Archive for May, 2009
Posted on May 29, 2009 with No Comments
The welcome sign for Washington state is made up almost entirely of flowers. This weekend volunteers and workers from the Washington State Department of Transportation put in some extra time to spruce things up a little.
Volunteers put this sign together about two years ago, until recently when an unknown person decided to chop it apart. About two hours of planting petunias and geraniums was needed to patch things up.
Roadside maintenance supervisor Bill VanAntwerp said, “It’s a great example of how volunteers can help in the community. This is the entrance to the state everyone’s coming up I-5.”
The sign and a shrub-lined flower bed shaped like Washington, were created by an employee at the maintenance office. Each year a new and inventive design was thought up, but with a lack of funding the flowers were neglected.
Extreme weather and a tighter budget saw money being focused on snow plowing and routine maintenance. VanAntwerp added, “We just can’t justify spending a boatload of money here when there’s potholes on the main line and safety features to fix.”
This is where volunteer work comes in handy and is of great value in keeping the flowers blooming.
[Via: columbian.com]
Posted on May 28, 2009 with No Comments
Tulips are a flower that even the most amateur gardener can plant and recognize. Yet there is always new trivia to learn about even with such a common flower. For example, it is said that by putting two pennies in a vase with tulips that are starting to wilt will make them stand up straight again.
In fact, tulips are the only cut flower that continues to grow even after it has been trimmed. Some tulips even grow an inch or two after they have been cut. Tulips need to be placed where the light is right above them as they bend and grow toward light sources.
Tulips can last several days if they are taken care of in the right way. You need to cut the stems as soon as you get home. It is best to cut them at about a half an inch from the end. Placing them in a vase with fresh water and floral preservative is also a good idea. The water in the vase needs to be kept clean, and cutting the stems every other day is recommended.
[Via: Washington Post]
Posted on May 28, 2009 with 1 Comment
The annual re:fresh awards ceremony will be held tonight at the London Marriott! As you may or may not of heard, we’re one of three finalists for the Retail Florist of the Year award! All of us here are extremely excited, regardless of a win or lose! Though we firmly believe we should win, of course! Here’s why.
Based in a warehouse in Camberwell, we offer designs to our customers for an incredible value for money. Our passion for floristry has allowed us to truly push forwards and become an appreciated part of the florist industry in London.
Flowers24Hours.co.uk is the company that paved the way for all UK based internet florists today as the first automated same-day flower delivery replicating an offline shop in an online environment. Company founder and florist Todd Todic discovered a massive gap in the market in 2001 and utilized new technology to aid his quest of supplying flowers to London. Promoting solely through SEO marketing, we were quickly one of the top search results for a large variety of keywords.
The beauty of our service lies in the absolute efficiency of our service. Mr. Todic developed a hi-tech web-solution to resolve the error of human mistakes that can be made with vast paper based orders whilst tackling the emerging issue of carbon reductions. This solution extends into our delivery software which optimizes drivers’ routes for the day. This, alongside keeping our vans serviced to mint condition, allows us to reduce our carbon emissions significantly whilst keeping optimum efficiency. This software also extends to our customer service, where customers can track their orders online and see exactly when the driver delivers their item, and if it was left with a neighbour, which neighbour it was left with.
Whilst we were delivering many bouquets and vase arrangements as gifts, Todd realised that this website wasn’t generating enough interest for weddings, events and corporate flowers. This was due to the fact Flowers24Hours.co.uk didn’t match the target market of this audience. Mr. Todic then launched Todich Floral Design, a website designed to cater precisely for this audiences needs. Unlike Flowers24Hours.co.uk, it does not do same day or next day gifts for the general public, only events; weddings; restaurants; hotels and corporate. This allows us to cater for both markets separately and successfully. We now have an extensive range of corporate clients as well as many satisfied flower loving customers.
We provide a valuable and efficient service to our customers at a fantastic value for money. We target our audience carefully to ensure our channels of communication are comfortable for our separate target markets. We consider the environment fully and utilize technology aptly to aid us in our service.
Posted on May 27, 2009 with No Comments
Planting flowers on a stone wall is not as simple as sprinkling a few seeds along the wall and waiting a few weeks or months to watch them to grow. But the unmortared nooks and crannies of a stone wall definitely ask for some decoration, and flowers are one of the best fillers. Though more often than not weeds take over the role of decoration.
The crannies found in a stone wall are a bit different than the garden found in your yard. The soil is better drained and temperatures are a bit lower. The stones shade the plant roots while heat is retained, which means that temperatures do not swing as frequently as those in the air nearby.
The micro-climates found in the wall differ depending on which direction the wall faces. Those facing north and east are cool throughout the summer, while those facing south and east are extremely warm.
The plants and flowers you should choose for your wall need to enjoy dryer soil, have small leaves or flowers, and plants that trail or drape.
[Via: wral.com]
Posted on May 26, 2009 with No Comments
For those looking for peace, quiet and beauty in Baltimore, Sherwood Gardens are worth a visit. This garden hosts one of the most famous tulip gardens in the country, and it is visited daily by walkers and joggers, who find this to be the perfect way to start their day. The park is quiet and full of beautiful sights.
John W. Sherwood, a local petroleum executive, created the garden in the 1920’s, bringing in tulips from the Netherlands.
Guilford Community Association representative Bruce Barnett says, “We plant 75 to 80,000 new tulips every autumn. They come up in the spring. I think it’s unique to Baltimore and as far as I know it’s unique to the United States. It’s one of the premiere tulip gardens in the nation.”
Barnett continues, “We have cherry trees, apple trees and pear trees, they’re lovely too. This is a great time of year to come down and see Sherwood Gardens.”
There is an added bonus to the peace and beauty of the garden, visitors can come dig up and purchase the bulbs after they have finished blooming.
[Via: wjz.com]
Posted on May 25, 2009 with No Comments
Nearly five years ago Susy Dirr made a discovery at her cottage in Chapel Hill N.C., hybrid flower called the “Chapel Hill Yellow” lantana.
At first the flower did not seem to be much of a plant but then during the second year of its growth it really started to blossom.
UGA professor and horticulturalist Mike Dirr saw special meaning in this flower. His daughter had lived a short life, dying of complications from cystic fibrosis, he saw this special cross of two varieties of lantana as “Susy’s pixie dust.”
Each year the flower bloomed with greater beauty and Dirr started to see its potential. With the help of two partners under the name of Plant Introductions Inc., Dirr started to develop new and similar flower strains, selling Chapel Hill Yellow in honor of Susy.
Sales of Chapel Hill Yellow have gone through the roof this year, and a soon-to-be-patented golden variety is set to hit the market.
The Sweet Melissa Fund will receive 30 percent of the profits. This non-profit organization was set up in North Carolina to help fund the lung transplants of those suffering from cystic fibrosis.
[Via: onlineathens.com]
Posted on May 23, 2009 with No Comments
Bees have a very special relationship with flowers and they have evolved to adapt to them. Flowers have even evolved a kind of “Natural Velcro” which helps bees hang onto the flower when they collect nectar.
Microscopic conical cells line the petals of most flowers, but scientists were never absolutely positive about what they were for. But now researchers in Britain have shown that they serve the purpose of helping bees latch on, which makes it easier for them to feed.
Beverly Glover of the University of Cambridge says that without these cells bees would be left, “scrabbling and sliding.” She added, “I have been studying these cells for many years and had always wondered whether this simple explanation could be the reason for their presence.”
“For bees to maintain their balance and hold on to a flower is no easy task, especially in windy or wet conditions. Evolution has come up with the simple solution of equipping flowers with a Velcro-like surface that bees can get a grip on.”
As plants are extremely reliant on bees they have made a number of developments simply to attract this insect that is crucial for their survival.
[Via: Times Online]
Posted on May 22, 2009 with No Comments
The Chelsea Flower Show is in full swing and many gardeners are preparing to present their less than ordinary flower creations. Every idea will be thrown into the ring – perfume, piranhas, fake flowers and frogs.
Fake flowers are usually banned at the Chelsea Flower Show, but this year because of economic problems the rules have been relaxed and now fake flowers will be permitted to be a part of several displays.
TV presenter James May is the creator of the, ‘Plasticine Paradise’ display. With the help of war veterans and school children they modelled a flower display out of nearly two-and-a-half tonnes of plasticine.
Head of Shows, Bob Sweet says the show is sold even with some of these changes taking place, “The chemistry of the show has changed a little bit. For the last few years people have invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in gardens but this year designers are being much more resourceful and probably from a public perspective it will be a lot more interesting.”
[Via: Telegraph.co.uk]
Posted on May 21, 2009 with No Comments
In Orange City, Iowa the Dutch heritage and Dutch hospitality of the city are soon to be celebrated with the 69th annual Tulip Festival.
Don Vander Wel grew up in Orange City and was born and raised around the Tulip Festival, he says, “The excitement just keeps building with you and as you age, you age with the festival. Every year there’s a new variety, a new type is designed or a new colour combination and so you really never have a favourite.”
All varieties of tulips originate from the parent colours of yellow and red, and each visitor has a favourite among the many. Vander Wel says about the guests, “They stand here and they just go WOW and that’s what we like. We like that WOW impact.”
Todd McDonald, Tulip Festival Steering Committee Chair says, “We estimate over 60,000 tulips in Orange City.”
[Via: kmeg14.com]
Posted on May 21, 2009 with 1 Comment
Guerillagardening.org has been operating for many years. It’s origins in UK date back to 1970. Their aim is to dig up neglected areas in populated places, for example, roadsides or traffic islands, and sow flower seeds, creating beautiful scenery for passers by and taking responsibility for the open, disused land around them.
Despite the fact Guerrilla Gardeners are voluntarily creating these beautiful displays, it is indeed against the law to plant seeds without permission and often these two paths meet. While it is unlikely that one would be arrested committing such a ‘crime’, often police will ask them to move on. Consequently, digging and planting often has to be delayed by a few hours or even days.
The Guerrilla Gardeners latest project is to take plants and other used material from the Chelsea Flower show in protest and design an area in the disused land in Sipson, without the permission of the local council, where Heathrow is planning to build its third runway.
Garden designer Tom Hoblyn, who is donating plants from his silver-award-winning garden has said, “Expanding airports, such as Heathrow, will only encourage more aviation, which will only increase CO2 levels, taken in isolation, this initiative makes absolutely no sense. My hope is that the plans will be dropped and that the plants that go to Sipson will be allowed to thrive for generations to come.”
But will these efforts be enough to stop Heathrow’s expansion? Terminal 5 was heavily protested against yet still went ahead. These plans were made despite the recession and a continuing growth in environmental awareness: according to government statistics, 2007 saw a record high number of international travellers. The only note-worthy dip in this ever increasing number is during the 1974 recession. Going on previous figures, the number of international travellers will only increase further and often when there is money involved, there is nothing to stop it.
While Guerrilla Gardening efforts are most definitely appreciated in most locations, it’s unfortunately unlikely that they will be able to stop another runway being built. The runway will be needed to accommodate the raising levels of international travel. It also provides many jobs for people in times where jobs are unavailable and puts money back into the economy, where it is most needed.
Quotes taken from the Daily Telegraph
