USPS Forever Flowers Stamps Sheet of 16 La Florida postage stamps

On April 3, 2013, in St. Augustine, Florida, the Postal Service issued the La Florida First-Class Mail commemorative stamp in four designs in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 16 stamps (Item 470600). The U.S. Postal Service commemorates the 500th anniversary of the naming of Florida with four new stamps that celebrate the beauty of the state’s floral abundance. Spanish explorers named the land “La Florida” for Pascua Florida (“Feast of Flowers”), Spain’s Easter celebration, and for the verdant display of vegetation that they could see from their ship. The four stamps contain a cascade of blossoms that evoke the feeling of a tropical garden. Each stamp shows a particular variety of flower: red and pink hibiscus; yellow cannas; morning glories in white, red, and shades of purple; and white and purple passionflowers. The selvage features an imagined scene of explorers traveling in a small boat along a river or channel surrounded by tropical foliage. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the La Florida stamp issuance, with floral art by Steve Buchanan.