If you want to gift it right, invest in flowers. Life's many hurly-burly capers are best tackled through flowers to enfold the giver and the recipient in waves of human bonding. Flowers combine a mysterious subtlety and breath-taking beauty that unfailingly connect to the occasion.

So if it is a red-letter day, beguiling interlude, rumbles in a relationship, painful parting or dappled moments that call for an immediate response, communiqus through flowers are your best bet. A spontaneous bunch of flowers never hurt but if you want to be politically correct, then check out the facts, especially if your flowers go to people outside your cultural spectrum.

Florists can offer enough guidance. A quick net surf can also guide you on flower etiquette for the month, day, zodiac, country, emotion or situation you find yourself in. Colors, numbers and types of flowers, ingenious packaging/presentation can all be tailor made for maximum impact.

Bouquets, nosegays or tussie-mussies, posies, corsages, garlands, wreaths, pot pourri, potted bonsais or herbs, lush gift baskets, exotic seedlings, flower club memberships or even pressed flowers - the variation is endless. Flower essences, flower-scented candles, cosmetics and toiletries are other engaging gift ideas that allure or soothe the recipient.

Flowers that confer joy, enchantment and fellowship come in a myriad shapes, sizes and colors. If you believe that flowers work best on the plant itself, then dried, glazed or artificial flowers guarantee a longer shelf life. If you still feel squeamish about the dried and pressed look, there are many other alternatives. Choose from gorgeous flower motifs in apparel, jewelry, photo frames, vases, bowls, stationery, paperweights, calendars, flower-shaped chocolates, indoor or outdoor collectibles in metal, glass, ceramic, porcelain, plastic, paper, cloth, earth, music, poetry, art and literature.

A cascade of floral weaves can cross boundaries and evoke powerful responses. Fresh or carefree, serene or sensual, poised and elegant-flowers can define your relationships with cutting edge accuracy. So shake off the blues, drum up the enthusiasm, heal the wounds and bedeck the opportunity with flowers.