Archive for January, 2009
Posted on January 31, 2009 with No Comments
America has a new president – Barack Obama. Kathleen Coils, an Urenui orchid grower, is a bit more excited than the rest, as her flowers are have been used in the ceremony. Just before President Obama’s inauguration, Mrs Coils was interviewed…
She said, “I hope I get to see what they are doing with them. I hope that they take photos while they are doing them so I can see how they are working with the flowers.”
Mrs Coils and her husband are the owners of Riverton Horticulture, and they are seeing off the final seven boxes of disa orchids for this special occasion.
Altogether, Mrs Coils has shipped off 15 boxes of orchids, or about 600 stems. “They started going about two weeks ago, we were sending as many as we can get when we have got them.”
This is a first for any inauguration, to have this many disa orchids on display at once.
[Via: Taranaki Daily News]
Posted on January 30, 2009 with 2 Comments
Way back in “ancient times”, when my parents were a young couple in Glasgow in the 1950s, it was considered rather effeminate for a man to be seen in public with flowers. So when my older sister was born my Dad tiptoed nervously into the hospital carrying a battered old suitcase – much to my mother’s puzzlement. He opened the suitcase with a true magician’s flourish and produced a bouquet of flowers to present to the mother of his first child.
Even today there are still men who, while not being actively afraid of being seen with flowers, would rather have nothing to do with them. They phone a florists and mutter “Its for an anniversary” when asked what flowers they want to buy. Online ordering allows such men to browse without embarrassment and our website gives hints as to which flowers might suit each event in their lives. Perhaps, given time, they may even learn to tell the difference between a rose and other flowers.
Posted on January 30, 2009 with No Comments
In Korea this is the time of the year when it is not hard to spot an orchid or two. You will often see deliverymen running in and out of buildings, dropping off orchids as gifts for people that have been promoted or given new workplaces.
This tradition, of giving orchids has a long history — orchids have been a symbol of integrity in this country for many generations. They also represent the “uncompromising spirit of the scholar.” Korea is one country that is especially fond of this flower for these reasons.
Yeo Dong-gyu, the representative for Seonhwa Farm says, “Owners of most orchid plantations are busiest when Korean companies and major government bodies reshuffle their personnel.” He added that dates for corporate affairs are also an important time for orchid merchants. “That’s when owners put their plants out for sale.”
[Via: JoongAngDaily]
Posted on January 29, 2009 with No Comments
Who would have thought that thievery can be romantic? Recently one gentleman stole a bouquet of flowers to apologize for a night he had spent in jail.
Neil McMillan was arrested and spent a night in custody – this is why he felt that he needed to steal them and give them to his sweet heart Michelle Robertson. He snatched the bouquet on his way home from court — it cost about 6.99 GBP — after which he was arrested once again.
McMillan went from spending one night in jail to a sentence of three years. Not only did he admit to stealing the flowers, but a Chinese takeaway truck robbery as well.
Lawyer Billy Somerville said: “He had enough money to pay for the flowers, so whether he intended to pay for them but changed his mind I don’t know.”
[Via: The Herald]
Posted on January 28, 2009 with No Comments
Indus, a branch of the Worldwide Fund for nature, has released a calendar depicting twelve types of wild flowers, in order to spread awareness about type of flora.
The following species are found in the calendar: cistanche tubiulosa ( phatakwar), barleria prioitis (kala bansa), fumaria indica (shatra), euphorbia caducifolia (thuhar), capparis deciduas (karir), acacia nilotic(babul), solanum nigrum(mako), oxytelma esculentum (dhudhani), barleria acanthaiodes (kakoori booti), nerium indicum(kaner), senna alexenderina(senna-i-makki) and citrullus colocynthis (indrayan).
With the exception of one, all of these flowers have medicinal properties — not enough research has been done on the balaeria.
These flowers have other useful functions as well. They help soil from eroding by keeping it intact. They are also important for the top soil flora, and are part of an intricate web of life that we are not aware of. In fact, many of these flowers play a direct role in helping us survive. They link together many parts of the ecosystem.
This is especially a question of concern as many countries are pushing for urbanization and not really caring for the maintenance of the environment. Wild flower species are going extinct all the time, and we will never know when we wipe out the most important link.
[Via: thenews.com.pk]
Posted on January 27, 2009 with No Comments
If you had millions to spend wouldn’t you buy more flowers? Elton John spent £293,000 on flowers between January 1996 and September 1997. In a court case in 2000 lawyer Mark Hapgood QC for suggested that John went “spending mad” following a £42m deal with recording company Polygram in February 1996. When quizzed by Mr Hapgood about the money spent on flowers, John said: Yes, I like flowers.
Many celebrities are in complete agreement with Elton John. Top social events are always graced with floral decoration
Celebrities that we have delivered gifts to include Ulrika Johnsson, Denise van Outen, Paula Yates, Margaret Thatcher, Orlando Bloom, Cleo Laine and David Tennant.
Posted on January 27, 2009 with No Comments
In London, twenty parks and beauty spots will be seeing a new planting of wild flowers, grass and plants. House sparrows have been disappearing at an alarming rate, and this is an attempt to attract them and increase the population.
The birds’ numbers have fallen about 68% in the past 15 years, mostly due to a loss of green spaces and city gardens being paved over.
This decision came after the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) gave a warning, that if sanctuaries were not built this bird would disappear altogether.
The SITA Trust will be funding this project and it will cost about 170,000 GBP.
Tim Webb is a spokesman for the RSPB and he says, “There has been a dramatic decline and the concern is that the population will reach a level where it is no longer sustainable and they will disappear completely.”
[Via: BBC]
Posted on January 26, 2009 with No Comments
According to a new report published in Science magazine, bees can tell the difference between iridescent flowers and those that are not. They also learn to return to these flowers for nectar.
It has also been found out that there are a lot more iridescent flowers than was thought before. This trait of flowers cannot be seen by the human eye, only with the help of the ultraviolet part of the spectrum.
Iridescence is when certain objects change colour when looked at from different angles. There are many examples of this in nature like butterfly wings, beetle carapaces, mother-of-pearl and soap bubbles.
The authors of this paper think that this information could be helpful in finding out exactly what attracts insect pollinators.
Flowers need to stand out in order to attract these insects, so this is why there are so many colours, sizes or as of now iridescence.
[Via: PlanetEarthOnline]
Posted on January 24, 2009 with No Comments
In Venlo, a city in the Netherlands, a flower processing plant is ready for production. FloraHolland ImportPlaza has decided to take the business to the next level.
ImportPlaza covers a surface of about 3,600 kilometers, and it has been updated with modern processing lines and better machines.
FloraHolland provides customers with a large variety of flowers, produced all over the globe.
Flower imports from countries like Kenya and Israel have increased greatly over the past few years. Southern Europe, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Italy, and Thailand also provide flowers for this company.
The building that has been opened has an intricate system to keep the flowers cool, and other technology that allow producer to have all things necessary for keeping the flowers at optimal temperatures.
[Via: freshinfo]
Posted on January 23, 2009 with No Comments
The Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is going to celebrate the anniversary of its Orchid Conservatory with the “Orchid Spectacular.” This is an event that lasts one month to celebrate this type of flower.
The festival lasts until the 15th of February, and this year it will be even more exciting with the garden’s new orchid show and sale.
There will also be classes about orchids like classes about building a tropical terrarium and growing orchids in the home. In addition, “An Evening of Orchids” will be held.
This conservatory is one of the first among its kind in the region. In the United States it has the largest collection of bromeliads. There are about 13,000 plants and the conservatory covers an area of about 8,000 square feet.
[Via: The Gaston Gazette]
