Brew the Perfect Cup of Tea With This App-Enabled Kettle

Prickly Pear Margaritas

Floral cocktails just look so cute, and these prickly pear margaritas are simply cuteness overload from the edible flower garnishes! (via Brit + Co)

Aviation

The Aviation is a classic floral cocktail invented in the early 19th century by a bartender in NYC. It’s a gin-based cocktail that gets its lavender hue from crème de violette! Garnish with an edible violet for a vintage cocktail that’s downright sexy. (via Honestly Yum)

Edible Flower Lemon Jello Shots

You’ve never seen Jell-O shots this elegant! If you’re throwing a DIY backyard wedding, you have to have these for the reception. Plus, making these floral cocktails would be a fun activity to get all of the bridesmaids involved! (via Sugar & Cloth)

Spring Flowers Cocktail With Lilac Syrup

This rum cocktail is infused with lilac syrup, lime and crème de violette. The mix of tropical and floral makes it an essential cocktail for your summer staycation! (via DIY in PDX)

Golden Jasmine Martini

Jasmine tea lovers will rejoice over this adorable martini. Serve it as a lovely aperitif before a flavorful Asian dinner to complement the flavors in your meal! (via Cook Eat Live Vegetarian)

Hibiscus Champagne Cocktail

Hibiscus is one of the more well-known ingredients to use in florals cocktails and cooking. They even come conveniently packaged in jars with their own syrup! All you need is your favorite champagne or prosecco to enjoy this fragrant glass of bubbly. (via Olivia’s Cuisine)

June Blush Cocktail

Rose water is a versatile ingredient that can be used in everything from skincare to cupcakes. Mixed with gin, ginger liqueur and lemon juice, it makes a beautiful floral cocktail that you could serve at high tea. DIY some sugared rose petals to add a light, lovely touch. (via Freutcake)

Lavender Bee’s Knees

This prohibition-era classic cocktail sounds like the perfect pre-bedtime cocktail. Snuggle up with this lavender and gin nightcap and a good book for the perfect evening spent relaxing. (via Honestly Yum)

Lilac Lemon Fizz

If you like a drink with bubbles, this floral cocktail is for you. It’s bright and refreshing, which is great for when the days start to get a little bit warmer. Try freezing some lilac blossoms in an ice cube tray for an extra-elegant garnish. (via The Merry Thought)

Wild Rose Petal Sangria

For this sangria, you’ll need a bottle of rosé (obviously), elderflower liqueur, and rose syrup. For maximum rosy flavor, you’ll want to steep your petals in syrup overnight. Don’t worry — it’s worth it. (via Feasting at Home)

Elderflower Strawberry Bubbles

This refreshing floral cocktail is a simple combo of elderflower syrup and strawberries, with Prosecco and club soda added on top. It can be made in bulk, so it’s a great choice for serving big spring parties. (via Look What I Made)

Zesty Mint Virgin Cocktail

You can still enjoy the fresh garden flavors of spring, even if you don’t drink (or you’re preggo). This mint and elderflower mocktail is a great way to join in the party with zero alcohol involved. If you do fancy adding a bit of booze to it, rum would be a great choice. Just sayin’. (via Kiku Corner)

1. Lavender

Not surprisingly, lavender is America’s favorite flower with 69,430 searches per year. Its delicate purple flowers and wonderful fragrance provides a welcome shock of color to any space and is great for pollinators. Lavender grows best in bright, dry conditions in not very fertile soil with good drainage.

2. Sunflower

The common sunflower’s towering height, bright yellow outer petals and its large, sun-following flower head make it a magnet for pollinators, both big and small.

“The common sunflower is an annual flower, meaning that it dies after one growing season, which is the period from germination to seed production,” Gardening Chores shared. “It grows best in full sun or partial shade, in average fertile soil with good drainage.”

3. Rose

Synonymous with romance and passion, it appears America’s love extends to roses as well with 41,030 searches per year.

“There are more than 300 naturally occurring rose species and tens of thousands of cultivated varieties,” Gardening Chores commented. “Generally, roses come in three types: climbing, groundcover, and shrub. The sheer variety of species can seem overwhelming, but it means there is likely to be a variety to suit whatever space one might have. In general, roses have large, vibrant flowers that range in color from whites to yellows and reds, and they produce a pleasant scent that enhances the space they are in.”

“Roses generally grow best in full sun, with soil of medium moisture and a pH ranging from neutral to slightly acidic,” Gardening Chores continued. “However, specific types of roses can tolerate conditions outside of this range.”

4. Peony

The vibrant peonies (Which, fun fact, has 33 unique species!) are large and range in color from the typical pink to reds, purples, yellows and whites.

These fragrant flowers “are a type of perennial plant that bloom briefly in late spring and early summer. Perennial plants are categorized as those that continue to grow over more than two years,” said Gardening Chores. “Peonies grow best in full sunlight or partially shaded areas that receive a lot of afternoon sun in the summer. They are also quite particular about the soil they grow in, preferring loose, well-draining, fertile, rich soil.”

5. Hydrangea

Famous for their large blooms in striking colors, Hydrangeas “are reliable bloomers that don’t require much maintenance to provide beautiful color to [any] space from spring through to fall,” Gardening Chores shared. “One fascinating characteristic of hydrangeas is that their blooms can change color depending on the pH of the soil they are growing in, with more acidic soil producing blue flowers and more alkaline soil producing pink flowers.”

Gardening Chores continued, “hydrangeas grow best in full sun, although areas with afternoon shade will be preferred in hotter climates. They also prefer rich soil that is well-drained and moist. Remember that hydrangeas grow quickly, and can grow to be very large, with some having a spread of up to ten feet, so make sure to plant them in a space that can accommodate this.”

6. Dahlia

The daisy-adjacent dahlia is the national flower of Mexico with more than 57,000 varieties and 27,090 searches per year. Their blooms provide amazing bursts of color in many shapes and sizes from mid-summer into fall, with a wide range of colors.

With 8 general categories of dahlias (decorative dahlias, pompon and ball dahlias, cactus and semi-cactus dahlias, anemone and collarette dahlias, mignon dahlias, single dahlias, peony and orchid shaped dahlias and waterlily dahlias), this wide selection allows plenty of flexibility in incorporating dahlias into your home and/or garden.

According to Gardening Chores, “dahlias generally prefer full sun, with some varieties tolerating partial shade in warmer climates. They also tend to prefer well-drained soil. If you live in a colder climate, you can still grow dahlias despite them not being cold hardy. Once the blossom is over, cut down your dahlias to the ground, uproot the tubers, and dry them. You can then store them in a cool, but not cold, dry place to be able to plant them again next spring.”

7. Tulip

Tulips provide a rainbow of springtime blooms, generally growing best in full sun conditions with “fertile, well-drained, evenly humid loam, chalk, or sand-based soil with the soil pH ranging from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline,” said Gardening Chores.

“Tulips require plenty of attention to return year after year. Once the bloom is spent, deadhead the tulip so that it diverts most of its energy to the bulb, allowing it to remain healthy for the next year,” Gardening Chores continued. “After all the leaves have dried, gently remove the bulb from the soil using your hands or a small fork, then dry the bulb in the sun. Once dried, store the bulb in a cool, dark, dry, and ventilated place for re-planting around the middle of October for the following spring.”

8. Sweet Pea

Sweet peas are annual climbing (and frequently poisonous) plants known for their bright flowers, ranging from their original wild purple to various shades of blue, pink, purple, and white, often in pastel colors.

9. Poppy

Poppies come in a wide variety of colors and usually bloom from spring into early summer in temperate zones. With 17,360 searches per year, poppies “generally prefer full sun, with fertile and organically rich, well-drained, medium humid to dry loam, chalk, clay, or sand-based soil, with a soil pH that is mildly acidic to mildly alkaline,” shared Gardening Chores.

10. Clematis

America’s tenth most popular flower is the clematis, which has 300 natural species with countless varieties and 16,180 searches per year.

According to Gardening Chores, “clematises are a species of climbing plants often split into three groups: early bloomers, repeated bloomers, and late bloomers. Group one clematises produce flowers on old wood and blossom in spring. Group two starts blooming in late spring to early summer on new and old wood, continuing throughout summer, sometimes into fall. Group three only produces flowers on new wood and starts blooming later in summer, usually lasting into fall.”

“In general, clematises prefer full sun or partial shade, with soil that is well drained and medium humid loam, clay, chalk, or sand-based soil with a pH from neutral to mildly alkaline,” commented Gardening Chores.

So let’s start from the beginning. Paris Geller (played by Liza Weil) joined the GG crew in Season 1, right as Rory Gilmore (the show’s sort-of protagonist) walked into Chilton Academy, a private school where Paris was attending, for her first day. A far cry from Rory’s relatively timid and soft-spoken personality, Paris tore up the screen with her high-strung personality and immediate rivalry with Rory (Rory did not feel the same), who Paris viewed as the only candidate who could possibly challenge her spot at the top of the class standing. As the year progresses, the two become friends, which of course Paris still highly questioned.

The rest of their high school experience is plagued with repeated ups and downs, from Paris’s parents’ highly publicized divorce to their joint student government campaign and, most notably, Paris’s C-SPAN meltdown, courtesy of a Harvard rejection fueled by what she can only assume to be wide-spread knowledge that she lost her virginity. Despite losing the Valedictorian slot to Rory (which Paris comes to terms with after finding out Salutatorians tend to be more successful), Paris walks across the graduation stage and accepts her diploma from the school’s headmaster, to which she iconically quips, “no hard feelings.”

Fast forward to Paris’s first year at Yale, a school she knew Rory was attending but had no intention of ever seeing again. Not to the surprise of Paris’s life coach, the two frenemies were placed together as suitemates, a pairing that ultimately served as a catalyst for lifelong friendship. Throughout college, Paris pursues pre-med and pre-law degrees, joins the Yale Daily News alongside Rory, dates an elderly professor (he passes away, leaving Paris to grieve), moves on with the editor of the Yale Daily News, Doyle McMaster, and potentially saves Rory from abandoning Yale forever by admitting to Lorelai that Rory is the only person who ever listened to her, challenged her and motivated her.

Paris then proceeds to become the editor of the Yale Daily News, a position in which her power-hungry tendencies took full-force, resulting in a forcible resignation, kick Rory out of their shared apartment, let Rory move back into their shared apartment (now with Doyle), be accepted to a slew of prestigious medical and law schools. She ultimately chose to attend med school and break up with Doyle, to which he refused, and tells Rory that they’re on their own but she can still do great things (Of course this doesn’t last, the two are meant to be best friends.)

Somehow this doesn't even scratch the surface of the character of Paris. As you can tell, Paris is a fiercely loyal, protective woman who fights for herself to no end. She (literally) doesn’t care what other people think (so long as they’re not within her immediate circle) and never stops pursuing her dreams, no matter how many times she probably should have. She is the epitome of feminism in modern television — perhaps taken to an extreme — and serves as a necessary counterweight to Rory’s floundering sense of self.

So long as she keeps her need for perfectionism in check, Paris has one of those few personality types whose wild ambition and outspokenness is directly beneficial to her success, a success that she, and only she, can define. Sure, she has an exaggerated sense of self-importance, but when balanced by Rory’s soft-but-straightforward approach, Paris can quickly reset, reevaluate and move forward.

That's the thing with Paris — she’s always moving forward. She doesn't get into Harvard? Tough. She takes a few days to wallow before considering her other options: Yale, Columbia and Princeton. She doesn’t know whether to choose med school or law school, so she takes stock of her bearings, reflects on her past dreams, and makes a clear, concise decision that she moves forward with.

Her brutally honest nature (both internally and externally) is exactly why Paris works. She’s generous when needed, comfortable with giving tough (and oftentimes tougher) love, is able to express vulnerability with the people she loves, doesn’t allow outside influences to affect her path and never let’s someone (especially a man) tell her she’s less than (*cough, cough*—Rory). For an early 2000s show, she showed women that there is power in education. There’s power in stepping away from a caretaker role. There’s power in expressing your opinion, no matter your age.

There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s inspired countless women over the years — after all, she’s inspired me! Even though she’s had her controversial moments, she’s always been a cheering voice for women, even if it’s behind her resting grimace. For these reasons, and so many more, I am hereby deeming Paris Geller the best of Gilmore Girls — the heroine, perhaps, and a feminist icon to all.