Archive for November, 2009
Posted on November 30, 2009 with 1 Comment
The season of festivities has caught up with us once again, this is the time of year where we bring our dinner parties indoors. If you use your imagination there are quite a few things you can do to bring the best out your centrepieces.
Simplicity is key, we have a heard the saying that ‘less is more,’ and it is applicable to this situation as well. You don’t have to break the bank, try to use some things you have around the home like candles or some interesting containers, you might even find some things to use in your own backyard.
Colours are an important factor in reflecting the warm atmosphere of autumn, choosing colours like orange, red brown, green and deep purple will serve exactly this purpose.
Try to bring a bit of yourself and your own garden into the centrepieces, try to use the branches of your favourite plant or tree, pine cones in the garden can also be used.
As long as you stick to what this time of year means for you and try to reflect what nature is doing on its own, you can never go too far. So have your bowls, containers and vases overflow with flowers and plants.
Posted on November 30, 2009 with No Comments
There’s a lot going on at this time of year, and if you are a gardener you have even more on your plate. With the nights getting longer, this is the ideal time of year for plants to start setting their buds.
Some examples of these flowers and plants are chrysanthemums, poinsettias and zygocacti (Christmas cacti) mainly they can be seen blooming in stores. They are even pushed to bloom to fit specific marketing, and this is done by controlling the length of the days in greenhouses.
The end of October and beginning of November is a ‘green light’ period for gardeners to get their spring blooming plants. I doesn’t matter if you have purchased your bulbs earlier on in the year there is still time to get the planted.
The bulbs need to be planted at least twice the depth of their length, in a spot where they will get about six hours of sunlight, and is important that their pointed end is looking upwards. If it is not clear which end is the pointed one plant them on their side. The shoots and the roots will grow in the right direction on their own.
If your roses are still blooming this is the time to stop cutting them, when roses are cut they produce new shoots, as the weather is fairly cool now frost could kill any new growth, which is not good for the plant.
Take this opportunity to cut a few more blooms for your home, and leave the plant alone until January, when you can get some pruning done.
Sources:
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20091105/LIFESTYLE/911050335/Betty+Coffelt++Some+plants+will+start+setting+flower+buds
Posted on November 27, 2009 with 1 Comment
As we all know fuel prices are up, along with concern for the environment. Just about any company doing deliveries with motor-vehicles, is having to look for solutions in terms of efficiency and reduced fuel emissions, in kind of bid to kill two birds with one stone.
Postcode Anywhere, recently revealed a new product, the Route Optimiser. This is a service that can be found on the internet, which through algorithms allows businesses to plan the best possible route for their vehicles. This program provides digital maps, dynamic navigation content and solutions for specific locations. The information is delivered from Postcode Anywhere to customers.
You might ask, what exactly does this have to do with flowers, plants and gifts? Well, it has taken a fair amount of innovation on behalf of this company to allow for the efficient delivery provided.
The process started about four years ago, when the mastermind behind Flower24Hours, Todd Todic, made a call, with his idea to Postcode Anywhere. He was looking for someone to help him develop a solution for optimizing delivery routes.
Postcode Anywhere did not show any interest at the time and sent him on his way. As a result, Todd had to work out something on his own. In only three months he was successful in putting together his own routemaking technology, which is still used by the company today!
Not long after Todd had put together his software, he was on the receiving end of a phone call from Postcode Anywhere. They let him know that after his bid for developing a partnership with them, five other companies called with the same idea.
It took them a little while to catch up with us, but three years after our début, they have finally launched their in collaboration with AA. All in all, things have turned out well, our company has been able to provide the most efficient flower delivery possible for a few years now, and it is becoming apparent that businesses all over the country are becoming more environmentally conscious.
Posted on November 24, 2009 with No Comments
It looks like the poor Euro to Pound exchange rate has caused distress this year as claims that there will be a Christmas Tree shortage are emerging by the minute.
Denmark generally supplies up to 1 million Christmas trees to the UK, however, this year, only an estimated 300,000 will be imported. This is due to the high exchange rate. British growers are also expected to export the majority of their stock to take advantage of the strong Euro.
The Norway Spruce, our traditional British tree is also expected to be in short supply this year, and the British Christmas Tree Association has warned that the price on both types of tree is set to rise immeniently and advised people to buy their trees as soon as possible to avoid not having one at all!
We have secured a large range of real Christmas trees for London delivery – hurry while stocks still last!
(via the Telegraph)
Posted on November 20, 2009 with 1 Comment
Britons Needing Colour and Flowers
A recent study done by the Flower Council of Holland, has shown that adults in the UK are looking for a bit of change, with 51 percent harbouring desire to move out of their home town, while 64 percent wish their surroundings were a bit different with more colour.
Nearly 75 % said that the dull backdrop of their town had a negative effect on their moods.
Furthermore, out of those who participated in the poll said they could not remember the last time they had been given flowers, while 68 percent said did not buy themselves flowers.
“It’s about time we gave ourselves something to smile about. We Britons need flowers more than ever right now,“ said FCH representative Jonathon Read.
Another study has also shown that people’s behaviour and moods change when they are surrounded by flowers, making them feel more upbeat and calm.
According to psychologist Glenn Wilson, flowers have this positive effect because they are so simple and natural. They make people more open toward others, happier, less anxious and people who keep flowers at home have more enthusiasm in the workplace and are more productive.
Source
Posted on November 17, 2009 with No Comments
Rare Orchid Spreads its Petals
Rare Orchid Spreads its Petals
At the Ball Sate University campus, there is a special flower in bloom, the Bucket Orchid from the Wheeler Orchid and Species Bank.
The university acquired some grant money in the summer and Curator Charyl LeBlanc purchased the flower with it.
The Amazon of South Africa is the home of this flower, which thrives with the help of male bumblebees helping it reproduce and get pollen. The flower stores liquid in its bucket, which draws male bees.
There is more than one motivation for the male bees to visit this flower, when the bees fall into the bucket, there is a bucket-like part which they slide through, when they come out the other end they able to pollinate flowers, and to attract female bumblebees with their sweet scent.
LeBlanc Says, “ (Bucket Orchids) are not common at all in greenhouse collections, and they’re more uncommonly bloomed in those collections,”
The little bud took some time to flower, and the blooming of the orchid itself took 15 to 20 hours, and it is possible that the flower will never bloom again.
Sources:
http://www.newslinkindiana.com/index.php?src=news&srctype=detail&category=Headlines&refno=3262
Posted on November 17, 2009 with No Comments
Hassle-Free Holiday Flower Arrangements
With a series of holidays coming up, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the tempo. For those who are not able to put together a flower arrangement every other week, there are few tricks to follow when picking an arrangement that can fit both the fall and winter season.
The first is to avoid having an exact holiday theme, your flower arrangements can still hold all of the warmth of the season without being to specifically geared toward any event.
In this case, flower arrangements need to be kept simple, it is best to opt for fewer flowers, no more than five types in one arrangement.
Monochromatic, is another key word to remember, it will make choosing the flowers easier, as well as keep things to a low key.
In terms of the vase, a simple container dark or opaque is an excellent choice, it does not draw as much attention, and the stems are not visible, meaning that your stems do not have to be perfect.
Evergreen branches and berries for the base of arrangement can be used, then only the flowers need to be changed. Peonies, ranunculus and anemones are great for this type of arrangement.
Posted on November 11, 2009 with 1 Comment
Flowers Engineered to Help Reduce Carbon Footprint
Flowers certainly do a lot to make our surroundings as pleasant as possible, but could they could be helping us work toward reducing carbon emissions.
Two new types of flowers have been genetically engineered by Toyota, one deriving from the cherry sage and the other gardenia plants. The Toyota Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan, is notorious for its high carbon emissions and these flowers are able to remove nitrogen oxides and heat from the atmosphere thereby offsetting carbon dioxide (C02) emissions.
The Prius has been market as a green car, but has received a lot of criticism for not being as clean as has been advertised, as manufacturing and production emissions create a lot of pollution.
Solar panels have been added to several buildings at the plant, low-grown lawns are being used to help reduce watering and moving. Along with the development of these environment-cleaning flowers 50,000 trees were planted two years ago in another attempt to reduce the carbon footprint created by the company.
Sources:
http://www.greenmuze.com/climate/cars/1774-toyota-creates-gm-flowers-.html
Posted on November 9, 2009 with No Comments
According to the Flowers and Plants Association, the phalaenopsis orchid has found its way into the hearts of the British as it has been the favourite plant in the nation for the second year in a row.
Thirty years ago, the spider plant was a hit, twenty years ago the parlour palm was a favourite and the chrysanthemum held first place in the previous decade. Now, a majority of homes in the UK decorate their window sills with this popular plant.
This flower is more commonly known as the moth orchid, supermarkets and high street stores are reflecting this trend showing a considerable increase in sales.
“The reason for the increase is because of changes in growing techniques and breeding, which mean commercially grown phalaenopsis have not been difficult to grow in the UK, and so in turn are now less expensive to buy and more readily available in retailers. Previously orchids were only available through more specialist suppliers or retailers, but they are now far more available,“ said the spokeswoman for FPA, Sarah Holland.
This flower first made its way to the British Isles about 300 years ago, among the cargo of church missionaries and explorers. Collectors and the rich were the first to own and care for this plant. South America, the West Indies and Japan are the natural habitat of this flower, where they grow in trees.
Whether or not you are keen to follow trends, this is a beautiful flower but it is meant for the patient caretaker only as it does require special attention.
