Archive for July, 2009
Posted on July 31, 2009 with No Comments
There are all sorts of chrysanthemums to choose from, bushy ones to tall upright plants or gigantic blooms. Moreover there is also as wide a variety of colours.
They are easy to handle, you just have to buy them, plant them and enjoy. If you want to bring out the best in your mums, you just need to pinch back their heads from time to time. This takes only your thumb and index finger, pinching off the last inch or so of the stem. Summer is the best time of year to do this.
Mums flower as the days get shorter, larger varieties need to be grown in greenhouses in order to flower in time.
To make your bushy mums even bushier, start pinching off the buds when the plant is just 6 inches tall, and each time the shoots grow another 6 inches repeat this process. Usually this type of mum blooms in July, so you want to leave the buds on before the bloom date…
[Via: Seattle Times]
Posted on July 31, 2009 with No Comments
How to instantly get 30% more value on your flowers!
We’ve all been there. You order a dozen roses to find that on delivery your beloved only has 9. Why?
Ordering from a middleman instantly reduces your value for money. Most middlemen charge between 20-25%. And then the florist he calls takes between 5-10%. That’s an average of a whopping 30% just for taking your order and calling a florist himself.
You’re paying for the brand name. You’re talking to people that hardly see flowers in their day to day life. You’re talking to people who may have never even seen a bouquet being made. Calling a middleman is like buying a raffle ticket – sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. And unfortunately these days, it’s most often lose.
We try to be as transparent as possible. We charge you a delivery fee on top of your order. This is calculated by the distance it takes to travel to your destination: it’s not a set fee where sometimes you’re paying too much and other times you’re paying too little (and therefore the fee gets taken out your flowers!). The prices you pay for delivery to London is for hand delivery, by our own drivers. The price you pay for UK deliveries is what we pay to our courier. All of the flowers we deliver come straight from our studio to your recipients home.
So when you order a £100 bouquet from a middle man, he’ll take 25% of that immediately. Then the florist takes a 5% cut. Suddenly you’re £100 bouquet is only worth £70. Oh, and then there’s the hidden delivery cost, which is probably between £5-£10.
Many florists working with the middlemen end up feeling ripped off. They’ve only gotten 5% from your order, while the big boys have gotten 25% just for calling them. That 5% in their total orders often doesn’t add up to enough to pay the bills. And that’s why you’ll get 9 roses instead of 12.
Posted on July 30, 2009 with No Comments
Most gardeners have already got their summer gardens in bloom, but a garden at this time of year is not complete without a few fragrant flowers to please the nose as well as the eye. There are even some plants with a floral perfume that can consume your garden for weeks, in aura of beautiful scents.
Among these types of flowers is the common English honeysuckle, a climbing plant that needs to be tied to some kind of support.
This plant has beautiful pink buds which transform into cream coloured flowers, that slowly fade off to a yellow shade. Once the flowers drop their petals, they are replaced with red berries which will bring birds flocking to your garden.
If you decide to buy one of these flowers for your garden, remember to smell it before you buy it because the scents can vary and some are not as nice as others. This flower does not need much care, other than a bit of pruning to keep things under control.
[Via: kelowna.com]
Posted on July 29, 2009 with No Comments
Though it may seem like a fun and carefree line of work, florists do not have the easiest time getting fresh flowers from the garden into our homes. It is not as simple as putting a bouquet together, first the flowers need to be specially prepared. Not every single flower comes to the store looking nice.
Annmarie Morris owner of Lait Bloomers and former owner Adrienne Lait attend floral auctions about four times a month. Flowers at auctions are pick a day ahead of time and spend a few hours travelling to flower shops.
Lait says, “Anyone can buy flowers, it is what you do with them that makes the difference.”
Before the flowers enter the shop they are unwrapped, cleaned, trimmed, de-thorned, de-leafed and disinfected. Afterwards each flower receives special handling and conditioning before they reach the store’s vases. Florists have a fairly difficult and demanding job on their hands, and we only see the pretty bouquet or the finished product…
[Via: bclocalnews.com]
Posted on July 28, 2009 with No Comments
Denise Schreiber had been busy growing nasturtiums, pansies, violets, oregano, bee balm, and scented geraniums for the Edible Flowers Food Fest in South Park. That is until a fire destroyed all the flowers and the recipes for the food fest.
The loss was devastating and it came not long after the passing of Schreiber’s mother, who used to prepare food for the event. But this did not put a stop to the festivities — the buffet dinner will be held rain or shine.
Ms. Schreiber, greenhouse manager said, “She just loved this event and wouldn’t have wanted it to be canceled, so we are going on with it.”
There will be about 13 dishes served, including fresh salsa with pineapple and nasturtiums; raspberry soup; salmon with lemon-verbena infused oil; pasta with meatballs and nasturtium vodka cream sauce; artichoke and chicken salad with jasmine rice, lemon and oregano flowers; and lavender shortbread cookies.
[Via: post-gazette.com]
Posted on July 27, 2009 with No Comments
Nearly 80,000 volts of power were sent into flowers to make them into dazzling pieces of artwork.
By sending electricity through flowers and making photographs of them Robert Buelteman has created original works of art and has found a new way to capture the natural world on film. This effect is achieved by placing a flower on a metal board, through which electrical surges are sent through. This is all done in the dark and he can even choose exactly which parts of the flowers are to be lit up.
The radiation emitted by the flowers is not visible to the human eye, and these moments are captured with the help of a fibre optic cable, which is passed over the plant.
Buelteman gives a simplified explanation, “Another way to try and understand = it is like a normal photograph on a normal camera, except I am manually controlling the exposure by hand. In the same way the image I capture is simply burned onto film.”
[Via: Telegraph.co.uk]
Posted on July 26, 2009 with No Comments
Flowers are planted in the garden for their beauty, whether perennial or annual. But once the buds have bloomed, the plant starts to work on producing seeds, and the only way to get your flowers to bloom again is to pick off the dead flower heads.
Deadheading is basically removing dead flowers from their stem, and it is the best way to have your flowers bloom over and over again. If you do not do this, your plants will automatically switch into seed production mode.
This process is not a difficult one, you just need to cut or pinch of a flower that has expired. Pinching just means that you take the flower and pull it off with your hands. However, you need to watch out with plants that have shallow root system, as it is possible to pull the entire plant out.
Flowers need to be deadheaded as soon as the blossom has died, so that the plant is sure to produce flowers and not seeds. It is best to clip off the flowers of perennials, as they can be a bit more temperamental.
[Via: examiner.com]
Posted on July 24, 2009 with No Comments
Giant “solar flowers” have been installed by Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A Inc., as a part of their exhibit promoting the new hybrid model to be put out by the company.
At a press release, Toyota described the 18 foot high flowers a being “partially powered by solar panels on the back of their petals and the base of their stems. Each of the five Solar Flowers provides seating for up to 10 people, access to free WiFi service, and power to charge cell phones and laptops.”
This is all part of a marketing strategy geared toward emphasizing “the balance the Prius helps strike between the needs of man and nature.” Hence the name of the exhibit, “Harmony Between Man, Nature and Machine.”
Residents of Boston will also find bus shelters in their city, that are ventilated with the help of the solar power…
[Via: boston.com]
Posted on July 23, 2009 with No Comments
As a child growing up in Susono, Japan, Mayumi Williamson fell in love with flowers.
She spent her younger years taking ikebana classes (Japanese flower arrangement). But after the years went by she found that this form of art was a bit too difficult for her taste. She continued to practise and her talents began to develop.
She says, “I learned to show my artistic expression in floral arranging like I did with painting. Flowers are really good materials to work with.”
She eventually made her way to the United States, where she began to instruct classes. She added, “Back then, I didn’t speak English very well, but I still knew the skill.”
Eventually she ended up opening her own flower shop. “There were no jobs here, but I knew I could do flowers. While I was on vacation in Japan, my husband called me and told me about a store space that was available and asked me if I wanted it.”
Her shop has now been open for 11 years and she share her knowledge of a more exotic type of flower arrangement in another country.
[Via: delmarvanow.com]
Posted on July 22, 2009 with No Comments
Garden lovers and gardeners were extremely impressed by the “Stop and Smell the flowers” Garden Tour last summer in Sanford. Because of this, the tour this year was met with a lot of enthusiasm. About 14 gardeners will be opening their gardens to the public once again, as a part of the second annual garden tour.
Joann Payeur, one of the organizers of the show said, “We only have one repeat property from last year’s tour.” However the property that is to be shown again is full of spectacularly colourful flowers. “I’m sure that there will not be any complaints from attendees.”
The proceeds from this tour will be going to the Maine Children’s Cancer Program. The tour is held rain or shine, and participants guide themselves along the tour route.
Joanne Payeur says, “I am very pleased and excited for tour day, as all property locations have something unique for the public to see and enjoy!”
[Via: fosters.com]
