Transporting and Looking after your Flowers
Many Tamworth florists now deliver bouquets already arranged in a strong bag of water which can be kept for a while as they are - this kind of arrangement should be left undisturbed until you get it home. If the bouquet you receive hasn't been supplied like this then keep in mind these simple instructions...
The hours until you leave for home can cause your flowers to wilt and drop their petals, and shorten their vase life considerably. So firstly, find a sink, put in the plug, and stand up your bouquet in water until you leave for home. If this isn't possible, a bucket or washing up bowl will do. Whatever your method, your flowers need a drink of water, and fast. Remember to wrap something wet around the bottom of your flowers if the journey home is going to be a long one - a towel is good for this. Then place the wrapped end in a plastic bag so you don't spoil your clothes.
Love these flowers series - Amaryllis
The belladonna lily [not to be confused with the large-flowered amaryllis (Hippeastrum) popular as a house plant, or the hardy amaryllises of the genus Lycoris] has a strange life cycle: its strap like leaves appear in spring and die away before a single flower blooms. By early summer they are gone and it is not until a month or more later that the leafless 2-foot flower stalks rise to be crowned in late summer with clusters of sweetly fragrant blossoms that bloom for six to eight weeks.
The flowers, six to 12 in a cluster, are about 3 inches in diameter and pink, rosy red, mauve or white in color, usually with contrasting yellow throats. Belladonna lilies are extremely handsome when planted amid low shrubs or grouped in perennial borders, especially if they are surrounded with an airy blanket of baby's breath or a groundcover plant to cloak the withered leaves and act as a foil for the flowers. Belladonna lilies are also popular among St Albans florists as pot plants.
Flowers of the world - Limonium suworowii (poker statice)
Characteristics: Limonium suworowii is an outstanding addition to borders. Striking pink flowers cover gracefully curved spikes. This unique plant has a twisted appearance, which adds interest both to gardens and to arrangements, and is also a wonderful gift if you would like to send flowers Perton to someone for a special occasion.
Cultural Information: Sow the seeds in full sun in average, well-drained soil.
Harvesting/Drying: Statice flowers appear mid- to late summer. Cut bunches before all the blossoms have opened fully. Hang to air-dry. The strong stems don't need the additional support of wire.
Methods: Air-dry, water-dry, silica
Flowers of the world - Lavandula (lavender)
Characteristics: This shrubby herb, a favorite in herb and perennial gardens, has decorative silver-gray foliage and fragrant lavender flowers that bloom from July through August. Lavender forms dwarf-flowering hedges and is attractive lining a walk or edging a perennial garden, and is also a common selection in Failsworth flower delivery. The fragrant flowers and foliage are the mainstay of sachets and potpourri and are equally at home in dried or fresh arrangements. Native to the Mediterranean, lavender has naturalized in the southern United States. There are some 28 different species. The most popular varieties are Lavandula angustifolia, found in every old-fashioned herb garden, with tiny clusters of blue to purple flowers; fringed lavender (L. dentata), with green, fernlike foliage and blue flowers; English lavender (L. officinalis), with needlelike silvery-gray foliage and deep purple or white flowers. Hardy in most climate zones, munstead dwarf (L. munstead 'Hidcote') grows to a height of 18 inches and has silvery foliage and lavender flowers almost the whole summer.
Damask Roses
The damasks provide flowers Silver Lake in white and in shades of pink from pale to rose red. They grow in arching shrubs that can reach 8 feet, though most are from 3 to 5 feet high. Blossoms are semidouble or double with up to 60 petals and grow in long clusters, surrounded by foliage that is usually a downy gray; the scarlet hips are large and round. The canes are thorny and the pale green stems are weak. Aside from the Autumn Damask and varieties derived from it, which flower a second time in the fall, damasks bloom once each year, usually in June, sending forth the famous fragrance that has been used since the First Century B.C. in preparing attar of roses. The plants are disease resistant and hardy, and may be grown without winter protection in mild climate zones.
Experiment with colour
Some people have an ‘eye for colour’ or an instinctive colour sense. You should not hesitate to experiment with different colour combinations. However, it may be easier to start with arrangements that blend harmoniously with your room decoration. There are many art books that explain the principles of colour and will help you define which colours work particularly well together and which colours can provide dramatic contrast. Pale pink, cream and pale blue make a lovely combination as does a selection of gold, yellow and cream. Bright blues and yellows provide a stunning contrast as in a posy of cornflowers and daffodils.
If you want a simple way to check colour combinations before you pick or buy flowers Blackhill, obtain a full set of sample paint cards from a do-it-your- self shop and use these to help you match objects in your room and to try various combinations together. When you are finally ready to begin, decide where your arrangement is to be placed. Consider the desired effect that you are trying to achieve, gather together the materials you want to use and have fun.
Dahlia and Gladiolus Planting
Dahlias are generally planted outdoors as soon as the ground has warmed up and there is no further danger of frost. Gladioluses may be planted in series, a week to 10 days apart, continuing until mid-July. As a more general rule, they may be planted until 60 days before the first expected frost; the gladiolus becomes virtually a year-round plant in frost-free areas, making it a very popular selection for Garston flower delivery. Successive plantings greatly extend the flowering season, since gladioluses of a single variety that are planted in series will bloom in the order in which they were planted. But some called "early blooming" take less time to flower than do those designated "mid season" or "late", so three different varieties planted the same day may bloom weeks apart. By planting in sequence and using different varieties, the shrewd gardener can keep a supply of gladioluses available for cutting all summer long.
How Much Water?
How much good ample water can do is indicated by an old story about a florist Radyr who traveled the countryside selling pink pills guaranteed, he said, to stimulate rosebushes into furious bloom. His prescription was one pill to a pail of water, administered once a week. It worked, too. Not that the pills did any good; the regular watering helped the roses so much that his customers never suspected they had been taken.
There is a simple way to tell if your roses need water. Stick your forefinger into the soil as far as you can. If it is dry down there, the roots below probably need moisture. Water thoroughly; the lowest roots will be properly moistened at about the time that the absorption of water slows down noticeably on the surface, usually after about two hours. Such a soaking should serve for a week or 10 days under average conditions. After a week, make the finger test again, and repeat it daily until the next watering is indicated. Depending on the weather and the type of soil, you may water more often or less often, but do not vary the amount of water that you use in each application. A single deep watering does much more good than the same volume of water doled out in two or three superficial applications that only dampen the top of the soil.
Which flowers should I send?
When you just want to send a jovial, upbeat message to someone these are the flowers or the job. These are guaranteed to life someone's spirits and brighten their day.
- Freesias - Ideal for showing your thoughtfulness of a situation.
- Orange Roses – Conveys an enthusiasm and vibrance for a particular topic, ideal to include in a flower delivery Turtle Bay and put a smile on someone's face.
- Sunflowers – Bring sunshine and warmth into anyone's life.
- Yellow Tulips– Use these to tell someone that they have a glorious smile just beaming like the sun's rays.
Further reading
Thanks for reading the post, we hope you enjoyed these great flower facts and tips. If you're a florist, or looking to become one, you may also enjoy Flower Heaven which has even more information for you. |
