FLOWERS are an indispensable part of the Filipino landscape. Grown in gardens, hung in our windows, offered in religious shrines and festivals, used as food or medicine or even used as playthings, they are a universal tool for expressing the pure principle of beauty.

In the Filipino context, it is most often used to beautify our homes and occasionally, ourselves.

The giving of flowers can be a most serious business in other parts of the global village. For example, before rushing off to buy flowers for your sweetie, there are several rules and superstitions one should be aware of.

If you?re not handling a huge bunch of flowers, you should take note of the total number of stems in a gift bouquet. An odd number is ideal but an even one is specially reserved for the dead. Unless you intend to send a rather morbid significance to your date, one should avoid this social gaffe at all costs.

White is taboo

Roses are the most popular flower and it is perfectly acceptable to hand over a single rose as long as the rose is red.

White flowers represent death and like before, avoid giving such especially in the provinces unless you?re attending a funeral. Obviously, one should never give an older man or woman any white flowers.

Blue flowers on the other hand, represent wealth and are generally considered impressive but not coupled with yellow, which represents jealousy.

Interestingly enough, yellow roses are also the choice for the gay and lesbian crowd, something to keep in mind depending on your preferences.

Orchids due to their long life span, represent longevity while lilies are good for showing respect.

Flowers are subjects often used in paintings, magazines and poetry. They are used to soften the hearts of men in battle gear, promote peace and mend broken relationships.

During stressful moments, one cannot find peace in one?s mind. In this state, you tend to lose sight of yourself, lost in an illusion of constant change and pressure. Through looking at nature and seeing one?s self as part of the big picture, you can find your center and be at peace.

A simple flower nicely illustrates this principle. It is centered, crowned with it?s own distinct elements and arranged orderly giving it a certain peace and tranquility you can absorb into yourself.

From within

Any act of creation comes from within. In art, elements such as brushes, paints, paper and canvas along with the vases and flowers themselves, constitute the tools and materials with which the artist works.

They revolve around the artist as petals are to a flower. The artist combines these elements, his inner self reshaping these into a cohesive whole. The result is the flowering of his essence, or what we call, the artwork.

Flowers are universal and a symbol of love and peace. They speak directly to our hearts and it has its own secret and unspoken language of diplomacy.

Manuel D. Baldemor?s ?Floral Symphony,? opens Dec. 3, in Art Center, SM Megamall in cooperation with Galerie Y. The show will run until Dec. 16.