Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Flower Baron's Blurty:

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Monday, August 22nd, 2011
11:50 am	Send your far away love some flowers Feeding and repotting Orchids Most orchids benefit from a specialist orchid fertilizer that is fed as a weak solution and applied once a week. To do this, use only half the amount mentioned on the packet. The type of fertilizer will depend on what your orchid is growing in, so it is wise to check that first. Sooner or later, unfortunately, the orchid is going to need repotting. Remove the old mix from the pot, being careful not to damage the roots. Rinse the roots and trim off any hollow or mushy ones, as they are considered dead. Place the plant into a new pot, orchids apparently like being root-bound, so there should only be about 1' between the roots and the edge of the pot. Add the new mix/medium to the pot, tapping the sides to make sure it settles properly. Press gently to settle the plant but don't use too much force or the roots may break. Use a stick to support the plant in the pot so it is secure. If your plant is growing in sphagnum moss, make sure it is damp before wrapping it round the roots and repotting, that way you don't have to worry about pockets of air. After repotting, the plant should not be watered for 3 - 5 days to allow it to recover. A flower delivery Pasadena from your local florist should have some instructions on how to do this correctly. My dearest flower series - Gladiolus Gladioluses are grown primarily for cutting, and few if any other plants offer such a wide variety or mass of color for bouquets, which make excellent gifts to be sent by Gruver flower delivery. Plants range from 1 foot to over 5 feet in height, depending upon the variety and growing conditions. Although individual plants bloom only for a week to 10 days, a staggered planting schedule will assure flowers for about three months. All have sword-shaped foliage that may remain green until cut down by frost. Of the 150 or more wild forms of the genus, plant breeders have used about a dozen South African species in developing G. hybridus, the familiar modern "glads." Because of their complex ancestry, these hybrids are classified by color and flower size. The North American Gladiolus Council recognizes 28 different basic colors and lists them in a numerical sequence beginning with white (coded 00-01) through green, cream, yellow, buff, orange, salmon, scarlet, pink, red, rose, lavender, purple and blue to smoky, tan and brown (96-97). Numbers have been reserved in the ranges where new colors are expected to be developed. Rose Tubs For summer, roses can be grown in a tub and do very well and it is useful to have them in tubs if you have a small area with nowhere else to put them. Then again, petunias, geraniums, lobelia, tobacco plants, begonias are all excellent subjects for a patio garden. Lilies in summer followed by pots of hydrangeas all give good colour range and a different look which makes the area interesting all the year round. Another plant not usually considered as a pot plant but very effective, is sedum and ‘Autumn Joy’ gives a mass of colour for many weeks from September until the frost. And the butterflies just love these flowers Brentry, especially when they are in full bloom. A Greetings Card The greetings card arrangement is a novelty design with great appeal to people of all ages, and it is particularly appropriate for those occasions when a card is normally sent — a birthday or anniversary, or when congratulations are due for some special achievement. Unlike some novelty containers, a card is easy for the flower arranger. The design may be a loose triangular shape or asymmetrical. The flowers selected are generally choice varieties, as there is a limit to the size of design that can be made. Suitable flowers include Singapore orchids, spray roses, bridal gladioli, muscari, and double-flowered tulips. Most florists Reddish can put an arrangement like this together with their eyes closed! Gift Wrapped cut flowers A lovely selection of flowers, with carefully chosen foliage, professionally arranged in cellophane and trimmed with an attractive ribbon bow, is a gift suitable for many occasions, including birthdays or anniversaries, and makes a charming way of saying ‘Get well soon’ or ‘Thank you’. Almost any type of flower can be gift wrapped and flowers delivered Little Neck beautifully packaged. Rolls of cellophane can be fitted on a rack with serrated edges for easy cutting, and you can then take lengths as required. The latest range includes cellophanes decorated with hearts, flowers, stars or company names, as well as coloured types, which can be coordinated with the flowers. Using Glycerine Solution To prepare plants for the glycerine solution, crush the stems at the bottom ½ inch, or strip them with a sharp knife. Then soak the stems for 24 hours in a mixture of 1 table­spoon salt and a gallon of warm water. These steps will help the stem absorb the glycerine solution. Mix 1 part glycerine to 2 parts hot water. (Reheat the so­lution after use to make it more effective.) Stand the stem in a container with 4 inches of the glycerine solution. As the solution is drawn up into the stem, it preserves the leaves. Check daily to see if the solution has all been absorbed and replenish if necessary. When the leaves become soft, leathery and darker in color, they are preserved. They will then last for many months in a dried arrangement and will be less likely to sustain damage if you choose to have the flowers delivered Carltonville. A Handtied Bouquet Creamy roses and dried flowers in soft bronzes and browns can be assembled together in a simple tied bouquet. This is a design that has wide appeal, and the popularity of fresh handtied bouquets has encouraged florists to offer such bouquets in the longer-lasting dried and fabric flowers. This type of bouquet is suitable for many occasions and situations — as a gift, it would leave a wonderful impression with the recipient; as a bouquet for a bride or bridesmaid, it has a romantic simplicity, and as a vase arrangement for a hotel or reception desk, it heralds a friendly greeting. For each of these occasions, a slightly different emphasis would be necessary. The gift, for example, would need some special gift wrapping; a bridal bouquet would be completed with a luxurious bow, while an attractive and carefully selected vase would complement the flowers Fairfield Heights and surrounding decor at a reception desk. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011
11:16 am	My florist is my saviour Harmony An arrangement of parts into an agreeable and consistent whole is the dictionary definition of harmony. With flowers, one might imagine that it would always be easy to create a pleasing picture. As you can see here, however, not only can a combination of flowers be discordant, but the background plays a significant part in the harmony, or lack of it, of the design as a whole. Harmony is achieved when everything works well together. There are different types of harmony. Functional harmony, for example, is the association between dissimilar objects that are commonly associated, such as a knife and fork. The association between the poppy and laurel leaves is a symbolic harmony, like that between the dove and the olive branch. In floristry, we can use seasonal harmony: autumn is associated with berries, wheat and with yellows and golds; spring evokes fresh new growth, daffodils and primroses. In addition, a harmonious relationship should exist between the parts of the design. the container, plant materials and accessories; if the total appearance of a design gives an impression of unity, the result will be a harmonious picture. A lot for a Newbank florist to consider, I'm sure you'll agree. The occasion will also dictate the choice of cut materials and accessories. A special party calls for flowers that can reflect and enhance the atmosphere. Bright, strong colours, and perhaps the addition of some balloons, would give an immediate effect to any room. Flowers for hotels and restaurants should blend with the decor and with the furnishings. Fashion should also be considered — a Victorian-style dress would be complemented by a Victorian posy. Flower container choices You will find copper containers very useful for berries, bronze-coloured chrysanthemums and dahlias in the autumn. Glass or silver for roses, cow parsley and gypsophila; these light, delicate flowers show at their best in glass, and are fragile and cool-looking on a summer’s day. Blue and red glass are both most effective, blue filled with delphiniums, red with brilliant, vibrant red colours. A wooden box or bowl looks lovely with bright orange and yellow marigolds and it is also excellent for showing off the subtle tones and hues of dried materials. I usually search the house first for containers before purchasing from the Wilshire Center florist. Try to make the container part of the arrangement so that it blends with the flowers and does not stick out like a sore thumb. If you have nice porcelain, then picking up the colourings of the pattern of the china can also be very rewarding. A vegetable dish from your dinner service makes an ideal dinner table centre-piece, similarly the soup tureen or a sauce-boat can look superb. They all blend so well together when the table is set with the same china. The Rose: A Favored Device With the rise of Christianity the rose took on quite dif­ferent associations. The white rose became a symbol of the Virgin Mary; the briar rose was said to have sprung from Christ's blood as He wore the crown of thorns. The glorious focal point of Gothic cathedrals, the stained-glass rose window, was patterned after the flower's radiating petals. The secular world soon adopted the rose as a favored device: in the banners of the Wars of the Roses, in the royal emblem of the Tudor monarchs and the highest awards of Victorian empire, in stamps and coins the world over. Today the rose has lost most of its more elaborate connotations, but its role as a romantic symbol continues undiminished. He who has the flowers delivered Kingston upon Thames speaks a universal message. And it may be no coincidence that June, the month of roses, has always been the month of brides. Red Roses Apart from being the ultimate symbol of love, red roses can also be used to celebrate courage, send out a message of congratulations, and symbolizes power. All of this from such a simple flower seems to be perhaps over the top. Sure it is a beautiful flower, and sure it is a symbol of romance, but anything else I suspect is exaggeration. They remain however a great choice if you wish to send flowers East London and impress the woman in your life! Of all the rose colours, I have to say, that the red rose is my favourite. Whilst I do have strong affections for some other colours, particularly pink, you just can't beat a red rose for sending a message of love. Love these flowers series - Crocus To many Bakersfield florists the very name crocus is a synonym for spring, yet all crocuses do not blossom then; there are also species that bloom in fall and even some that flower in winter in mild climates. All are wild flowers native to southern Europe and Asia Minor, and they send up 1- to 2-inch wineglass-shaped flowers on stems 2 to 6 inches tall before the leaves are fully developed. The arching, grass like foliage continues to grow after the flowers fade and may become 8 to 10 inches long before it matures and finally withers away. Flower colors for species and hybrid crocuses run through shades of lavender to deepest purple, as well as yellow and white; many varieties are attractively striped, and all of them have prominent yellow stamens. For the earliest spring bloom, plant crocuses in a sunny protected spot; for later bloom, plant them on the north side of a wall, hedge or building, or under very light shade. The Dutch crocuses do well naturalized in grass; the species crocuses have shorter stems and are better suited to rock gardens. Crocuses may also be grown in pots for midwinter bloom indoors. Click for flowers Due to the rise of globalization end e-commerce, virtually any and every exotic or unusual flower you can think of is now available at any time or in any place, through florists or at the click of a mouse, Despite this, seasonal blooms and our indigenous wild flowers still seem to exert a powerful appeal. Perhaps this is because — through the plants, grasses and trees that are familiar to us — we feel more rooted to the earth and more connected to Mother Nature. These arrangements are a far cry from the conventional ‘flower arrangement’. Bare branches, or those studded with emerging blossom, introduce a breath of fresh air into an interior. Dried leaves, seedpods end clusters of jewel-like berries are like treasure trove, brought inside and put on display, inviting onlookers to marvel over them and admire their tine detailing, examining the network of veins on a leaf, the intricate structure of a seedpod or the lustrous glow of autumn berries. Who would fail to be impressed by these flowers delivered Patchway to your door? Ribbons and Bows Some people think one of the most difficult tasks in making a floral project is making the bow. Not so! Once you get the feel of handling ribbon and learning its limitations and properties, making bows becomes a matter of making loops and securing them with wire. My advice is to buy a reel of 1 "-2" wide inexpensive acetate ribbon from a Laburnum flower shop, so you don't feel guilty using as much as you want, and practice making bows. The freedom of knowing you can use as much as you need until you get it down makes learning much easier than if you use the expensive tapestry ribbon you bought for a certain project. Eventually, making bows will become second nature. Generally, if choosing a ribbon that is narrower than the one suggested in a design, more will be needed and more loops made, to ensure the bow has the same impact within the design. Likewise, if a wider ribbon is chosen you'll probably want fewer loops to make sure the bow doesn't overpower the project. Ribbons and bows are beautiful additions to florals, but the styles of ribbons available are almost endless, and it can be confusing to choose just the right pattern for a project. However, flower colors and arrangement styles will help you narrow the choices. Rosa (rose) Characteristics: The Greeks called the rose "queen of flowers" and indeed it is. The rose, which comes in a wide range of colors and sizes from a Chigwell flower shop, is the most popular flower grown around the world, a universal symbol of love and beauty. Some of the older varieties are grown not only for their beauty but also for medicinal and culinary purposes. Many types of garden roses can be used for drying. Don't limit your choices to tea roses; many shrub roses and climbers dry wonderfully well, also. I love the look of our 'Fairy' hedge rose, which features many tiny pink roses growing in clusters. They air-dry well, but tend to shrink and curl a little. The effect is lovely and makes a welcome addition to any dried arrangement. A well-placed rose can add life and elegance to a dried arrangement. Fasten some dried roses onto a simple swag or wreath for instant glamour. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
3:01 pm	Final days for fresh flowers Quick drying of flowers Remember that it is by drying quickly that you will get the best results. If drying in a shed or garage, watch the seed heads carefully because if they dehydrate very rapidly they shrivel and tend to slip out of the strings holding them together. Place bundles well apart so they get as much air as possible circulating round them. Light materials like grasses take about a week or so to dry, and heavier stems of, say, seed heads of hollyhocks, sedum, cardoons and lupins, take about three weeks. You can get these within a flower delivery Louis Trichardt if you don't have the time to do it yourself. When dry these can be cut down and stored in boxes in a dry place. Always keep a lid on the box to exclude light, as they fade very quickly. The more precious seed and flower heads, like statice and acrolinium, I tie in small bunches and dry them over the boiler in the kitchen. They dry very quickly like this and are not in the way too long! The Perfect Arrangement If you learned all the rules of flower arrang­ing and applied them all to every arrange­ment, it would be nothing short of a miracle. It would also take the fun out of flower arranging. So be sure to follow this one simple rule: Arrange flowers in such a way that they will please you. There are countless books on flowers, and every magazine has photos of arrangements, both for use at home and for Ty Glas flower delivery. Take notice of the ones you like best. Start by creating simple arrangements, then move on to more complicated arrangements as your skills and confidence increase. For example, you might want to use a single color with varying shades and foliage in your first arrangement. Arrangements can be as simple as a small bunch of Celosia placed in an old teapot or as intricate as a large mass arrangement composed of a number of different flowers, berries and dried pods. The most important thing to remem­ber is that there are no set rules in dried flower arranging; any combination of flowers that pleases you is a perfect arrangement! Using Silica Gel You can dry countless kinds of flowers using the silica gel method. Then you may want to have the flowers delivered Wythall once you experience the wonderful results. A few flowers that are good to start with are pansies, roses and daisies. Prepare the flowers by clipping the stems about ½ inch from the flower heads. Longer stems make lay­ing the flower heads in the con­tainer difficult. Gently feed thin-gauge floral wire into the cut stem, and carefully press it through the flower center. Bend the wire to the side, which will allow the flower heads to lay flat in the container. Flowers with a single layer of petals (such as daisies, dianthus and violets) should be dried face down in the drying medium with their stems sticking out of the material. Before placing the flowers into the container, build tiny mounds of silica gel on which to rest the individual flower heads. Then cover the entire underside of the flower head with silica gel. When dry­ing flowers with double petals, place them face up on a 2-inch layer of silica gel. Pour the gel around the outside petals of the flower head carefully. Continue to pour the silica gel into every part of the flower head, taking care to keep its natural shape. The size and shape of the flower you wish to dry will dictate the size and height of the container you use. All containers must be airtight. To further control the moisture, try using a dehumidifier in the drying room. Topiary Designs Topiary designs have developed greatly, and many variations on the original theme can be produced. The current fashion trend is to use an old terracotta flower pot as a container, with a single support stem of natural wood, such as birch, the sphere being covered with either lichen or bun moss. This represents the ‘natural rustic’ look, developed by many florists as their designer style. Topiary trees are very versatile, ranging in size from miniature designs to imposing trees some 3.75m (l2ft) in height, used to decorate churches, hotels or marquees for various celebrations and events. Arrangements of this size obviously create quite a headache when organising the flower delivery Merton. How to Water Rosebushes Most gardeners simply water their plants by applying moisture to the surface of the soil; however, there are right and wrong ways of doing this simple task. It should be said at the beginning that it is ad­vantageous to keep rose leaves dry because moist foliage encourages the spread of leaf-borne diseases. For that reason, complete the wa­tering in early morning; this will give the sun a full day to dry out moist surfaces. To moisten the soil alone, rather than the leaves, use a hose that allows moisture to seep out along its length and soak into the ground; either porous canvas tubing through which water oozes, or a plastic "sprinkler hose" with many tiny holes for water to spray through. When the sprinkler hose is turned upright with the holes on top, the spray goes into the air, but in watering a rose bed, it is far better to turn it upside down (setting the water pressure low) so that all of the moisture will be directed into the soil. The job of watering can also be done with a long spray nozzle attached to an ordinary garden hose and aimed carefully at the soil around each plant. I have even seen thrifty Crossmyloof florists water rose beds perfectly with an old sock fitted over the hose end. It may be a homely makeshift, but it does break the force of the water to pre­vent it from running away and to keep soil and mulch intact. When should I send flowers? Pretty simple question right? Well it seems that it poses more of a problem than you might think for the majority of men. Now, in the context of just giving flowers to people for the loss of a loved one or bringing flowers to someone in the hospital most men have no problem figuring that part out. The problem starts when the flowers are intended for a girlfriend or wife. I'm sure we've all got the credit card out and phoned the local Reseda Ranch florist when the 'other half' is not best pleased with us. The trick to sending flowers though is to be totally random and spontaneous. Women just love receiving flowers for absolutely no reason whatsoever, other than she is loved. (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
11:07 am	All florists must love flowers Feelings evoked by colours Colours have been researched for many years and found to evoke these feelings in people: Red — fire and passion; Yellow — spring cheerfulness; Blue — peace and tranquility; Orange — autumnal warmth; Green — woodlands and growth; Violet — richness and splendour; Black — depression and death; White — chastity and purity. The above generalizations are not hard-and- fast rules, but they do apply to most people, most of the time. They are not merely some made up facts that your local florist Joondanna uses to sell more flowers. White lilies are often used in church as a sign of purity. Red roses at Valentine’s Day symbolize passion and love. Orange chrysanthemums and dahlias at harvest time signify autumn; red and orange provide warmth and excitement on a cold, frosty Halloween night. Flowers in Home Life The florist business has developed in a comparatively few years from a place of minor importance in the business world to one of the leading industries in America. In the early history of the country, persons were engaged so busily in establishing homes and various branches of commercial industries, that little attention was given to the esthetic features of life. Flowers, however, have held always an important place in the social life of the people and have been a cheering factor in bereavement, as sympathy can be expressed when people send flowers Levenshulme as in no other way. The appreciation and value of flowers in home life is now such that in certain sections, especially where the winters are long, the business of producing cut-flowers and potted plants in glass houses has attained considerable magnitude. Sweetbrier [Eglantine] Roses Sweetbrier roses, also known as eglantine roses, de­rive their common name from their sweet fragrance and thick, thorny habit of growth. Their gracefully arched branches grow 8 to 12 feet tall. Their blos­soms, five petaled except in a few hybrids, are bright pink, red, copper or yellow, and appear singly or in clusters. The flowers South Africa are about 1 ½ inches in diameter and are surrounded by roundish leaves approximately 1 ½ inches long that are dark green on the upper surface and grayish on the underside; the leaves give off an apple fragrance that is especially strong on humid days. Most sweetbriers bloom once each year, in late spring or early summer, but the leaves retain their fragrance throughout the growing season. Many types of sweetbrier roses produce an enormous num­ber of hips, small and either round or oval in shape, depending on the variety; their orange-red hue lends color to gardens well into autumn and even winter. Sweetbrier stems are abundantly thorny, and if left untended the bushes become impenetrable thickets. But because of their compact growth habit, they can be trained into excellent hedges. Vigorous growers, sweetbriers are hardy enough to survive in most mild climates without winter protection. Preserving in silica gel Preserving in silica gel is a marvellous way to make a truly lovely everlasting bouquet or arrangement. To sum up, there are two different approaches to preserved materials. One is to dry for colour, especially flowers like statice and helichrysum whose colour range today is much wider than it used to be. With acrolinium, achillea (yarrow), hydrangeas, delphiniums, larkspur, grasses and the like, you can make a colourful arrangement that will last all winter. The second use is as background material — beech branches, seed heads, and the leaves of plants such as mahonia and laurel make a good background for the fresh flowers available. For me, the combination of fresh and dried is the answer to winter arrangements, and something that florists are starting to include within your average flower delivery Croydon. A footnote: many people ask about putting dried stems in water. It is all right to do this as the stems come to no harm and when using them a second time you just cut off the soggy end and start again. Line and Form Line is the visual path established by the floral materials through the arrangement. A static line remains inside the form of the design following the width, length or depth without providing any unusual movement within the design. A dynamic line provides continuous movement within a design; it is active and displays an unusual element, such as a curving line within a triangular arrangement. Form is established by the appearance of a design of flowers Twickenham. The visible width, height and depth define the form. A “closed form,” such as a wreath, is a solid, compact design. An “open form” has spreading and radiating parts with air or empty space among the materials. Lunaria annua (money plant, Pope's money, honesty) Characteristics: The money plant is an old-fashioned garden plant grown for its showy seedpods. It is best grown in an informal setting or meadow. The small clusters of flowers are violet or white in color. A standard of Victorian European parlors, this lovely plant was not grown in America until the 1930s. It produces circular seedpods that dry into translucent silvery discs. These pods are extremely decorative and useful in dried arrangements. Cultural Information: The money plant is easily grown from direct sown seed. In early summer, biennial plants need to be seeded where they will flower the following summer. Harvesting/Drying: This plant needs very little drying time. Pick the silvery white seedpods when dry and papery. Remove the outer brownish discs (the outer seed cover) by gently rubbing. A lovely silvery disc will be uncovered. Air-dry in an upright or hanging position until stems are dry. If you choose to have these flowers delivered Greater Hancock Park, handle gently as they tend to become very brittle. (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 28th, 2011
3:37 pm	Your number one florist guide Materials and accessories for a floral bouquet Selecting materials and accessories that harmonize in colour and yet contrast in form and texture takes a certain amount of effort and practice, for the different components must produce a harmonious whole. If the correct flowers and foliage are not selected for the flower delivery Sumner then the client could be disappointed with the final result. Fresh flowers and foliage possess a greater volume of petals and foliage than dried ones, so to achieve a good visual effect. To ensure that the arrangement is completely stable, pebbles or cleaned gravel can be used to weight the bottom of the vase. Once the tying is completed, the stems can be cut to length and the bouquet can be placed in the terracotta container or wrapped, ready for presentation. My dearest flower series - Muscari Few spring-flowering bulbs grow as well with as little care as grape hyacinths, and few garner the reaction that people expect when you send flowers Lambeth to someone you love, for the grape hyacinths’ many bright flowers make a remarkable impression. Their tiny, sweetly scented blossoms appear on spikes that generally grow 6 to 9 inches tall; the grass like leaves appear in the fall and lie on the surface of the soil uninjured by winter cold, then wither away in early summer. The plants are attractive in rock gardens and borders, among shrubs and under trees or naturalized in short grass. When cut, they make appealing miniature indoor arrangements, and they can also be grown as house plants. Outstanding selections are the Armenian grape hyacinth, including its variety Heavenly Blue, and the common grape hyacinth, all with sky-blue flowers; a variety of the common grape hyacinth, M. botryoides album, with white flowers; the taller-growing (8 to 12 inches) tassel grape hyacinth, with purplish green flowers, and its variety M. comosum monstrosum; the plume grape hyacinth, with fuzzy mauve-blue flowers; the golden musk grape hyacinth, with bright yellow flowers on the lower parts of its spikes that blend to purple at the top; the musk grape hyacinth, with purple flowers; and the Tubergen grape hyacinth, with two-toned blue flowers which are pale at the bottom of its spikes and darker at the top. Communicate properly Communication is key when dealing with your florist. Your florist must know what you like or dislike and they will only know this if you tell them clearly. If your florist suggests a theme that you are not comfortable with, be honest. It could save stress and grief later. Get to know your florist better. If you are friendly, you are more likely to solve and negotiate problems. A good Leamington Spa florist will build on your ideas and create them into beautiful flowers for your special day. Remember, florists are not mind readers, you need to convey your thoughts and wishes to them. Using Glycerine Solution To prepare plants for the glycerine solution, crush the stems at the bottom ½ inch, or strip them with a sharp knife. Then soak the stems for 24 hours in a mixture of 1 table­spoon salt and a gallon of warm water. These steps will help the stem absorb the glycerine solution. Mix 1 part glycerine to 2 parts hot water. (Reheat the so­lution after use to make it more effective.) Stand the stem in a container with 4 inches of the glycerine solution. As the solution is drawn up into the stem, it preserves the leaves. Check daily to see if the solution has all been absorbed and replenish if necessary. When the leaves become soft, leathery and darker in color, they are preserved. They will then last for many months in a dried arrangement and will be less likely to sustain damage if you choose to have the flowers delivered Western Cape. Making a Rose buttonhole Gather together all the materials — rose, stub wires, tape and pin. The rose has attractive foliage, so choose three perfect leaves. Wire the cut materials. A rose with a stem of medium thickness will require a 0.71mm (22 gauge) wire, but you may need a heavier or lighter gauge of wire, depending on the weight of the rose. Insert the stub wire up the stem of the rose; it should be pushed just past the seed box. The rose leaves need to be loop-stitched. A small stitch is taken at each side of the main vein, using 0.32mm (30 gauge) silver wire. Bring both ends of the wire down to the base of the leaf, at the back, supporting the stitch between finger and thumb to prevent the stitch from pulling. Secure the leaf stem and one of the wire ends by taking the remaining wire firmly around both, two or three times. The rose and leaves are then taped. For ease of assembly by the florist Mosspark, the leaves can be taped together, with the largest leaf in the middle, and a smaller one at each side. For assembly, the rose is placed on top of the foliage; the largest leaf acts as a protective backing for the rose and also looks attractive. The buttonhole can be assembled either by using a short length of wire or with tape only. The wire stems are cut to length and then completely covered with tape. The design is sprayed with water and a pin added. Rose foliage is the traditional backing, but as with the carnation, many other materials can be used, and a rose buttonhole for a lady is sometimes given a delicate ribbon bow for a finishing touch. It’s all in the colour More than any other attribute, the key to the mood a flower inspires is its colour. Dramatic, eye-catching blooms tend to make their presence felt through their rich or vibrant colours. Think of acid-green chrysanthemums or pillar-box red amaryllis. Other, more modest flowers are more reserved and allusive, tending towards subtler, romantic tints rather than bold saturated hues. Dramatic flowers often display a bold, sculptural profile and unusual textures, too. In contrast, their softer, more demure cousins, such as sweet peas, roses, lilac, poppies and anemones, bear abundant delicate petals with a fragile, silky texture. If you want to create romantic effects, choose plants that stand out by virtue of their delicacy or exquisite flower formations. If these flowers Southville are sweetly scented, such as, for example, lily of the valley, sweet peas or dwarf narcissi, their charms will only be heightened. Scented flowers are particularly delicious in the bedroom, where they can be appreciated first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Our reaction to a vase of flowers is also affected by the manner in which they are displayed. A single flower, or a cluster of one type of flowers, of virtually any variety, looks more bold and modern and makes a stronger design statement than, say, a loose armful of mixed blooms in a terracotta jug, which will appear more informal and uncontrived. Unconventional arrangements, such as flowers floating in a shallow bowl, or wrapped inside a glass vase, also create more funky, cutting- edge effects. For more private and reclusive areas of the home, small, dainty posies are particularly beguiling, especially when created from a handful of compatible blossoms that convey an impression of laid-back charm. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
7:35 am	Send your love flowers A pretty flower - Tulipa (tulip) Characteristics: Everyone knows the tulip family for its gorgeous garden stars blooming in late spring. There are many different types of tulips besides the popular cup-shaped hybrids. Explore "peony-flowered," lily-flowered, fringed, "parrot," and the many double-flowered varieties. If properly planned, a garden can have tulips in continual bloom for two months or more. Cultural Information: Well-drained, light, rich humus is the best soil for tulips. They are also fond of lime. It is helpful to scatter Holland Bulb Booster, which can be purchased from a Los Banos flower shop, on top of soil at the rate recommended by the manufacturer. Water it in at planting time and every fall thereafter. Water very well to start the roots growing in fall. Replace tulips every year if you want the same number of bulbs, as in a formal planting. Harvesting/Drying: Tulip drying is for the courageous. Silica gel is the only successful method. Carefully place the tulip face up into a paper cup slightly larger than the diameter of a cup-shaped tulip. Gently pour the silica to encircle and cover the tulip. For double tulips shaped like peonies or roses, follow the instructions for drying peonies and roses in silica gel. How Much Water? How much good ample water can do is indicated by an old story about a florist Kirkdale who traveled the countryside selling pink pills guaranteed, he said, to stimulate rosebushes into furious bloom. His prescription was one pill to a pail of water, administered once a week. It worked, too. Not that the pills did any good; the regular watering helped the roses so much that his customers never suspected they had been taken. There is a simple way to tell if your roses need water. Stick your forefinger into the soil as far as you can. If it is dry down there, the roots below probably need moisture. Water thoroughly; the lowest roots will be properly moistened at about the time that the absorption of water slows down noticeably on the surface, usually after about two hours. Such a soaking should serve for a week or 10 days under average conditions. After a week, make the finger test again, and repeat it daily until the next watering is indicated. Depending on the weather and the type of soil, you may water more often or less often, but do not vary the amount of water that you use in each application. A single deep watering does much more good than the same volume of water doled out in two or three su­perficial applications that only dampen the top of the soil. Creating harmony with colour Colour, although we may not always acknowledge this, plays an important part in our lives, but whereas we may spend a considerable time coordinating the colours in our living rooms and bedrooms, we tend to think that all flowers will go together. The effect of colour can he noted by florists, as flowers are often used to help to create an atmosphere or mood. Red is an exciting and warm colour; it can also be aggressive. Blue is almost the opposite, being cool and quiet. Violet is rich and somber in some surroundings, while yellow is cheerful and warm. Orange is also warm and hospitable; green can be refreshing, and dark green is relaxing. Green, in any case, is the natural accompaniment to most flowers. Colours are never seen in isolation in normal life; there are always surrounding colours, and they react with each other, for lighter or darker, for louder or quieter, for better or worse. The way in which artificial light affects flower colours is important to florists. White fluorescent light makes blue look brighter, while ordinary light bulbs turn it to a rather depressing purplish grey. White, pink and orange look reasonably good in artificial light. Each time you decorate a marquee, take notes on the effect of diffused light on the flowers, as it is difficult to remember such details in the mind’s eye. Create your flower delivery Mandeville Canyon with these points in mind for the best results. When designing, use flowers with strong hues and bright colours towards the centre, and paler tints and tones at the outer edges. This will give visual stability as well as impact. A gentle gradation of colour is a subtle way of leading the eye into and through the design. A colour wheel is a good aid to heighten your awareness of colour. If you have only thought about colour in general terms, a wheel will increase your confidence in using colour. Successful colour harmonies give assurance, and can lead to more complex and challenging ways of using colour in flower designs. Plastic and Metal containers People are often fooled by plastic containers, picking up what they imagine to be a heavy ceramic pot, only to find they are holding a light-weight plastic, for these days the latter can have all the advantages of plastic with the good looks of china. Plastic containers of this type are not inexpensive, but they are likely to last much longer than their more breakable counterparts, and they come in a rainbow range of colours, and in many shapes, sizes and designs. Any good florist St Pauls will stock an array of these containers. Metals Copper cache-pots and brass containers from goblets to coal buckets, make lovely containers for flowers. The differing textures of the flowers and the shiny containers contrast and act as a foil for each other. Most pedestal stands designed for use .n churches, hotels or marquees are made from wrought iron, and containers of this type are both adaptable and functional. Whatever your needs, there is a wealth of containers to enhance the beauty of flower and foliage materials. Humidity helps flowers An increase in the relative humidity around cut materials (flowers and foliage) is beneficial to most flowers, and to some it is very important. If the water loss through petals and foliage exceeds the rate at which water is taken up through the stem, then the cut material will wilt. Many cut materials are wrapped in cellophane sleeves in order to reduce this transpiration. Regularly spraying materials with water will also help to reduce the water loss, particularly if the atmosphere is warm and dry, or if there is a constant draught of air, from a doorway, perhaps, or from air conditioning. Mimosa and tropical flowers will benefit from regular misting, as will cut foliages, such as Codiaem (Joseph’s coat), Nephrolepis (sword fern), and — though its name may suggest otherwise — leatherleaf, which is a type of shield fern. High humidity is also advantageous to flowers Levenshulme that have a much greater petal surface than stem surface, such as hydrangeas, roses, and many other summer flowers. Transpiration can be further diminished by removing some of the foliage, ensuring that water will reach the flower head rather than superfluous leaves. Be patient when creating a garden If you have to tackle an overgrown garden, in some ways it can be difficult — but at least there will be some trees or shrubs that will give the garden a furnished look, and this does help. I strongly recommend you should not make many changes until you have had a chance to see the garden right through one season. So often there are hidden treasures that can easily be destroyed, never to be found again. If you live with the garden for a year, you may find there is a good reason for some of the earlier planting. In a garden near me, for instance, the new owner cut down all the polygonum (knotweed or Russian vine) covering a fence, only to find it had covered the most unsightly and makeshift structure, which of course was exactly why it had been put there in the first place. Flowers Homebush Bay can also be used to mask unsightly garden features if they are particularly low lying. I had an old plum tree cut down when we first moved in, but it was not until the following autumn that I bitterly regretted it; as soon as all the leaves were off the other trees, I had an uninterrupted view of the next-door neighbour’s house, and pleasant as it is, I would really much have preferred the old tree. These are just two warnings against being over-hasty. Fake doesn't have to be second best Some of the more traditional amongst you may scoff at the idea of using fake flowers, but it is a real and viable alternative in today’s world. Not everyone can afford to spend thousands of dollars on fresh flowers, or employ a florist to create unique arrangements. Fake flowers can look just as beautiful, and these days you can even spray them with a fragrance to complete the floral deception. I would wager that the majority of guests at the wedding would not even notice that the flowers were not fresh. Artificial flowers might even put your local Atlanta florist out of business one day! (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
11:30 am	Midweek delight for florists Wedding flowers are crucial One of the most important elements to get right with any wedding is the flowers. Believe me, this is not an easy thing to do, particularly when you'll have a thousand and one other things on your mind on the run up to the big day. Choosing wedding flowers is mostly a girl thing but try and get some male input as well, just for a more balanced view of what to get. Whilst you might not consider other opinions when sending flowers through a florist, wedding flowers are more critical, and the more opinions you can get the better. Flowers are an integral part of your special day. Flowers are one of many things that your guests will talk to their friends about. There are many options available to you, just discuss them with your reseller of flowers Fremont Perth. With a little planning, your experience with your wedding flowers can be a pleasant one that stays with you forever. Looking back through your wedding photographs in years to come will be all the more pleasant if those flowers were ‘just perfect’! Cutting Flowers When you want to cut flowers for the house, choose blooms that are neither full-blown nor tight buds; buds just opening are best because they will last longest. Cut the stems with a sharp knife, and leave as much of the foliage as possible on the plants; they will need it for further growth. Plants such as spider lilies that have bare, leafless stalks should be severed an inch or two above ground level; a flowerless, leafless half-stem is neither useful nor sightly. Cut flowers Knightswood early in the morning or, even better, late in the afternoon to prolong their lives indoors; flowers cut in the heat of the midday sun do not survive as well. After cutting, immerse the stems immediately in deep, warm water (about 100 degrees) and place them in a cool location for a few hours; overnight is better. Keep the flowers upright in a vase if you want the stems to remain straight. The flowers should get fresh water once a day; at the same time a bit of the stems should be removed to expose fresh cells for water absorption. Cut flowers will last longer if they are kept out of direct sun in a relatively cool place. Interpretive Design The shape of a design depends on the type of flowers used and the container or base shape. It may be symmetrical or asymmetrical, but the elements of the design should be balanced. If an item of a certain mass or scale is used in one area of the design, it must have a balancing counterpart in the opposing area. All Wallasey florists have control over how rigidly or loosely the criteria for each design are followed. The basic elements are still present, but the florist can add his or her own personal interpretation. Maybe it’s a horizontal arrangement with something angled through the center, bisecting the design. Or the focus could shift from the flowers to another element, such as a snowman or a doll. This is an interpretive design; the flowers still follow the same style guidelines, and the focal piece fits into the general lines of the style, but the florist has put her own spin on it. Interpretive or not, preserving the balance and harmony of a piece determines the success of the design. When would you send men flowers? Pretty much the same occasions as for women. Think back to the times when you would love to receive flowers: on your birthday, on special anniversaries, during down times, after a job promotion, the list goes on. Any of these would also be a good time to send flowers to the man in your life. A word of warning though, most men would not like to receive flowers sent to their place of work. A sense of embarrassment in front of their work colleagues is the reason for this. Always send flowers New Utrecht to a place where he feels comfortable receiving them, and never to a place where he may be placed in an akward position. The Romance of the Rose Of all flowers, none has been so entwined in men's hearts and history as the rose. Roses lent their legendary romance to the Garden of Eden, to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and to the gardens of ancient Persia, where nightingales sang and the clovelike scent of damask roses filled the air. The rose was the flower of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and beauty, and in Roman times it became the flower of Venus as well. Ever since, in the odes of poets and lays of balladeers, the rose has stood for womanly perfection and the mysteries of love. Among the first women of history to capitalize on this symbolism was Cleopatra, who, the story has it, welcomed Marc Antony in a room filled with rose petals up to their knees. It was not long before Antony's countrymen outdid the Queen, importing shiploads of roses by Lambeth flower delivery for their pleasures. When Roman nobles dined, their guests were draped with rose garlands, washed with perfumed rose water, and plied with rose puddings and rose wine. In Rome the rose eventually became a symbol of debauchery and, somehow, of secrecy too: when Romans wanted to signify that a conversation was to be confidential, they hung a rose above the participants. Thus was born the term sub rosa: under the rose. Rules for Rose Arrangements The fundamental rules for arranging roses are like those for any flowers Fishponds. Do not crowd the container; do not allow flowers to rest against one another, lest the movement of one dislodge the whole arrangement; and keep the composition in balance by putting darker colored flowers and more open buds toward the bottom, lighter colors and tighter buds toward the top. If the composition will be seen from several angles, circle the arrangement to make sure that it looks well from all sides, or do the arranging on a Lazy Susan. The character of the design itself is best determined by the setting, the simplicity or elegance of the container, and the mood and tastes of the person who is doing the arranging. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
12:02 pm	My florist is my best friend too Sport Roses Climbing versions of hybrid tea roses, floribundas, grandifloras, polyanthas and even miniature roses are “sports,” or chance mutations, of standard types. They are generally similar to the bush types from which they are descended, but their canes are considerably longer, and they are usually slightly less hardy and flower less profusely. A strain of hybrids introduced in the 1950s by the noted florist Braidfauld Wilhelm Kordes has been developed into a superb new class called Kordesii. Most of these climbers grow only 6 to 12 feet high, and are extremely hardy, requiring no winter protection in most cold climates. They bloom profusely all season long, mostly in clusters and in the full range of rose colors. Flower Growing and Retailing Within recent years flowers have been more and more in demand and this has given rise, not alone to the development of large centers of flower production, but also to artistic flower-stores and other means of Matamata flower delivery. The growing of flowers is essentially an agricultural industry. The work can be carried on successfully only by men adapted for this specialized field. On the other hand, the selling of flowers demands a man with an artistic temperament as well as a keen business mind. The two types of men are so radically different that whenever possible the growing of flowers should be kept separate from the retailing. Recently the business of flower-growing has changed in a marked degree. Certain lines of production have gone into the hands of a comparatively few persons. As an illustration, most of the roses are grown under glass for cut-flower purposes by a few firms. The grower of miscellaneous florist crops has found that he cannot raise roses economically on a small scale and in competition with the rose specialist; therefore he devotes his activities to other lines of production, and buys from the specialist such roses as he needs to supply his retail trade. Sympathy & Memorial Memorial designs are often taken to the graveside at Christmas and other times of the year to express love and respect, and to offer comfort to the bereaved. The use of evergreens for Christmas decorations is a traditional practice that dates back to ancient times, and from the florists Patchway viewpoint, holly wreaths and crosses offer a practical alternative to cut flowers placed1in cemetery vases, with the advantage that, at a time of year when the elements can quickly damage flowers, evergreens will withstand wind and cold — even frost and snow — and remain attractive for a long time. Cones and clusters of bright red berries are lasting alternatives to the carnations used here. Propagating Plants Different kinds of excitement (and different challenges) await the florist South Street who turns to experimental rose growing. Any florist who has space for more roses can easily grow additional plants from parts of bushes he already has on hand. Such a segment will, if properly treated, grow roots of its own, reproducing its parent by what is known as vegetative propagation. The offspring will be an exact duplicate of the parent. In contrast to plants propagated sexually, from seed; seed-grown roses resemble their parents no more than human offspring do. One caution: Most garden varieties are protected by plant patents, which give the breeders the right to control the duplication of their plants for 17 years; unauthorized propagation of a plant still cov­ered by a patent is a violation of the law. The easiest way to reproduce rosebushes vegetatively is by cutting part of a plant and inducing it to sprout roots. The result is an “own-root” plant, as opposed to those plants that do not grow on roots of their own but are joined to the roots of another species. Hybrid tea roses do not grow well on their own roots, but if you choose a good climber (or, in a warm climate, a tea rose), you stand a good chance of getting offspring that grow and bloom quite well. What temperature? The temperature requirements of species differ, and while many spring flowers will keep best at 2°C (35°F), others, such as carnations, prefer a minimum low of 8°C (46°F). Most florists find that an average chiller temperature of 6-8°C (42-46°F) is acceptable. It must also be remembered that many tropical flowers do not require cool storage, although they do enjoy high humidity — gingers, strelitzias, anthuriums and many orchids fall into this category. Cold-sensitive flowers can exhibit symptoms of ‘bluestain’ on the petals. Nerines, in particular, are susceptible to temperatures below 2°C (35°F). Euphorbia, heliconias and eucharis lilies are all materials that prefer a warmer storage temperature, and for these, and other tropical flowers and foliages, the temperature should preferably not fall below 16°C (60°F). High temperatures, however, will hasten the development of cut materials and shorten their vase life. An even temperature should always be maintained, whether flowers Ladybarn are stored in a chiller unit or in a cool place. Wild fluctuations in temperature can cause discoloration in some flowers. Red roses are particularly sensitive to major temperature changes, and this is evident when petals take on a blue tinge. European flower arrangements European or continental arrangements are, as the name implies, a style of design that originated in Europe and is totally different from the standard British arrangement. A European design is far more structured, balanced but not symmetrical, its impact coming from groupings of bold materials. Every leaf and flower shows, and must therefore be perfectly groomed. It is important with this type of design to use bold materials and a variety of shapes and textures in order to give the arrangement its impact. The foam can be covered with mosses and fungi and also by recessing some low-lying flowers. This type of arrangement, with its clean lines, looks very good in modern buildings, and because it contains very few flowers in a reasonably large piece of foam, it can be kept well watered and is long lasting. Florists Taranaki can also make a fair profit on such arrangements due to the minimal amount of flowers involved. (Comment on this)
Monday, July 12th, 2010
12:22 pm	Ask your florist to send flowers The Versatility Of Flowers Fresh flowers are truly a wonder of nature. They can easily brighten up not only room but a person’s mood as well. Fresh flower bouquets make wonderful birthday, anniversary and Valentine’s Day gifts. The beauty doesn’t necessarily have to wither over time though there is a way to capture the essence of the flower forever. Preserving fresh flowers isn’t a difficult process. It can easily be done and once completed you have a tangible memory of the arrangement and the occasion it marked. One of the first steps in preserving fresh flowers is to spray the flowers with hair spray. The hair spray helps to preserve the color of the flowers. Next you’ll want to hang the flowers upside down in a dark, dry and cool place. This can be a closest or in a basement if you have one in your home. Once the flowers Netherley have dried significantly you can place them in a vase again or arrange them in another manner without having to worry about them spoiling. A very popular method for preserving fresh flowers is to press them. Pressing them involves placing them between two pieces of wax paper or paper towel. Once you’ve done that you’ll place them in a book and then place several books on top. The weight presses the flower into a flat position. Florists need to embrace new techniques Now, more than ever before, it is necessary to be aware of, and ready to accept new technology, which is changing the traditional working practices within the florist’s shop. Traditional wiring methods and construction techniques are being superseded by glue products and their various applicators. Nevertheless, it is essential for the trained florist to be able to use the traditional methods as they still have their uses on occasion, and form part of the basic repertoire of florist skills. For those who wish to pursue a career in the floristry industry, the confidence gained from a sound foundation in the basic skills cannot be overstated. From basic training come the standards and techniques that will last throughout your career in this wonderful industry. Floristry is more than just organising to have flowers delivered St Andrews, it's a whole career path. What can you do with those faded blooms? First of all, don’t throw them away. At the very least, cut them up and add them to the compost pile. Semi-fresh or partially faded flowers, depending on how you look at them, also have a second life in crafts and as edible flowers. Just remember, if you’re planning to use them in food, make sure they are truly edible and free of chemicals. Dry flowers and petals for use in sachets, wreaths, and aromatherapy projects. Bake edible flowers such as roses and calendula in cakes, breads and cookies. Press flowers for making personalized note cards. Add flowers to herbal vinegars. Preserve edible flowers (viola, pansies) in sugar and use them to decorate cakes. Use edible flowers as garnishes in salads, casseroles, and soups. So there are lots of ways to keep your flowers looking fresh, as well as making the most of them when they reach the end of their lifespan. Check out your local Lambeth Florist regularly for bargains. Planting Bulbs in a Pot Bulbs should not be buried deeply, but set so their tips just reach the surface of the soil, which should be ½ to 1 inch below the rim of the pot. Do not press the bulbs into the soil; fill the pot part way first, putting in only enough soil to hold the bulb at the proper level, and firm this soil down. Then set the bulbs on top and fill in more soil around them to cover them. Finally, water thoroughly. Some bulbs, notably tulips, have a flat side and a round side; the flat side should face outward toward the rim of the pot so that the largest flowers Eliza Heights, which sprout from the flat side, will grow gracefully over the edge of the pot. Get well soon Flowers can convey a sense of deeply felt empathy so they make the perfect gift to let someone know your thinking of them. Ultimately what flowers you choose will come down to a personal decision but you should bare in mind the nature of the gift. If someone is just feeling a little unwell maybe some bright uplifting flowers will be most appropriate to lift the spirits. If the recipient is terminally ill or seriously unwell then maybe a more serene, delicate approach is called for from your North Common Florist. Choosing the right floral arrangement to send will require a little thought, but whatever you choose will be sure to lift the spirits of someone who is not feeling at their best. My Favourite Flowers - Alnus Hardy deciduous trees, water-loving and usually found growing near streams or rivers, alders are beautiful all the year round. As soon as they lose their leaves, catkins start developing, and with some of the previous year’s cones still on the branches, they remain attractive until May or June. A. incana ‘Aurea’ is one of the most attractive, with pink-tinged catkins in January. Cultivation Plant in any good soil, but not shallow chalky soils; excellent in cold wet places, the alder is exceptionally hardy. Plant October to March. No pruning is usually required. Conditioning Hammer the ends of the stems well, and put in warm water for several hours. Ordering a flower delivery Possilpark may be easier, but it's a lot cheaper to do it yourself. Arranging Branches of fresh young catkins, with small clusters of black cones, provide one of the best outline shapes and can be used for weeks, as the catkins continue to develop in water. It makes an excellent background for a vase of spring flowers in moss, or for daffodils, and is a mainstay in many oriental-type arrangements. I often keep the best branches to use in dried groups in the winter. Love these flowers series - Calochortus Of the 50 or so species of calochortus that grow wild from California east to Colorado, three types are widely available from a florist Middleton for rock gardens or for cut flowers in spring and early summer. One type includes three species with globe-shaped flowers about 1½ inches across: C. albus, 12 to 24 inches tall with translucent greenish white globes; C. amabilis, about a foot tall with brown-marked yellow flowers; and C. amoenus, 18 to 24 inches tall with mauve-pink flowers. The second type, C. caeruleus, grows only 3 to 6 inches tall and bears upright 1-inch lilac-colored flowers lined and fringed with soft hairs. The third type, C. venustus, is most colorful; the strain Eldorado has 2- to 4-foot-tall stems bearing erect blossoms as much as 4 inches across in lilac, purple, rose, red, yellow or white, all with distinctive "eyes" that resemble markings on butterfly wings. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
11:55 am	Send flowers and love across the ocean Climbing Varieties Climbers comprise a wide variety of types. The most numerous are the large-flowered climbers, which bear 2- to 6-inch blossoms in loose clusters on strong, flexible canes 6 to 15 feet long. Most large-flowered climbers are hybrid descendants of wild climbers still found in various parts of the world. Modern varieties boast a wide range of colors and flower sizes. Some blossom heavily early in the season, producing few flowers Uxbridge later on; others follow their first crop of blos­soms with intermittent bloom and then burst forth with another heavy crop in the fall. Large-flowered climbers are fairly resistant to disease and cold weather, and can generally grow without winter pro­tection even in northerly climate regions. Pillar roses, a subclass of the large-flowered climb­ers, do not grow as tall as other climbers, but stand more upright on stiffer canes to a height of 5 to 10 feet. They are often planted beside a post or pillar (hence their name) to which they are tied to pre­vent them from snapping in high winds. Another distinct type of climber is the rambler. Its slender, supple canes grow very long (10 to 20 feet a year) and bear dense clusters of small flowers, each no more than 2 inches across. Most varieties bloom once each year, in late spring or early summer, on canes that are one year old; a few flower again in the fall. Their colors are limited: deep red to weak pink, peach yellow and white; foliage is glossy. Though some types are susceptible to mildew, most true ramblers are extremely hardy, surviving subzero winters even when unprotected. Wedding costs Just like the cost of everything else, the cost of having a wedding is skyrocketing. This is no surprise to anyone who has been recently involved in a wedding, and it is certainly no surprise to someone who is currently involved, in any way, with a wedding. If you are looking for ways to cut costs, one of the best ways is to do so by using silk flowers instead of real flowers for your wedding. Wedding flowers can start to get pricey, especially if you want to use roses, lilies, or flowers that are out of season. Having them arranged is also an expensive proposition if you go through a Fendalton Florist. A Bit of Background Let us look at some of the essential facts that are known about the lily and that govern its culture. Lilies come from the Northern Hemisphere and are found in Asia, Europe, and North America. Most of those now in our gardens and commonly sold are identical with these wild lilies. In fact, we can still call them wild lilies, for they breed true from seed and to the florist Auldhouse this is the earmark of a true species. In this characteristic the lilies are unique among our garden plants. Our daffodils and tulips, our iris and roses, our peonies and lilacs are all of hybrid origin. What gardener, except the inveterate collector or the student-specialist, would now plant a collection of wild roses or iris or poppies in his garden? Yet this is exactly what we have been asking garden­ers to do with lilies. Since the majority of the lilies we have known until recently are species (wild flowers identical with the lilies found in the wil­dernesses of Japan, China, India, Europe, and America), they are not especially adapted to garden use nor to frequent transplanting. Such rough handling and competition with other garden plants has not in the past been their lot. Check out this flower - Tulipa Tulips, a mainstay of spring gardens everywhere, can provide abundant flowers in a wide spectrum of colors from March through May, and many varieties can be enjoyed as house plants in midwinter. Dwarf varieties are excellent in rock gardens, and tall-growing ones are indispensable in borders. Most tulips make excellent cut flowers. More than 4,000 named varieties of tulips are now in existence; several hundred are available commercially from a Vinegar Hill flower shop. They are grouped into 15 classes, which are subject to almost constant revision. Garden tulips are classed not only by their ancestry and flowering characteristics, but also by their time of bloom. In Zone 6, for example, so-called early-flowering tulips such as T. kaufmanniana and T. fosteriana bloom in mid- to late April, mid season tulips (Mendel, triumph, Darwin hybrid) bloom in late April to early May, and late-flowering tulips (Darwin, lily-flowered, cottage, Rembrandt, parrot, double late, T. greigii) bloom throughout May. Tulip flowers usually have cups about 2 or 3 inches deep but those that have been developed to bear unusually large flowers may have cups more than 4 inches deep. Some of the species tulips have cups as small as 1 inch deep. A Florist's Techniques The floristry industry has its own special techniques and skills, and it is essential that a good florist should possess the fundamental know-how to support and control all types of materials (flowers and foliage). A well-trained florist will produce designs that have a professional finish, achieved by discrete workmanship and well-concealed construction techniques. Only with practice, however tedious this may seem at times, can you acquire the necessary dexterity and expertise that will enable you to turn your creative ideas into successful finished designs. An understanding of the technical language used in the flower shop or workroom is also important, as many specialist terms, such as box pleating, taping and spiralling, are used. Being a successful Cardiff florist takes time and effort to master the necessary skills. Using Glycerine Solution To prepare plants for the glycerine solution, crush the stems at the bottom ½ inch, or strip them with a sharp knife. Then soak the stems for 24 hours in a mixture of 1 table­spoon salt and a gallon of warm water. These steps will help the stem absorb the glycerine solution. Mix 1 part glycerine to 2 parts hot water. (Reheat the so­lution after use to make it more effective.) Stand the stem in a container with 4 inches of the glycerine solution. As the solution is drawn up into the stem, it preserves the leaves. Check daily to see if the solution has all been absorbed and replenish if necessary. When the leaves become soft, leathery and darker in color, they are preserved. They will then last for many months in a dried arrangement and will be less likely to sustain damage if you choose to have the flowers delivered Odessa. Planting the Bulbs For all spring-flowering bulbs, the sooner you plant in fall, the bet­ter. For one thing, the weather is more pleasant then; dedicated though I am to gardening, I would much rather work outdoors on a sunny September day than on a chilly November one. More important, the more time the bulbs have to put out their roots before the ground freezes, the stronger they will be. The only bulbs I would risk planting late in the fall are tulips, but even they benefit from being set in the ground as early in the fall as you can obtain them from your nurseryman or Broadmead flower shop. They will be much better off in the soil where they belong than lying on a shelf in a box. In warm climates tulips, except for the species tulips in the West and Southwest, should be treated as one-season bulbs to be planted late in the fall and discarded after the spring blossoms have appeared. In Zones 8-10 bulbs of large-flowered garden varieties should be refrigerated at 40° to 45° until late November or December, simulating the rest period that prepares them for bloom, then planted 6 to 8 inches deep so the bulbs can be as cool as possible. (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
4:10 pm	A loved one overseas? Send some flowers to brighten her day. The colour of summer The colours available in summer flowers are as profuse as the varieties. Sweet peas come in a range of blues, whites, purples, red and pinks, from the softest shell pink to deepest crimson. The fiery oranges and rich yellows of the marigolds contrast with the soft cool green of lady’s mantle, and on the hottest of summer days there are plenty of flowers to choose for a refreshing design in blues and white. The shapes and textures of cut materials (flowers and foliage) are also diverse, including tiny lavender spikes, the large spears of the red hot poker, rounded hydrangea heads, and lilies, with their pointed petals. At this time of year, there is a selection for every type of design, and numerous possible containers from which to choose, always bearing in mind that the latter need to be sufficiently large to hold a good-sized reservoir of water for thirsty summer flowers. All good florists Alvord should be able to provide you with an abundant array of colourful summer blooms to brighten any occasion. How To Care for Your Flowers The sooner that you put your flowers into water, the longer they will last. The flowers should be re-cut at the stems while submerged in water. This is important for hollow-stemmed flowers so it will prevent an airlock from forming in the stem which may prevent the flowers from taking water. The stems should be cut on an angle, which will create a wider exposed area and allow the flowers to take the maximum amount of water. Flowers delivered Shard End will last longer if the plant food is added to the water. An example to an alternative to plant food would be sugar. Picks Floral picks, short stems of clustered items, are often used in floral designing. Christmas picks are the most common; they may include berries, cones, silk leaves, packages, ornaments, and pine sprigs. Short (4”-7” tall) stems of flowers or greenery are also known as picks and can be inexpensive. Flower picks generally include 1-3 blossoms with several leaves per stem. More expensive hand-wrapped latex picks often contain a large flower, leaves, a cone or pod and twigs. These are approximately 12”-14” tall and, like hand-wrapped florals, add quality to Catbrain flower delivery arrangements. While picks can be effective when inserted as stems, they can also be cut into individual components. Attach each piece to a wood pick or stem wire, then insert it into the design. Cut flower alternative You may want to consider sending a very different type of flower the next time you have the need, such as a potted plant. This way, your gift will continue to remind that lucky someone of the event the flowers were sent to commemorate long after a fresh bouquet would be a distant memory. If you are sending flowers to someone who has difficulty keeping plants alive, you may want to try sending a dried floral arrangement instead. Always ask your florist for the best advice before committing to an order or placing your flower delivery Battersea. Potted plants can be tremendous value for money considering the length of time the recipient will have to enjoy them. Making buttonholes If you have a large number of buttonholes to make, set up a mini production line rather than making each one individually. The method is the same for each, so you can save a lot of time this way ensuring flowers delivered Bellahouston on time. Start by collecting together all the items required — carnations, Asparagus setaceus, wires, tape and pins. For each buttonhole, trim a carnation, leaving just a short length of stem; insert a 0.71mm (22 gauge) stub wire up the stem of the carnation, and make a closed hook, then pull the wire down until it is completely hidden in the base of the carnation flower. Select three fronds of fern from the main shoot and mount them, using 0.32mm (30 gauge) silver stub wire. If the fern has stems of a reasonable length, it is not always necessary to mount them, and this can save much time. After wiring, tape all the materials. Once the cut materials have all been prepared, they can then quickly be assembled into the buttonhole. For assembly, add the fronds to the carnation, piece by piece. The largest frond is placed at the back, with a smaller frond at each side. The mounted fronds are flexible, and can be bevelled outwards at a becoming angle. Finally, add a pin. Using the Pressing Method Press only flowers that are free of damage caused by in­sects or disease. Also, choose a plant suitable for pressing and select a bud, an open flower and a leaf or piece of foliage. This allows you to preserve the different stages of the plant, from bud to final flower head. Spread the leaves or flowers onto an absorbent piece of paper. Special blotting paper bought from a florist Sneyd Park can be used, but paper towels will do the job. (Use paper towels that don't have ridges, as these will mark your finished flowers.) Make sure the plant material does not overlap and touch. This will prevent the bleeding of color and uneven pressure. Insert the absorbent paper with the plant material between the pages of a book. The thickness of the paper will determine how many pages should go between each set of flowers. If the paper is thin, use three sheets between each set to avoid bleeding of color. Write the name of the pressed material and the date on each page. This is an important step because it is often difficult to identify the plant once it has dried. Place a brick on top to provide adequate pressure. Most flowers will take four to six weeks to dry, depending on such factors as thickness of the flower petals. Keep a close watch and transfer flowers onto fresh, dry blotting paper if necessary. Wildflowers and how to use them The prospect of wild flowers growing in grass is a thrilling one, but I must sound a note of warning! If you have a large garden and an out of the way place where grass and wild flowers may grow in happy confusion, that is fine. But should your garden be small I would strongly recommend you to move with caution — after the first few weeks of delight the long grass will start to look a mess and very unattractive. It will also be difficult to get it back into shape as a lawn again. I believe Lady Bird Johnson was responsible for having thousands of seeds scattered on the road verges of Washington during her husband’s presidency, and I think that was a lovely thing to do. If you are thinking of gathering wild flowers from the countryside it is important to have a clear view about conservation. Nowadays with the ever- increasing amount of building it is essential that we watch over our precious native plants. This is especially necessary in rural areas where the rarer species such as orchis, fritillaria, lily of the valley and other delightful flowers are at risk. The sorts of wild flowers you can safely pick are what I call ‘wayside flowers’ — wild flowers that grow along the sides of roads and which will be cut down anyway by the council when the verges are ‘tidied’. You will be surprised how many wild flowers delivered Cressington you will find — I have used dog daisies, which spring up in hundreds whenever any waste land is disturbed, sorrel and docks, hemlock, cow parsnip, parsley and carrot (better know in the USA as Queen Anne’s lace), willow herb and grasses of all kinds. They all flourish abundantly and picking them will not worry the conservationists. (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 6th, 2010
10:08 am	Move over local florist - it's all online now Best loved flowers - Clematis Characteristics: These vines are an important part of the garden because they provide vertical interest. Most produce fluffy seed heads in later summer and early autumn that are at­tractive in dried arrangements. You can always have these stunning flowers delivered Redondo Beach if you are looking for a great gift idea. The hybrid varieties with large-flowered heads are particularly popular. The flowers can be pressed and preserved in silica gel. Cultural Information: Clematis are not particular about soil; however, they do appreciate a healthy dose of lime sprinkled around their base yearly. They like to reach for the sun while their feet remain in the coolness of shade. You can help by placing a stone or pieces of a broken clay pot over their roots. Just be careful not to touch the stem. Harvesting/Drying: Cut the fluffy seed heads on a dry day and hang to dry. The seed heads of clematis differ in size greatly and can add interest to any dried arrangement. Some of the larger flowering hybrids will work espe­cially well if pressed or pre­served in silica gel. Placing Flowers in an Arrangement Once you have decided on your color scheme, container and general theme, you can begin. To keep everything tidy, do your arranging on a flat piece of plastic such as a garbage bag. First fit your Oasis or floral foam tightly into the container and secure with floral tape to prevent it from shifting around. The first flowers to place are the taller ones, which will define the height and shape of the arrangement. Also, try to add flowers with thick stems early on to avoid damag­ing more delicate flowers. Place very delicate flowers last to avoid rough handling, especially if you are having the flowers delivered Joondanna. When you have finished placing the flowers, add filler material such as Gypsophila to fill in any holes and give a finished look. When you are working on the arrangement, step back occa­sionally and look at it from all angles. If it's to be a center­piece, walk around it and view it from the back and sides. If it's to sit on a mantel, look at it from below. 5 year garden plan When you have decided on the basic layout, it is time to get out the squared paper and carefully plot out the area each plant will need when it is fully grown. But don’t attempt to buy and plant all of the flowers in one season. I find it best to have a five-year plan and work outwards, concentrating first on the area near the house. If you are lucky enough to have a pleasant view, you need do no more at first than plant for a little colour and flowers to pick, but even in later years, remember not to interrupt the view. The 5 year plan will be ample time to construct a garden which is regularly producing enough flowers so that you no longer have to have so many flowers delivered Victoria Park to your home. Just think of the savings, but do spare a thought for your poor florist! Just Google it You can find many articles on the internet that will advise you on the best ways to maintain your cut flowers. There are articles that tell you tips like tulips and daffodils are not compatible and that tulips need more water than other flowers. Take advantage of the information super highway and you can transform your home with simple and affordable flower arrangements. Always check with your local florist to see which blooms are in season at the time as they will invariably be cheaper than those which are out of season. Saving money and energising your home at the same time has to make good sense, and technology is there to make life easier for you when getting your flowers delivered Thorndale. The Growth Cycle of Bulbs In the growth cycle of a bulbous plant, the underground bulb, nourished by its storehouse of food, goes through a number of distinct stages. The bulb sprouts roots, stems, leaves and flowers Barnet, simultaneously growing larger or producing new bulbs for the following growing season. After the leaves wither, it enters a period of dormancy. All bulbs progress through each of these stages, but the details of the cycle vary among the five major types of bulbous plants: true bulb, corm, tuber, tuberous root and rhizome. The gardener with his spade or lifting fork plays a part in the growth cycle of many of these bulbs. Many of the true bulbs, such as the daffodil, can be left in the ground through the winter in all parts of the country. Most other bulbous plants demand more care during winter dormancy. A corm like the gladiolus, a tuber like the tuberous begonia, and a tuberous root like the dahlia must be dug up in fall and stored in a dry place until spring in areas where the ground freezes. Even in the South such bulbs produce the biggest flowers if dug up, divided and stored until the spring planting season. Winter Weddings Velvet, muffs, bare trees and churches set in wintry landscapes — this is the imagery of a winter wedding. Winter brides tend to choose dresses in warm velvets, heavy brocades or light-weight wools, with rich colours for the bridesmaids, including scarlet and crimson, sapphire blue, bottle green, and tartans. Flowers favoured by winter brides include amaryllis (Hippeastrum hybrids), Anemone coronaria, azaleas, Christmas roses (Helleborus niger), Euphorbia fulgens, freesia hybrids, poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) and Ranunculus asiaticus and any of these can be included when you get the flowers delivered Rustic Canyon. Styles of design The range of designs to bear in mind for a winter wedding include the following: for the bride — muff sprays, traditional and European-style bouquets and posies, over arm bouquets and hostess bouquets; for an adult bridesmaid — muff sprays, prayer book sprays, traditional and European-style bouquets and posies, hostess bouquets and baskets, and for young bridesmaids open/ Victorian posies, natural posies, baskets, hoops and pomanders. Headdresses may be garlands, or side or back placements. Position of flower display The aim is for the floral display to become the centre of interest and form a talking point. To this end, position it in a prominent area, where it will easily be seen — opposite an entrance or on a reception desk, for example, or in a waiting area. Remember, however, that you must not interfere with the movement of people. Take measurements of the available space and note details of the surroundings, so that your display is suited to the venue. Traditional banks or offices demand conventional styles of display in urns, bowls and baskets and will expect their florists Calton to understand this. Futuristic offices and shops are complemented by freestyle designs of prestigious or exotic materials, in bold containers. (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
3:40 pm	Call your florist and get the ball rolling Purchasing Tips There are a few simple steps you should follow to make sure you get the best quality flowers. The main aim when buying flowers is simply to spot the bunch which is the freshest! By following these steps you can also make sure the flowers you buy, last as long as possible. Of course, if you buy from an experienced florist you can rely on them to provide you with good quality and freshness making purchasing so much easier and reliable for you. They can also provide you with specific care advice at home relating to the type of arrangement and the variety of flower. Buy 'inside' flowers Many retailers place flowers outside to advertise that they sell flowers. Don't buy these! Buy the flowers Oldland Common that are inside the shop, out of the sun and away from potentially harmful car fumes. To make sure they last, most flowers should be kept in the cool and out of the sun. Some flowers can also be harmed by car exhausts, which contain ethylene gas. This gas speeds up flower wilting and drop in flowers like carnation, roses, orchids and waxflower. So it is best to choose flowers that are inside, away from these harmful conditions. Check the stem ends Turn the bunch upside down and have a good look at the cut stem ends. They should be green or white, and look freshly cut. Don't buy bunches with dark stem ends, or where the ends have split and are curling back, as these are signs of old flowers. One of my favourite flowers - Alcea rosea (hollyhock) Characteristics: Hollyhocks are an old-fashioned favorite. They are available in a wide range of colors and you can have the flowers delivered College Point in forms: single, double, ruffled and fluted. My favorite is still the original sin­gle form, but for drying pur­poses, the double forms are best. The large flowers, up to 4 inches across, are thickly massed on long stems. Allow them to self-sow about your garden to ensure a continuous supply. Because hollyhocks are tall, they are perfect at the back of the garden, or against a fence or building. Harvesting/Drying: Pick the flowers at their peak when the color is still strong and the flowers are fresh. Both double and reg­ular varieties can be air-dried, but they will lose some of their natural color and the flowers will tighten up slightly. Air-­dried hollyhocks resemble col­orful crepe-paper flowers. If you would like to achieve a more perfect flower shape and color, dry in silica gel. Store in an airtight container after drying. Other cutting tools, tapes and wires Secateurs: These are excellent for cutting thick woody stems. Florists’ tape: This is used to conceal wires and seal stem ends. There are two main types of tape — the first is plastic and stretches, the warmth of your hand helping to secure it. The second type resembles crêpe paper, but is usually slightly sticky. The tapes are supplied in a variety of colours — green, brown, black, white and a range of pastel shades. Green is normally used with fresh materials, and brown with dried flowers. Florists’ wire: This is used to support, control and anchor materials, lengthen stems and reduce weight. Always wire internally wherever possible, and use the finest gauge of wire that will give sufficient support. The larger the number, the thicker the gauge of a stub wire, the most popular. There is a wide variety of tapes available to the florist and it is a matter of personal preference which is used. Glue guns are a comparatively recent, but now important, development in the floristry industry, performing numerous tasks effortlessly and securely — for example, attaching foam to containers and wall swags, ribbon to foam bases, or flowers Stockton into bouquet holders. Glue guns are divided into two types — hot and cool melt. The latter is ideal for attaching synthetic ribbons, which might otherwise melt, and the former is used for all other tasks. Choosing flowers for a man Like women, just about any kind of flowers – roses, tulips, lilies, sunflowers, orchids etc – are bound to touch even an alpha male. But the kinds that really appeal to them are flowers that are “sturdy” and “full of personality” like the angular birds of paradise, anthuriums or orchids. Skip the fluffy big bouquets and head straight for the exotic, tropical or contemporary arrangements in linear or angular compositions. If this is your first time giving your man flowers, you can play it safe with a flower/plant dish that he can place on his desk at work or on his coffee table at home. If you send flowers Mt. Washington to his place of work then you are just asking for trouble , take it from me ladies. Royal Families Centuries of crossbreeding, accelerated by the develop­ment of scientific techniques in the 19th Century, have transformed the rosebushes of antiquity into a vast, interrelated lineage of flowers that today consists of many types, and num­bers more than 13,000 identifiable varieties. The best-known and most popular of these are the hybrid tea roses, which ac­count for virtually all of the cut roses sold by Broadmeadows florists and for about three quarters of all roses produced commercially for gardens. Their popularity is understandable: they have long, pointed buds that open into large, symmetrical blossoms formed by the overlapping of many dozens of gracefully curv­ing petals. And in color they span the spectrum from white through every conceivable shade of pink, yellow and red to a maroon so deep as to appear almost black. Romantic & relaxed It has been said that home is an extension of the self, and that each room expresses a different dimension or aspect of that self. Some rooms, like sitting or dining rooms, turn a formal face to the world; others, like the kitchen, seem more welcoming and friendly. Intimate rooms, such as the bedroom and bathroom, succor our secret selves. In our private quarters, we are at our most vulnerable and exposed. Different flowers obtained from the local Cardiff florist are suited to these different areas, and softer, more spontaneous arrangements are particularly suited to our private spaces, where we yield to our most uninhibited and passionate desires. Valentine’s Day accessories Wholesalers offer florists a wide range of accessories to add a personal touch to Valentine designs. Cellophane wrap is used throughout the year, but for Valentine’s Day you can make an arrangement even more special by using cellophane wrap with hearts and motifs on. There is also a wide selection of picks and motifs, ranging from plastic cupids and hearts to dainty pottery, glass figures and delicate lace accessories. This includes plastic and pottery containers at prices to suit all pockets. Order these to arrive the same time as when you have your flowers delivered Howard Park so you don't forget. It is vital to be well-prepared for any peak selling period. Arrangements of fabric flowers can be organized well in advance and stored ready for the great day. A window display will require no maintenance if made with fabric flowers (Comment on this)
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
12:02 pm	The last straw for flowers online Glycerine The most effective way to pre­serve foliage is to use a solu­tion of glycerine and water. This leaves foliage looking naturally moist and supple. Glyc­erine is also quite effective for preserving plants that become brittle when dry. Seedpods such as Chinese lanterns and flowers such as statice and baby's breath will benefit from this treatment. You can pur­chase glycerine from a chemi­cal supply company or a Charing Cross flower shop that sells chemical products. Pick plants that are unblemished and have not begun to show signs of autumn color. Glycerine is not easily absorbed into new growth or by plants that are too mature; for this reason it is best to choose foliage in its midseason or peak. Glycerine tends to turn leaves a darker green and oc­casionally it turns them a won­derful burgundy color. For example, I placed leucothoe into a glycerine solution con­tainer and was delighted with the resulting rich bronze color. A Bit of Background Let us look at some of the essential facts that are known about the lily and that govern its culture. Lilies come from the Northern Hemisphere and are found in Asia, Europe, and North America. Most of those now in our gardens and commonly sold are identical with these wild lilies. In fact, we can still call them wild lilies, for they breed true from seed and to the florist Maindy this is the earmark of a true species. In this characteristic the lilies are unique among our garden plants. Our daffodils and tulips, our iris and roses, our peonies and lilacs are all of hybrid origin. What gardener, except the inveterate collector or the student-specialist, would now plant a collection of wild roses or iris or poppies in his garden? Yet this is exactly what we have been asking garden­ers to do with lilies. Since the majority of the lilies we have known until recently are species (wild flowers identical with the lilies found in the wil­dernesses of Japan, China, India, Europe, and America), they are not especially adapted to garden use nor to frequent transplanting. Such rough handling and competition with other garden plants has not in the past been their lot. History of Roses Historical records indicate that wild roses were brought under cultivation in China about 5,000 years ago. By the time of the Han dynasties just before the Christian Era, rose gardens had become so popular that huge parks were devoted to them. It is said that land needed for agriculture was tied up, threatening food production and forcing the Emperor to order the destruction of some of the rose parks and to curtail rose culture in others. During this same period the Egyptians did a thriving business growing roses for the Romans, and according to some authorities shipped cut flowers to Rome via galley (how the flowers St Kilda could be kept fresh for the long trip across the Mediterranean remains a mystery). The Romans were so enamored of roses that they also supported large nurseries in the south of Italy, particularly at Paestum (near the present-day city of Salerno); one order from the Emperor Nero for cut flowers for a night’s feast reportedly ran up a bill totaling, in terms of modern currency, about $100,000. A Florist’s window display Ideas must be incorporated into the complete window display, not added as an afterthought. They must, in effect, form part of the overall balance, and while they are useful, they should not overshadow a display. It is helpful to keep a stock of accessories that can be changed from time to time to keep the display interesting. Never overdo the amount of accessories, or the window may look jumbled. Be adventurous and daring, and you will stop your customers in their tracks and entice them in to place a flower delivery Howard Beach order. I cannot over state the importance of having a good window display for a florist. He's done it again OK ladies, so the man in your life has been less than thoughtful lately and you've been giving him a hard time over it. Like all men, he turns to the floral solution and sends you the most beautiful bunch of flowers from a Upper Knowle florist. Great, it worked! So now you're probably thinking about how to make their firm petals and vibrant colors last for as long as possible. Well, you can make your gorgeous flowers last much longer if you follow the advice and tips contained within this blog. Most advice is just common sense, but there are always those little nuggets of golden information that will assist you in caring for your beautiful flowers. View your garden with a fresh mind Whether your garden is one you have created yourself or one you have taken over, it is a good idea occasionally to ask someone else to look at it with a fresh eye. A great friend who is an excellent gardener came to help me once, and every now and then would say something like ‘Why do you keep that old rose when it never really does anything?’ How right she was, but somehow I had never thought of getting rid of it and replacing it with a more attractive plant. This can often happen and is just one way in which you can improve your garden. My initial goal for the garden was to cut down on the number of flower delivery Castle Bromwich I was spending my money on. After a couple of years, and lots of hard work, my garden was producing the most beautiful flowers imaginable. Mother’s Day This is one of the most important, and busiest, occasions in the florist’s calendar. At Christmas, customers accept that arrangements will be sent out throughout the week preceding the event, but Mother’s Day arrangements must go out on the Saturday and Sunday, resulting in long working hours for florists and their drivers. Mother’s Day has evolved from the time when many people were in service and away from home. On just one day a year they were allowed to visit their families, the fourth Sunday in Lent being chosen because it marked the end of fasting, so families could celebrate and feast together. A florist Stoke Newington will sell flowers in many styles for Mother’s Day, from gift-wrapped bunches for mothers who enjoy arranging their own flowers, to handtied bunches, ready to be placed in a vase. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
12:29 pm	The first step to recovery for flower sellers Special Occasions Dried and fabric flowers come in a wealth of colours and textures, and when a long-lasting display is needed they are an ideal medium to use. Gone are the days of dusty faded arrangements; instead, vibrant but subtle colours are now achieved by freeze and kiln drying. An immense range of dried plant materials is now available, but it is important to keep them out of damp atmospheres, and bright direct sunlight must also be avoided as displays can fade badly. Fabric flowers are also available in every colour and most varieties. These days, they are so realistic that it is almost impossible to distinguish them from the real thing. Fabric and dried materials may either be mixed in a design or used separately. They can be displayed in a host of containers, including a heart frame, a foam- filled tray, a foam ring or a basket. The stems of the fabric and dried flowers, being hard and firm, can easily be pushed into the foam, though a glue gun may be used for extra security. Proprietary dust-repellent sprays may be used to protect and clean the materials. If looked after well, dried and fabric flowers will give pleasure and are an invaluable addition to the florists Newington repertoire. Purchasing Tips There are a few simple steps you should follow to make sure you get the best quality flowers. The main aim when buying flowers is simply to spot the bunch which is the freshest! By following these steps you can also make sure the flowers you buy, last as long as possible. Of course, if you buy from an experienced florist you can rely on them to provide you with good quality and freshness making purchasing so much easier and reliable for you. They can also provide you with specific care advice at home relating to the type of arrangement and the variety of flower. Buy 'inside' flowers Many retailers place flowers outside to advertise that they sell flowers. Don't buy these! Buy the flowers Dargaville that are inside the shop, out of the sun and away from potentially harmful car fumes. To make sure they last, most flowers should be kept in the cool and out of the sun. Some flowers can also be harmed by car exhausts, which contain ethylene gas. This gas speeds up flower wilting and drop in flowers like carnation, roses, orchids and waxflower. So it is best to choose flowers that are inside, away from these harmful conditions. Check the stem ends Turn the bunch upside down and have a good look at the cut stem ends. They should be green or white, and look freshly cut. Don't buy bunches with dark stem ends, or where the ends have split and are curling back, as these are signs of old flowers. Silk Bushes Silk bushes are available in many configurations from Apple Valley florists; as flowering plants or greenery with varying numbers of branches attached to one main stem. The branches usually vary in length, making the bush look realistic. Of course, the more branches on a plant stem, the more expensive it becomes; however, with more branches to work with, a more lush design can be made. A bush can be inserted as-is into a design, or cut into branches which are inserted individually. If the branches are to be spread to fill the base, cutting them off the stem is necessary. The branches and leaf sprigs should be shaped and spread apart to look realistic before attaching. Some bushes include more than one type of flower or plant, increasing the textures and colors. These can be fun to work with because the colors are already coordinated. In addition, they may be less expensive than individual stems since they’re grouped onto one stem. New baby Of all the special occasions that stand out in a busy and eventful life, none is more special, perhaps, than the birth of a child. And nothing proclaims the arrival of a newborn more joyfully than a gift of flowers. Indeed, many flowers resemble children in their open-faced purity, especially those sweet-natured ones with clusters of delicate, scented petals. Arrangements needn’t be complicated or time-consuming. A posy of specially chosen flowers, put together with thought and care, is far more meaningful than a huge cellophane-clad bouquet ordered over the phone (but don't tell your Paddington florist this of course). A Florist's Techniques The floristry industry has its own special techniques and skills, and it is essential that a good florist should possess the fundamental know-how to support and control all types of materials (flowers and foliage). A well-trained florist will produce designs that have a professional finish, achieved by discrete workmanship and well-concealed construction techniques. Only with practice, however tedious this may seem at times, can you acquire the necessary dexterity and expertise that will enable you to turn your creative ideas into successful finished designs. An understanding of the technical language used in the flower shop or workroom is also important, as many specialist terms, such as box pleating, taping and spiralling, are used. Being a successful Broomhill florist takes time and effort to master the necessary skills. Summer annuals These annuals as their name suggests, are not comfortable in the cold winter months so the ideal time to grow them is three weeks after the last spring frost. Since these annual flowers grow well in warm climates, you can expect to see them in all of their glory in the late spring and the warm months of summer. Just imagine strolling into your garden to pick some beautiful fresh blooms to place on your coffee table. If you can't be bothered to go to all of this trouble to grow your own flowers then you might want to just organise a flower delivery Hinckley in Victoria to meet your needs. Winter Protection Suckers harm a rose during the growing season. But more serious damage can come from winter's cold. There is no sight that brings more dismay to the heart of a florist Lisvane in the springtime than to find his plants blackened and shriveled by winter weather. It is a heart-rending experience, and an expensive one as well, to lose fine rosebushes simply because of the season's bluster. A rose grower's idea of paradise is a place where wintry winds never blow, but few such places are to be found in this country, and many of the most delightful roses are descended from tender species that are easily damaged by wind and frost. The extent of protection a rose needs depends not only on the kind of plant and the climate zone but may vary widely within a single neighborhood. One expert rose grower living in Hartford, Connecticut, reports that one of his climbing roses suffers little winter damage although it gets no protection except that offered by the shelter of his house, while in a park just a mile away, climbers of the same variety need heavy protection to survive. Any generality about winter protection requires many such qualifications. Starting Seed Indoors Many of the everlasting annual flowers take three months or more to flower when grown from seed. You can give them a jumpstart by planting them indoors in late winter. In my area I begin about Feb­ruary. Growing from seed is a time-consuming, yet truly rewarding, process. You must fol­low some simple steps to assure your success. Start by purchasing a good sterile pot­ting medium from a florist Tuebrook. This potting me­dium must be thoroughly moist, but not soaking wet. Place it in potting trays or individual plastic pots. Next, check your seed packages for the needs of the individual seed. Some larger seeds must be nicked or soaked before planting. Most of the larger seeds will need to be covered with about ¼ inch of the medium. However, some require light to germinate and need nothing but a gentle tamping onto the medium sur­face. After you have planted according to the packet direc­tions, spritz lightly with water and cover the tray or flat with a large plastic bag or plastic dome cover. Christmas tree decorations Traditionally decorated with multi-coloured lights and ornaments, the tree is now frequently colour-coordinated, to blend with the room decor of a private home or a business. A further development is the ‘theme tree’, decorated with ornaments and garlands representing themes such as a toy shop, Victorian times or a winter frost. The florist will not only offer a tree decorating service, but will arrange a complete floral decoration scheme for hotels, shops, business premises or private homes. Door garlands are covered later in this section; swags may decorate stairs or mantelpieces, with fresh and artificial foliage being given the designer touch by the addition of beautiful ribbons and Christmas novelties. Picks and sprays Each Christmas season witnesses a new theme added to the ‘pick’. Picks of foliage now include presents, birds and nests, fruit, nuts or musical instruments. Artificial sprays of flowers Greatwood, foliage, nuts and fruits look so natural that the customer often has difficulty in choosing. Further reading Thanks for reading the post, we hope you enjoyed these great flower facts and tips. If you're a florist, or looking to become one, you may also enjoy Florist Gold which has even more information for you. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
11:12 am	Remember the days before online flower delivery? Get well soon Flowers can convey a sense of deeply felt empathy so they make the perfect gift to let someone know your thinking of them. Ultimately what flowers you choose will come down to a personal decision but you should bare in mind the nature of the gift. If someone is just feeling a little unwell maybe some bright uplifting flowers will be most appropriate to lift the spirits. If the recipient is terminally ill or seriously unwell then maybe a more serene, delicate approach is called for from your Lodge Hill Florist. Choosing the right floral arrangement to send will require a little thought, but whatever you choose will be sure to lift the spirits of someone who is not feeling at their best. Gathering and Cutting Flowers The best time to pick flowers is in the morning, when their stems are filled with water and the plants are covered with dew. Take a pail of tepid water with you to the garden, along with sharp scissors, clippers, or a knife. Select only prime flowers: those that are just opening or have recently opened. Cut the stem on a slant or straight across; we've found it doesn't matter which, as long as the instrument is sharp and does not crush the stem tissue. Take stems as long as possible so that when you begin to arrange them, you have plenty to work with. Remove the bottom leaves so they won't pollute the water as they decompose. Immedi­ately place the cut flowers Battersea in the water, and store the pail and flowers in a cool place out of the sun until you are ready to use them. Flowers for dad Moms are so much easier when it comes to Mother's Day. Just invite the whole family over for a 5 course meal, do all the cooking and all the cleaning and let her sit back and enjoy the company without having to do any of the hosting or cooking or cleaning work. If you want, you can easily make her day with a visit to a luxurious spa. You can easily find something or someplace to pamper her and make her feel like a queen. Fathers can be relatively easy to find gifts for. If your dad is a techno-geek, an outdoorsman, a sports fanatic, or a home theater nut, there are countless gift ideas readily available at your nearest shopping mall. Just get him a car for his train set, a new computer gadget, a couple of tickets to the game, or the latest DVD. You can also plunk yourself down in front of your computer and find several gifts for him on the Internet. Even so, do any of these really show our fathers that we appreciate them? Fear not, for there are always alternatives to everything. Likewise, you can easily find other great gift ideas for your father, like plants and flowers. Not something that one usually associates with Father's Day, right? How many people give flowers and plants to their dads on Father's Day, or for any other special occasion, for that matter? But maybe for that reason, a flower delivery Campbelltown would be an ideal gift for that Dad who has everything else. Believe it or not, there are masculine plants and flowers that can symbolize the very things that we've decided are paternal qualities. You want an example? Take the sunflower for example--big and strong, its bright face like a shining symbol of hope in a dark place. Violets are great as well. Violets have long been associated with fidelity and trust as well as with sacrifice and devotion. Now those are gifts that any father would like. Nosegays Nosegays or tussie mussies are fun to create and make wonder­ful gifts if you would like to send flowers Whiteinch to someone you love. They can be made with fresh or dried flowers. A certain amount of stress will cause the dry stems to break. Caution should be taken when working with all dried material for this reason. For fresh flowers, use a selection of flowers that air-dry well. Collect the flowers one by one and hold them tightly in your hand while intertwining their stems in a crisscross pattern. When you are pleased with the combinations of color and textures, wrap the stems together with a rubber band or a piece of wire high up and close to the flower heads. If fresh flowers were used, hang the bouquet upside down until dry. After it is dry, it will be strong enough to stand up on a dresser or table without the support of a container. Before placing it on a table, tie a pretty ribbon or raffia around the rubber band. Tiny nosegays can also be used to decorate a narrow mantle or as favors on a dinner table. General aftercare advice Flower care is quite straightforward, provided these basic points are remembered: buy high quality flowers from a reliable supplier; use clean equipment; cut all stems with a sharp knife; use tepid water and a flower nutrient, and follow the correct cold storage procedures. Research into post-harvest care continues, alongside the development of new cultivars and improved methods of growing. Florists must keep informed of new techniques and methods of prolonging the life of cut flowers and foliages. Finally, consumer education will lead to longer lasting flowers. Aftercare advice and personal tips are generally welcomed by the public. Petal flowers, whether they take the form of a small bunch of daffodils or a large gift arrangement, should leave the shop with care instructions and flower food. The more customers see flowers as a good buy, the more flowers will become part of everybody’s weekly shop and we'll begin to see a regular flower delivery Burnage for everyone. Designs suitable for hospitals Hospital staff are very busy people, and by sending gift-wrapped flowers in cellophane you will increase their workload, as they will have to arrange the flowers. It is far more practical to send a hand tied bunch, which only needs to be placed in a vase of water. If an arrangement is to be sent, it is sensible to use a container large enough to hold a good quantity of water, so that staff are not having to top it up all the time. In any case, flowers transpire more and therefore use up far more water when in warm conditions than they do when the surroundings are cool. A good florist Brentwood Hills will always keep this in mind when arranging to send flowers to a hospital. The hospital staff will certainly thank you for it! Rose Arrangement From a single flower to a massed display of blooms, roses can provide beauty in a variety of arrangements and surroundings. Alone or combined with other flowers, they can be casual or formal, intimate or elegant, riotous or restrained. One thing roses seldom are, however, is long lasting; without care their beauty tends to be sweet but fleeting. To make roses last as cut flowers they must be picked while still in the budding stage, then plunged immediately into several inches of tepid water, preferably water that contains one of the cut-flower preservatives sold by Commerce florists and garden supply stores. These chemical compounds, containing both nutrients and antibacterial agents, can double the life of a rose arrange­ment. Stand the roses in a cool place for at least an hour to cut down the process of transpiration: the loss of moisture through petals and foliage. Then, just before arranging them, cut off any unwanted foliage and strip off all leaves that would fall below the water surface, where they might rot and foul the water. A special stripping tool facilitates this task and also removes another troublesome appendage: thorns. Trim off a fraction of an inch of stem to open a fresh water-absorbing surface, and place the rose in the container. To hold it in place use a commercial flower holder, such as a block of foam plastic or a needlepoint holder, or force a ball of crumpled chicken wire into the mouth of the container. Dried and Preserved Materials Dried and preserved flowers, twigs, branches, grasses, leaves, pods, vegetables and fruits are available in almost any Alvarado flower shop today. Rich with textures, these materials are important additions to most floral designs. Dried grasses and pods provide a natural look to designs, while baby's breath, caspia and German statice are great filler flowers, eliminating empty spaces within arrangements. Often silk arrangements need the addition of dried materials to help them look more realistic. Flowers and plants can be air-dried naturally, kiln-dried (which preserves more of the color), freeze-dried, processed with a desiccant such as silica gel, or preserved with glycerin or with chemicals. Air-dried flowers can be brittle; the stems of air-dried materials will snap when bent. Freeze drying flowers is a commercial process which involves the removal of moisture through deep freezing. Because natural colors are retained during this process, the flowers look fresh. Ribbed unit construction First prepare single flowers, leaves or ribbons. Small clusters of materials, such as berries or hydrangea florets, can also be wired together. Materials are then closely taped on a support wire, leaving no stems visible. A ribbed unit can either be formed with materials of the same type and colour, or with a combination of flowers, foliage, berries and ribbons. Materials can be graded in size, as for a branching unit. This ribbed construction is used in novelty designs, such as fans. It can, however, be made with materials of a similar size. Use this method for the garland or circlet headdress that is now fashionable for brides and bridesmaids. Natural unit construction Here, the materials — convallaria, muscari or ixia, for example — are left on the natural stem, and the stems are grouped and mounted for use in various types of wedding design. This type of unit is often used by florists Marine Park favouring European-style designs. How about this? Whilst we aim to provide you with a never ending supply of flower facts, you may like to check out Angel's Flower Facts if you want even more! You can never have too many tips and facts when you love flowers, or wish to have a career in the floral industry. 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Friday, March 19th, 2010
12:07 pm	Local florists all at sea White rose myths and legends There are plenty of myths and legends behind the white rose. As one myth has it, the first rose on Earth was a white rose, and it miraculously transformed to other hues. The pure white rose was said to have been tainted by blood, making it red; and it was also made to blush from a kiss, making it pink. Another myth came from the Ancient Greeks. It was said that roses were originally white until one day Aphrodite the Goddess of Love and Beauty pricked herself with the thorns of a rose. The blood that dripped from her finger turned the white roses red. Pretty strong stuff when all you really want to do is send flowers Ascot Vale West. These myths indicate the loss of innocence, which is the absolute opposite of what the white rose symbolizes – innocence and purity. Floral Corporation Mergers In a few sections there has been a merging of sales by corporations. Notable examples are the Hill Floral Products Company of Richmond, Indiana, and the United States Floral Products Company of Elmira, New York. These large concerns dispose of the products of many small growers in the locality, designating to some extent what each florist Devonport shall produce, so as to avoid market gluts of some types of flowers and a scarcity of others. Competition and consequent cutting of prices by the growers have been obviated to the mutual advantage of all concerned and the florist business as a whole. Which Colour? When choosing flowers to include in a flower delivery Streetly, customers often ask for the recipient’s favourite colour, but if they do not know this they may ask the florist for advice. If the flowers are to celebrate the birth of a boy or girl, this is easy, as it is normal to send pink for a girl and either blue or yellow for a boy. Blue flowers are sometimes difficult to acquire, and blue ribbon is used as a substitute. Yellow and orange flowers always look bright and cheerful, while red makes the room look warm. White, cream and blue flowers are restful, and a good choice for someone who is very ill. It is also helpful to find out for whom the flowers are being bought; men seem to prefer bright strong colours, such as reds, burgundy and rusts, whereas older ladies like mauves, lilacs and pastel colours. Children seem to prefer bright colours. Go for something different Flowers such as zinnia, tall phlox, peony, foxglove, sunflowers and others will be fresher than those that have been shipped long distances to a retail florist. You may find flowers that you love, but never realized were available as a cut flower. Always do your homework first, that is the golden rule here. If the flowers arrive on your wedding day and are not what was expected, then its too late to do anything about it. Finding a reputable local florist to fulfill your flower delivery Pendlebury can be easier than you think. Check the local telephone directory and do some internet searches. They can give you names of florists in your area. Local farmers markets are also a great place to locate a local flower grower. A pretty flower - Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) Characteristics: Black-eyed Susan is a showy, daisy like native American perennial often found in natural meadows and along roadsides. It provides wonderful garden color all summer long. Black-eyed Susans make long lasting cut flowers. Their range of petal colors includes yellow, orange, red and bronze. When the petals fall off, they leave a dark, attractive cone-shaped center. This dark core is excellent for use in dried arrangements. Rudbeckia hirta 'Gloriosa Daisy' has profuse displays of large blooms up to 5 inches across on 3-foot stems. Cultural Information: Plant black-eyed Susan 2 feet apart in average, well-drained soil. Divide the clumps in spring or autumn every four years. Dividing will ensure a more robust production of blooms. These tolerant plants will grow in poor soil and can withstand rough handling if Morningside Circle flower delivery is being used for shipment. Harvesting/Drying: You can harvest black-eyed Susan at any time during its development. Just decide what size center you want to dry. Remove the petals and hang up the centers to dry. If you prefer, simply allow the flowers to mature on the stems and harvest later. The individual petals can be pressed and then reattached to the core with glue before mounting on a board. Love these flowers series - Cyclamen The large-flowered cyclamens, whose bright 2- to 4-inch blossoms beckon through Jenny Lind florists windows during the winter months, are well known to most gardeners, but not everyone is as familiar with the charming little wild, or species, cyclamens that may be grown in gardens throughout most of the country. Compared to their hot-house sisters, these species could be called miniatures because they grow only 4 to 5 inches tall, bearing ¾- to 1-inch butterfly like flowers in shades of pink or white. Cyclamens are native to the islands and shores of the Mediterranean. In this country they blossom, according to their species, in spring or fall. In Zone 9 spring-flowering species come into blossom from January through March; elsewhere they open in April and May. Fall-flowering species bloom for four to six weeks, beginning as early as August in warmer areas and lasting into October in cooler regions. Flowers of every species bloom for many weeks. Most species lose their foliage for a brief period each year, usually in midsummer. A beautiful flower - Astilbe (garden spirea) Characteristics: The delicate flowering plumes of astilbe are a welcome addition to any gar­den. Few plants can rival as­tilbes for grace, charm and reliability. A wide range of heights and colors are now available from a florist Maghull. The tiny Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila', a handsome low-growing groundcover; grows to 12 inches and has soft lavender-pink plumes. A. simplici­folia 'Sprite' has cotton-candy pink plumes arching 16 inches above lacy, dark green foliage. 'Deutschland' sends up 18-inch white plumes that glow in se­mi-shady spots or at twilight. A. arendsii, false goat's beard, is the tallest one at 2 to 3 feet. Plant several different varieties to extend the bloom from early July into September. Astilbe plumes are good for cutting and drying. Harvesting/Drying: If you would like lovely soft pinks and whites for your arrangements, remember to harvest astilbes just before full bloom. Air-dry the pink- and rose-colored varieties; these usually hold their color best. The white plumes tend to turn cream-colored when dried. Try drying in a desiccant if you wish to keep the soft, natural colors. If, however, you are aiming for an autumn-colored arrangement, allow the flower heads to air-dry on the stalks and harvest in late summer. The earthy tones of the late summer astilbe combine perfectly with seedpods and the soft beige of hydrangea flowers. They make wonderful flowers for drying because their sturdy stems do not require wiring. Alba Roses Albas are often associated with the White Rose of York, made famous in England's Wars of the Roses. The Rosa alba, cultivated in Europe since 100 A.D. or before, may well have been York's emblem al­though the earliest record of albas actually growing in England is from 1597, 112 years after the wars ended. These roses resist disease and are extremely hardy, thriving in cool climates without winter pro­tection. They grow on dense bushes 5 to 8 feet tall, in delicate shades of pink or white. The flow­ers Plasnewydd are medium sized and range from five to 45 petals, depending on the variety; they are borne in clusters on stout, green, thorny canes with dusty, gray-green foliage. Albas bloom once, for about a month, in late spring or early summer. Most types have a hyacinth­like fragrance. Their hips are large, long and scarlet. Choosing Flowers Flowers used for floral designs are classified according to their function in an arrangement. To achieve a spectacular look, it is important to choose flowers which complement each other. Consider colors, textures, sizes and shapes of flowers and materials which will go into the design. Mass or focal flowers are heavy blossoms, such as cabbage roses or sunflowers, or clusters of smaller blossoms, such as hydrangeas and lilacs. They fill large areas and usually are the focus of the design because their mass draws the eye. Small flowers, such as daisies, violets or dried starflowers, function as mass flowers when they are grouped and perceived as a single unit. Line flowers are long, narrow flowers or materials, such as snapdragons, larkspur, wheat or even bare twigs. These materials pull the eye through the design, allowing the viewer to discover the elements. It’s important that the line flowers lead the eye through the design, rather than out of it. When a long flower stem is curved away form a wreath, the eye will follow that line off the wreath, interrupting the viewer’s concentration. Filler flowers are small, airy materials which fill empty spaces within a design. Berries, dried caspia and baby’s breath are a few of the many types of filler flowers Douglaston available. They become a background for the focal flowers and, by filling those empty spaces, prevent any disruptions of the viewer’s path through the design. Additional information If you love flowers as much as we do you may also enjoy Flower Fact File. Another blog dedicated to bringing you the very best florist information on the internet. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
2:10 pm	Make mine a fresh bouquet of flowers please! Picking the right flower for the occasion Lilies, roses and orchids are great romantic gift ideas, but there are many others out there that can also add that special spark. A daisy is a simple statement for love. They come in white or yellow and have a yellow center. A gardenia is a white flower with dark green leaves. Lilacs are great flowers to send someone. They have stalks with many white or lavender flowers. No matter which flower delivery Coburg you ultimately decide to send, you’re bound to leave a lasting impression and get into those good books. Flowers are a common symbol for love and can express the deepest emotions of your relationship. Hopefully, by sending a special flower bouquet, your love will stand the test of time! Charitable flowers If you want to experience that warm feeling of having given to someone less privileged, this could be for you. Giving from your heart never felt so good! A project that is now recognised internationally on the world wide web just for that reason. It seems very easy, give flowers and some of the money goes to charity. Couldn’t be easier…. There are currently hundreds of participating florists from all over the world who are generously giving back something to the community. In NSW and other parts of Australia your local reseller of flowers Marlborough will have all the details you need to be a part of this very worthy venture. Flowers and Weddings Ever wondered why weddings and flowers are so intrinsically linked? Well think of flowers and you think fresh, growth, blooming, spring time etc. All terms that could equally apply to a marriage, a fresh start, a new life, and relationship growth. A new beginning is exactly what a wedding is. A new marriage has always been compared to springtime which then makes sense that flowers from spring should grace the wedding. Even if you are getting married in the middle of winter, a good reseller of flowers Kensington will be able to provide you with some beautiful spring flowers. After all, it will be spring somewhere in the world, right? Flower Deliveries Ensure that deliveries are carried out in a respectful and professional manner — there should be no impression of a last-minute rush. Containers should not leak, and designs must be stable and well balanced. Pollen stains are difficult to eradicate, so stamens should be removed from lilies. Prickly and sharp foliages should be avoided, as they make tributes tiresome and difficult for funeral directors to handle. Keep to these simple rules when organising your next flower delivery Richmond upon Thames and you'll be well on the way to becoming a successful florist. A Chaplet A chaplet is a design often requested for men and women who have served in the forces, and immediately brings to mind images of military memorial services. In Greek and Roman times, the laurel chap- let was not only used at funerals but was also presented in the same way that we would now award a medal for outstanding performance. A victorious hero would wear wreaths around his neck, and the chaplet would be placed on his head. Even today, a foliage chaplet or wreath is still given to the winner of a motor race. The base of a chaplet can be massed in flowers or foliage, and the cluster can either be placed opposite the point or to one side, asymmetrically. Ensure that it is packaged carefully prior to getting the flowers delivered Shirehampton to avoid damage. Wedding Flowers In the last hundred years, the wedding ceremony and bridal clothes have crystallized into a set of formal conventions, but within these limitations, there are still changes in fashion. The most popular colours for a wedding dress remain white, cream or ivory, while the bride’s attendants are often dressed in shades of pink, blue, green, yellow and peach. The style of bridal bouquets changes to mirror the era, varying from the large Edwardian bouquets of smilax, roses and carnations, to the sheaves of lilies carried over the arm in the 1930s, or the small stiff formal bouquets of the 1960s. In celebration of a united Europe, the European style of bouquet is now popular with many brides. This is smaller and more compact than the traditional British style. However it should not be formal and stiff, but have an elegance and movement. To create successful wedding designs, it is essential for a Dudley florist to maintain an enlightened, receptive mind, willing to experiment with new ideas and concepts. Line and Form Line is the visual path established by the floral materials through the arrangement. A static line remains inside the form of the design following the width, length or depth without providing any unusual movement within the design. A dynamic line provides continuous movement within a design; it is active and displays an unusual element, such as a curving line within a triangular arrangement. Form is established by the appearance of a design of flowers Adamsdown. The visible width, height and depth define the form. A “closed form,” such as a wreath, is a solid, compact design. An “open form” has spreading and radiating parts with air or empty space among the materials. Planting Depths for Summer Bulbs If you plant your bulbs too deep, they will exhaust themselves trying to reach the surface; if you plant them too shallow, they may dry out or be killed by frost. For a true bulb, such as a lily, or a corm, such as the gladiolus, the general rule of thumb is to plant so the bulb is covered with soil equal in depth to approximately three times the bulb's maximum diameter (measured from the surface of the soil to the shoulder, not the tip, of the bulb). But many summer bulbs are not true bulbs or corms, and exceptions to the rule exist even among those that are, so that proper planting depths vary considerably, as indicated in the charts that can be obtained from a florist Everton that show depths for many of the most common summer-flowering types. The fleshy rhizomes of the agapanthus, for instance, should be set upright just beneath the surface of the soil. The tubers of the glory lily, on the other hand, should lie horizontally and be covered with 4 to 5 inches of soil. Specific planting depths for other bulbs are listed in flower encyclopedias. In very heavy clay soil plant the bulbs an inch or two shallower than specified, in very light sandy soil an inch or two deeper. But stay within this range or you will run a risk of getting no flower at all. Improvement of Flower Crops To understand the factors that concern the soil and its fertility, a knowledge of chemistry and geology is necessary. Botany, or that phase of it which treats of the normal functions of the plant, known as plant physiology, is especially important. Plant pathology, which deals with diseases, is equally important. All plant-growers should have some knowledge of entomology that they may understand the structure and habits of insects and thus be prepared to combat successfully their attacks. Among the factors that have contributed to betterment of quality of florist La Grange crops are the following: improvement in greenhouse construction; improvement in varieties of standard crops through plant-breeding; more efficient and better educated growers, especially the present-day tendency towards specialization; better methods of marketing; the demand for better quality in flowers and plants by the buying public; the demand for novelties; flower exhibitions and the advancement of scientific research. Additional information If you love flowers as much as we do you may also enjoy Flower Files. Another blog dedicated to bringing you the very best florist information on the internet. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
12:32 pm	Jetting off in search of fresh flowers Unusual flowers - Gomphrena globosa (globe amaranth) Characteristics: Gomphrena has an attractive, clover like flower head. The flowers appear throughout the summer in white, pink, rose, reddish purple and orange. Gomphrena looks good in cutting gardens, formal borders and containers. For container growing, plant the dwarf variety 'Buddy', which grows to 9 inches. Pots of Gomphrena can be found in a Bower Ashton flower shop, but they are often brought into a greenhouse as cold weather approaches. The flowers will continue for a long time, after which you can cut back and start fertilizing. When weather permits, you can bring them outside to start re blooming. The flowers are useful in both fresh and dried arrangements. Cultural Information: Gomphrena will grow in average, well-drained soil. This hardy annual tolerates both drought and heat. Harvesting/Drying: To maintain strong color, it is best to harvest Gomphrena flowers when they are fully opened. Gomphrena can be picked late in the season, but some color fading may occur. Hang to air-dry. The positivity of flowers Flowers are just flowers right? Well not according to some new research which has found that flowers have a knack of sparking positive emotions in all of us. Some fancy pants academics at The State University of New Jersey now claim that fresh flowers are a simple, cost effective way to improve our emotional health. They’re also a great way of getting us out of the proverbial (am I right guys, mm?). Fresh flowers have the ability to release positive emotions such as happiness, contentment and instil a calming influence. I guess the researchers didn’t interview the poor guy that pays for them. My suspicion levels start to increase when I hear this kind of thing. Maybe the researchers are being funded by some florist organistaion? Well if this research is to be believed, I’m sure there will be a sharp increase in trade for your average Central London florist. The Bulbs That Bloom in the Spring In some centuries of their colorful history, bulbs have been used for flavorings and medicines, traded for high prices and emblazoned on the banners of royalty, but for thousands of years they have been grown above all for their beauty in gardens. Flower delivery Port Melbourne makes it easy to send and receive their beauty. And of all bulbs the spring-flowering ones own a special place in the hearts of garden­ers: they bring the first welcome burst of color that signals the end of winter's cold, wet months. Country newspapers still hail the ap­pearance of the first crocus on their editorial pages; city dwellers see early snowdrops in the park and begin to think of picnics and va­cations that lie ahead. A little later, the northward surge of spring can be measured by the bright tide of daffodils that sweeps across the land. By February, sometimes earlier, they have begun to blos­som in the South and West; in March the white and yellow blooms have reached Virginia, Missouri and northern California; in April the Northeast and Northwest are greeting their trumpetlike blooms together with the return of songbirds. By early May the golden chain of daffodils stretches clear across the continent from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. Substituting Dried Materials If a certain dried flower or grass is unavailable from Braidfauld florists, look at the material in a design photo and find one which is similar in texture and blossom or head size. For instance, fillers such as gypsophila, rice grass, baby’s breath and caspia can easily substitute for each other because they have similar characteristics: small flowers or seeds which will extend equally well among the larger components of the arrangement. If the product is bulky or heavy, then substitute a product of similar weight. Or try adding an unusual product for a completely new and adventurous look. Many times silk flowers can substitute for drieds. Silk baby’s breath comes in different colors and is easy to add into an arrangement which originally calls for dried baby’s breath. There are many latex fruits, pods and vegetables which are great substitutes for dried pods. The advantage to using silk and latex pieces is their longevity. They don’t shatter like dried materials, allowing the arrangements to remain beautiful for a longer period of time. Flower container choices You will find copper containers very useful for berries, bronze-coloured chrysanthemums and dahlias in the autumn. Glass or silver for roses, cow parsley and gypsophila; these light, delicate flowers show at their best in glass, and are fragile and cool-looking on a summer’s day. Blue and red glass are both most effective, blue filled with delphiniums, red with brilliant, vibrant red colours. A wooden box or bowl looks lovely with bright orange and yellow marigolds and it is also excellent for showing off the subtle tones and hues of dried materials. I usually search the house first for containers before purchasing from the Ardwick florist. Try to make the container part of the arrangement so that it blends with the flowers and does not stick out like a sore thumb. If you have nice porcelain, then picking up the colourings of the pattern of the china can also be very rewarding. A vegetable dish from your dinner service makes an ideal dinner table centre-piece, similarly the soup tureen or a sauce-boat can look superb. They all blend so well together when the table is set with the same china. Space and Texture Space refers to the area within the design. Positive space is the area which is occupied by materials, either one piece or a mass of pieces. Negative space is the area between flowers in an open design. If the design consists only of positive space (for example, a mass of flowers filling the entire design), more emphasis is placed on the form or color, while negative space puts emphasis on the separate elements. This centerpiece incorporates negative space between the upper vines and the wreath as an element of the design. This space is important and establishes the feeling of openness. Texture is achieved by varying the types of materials in a design. The viewer’s eye will stay within the design longer, exploring the changing textures. Even something as simple as having flowers delivered Franklin Hills with contrasting textures, ribbons of different materials, and bases with interesting textures makes a design more attractive, providing they complement the arrangement as a whole. Florist care in winter When buying outdoor seasonal materials, watch for signs of damage from diseases or pests. Insects will also find homes in the centres of dahlias. Avoid cold winds when transporting autumn and winter flowers from the market to the shop. Designs can suffer from cold burn just going from shop to van, so it is essential to wrap and pack with care. Display flowers outside the florist shop only on mild days, selecting those that have protective wraps whenever possible. Daffodils can generally withstand relatively low temperatures, but even they will suffer in bitingly cold winds. Also take care to protect the flowers from severe winds when getting the flowers delivered Long Beach to the customer. Lines within your floral design Lines are visual paths, created by flowers, foliage or accessories, which the eye follows so they appear to have visual movement, which is called rhythm. The lines may be straight, curving, simple, bold or gentle; they may have vertical, horizontal or diagonal movement, and the visual effect of this can be fast or slow. Ways of creating lines Indirect lines are formed by a graded sequence of flowers, foliage types or accessories, and a line of this type is built up by placing materials on different levels, usually in vertical or diagonal lines. Horizontal lines should he avoided, as they tend to cut a design in half visually. Indirect lines link the outline and focal point line, and also fill in gaps, so that the design created by the Sulphur Springs florist looks attractive from all angles. A direct line appears where the line is visually solid. Materials that can be used to create a direct line include contorted willow (curving lines), Phormium tenax (straight lines), and trails of hedera or paper ribbon tubing. Exotic flowers Strange and unusual shapes, strong vibrant colours and interesting names characterize exotic flowers. Many of these are now imported from such diverse countries as New Guinea, the West Indies, Singapore, South Africa and Hawaii. In general, exotic flowers have a long vase life, a crucial factor when you consider the huge distances that some of them must cover in order to reach their destinations. The use of air freight, efficient packaging and increasingly skilful and scientific post- harvest techniques means that these flowers and other plant materials are transported much faster than they used to be, and will therefore last even longer. The art of flower delivery Carnegie Hill certainly has come on leaps and bounds in the last five to ten years. Additional information If you love flowers as much as we do you may also enjoy Flower Heaven. Another blog dedicated to bringing you the very best florist information on the internet. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
10:54 am	A stimulating weekend for flowers Rose Arrangement From a single flower to a massed display of blooms, roses can provide beauty in a variety of arrangements and surroundings. Alone or combined with other flowers, they can be casual or formal, intimate or elegant, riotous or restrained. One thing roses seldom are, however, is long lasting; without care their beauty tends to be sweet but fleeting. To make roses last as cut flowers they must be picked while still in the budding stage, then plunged immediately into several inches of tepid water, preferably water that contains one of the cut-flower preservatives sold by Eliza Heights florists and garden supply stores. These chemical compounds, containing both nutrients and antibacterial agents, can double the life of a rose arrange­ment. Stand the roses in a cool place for at least an hour to cut down the process of transpiration: the loss of moisture through petals and foliage. Then, just before arranging them, cut off any unwanted foliage and strip off all leaves that would fall below the water surface, where they might rot and foul the water. A special stripping tool facilitates this task and also removes another troublesome appendage: thorns. Trim off a fraction of an inch of stem to open a fresh water-absorbing surface, and place the rose in the container. To hold it in place use a commercial flower holder, such as a block of foam plastic or a needlepoint holder, or force a ball of crumpled chicken wire into the mouth of the container. How to Grow Achimenes Achimenes do best outdoors in light shade and indoors in bright indirect or curtain-filtered sunlight, and also thrive with 14 to 16 hours a day of artificial light from the special fluorescent lamps used for house plants. Night temperatures of 65° to 70° and day temperatures of 75° or higher are ideal. Pot in a mixture of 2 parts peat moss to 1 part packaged potting soil and 1 part sharp sand or perlite, with ground limestone added at a rate of 3 to 5 ounces per bushel. Plant the rhizomes in late winter or early spring, covering them with ½ to 1 inch of soil. Keep moist and feed monthly during the growing season with a standard house-plant fertilizer purchased from a Henderson flower shop. After flowering, the plants should be allowed to die down to the soil. Leave the dormant rhizomes in the pot or sift them out and store in dry vermiculite, peat moss or perlite. Keep them at 60° from October through February. Special occasions The very words ‘special occasion’ often elicit a sensation of complete paralysis. Uttered in a supercilious tone, the phrase conjures up visions of media-blitz photo opportunities — a society wedding, perhaps, or a formal dinner party that would put royalty to shame. But this need not be the case. Special occasions are just that: occasions made special in ways that surprise and delight. And what better way to celebrate such an occasion than with a bunch of flowers delivered Rocklin to your door? Additional touches, such as a dainty adornment or length of ribbon, will turn your floral offering into a special gesture. Because they articulate heartfelt sentiments, certain days of the year — such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day — have become synonymous with floral gifts. But any day or occasion can be made special with flowers: the birth of a new baby, perhaps, or an informal drinks party for friends. Any time you feel the need to celebrate! Roadside Treasures In your search for new and different materi­als, don't forget to search your roadsides and fields. Nature provides a wealth of plant materi­als to be used in dried arrangements and bou­quets. You will be delighted with many of the roadside treasures. (When collecting in the wild, remember that you should never deplete the roadside flowers. Leave at least a dozen be­hind, and use care not to disturb the roots. This way you will ensure their future beauty.) Every season holds its own special dried treats. After the flowers fade, many plants retain seedpods and seed heads that are unusual, in­teresting and beautiful in arrangements to be used for Stepney flower delivery, which has become very popular in recent years. The art of flower drying has advanced rapidly over this century and there are new techniques to help retain the lasting beauty of flowers. I suggest you start with the simplest technique: air-drying. Once you have mastered air-drying, you may decide to try your hand at more in­volved drying techniques. Using these methods, you can produce a dried flower that looks as fresh as the day it was picked. Colour and fragrance in the garden The new choices for easy-to-grow flowers and/or foliage are the Drift shrub roses, Baby Wing Begonia and Easy Wave Beachcomber petunias which create an oasis of colour without having to do too much work in the garden. Also, Bahama Bay hibiscus gives you the color and feel of a tropical paradise without ever having to leave your own backyard. Colour and fragrance abounds when the right mix of flowers and shrubs is achieved. If you want to recreate that beautiful fragrant smell of a florist shop packed to the rafters with flowers St Pauls, roses are an excellent choice. Flower Deliveries Ensure that deliveries are carried out in a respectful and professional manner — there should be no impression of a last-minute rush. Containers should not leak, and designs must be stable and well balanced. Pollen stains are difficult to eradicate, so stamens should be removed from lilies. Prickly and sharp foliages should be avoided, as they make tributes tiresome and difficult for funeral directors to handle. Keep to these simple rules when organising your next flower delivery Redditch and you'll be well on the way to becoming a successful florist. Planting Depth for Roses Every plant has an optimum root depth that is set by the way the roots developed when the plant was first propagated. If the plant is transplanted to a considerably greater depth, the air supply that the roots need will be lessened by the deeper planting; they smoth­er and die just as trees do when a lawn-grading operation piles dirt up too high around the trunks. The key to proper planting depth for most roses is the knucklelike knot of wood on the main stem, the bud union that appears on hybrid teas, floribundas, grandiflo­ras and many climbers. It is at this point that an upper plant, chosen for its superior flowers Cyncoed, was joined to the understock of a species of wild rose having a big, rugged root system. When a bare-root bush is being planted, the bud union should be located at the garden's nor­mal ground level if you live in a moderate climate (Zones 6-7). Northern gardeners (Zones 3-5) set their plants so that the bud union, which is very vulnerable to harm from cold, is located 1 to 2 inches below the surface. Southern gardeners (Zones 8-10), hav­ing little concern about cold weather, position the bud union about 1 to 2 inches above the surface, where sunlight stimulates a large number of canes to appear near the bud union, so that the plant becomes bushy faster. Preserving in silica gel This method is used very much more in the United States than in Britain because American houses and apartments are kept at a constant heat and at a very much higher temperature. And it is for this reason that the beautiful displays they arrange of these treated flowers look as good after a few months as they did when first arranged. Sadly, in my old cottage it is very hard to keep the rooms sufficiently warm and damp-free to prevent flowers preserved in this way from fading and losing all their lovely colour. The boxes in which you preserve them must be kept at 15.6° (60°F) at least while the drying is taking place. If you can manage this then it is well worth a try as the results are really beautiful - and more satisfying than having your flowers delivered Netherton. First of all take a large box with a lid and in the bottom put a layer of silica gel powder which you can get from a garden centre. You have to put a wire in each flower head, though it need only be a short one as you can add a longer wire later on. Take, for example, a fully open rose, zinnia, dahlia (not too many petals) or marigold and place on a layer of silica gel bending the stem so that the flower head is looking at you. Then sift on more powder until the whole of each flower is submerged. Sometimes it is easier to place the flower head face down but you must be sure the powder gets right under the petals. Place the lid on the box and put it in a warm place, such as a linen cupboard or boiler house. As I have already mentioned the boxes must be kept at a constant heat of at least 15.6° (60°F) while the drying is going on. This will take at least thirty-six hours. Stems of delphiniums, larkspur and American dogwood dry extremely well, but you need a very large box and a great deal of powder for these stems. Ideal for this method are flowers for small arrangements and pictures — little pieces of forget-me-not, helleborus, snowdrops, primroses, violets, crocus and the like which all preserve beautifully. A Florist’s window display Ideas must be incorporated into the complete window display, not added as an afterthought. They must, in effect, form part of the overall balance, and while they are useful, they should not overshadow a display. It is helpful to keep a stock of accessories that can be changed from time to time to keep the display interesting. Never overdo the amount of accessories, or the window may look jumbled. Be adventurous and daring, and you will stop your customers in their tracks and entice them in to place a flower delivery Indian Hills order. I cannot over state the importance of having a good window display for a florist. Additional information If you love flowers as much as we do you may also enjoy Angel's Flower Facts. Another blog dedicated to bringing you the very best florist information on the internet. (Comment on this)