How boring would life be without challenges? 

I took up mine today and will write the weekly newsletter. 

It seems like a simple task, but when English is not your native language, it becomes a bit more complicated and challenging. I like to set new goals in life; otherwise, I wouldn't have come from a country so far away, with my husband and three little children leaving family and loved ones behind.Difficult as it may seem, let's see how it turns out; I'll do my best. 

Let me introduce myself first.My name is Cecilia, Agronomist from Chile with a great passion for plants and gardens. I have been working at Wairere Nursery since 2015, when I came to work without knowing a word of English, LOL!!.My first task was pruning roses for about three months. I didn't need to speak much. Lloyd found it difficult to understand me. To this day, we laugh, remembering the confusion we had between the word Tuesday and Thursday, all because of my mispronunciation. What enormous patience he had and continues to have for me!!. I think I have improved a bit.

Today, he has asked me to write about red roses, and the first thing that comes to my mind is to think about what red roses symbolize for different cultures.

Dia de San Jorge (Saint George's Day). According to legend, a dragon devastated the surroundings of a town in Catalonia (Spain). To prevent further damage, its inhabitants decided to give the dragon one person each day, chosen at random. One day, the king's daughter was selected, and when the dragon was about to devour her, a Knight of great courage, Saint George, appeared and killed the beast. From the monster's blood grew a rosebush, from which the knight took a rose and gave it to the Princess. Since then, every April 23, Catalans give each other red roses. Curious, right? 

In Hungary, roses are a popular funeral flower. They often represent an eternal love for a lost friend, spouse or relative, so they are not the most appropriate gift for a first date in Budapest.

Valentine's Day in Taiwan. For Valentine's Day, bouquets of roses are bought in specific quantities to send messages to lovers and loved ones. A single rose symbolizes a unique love, 11 roses to someone special, 99 roses to someone you will love for eternity, and 108 roses "Will you marry me?. Wooow it seems crazy, having to count all the roses in the bouquet to find out what they are proposing!