On Valentine’s Day, Ann Marie McQueen and Mo Gannon debate the thorny issue of whether a rose should be for ever.
For
You might scoff at the idea of “long-lasting roses” – I know I did. Until I became a convert.
Don’t get me wrong. I love fresh flowers but it takes time and maintenance to keep myself surrounded with them, and the blooms never last as long as they should.
I first encountered long-life roses at a Maison Des Fleurs pop-up in my favourite Abu Dhabi store, Tryano in Yas Mall. They looked just like roses and were stylishly arranged in clear or black acrylic boxes.
You don’t have to water them, and they last at least a year (and as long as three years). I couldn’t believe this, but I bought a single red rose, and it is only now, a year later, that it is starting to look a bit withered around the edges.
Last summer, I also bought a table-sized arrangement of big yellow roses in a black cardboard box, and they are still going strong.
For the most recent National Day, I bought myself a single rose in the UAE colours from Forever Rose, another company that sells long-lasting roses (they’re popping up all over these days).
Many of its “forever roses” come in bell jars, which seems to protect them better (they don’t gather dust for a start), but makes them look a little more artificial, like a science project.
While the four-colour rose looks flawless, it is missing that “real” feeling.
The one drawback of long-lasting roses is they do not smell. But let me ask you this: when was the last time you bought a bouquet of roses here that had a noticeable scent unless you buried your nose in them? Exactly.
The companies who sell the long-lasting versions are vague about how they are made to endure, other than saying they are special flowers from Ecuador; some say they are preserved with a non-toxic moisturiser.
They still require a little care: friends will want to touch them to see if they are real, but this will break them down over time, as will moisture or direct sunlight.
Maison Des Fleurs’ prices range from Dh250 for a single rose to Dh19,300 for a hotel-sized arrangement, but you can get a decent table-sized display for Dh1,380 – which is a steal when you consider what refreshing flowers year-round might cost.
* Mo Gannon
mgannon@thenational.ae
Against
Look, I’m not even a fan of roses. Unless they are growing wild and fierce and proud on a bush, these, to me, are flowers that are trying too hard.
And everyone, in turn, tries too hard with them. Roses are too loaded with meaning. There always has to be a dozen, which is incredibly expensive and unattainable for many people.
And only a woman who has suffered through a gorgeous bouquet generously, but misguidedly, furnished by entirely the wrong man can understand the trauma it can cause.
The weight of all the expectations has diminished the value of a rose. I would take a Gerbera daisy any day.
So you will not be surprised to hear that I am utterly baffled by the recent explosion in popularity of roses that stay alive for months or even years.
The whole point of the gift of a flower, the beauty of it, the aching bittersweetness of it, is that it is so short-lived: you must enjoy it while you can because from the moment it is cut, it is already dying. There is something beautiful and poetic about that.
A flower is fleeting and must be appreciated before it is gone, just like life itself.
I am sure someone is some day going to figure out a way for a human to live forever, but who would want to?
So to engineer a rose that just sits there, creepily blooming for far too long, negates the whole purpose of giving flowers to someone.
Who knows what is even used to make those roses stay alive so long?
And don’t even get me started on the weird colours. A rose should not be green or blue or black.
I fear for the well-meaning man who might one day go out and buy me one of these roses.
I sincerely hope I am not in love with him, because if he thinks I would like a rose that lasts longer than nature intended, that would mean he does not know me at all.
* Ann Marie McQueen
amcqueen@thenational.ae
