My Birthday Floral Arrangement is a Sight to Behold, and I Wonder if I Can Keep it Alive

It was my birthday yesterday. For employee birthdays, the company has a tradition of having a gift delivered to the office from Baack's Florist. Because it landed on a Sunday, I had to wait a day to get my gift from my coworkers, a lovely arrangement of, uh, flowers? Plants? Both?

Okay, I have no idea what is sitting on my desk.

The fact that I can't identify any of the vegetation in my birthday arrangement worries me a little. I want to know how to care for it, and it would be nice to be able to tell people what everything in the arrangement is. So, I called Baack's to get the lowdown.

Cheryl did a wonderful job explaining that, first of all, my delivery consisted of cut flowers. Good to know. So basically, my flowers will wilt and die, and it won't be my fault. Good!

More specifically, the base of the arrangement was covered in Hydrangeas. I've heard of these flowers, but never managed to put a face with the name, until now. I also found out that Frank Pain, the guy in the office across from me, is "deathly allergic" to Hydrangeas. So I'll be taking my flowers home today.

Probably the most unique part of my birthday flowers are the Anthuriums. They're also known as the "flamingo flower" or the "boy flower", and they come in a variety of colors. Mine are green-leafed with yellow stems.  My first impression of the Anthurium was that it looks like a baby corn growing out of a lily pad.

The Pincushion Protea gave the arrangement on my desk the most color. It's bright yellow "pins" coming out make it look pretty, but also a little menacing. I like that.

Finally, the Bells of Ireland give the floral arrangement its height. This tall flower looks like it should be in a fish tank. Bells of Ireland get their name from the "bells" that circle the stem, and there's a very small flower inside each bell. Come to find out, most of the pleasant scent being let off by my birthday flowers come from the Bells of Ireland.

Overall, this is a very cool arrangement of flowers, and turned out to be a good learning experience. Thanks, coworkers!

The most important question I had for Cheryl was, how do I care for all these flowers? Thankfully, all I have to do is check them every day and make sure the basin is filled with water. With the proper care and attention, my birthday arrangement should last past the 4th of July (2 weeks or more). Now, let's hope I don't screw it up. Wish me luck!