On March 8, we here at Mission Viejo Florist will join women and men in over 100 countries world-wide in honoring the efforts and achievements of women to improve the lives of others. Since 1909, we’ve been doing this, and yet, we don’t have a specific gifting tradition for it. In other cultures, they give particular florals or buy every single woman in the family, from the youngest to the oldest, flowers. We think it’s time we established our own floral giving tradition for IWD, and that it should start with the colors most associated with the day.

While IWD isn’t exactly a movement itself, it is an organized entity, and there are colors that have come to be affiliated with it. Purple, for one, has long been an important palette for the women’s rights movement, beginning with the suffragettes. Green is also a key hue, symbolizing growth and progression. Finally, yellow is meant to signify dawning awareness and hope. We’ve got the first two in our A Splendid Day design, a gorgeous and modern-looking mix of blooms.

We could see this becoming the gold standard of IWD flower gifts, with its grace, power and unusual beauty a perfect reflection of the day’s honorees.