, a care card is attached. In addition, care instructions are printed on the back of our message cards. We can’t prevent the demise of a cut flower, but we can work together to prolong its life.

Valentine’s Day Fun Facts

The holidays are barely behind us, but we are headed full-steam toward Valentine’s Day. In the world of sports, all eyes turn to the Super Bowl February 4 and the Olympic Games on February 9. In the flower game, however, the biggest event of the year happens a few days later on February 14. Whether you mark the day with cards, flowers or candy, Valentine’s Day is one of the most anticipated (and sometimes dreaded) days of the year. In honor of the big day, we thought we’d share a few fun facts about Valentine’s Day.

There was more than one Saint Valentine, but the one most associated with Valentine’s Day is the one who defied Emperor Claudius II by helping couples to marry in secret. The emperor felt single men made better soldiers, and forbade them to marry, but Valentine was sympathetic to their plight. Valentine’s actions cost him his head, but he is immortalized centuries later as we celebrate love. Isn’t that romantic?

Nothing takes you back to those classroom Valentine’s Day parties like a box of conversation hearts. Invented in 1866, Necco (New England Confectionery Company) now produces 8 billion conversation hearts each year. Production continues year-round to meet the February demand. Each box contains assorted messages (50-60 different ones are produced each year), including current references like, “IM Me.” If you have a few boxes left once Valentine’s Day has passed, don’t worry. They have a shelf life of five years!

Vernona, Italy, home of William Shakespeare’s fictional lovers Romeo and Juliet, receives approximately 1000 letters addressed to Juliet each year. Letters to Juliet are answered by members of the Club di Guilietta, who take their task very seriously.

Visitors to Casa di Guilietta leave behind love notes

Overall, $18.2 billion is spent on Valentine’s Day each year. The average man spends $150; the average woman spends $74. Approximately 9 million people will purchase a Valentine gift for a pet.

Hallmark began mass-producing Valentine’s Day greeting cards in 1913. Today, approximately $1 billion is spent on Valentines, making it the second largest card-giving occasion, behind Christmas. According to Hallmark, 50% of the US population purchases Valentine’s Day greeting cards. Of that number, half are purchased in the six days prior to February 14. Procrastinate much?

Chocolates are a favorite gift choice for Valentine’s Day. We often see those heart-shaped boxes on retail shelves before the Christmas clearance signs even go up. Why chocolates? Historians tell us that physicians in the 1800s advised their patients to eat chocolate to calm their pinings for lost love. Chocolate increases the brain’s level of serotonin, the feel-good chemical. In the mid-1800s, Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates specifically for Valentine’s Day. He designed the heart-shaped boxes himself, adorned with roses and Cupids. Whether we purchase the chocolate to celebrate love, or mourn the lack of it, Americans spend $1 billion on Valentine’s Day chocolates each year.

Flowers remain the most popular expression of Valentine’s Day affection, with red roses topping the list of romantic blooms. Americans will purchase 220 million stems of roses for their Valentines this year.

The tradition of sending flowers comes from a custom of using non-verbal methods of communication. Looking back to the 1800s once again, specific flowers were assigned meanings to convey certain sentiments. Years later, we still honor many of the sentiments attached to our favorite blooms. The classic red rose symbolizes love, beauty, romance and perfection. Tulips stand for perfect love. Peonies are most often associated with romance and bashfulness, with some believing they bring good luck.

Corazon roses from Rio Roses, premium blue-ribbon roses, are known for their large, long-lasting blooms.

Tulips from Holland represent perfect love.

Fan-favorite peonies are not officially in season, but a few lucky florists will have them in stock.

Weekday Valentine’s Days are the busiest for florists, as people take advantage of sending flowers to their loved ones at work. With Valentine’s Day falling on Wednesday this year, consider sending an arrangement early in the week. You will get the best selection of flowers before the rush, and the recipient will be the first in the office to receive flowers (making them the envy of their co-workers, and making you the hero).

When it comes to sending flowers, anything goes! According to the Society of American Florists (SAF), about one third of women send flowers to their husbands or boyfriends. No significant other in your life this year? SAF says that about 20% of women will send flowers to themselves for Valentine’s Day. #wewontjudgeyou

Whether you are celebrating with your sweetheart, or celebrating single-hood, have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Commitment to Quality: Lilium’s Drive to Deliver Top Product

When you purchase flowers from Lilium, you are getting a product that is of the highest quality. From the time the flowers leave the growers until they are delivered to our customers, Lilium oversees every step in the process.

A Lilium flower begins its journey at one of our carefully selected growers. We have chosen sources world-wide based on the quality of their products, shipping practices, and the care with which they process their flowers. When you deal with a perishable product, these details are critical. Before we establish a business relationship with a grower, we test their products and procedures to make sure they meet our standards. Currently, we source from growers in California, Florida, Hawaii, Holland and Ecuador.

Variation Among Retailers

Quality varies widely among florists, and customers should be aware of differences in price versus quality. For example, Lilium offers Rio Roses from Ecuador with stems measuring 60 centimeters. “Long-stemmed” roses from online mass floral services average less than 40 centimeters.

Lilium roses versus roses from a mass merchant.

When we receive our flower shipments and deliveries each week, we give them a fresh cut and put them directly into our cooler. You may have noticed that grocery stores and mass markets will have flowers sitting out in buckets in a self-serve format. Once a flower is out of the cooler environment, it begins its decline. In addition, flower stems sitting buckets of water at room temperature grow bacteria, which speeds the deterioration process. Lilium does not carry over flowers from one week to the next. We start fresh each week with new deliveries and shipments of seasonal product.

Floral displays at a grocery store chain.

When we take an order, we make every effort to obtain all the information we need to create an arrangement that will meet and exceed our customers’ expectations. As a custom florist, we design to our clients’ specifications. We have no unsold arrangements sitting in the cooler at the end of the week, and, because we order product judiciously, the waste at week’s end is minimal.

Educating Consumers

Although our product is perishable, extending the lifespan of our products increases their value and increases customer satisfaction. Lilium believes that educating consumers about properly caring for their arrangement or plant is an important step. On every Lilium arrangement, potted orchid or plant, a care card is attached. In addition, care instructions are printed on the back of our message cards.

We also like to educate our customers about the attributes of specific flowers. When we began using Rio Roses from Ecuador, our customers were not immediately sold on these unique roses (see our January 2016 blog: We ❤️ Corazon Roses). They have sturdy heads that don’t droop, open 4″-5″ across, have more petals than any other red rose, and are long-lasting. What’s not to love? However, when the roses opened quickly, customers thought they were getting old roses. We decided that they just needed a little information so that they could fully appreciate these beautiful roses and their unique qualities. Arrangements going out that include Corazon roses also include a printed information card that lets recipients know what to expect from this Lilium favorite. We also set up a display in our studio so that customers could see firsthand the progression from bud to full bloom. Within a short time, our customers were specifically asking for Corazon roses, and now they are among our best sellers.

Lilium arrangement with care card and Rio Rose information card attached

Corazon roses day 1 — Rio Roses shown on day 1 and day 7

Lilium has been recognized as Best of the Best in our area five times and won the 2015 National Retailer Florist of the Year award. Most recently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce named Lilium a 2016 Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winner recognizing the top 100 small business in the United States. We feel that we owe much of our success to our ongoing commitment to offer a quality product and top-notch customer service to our clients. Rest assured, we will continue to seek out the most beautiful flowers of the highest quality for all of our customers.

The US Chamber of Commerce named Lilium a Blue Ribbon Award winner as one of the top 100 small businesses in the US.

We ❤️ Corazon Roses

Love is in the air, and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. At Lilium, we are in love with the beautiful Corazon rose, and we think it is a perfect way to say, “I love you” this Valentine’s Day.

The Corazon (Spanish for “heart”) is a beautiful, true red rose with qualities that make it unique and highly desirable. The award-winning Corazon rose, from Rio Roses, is grown in Ecuador, where the climate produces superior bloom sizes and quality. They have more petals than any other red rose, and the blooms open fully, similar to a garden rose. Additionally, all of the blooms open at a consistent rate, so you will not have some buds remaining closed while others open.

Each Corazon bloom continues to open for four to five days. When fully open, it measures almost five inches across. Blooms this size need a strong support system, and Corazon roses measure up with their long sturdy stems and strong necks. With roses of lesser quality, the blooms bend and droop in a matter of days, but Corazon roses will hold their shape for up to two weeks.

To show our customers how beautiful and long-lasting these roses are, we created a display in our shop. Customers can see the progression from bud to full bloom, and appreciate the lasting beauty of these spectacular roses. Here are our Corazons on day 1 and again on day 7:

We are so crazy about the Corazon rose, we entered Rio Roses’ “How Do You Say Corazon?” video contest and won first place! Take a look at our winning entry on Rio Roses’ How Do You Say Corazon? You Tube post.

One of our most popular Valentine’s Day selections is a dozen (or two or three) Corazon roses arranged in a vase, with their lush, dark green foliage providing the perfect setting for the rich red blooms. We also love to use them in combination with other seasonal favorites in our fresh arrangements.

Look for Corazon rose arrangements on our 2018 Valentine’s Day menu. We know you will fall in love with them too.