Flowers UK London

Five of the most common reasons people send flowers are to say thank you, I’m sorry, congratulations, get well and  express sympathy.

* Thank You
Ask your florist for an arrangement conveying a casual, hand-picked feeling, to say thank you with a very personal touch. In addition to a beautiful statement of thanks, the accompanying note card can say everything that is too hard to say in person.

* I’m Sorry
Flowers are the traditional gift to get out of the doghouse because they easily make the statement, “I was wrong.” To apologize with sincerity, ask your florist for a nostalgic arrangement, using a blend of delicate warm and cool lavenders and pinks. Having opened the door to forgiveness, follow the delivery up with a phone call.

* Congratulations
A bouquet of bold, contrasting colors is a fun-loving, playful way to say “Congratulations,” “Welcome home,” or “Great job.” You can even get creative with the container. For example, if a friend just got a new job, ask your florist to put the bouquet in a fun coffee mug or desk tidy.

* Sympathy
It’s never easy comforting someone who has lost a loved one, but flowers can say what is often difficult to ex press in words. Flowers are usually sent to the funeral home to provide warmth and beauty to the service. If a service is not planned, experts recommend sending condolences to the bereaved person’s home.

* Get Well
Choose a serene color scheme of light shades of green, misty blues and other cool hues to provide a moment of calm and let someone who is ill know you’re thinking of them. When sending flowers to a hospital, it’s helpful to have the name of the hospital, the patient’s name and room number ready for your florist. It’s also good to know the hospital’s flower policy as some hospitals accept no fresh flowers, only fruit or other gifts.

An Edinburgh botanist has just been honoured by the Saudi government for decades of conservation work in the country. He is now nicknamed Florist of Arabia.
Tony Miller, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s specialist on the flora of Arabia, was presented with a honorary plaque from Prince Bander Bin Saud Bin Mohammad, on behalf of the country’s National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD).

The ornate centrepiece is a model of the head of an Arabian Oryx, a species of antelope saved from extinction and now increasing in numbers, thanks to a successful breeding and conservation programme.

Mr Miller is currently advising NCWCD on several conservation projects in Saudi Arabia, and is liaising with Arabian plant and wildlife specialists to help develop plans to preserve wildlife in its natural habitats and to assist with the establishment of protected areas and reserves.

He has also worked on establishing a detailed database of local plants, and listing the most endangered species to ensure their protection.

On receiving the award he said: “I feel very honoured to have been given this award in recognition of the extensive research I have undertaken into the flora of Saudi Arabia. It is a vast and very diverse country with around 3500 plant species. I am pleased myself and colleagues at RBGE will be involved in the exciting work that NCWCD.”

Mr Miller is working on the project with fellow botanist Dr Sabina Knees, RBGE’s researcher on the flora of Arabia and their colleagues Sophie Neale and Matt Hall.

He was also instrumental in putting together the “Soqotra : Land of the Dragon’s Blood Tree” which recently opened in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a. The exhibition focuses on the islands which lie in the Gulf of Aden between the Horn of Africa and Arabia, and in particular the strange super-sized succulent trees which scientists now believe may hold important clues about the ecology of the entire Mediterranean and Middle-eastern region.

The exhibition was first premiered at RBGE in 2006, where its first visitors were Prince Charles and Camilla.

RBGE director of science professor Mary Gibby, who joined Mr Miller at the exhibition’s opening in Saudi Arabia, said: “Tony is leading a very productive research programme on the flora of the Arabian peninsula and for over 25 years has been working actively with biologists, conservationists and government officials to raise knowledge and understanding.

“His expertise and these collaborations are helping to secure the long-term conservation of Important Plant Areas in the region.

“I welcome the recognition of his work by Prince Bander Bin Saud Bin Mohammad.'’
via Flowerweb 07-29-2008

All throughout the UK the Flower Show season is upon us!

Check your local press and you might be lucky enough to find a flower show  near you this weekend.
Shows can include displays by dogs, archery, clowns and stiltwalkers; sales of bric-a-brac ; funfairs; crafts but always important is the main flower growing competition.

Local rivalries can burn on for years over who has the better dahlias or sweetpeas, best pot plant display or best floral arrangement. There is never any valuable prizes, just the glory of victory.

And what is there for us non-competitors? A fine day out in summer with plenty to do and see!

Flowers are a great gift for a new mother.

The day after Angelina Jolie’s twins were born, she received another special delivery: Flowers from each of her children!

Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, and 2-year-old Shiloh (accompanied by proud dad Brad Pitt) each handed mom a single flower, much to the joy of hospital staff at Fondation Lenval in Nice, France.

“It was a blessed sight,” one staffer says in the newest issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.

“I had a lump in my throat,” the staffer adds.

Still no official world on when Jolie will leave the hospital.

When she does, she’ll have plenty of flowers to brighten up the family’s $70 million rented house in nearby Miraval, France.

In addition to the blossoms brought by her kids, the actress received so many bouquets that hospital staff had to store them in her security guards’ rooms.

The history of the iris flower is very rich and varied. In Greek mythology, Iris was the Queen of the gods’ (Hera’s) personal messenger. She was also the embodiment of the rainbow.  Her swift wings we renowned for their speed and she had the uncanny ability to be where she was mostly needed at the right time.

Ancient Egyptian kings marveled in the iris’s exotic nature, and drawings have been found of the flower in a number of Egyptian palaces and tombs. These flowers were used as adornments for the war chariots of heroes and were given as gifts to lovers and gods.

During the middle Ages, the meaning of irises became linked to the French monarchy, as the Fleur-de-lis (stylized design of the iris) eventually became the recognized national symbol of France. From their earliest years in Europe, irises were used to make perfume as well as medicinal remedies.

Today, they are mostly seen in gardens, in bouquets, and in the wild all over the world. The flower which bears the name of the Greek goddess can be used in bouquets and arrangements to convey a special message to your loved one and appear just when she/he needed it most. 

Flowers are a popular way of expressing one’s love and devotion for a person. They are also a much appreciated way of sending one’s best wishes for a speedy recovery.

In ancient times, flowers were thought to have magical powers and healing properties. Some flowers were thought to have been created from the blood of gods and goddesses. Such blossoms were revered and seen as magical incarnations of the deity.

Even though some of those so called miraculous properties were rather exaggerated and disproportionate, beautiful flowers are a wonderful way of drawing a big smile from the recipient and brightening their day!

Feeling more cheerful is halfway to recovery!

Long ago, in the Golden age of the Hellenic period lived a beautiful youth: Narcissus. His beauty and grace broke many hearts and despairing sighs followed him wherever he went. His cruelty towards his admirers caused them to curse him and wish he fall in love with someone as inaccessible as he was to others and suffer the curse of unrequited love.

 Those curses were granted when Narcissus caught a glimpse of himself in a pool and fell hopelessly in love with his remote reflection. The myth tells of Narcissus’ death at the pool for he could not quench his thirst for fear of shattering his own image into thousands of pieces.

 Seeing his lifeless body lying by the pool, the gods of the Olympus took pity on this beautiful youth and decided to elevate his body into a beautiful flower which bears his name.

 Till this day, the Narcissus is a symbol of unrequited love and self admiration. Why not send a bouquet composed with these poetic flowers to your special lady?  

In ancient legends the demigods, often the children of a god and a human woman, were used in many tales. Some were the personifications of flowers …

Hyacinth was a beautiful youth beloved by the god Apollo The two took turns throwing the discus until Apollo, to impress his beloved, threw it with all his might. Hyacinth ran to catch it, to impress Apollo in turn, and was struck by the discus as it fell to the ground and he died.

Another myth adds that the wind god Zephyrus was actually responsible for the death of Hyacinth. The boy’s beauty caused a feud between Zephyrus and Apollo. Jealous that Hyacinth preferred the radiant archery god Apollo, Zephyrus blew Apollo’s discus off course, so as to injure and kill Hyacinth. When he died, Apollo didn’t allow death to claim the boy; rather, he made a flower from his spilled blood.
Although the mythical Hyacinth was male, Hyacinth is currently in use in English as a female name, usually in reference to the flower and not the mythological figure. There are names that are variations of Hyacinth, e.g. Jacinto in Spanish, Giacinto in Italian, both falling out of use, and Jacek still very popular in Polish.

Growers in the Russian resion of Penza have set up a new rose growing operation with the advice of a Dutchman.

They started eight years ago with two square kilometres of growing area. By the year 2010 it will occupy 300 hectares and the harvest will grow from today’s 30,000 flowers to 200,000 per day.

Russia is looking to the considerable financial gain they can make, due to the enormous profitability of the flower business. Some people will always be buying flowers, with statistics showing they’re spending hundreds of dollars each year on the latest bouquets.

Bunches are sent to a number of Russia’s big cities - from Chelyabinsk to Moscow and St Petersburg, and are also sent to the country’s closest neighbours.

But head of sales Svetlana Potyemina says the main aim is to corner the European market.

The world’s current top producers are Ecuador. “First we can squeeze them out of Russia’s markets and then go to conquer their own”, Potyemina says. With so much concern for green sourcing of goods we will be buying from a nearer market and saving pollution.

I enjoy my day working as a driver for Flowers24hours.co.uk It gets me out and about all over London, and sometimes further afield. But there is one less than carefree aspect to the work: parking tickets!

If you feel that these are unfairly issued you can and should contest them.

I have picked up a few parking tickets when I have been on delivery, even with a notice on the windscreen saying “Flower Delivery - back in minutes” and hazard lights flashing, sitting on a single yellow line with no kerb marks.

So what to do then?

Firstly make sure that you reply to the ticket promptly making it clear that you were not parked but on a delivery. Add copies of delivery sheets with times and signatures to back up your case. Keep a copy of everything together in a folder where you can find it. Any emails should be sent with “read acknowledgment” switched on.

Make clear in your representation why you are appealing the ticket (In our case usually because we were delivering and not parked) If the parking restrictions are not clear, perhaps broken up by roadworks or obscured by trees or other signs, you could well have grounds for appeal.

Remember that 68% of appeals are successful!