The Queen of Flowers
Sooner or later, everyone who has a garden thinks about growing roses. There are practical reasons, if a gardener needs them, for deciding to do just that. For one thing, roses outperform practically every other kind of garden plant in the number of flowers they produce, in the length of their blooming season and in their normal life expectancy. But most gardeners become rose growers simply because they fall in love with the flowers Kensington Park. Roses have an irresistible combination of elegance and charm, thorny strength and satin-petaled delicacy, and their blooms come forth in a wonderful variety of colors, sizes, shapes and fragrances. It is this, the sensuous appeal of roses, which has made them the world’s best-known and most popular ornamental plant.
Topiaray Trees
As with other garden ideas, florists have adapted the art of clipping shrubs to make the very appealing and popular designs we see today. Small trees will sit comfortably on a coffee table, looking attractive from all sides. Large designs have a distinctive poise, and look striking in hotels, churches or marquees.
Design unity
In general, topiary trees are filled in with flowers and other materials, to hide the mechanics, but here the ribbon covering the sphere is a feature of the composition. The scrunched ribbon on the globe is conveyed through the design by gluing it to the trunk of the tree and then down onto the container. The design becomes an integral whole, each part being joined with another. Sprigs of blossom or some seasonal flowers Hayes at the base of the trunk give a final flourish to the arrangement.
Sweetbrier [Eglantine] Roses
Sweetbrier roses, also known as eglantine roses, derive their common name from their sweet fragrance and thick, thorny habit of growth. Their gracefully arched branches grow 8 to 12 feet tall. Their blossoms, five petaled except in a few hybrids, are bright pink, red, copper or yellow, and appear singly or in clusters. The flowers O'Connor are about 1 ½ inches in diameter and are surrounded by roundish leaves approximately 1 ½ inches long that are dark green on the upper surface and grayish on the underside; the leaves give off an apple fragrance that is especially strong on humid days. Most sweetbriers bloom once each year, in late spring or early summer, but the leaves retain their fragrance throughout the growing season. Many types of sweetbrier roses produce an enormous number of hips, small and either round or oval in shape, depending on the variety; their orange-red hue lends color to gardens well into autumn and even winter. Sweetbrier stems are abundantly thorny, and if left untended the bushes become impenetrable thickets. But because of their compact growth habit, they can be trained into excellent hedges. Vigorous growers, sweetbriers are hardy enough to survive in most mild climates without winter protection.
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 Carnwadric 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
Blue Heaven
The professional hybridizers keep trying for a blue rose, and many Whalley Range florists hope that one is eventually developed. One Mrs. Dorothy Whisler of Shafter, California has obtained some encouraging results. Using sophisticated techniques of chemical analysis, Mrs. Whisler selected the crossbred lavender hybrid teas in order to produce offspring having optimum amounts of cyanidin, the pigment that imparts purple or magenta tones, and flavone, the pigment that gives light yellow tones. In 1960, she crossed two lilac-colored roses, Simone and Sterling Silver, and three years later she bred a seedling from this cross to a silvery lavender Song of Paris rose. The second cross produced a rose with a distinctly bluish tone, which Mrs. Whisler compared to the blue haze over a mountain and named Blue Heaven. Mrs. Whisler does not claim that Blue Heaven is really blue; indeed she doubts that a true blue rose will ever be developed. However, she herself may make further progress toward that goal by crossbreeding to her Blue Heaven. It is also possible that a natural mutation may produce a blue rose, or that the color may be artificially introduced by altering the genes of rose seeds with X-rays, atomic radiation or certain chemicals.
Permanent Flowers
Usually known as "silk flowers," permanent flowers aren't really made from silk. Most commonly, they are made from polyester, but many other materials are used to recreate natural looking stem flowers. Polyester flower petals hold their shape well, allowing the flowers and arrangements a long life. In recent years the quality of "polysilks," as they have come to be known, has greatly improved. Natural colors are being used, with botanically correct shading or veining in the petals and leaves.
Permanent flowers or polysilks come in all sizes and ranges of quality. Hand-wrapped flowers are the most expensive and usually are worth the expense because of their realistic appearance. As their name suggests, they are constructed by hand. A flower is attached to a wire stem with floral tape, then the leaves and more blossoms are added as the stem is wrapped. As a result, the stem is thick and usually contains several wires, making heavy-duty wire cutters essential. These floral materials can be purchased from a Del Rey flower shop, and their high quality adds realism to any arrangement, even when only a few are used. Because of their natural appearance, they remain in style longer with their colors spanning more seasons.
Wiring before Drying
Most flowers need a minimum of preparation before air-drying. However, those with weak stems and heavy flower heads (such as roses, peonies, dahlias and strawflowers) will need wiring before drying. Clip the stems to about ½ inch from the flower and gently feed a length of 21-gauge Isleton florists wire up the stem and into the head of the flower. Hide the wire by wrapping it with green floral tape or another stem. Make sure the wire is not sticking out of the flower's center; this will become more noticeable and unattractive as the flower dries.
Most air-dried flowers are hung upside down in bunches because the weight of the flower heads causes the stems to dry straight. Group together small bunches of spiky flowers, such as lavender or blue salvia, wrap with a rubber band, and hang to dry. The rubber band will tighten as the material begins to dry and shrink, which prevents the flowers from slipping out. Hang large, double flowers individually to make sure the blooms are not crushed. The bunches and individual flowers can be hung from a hook, wooden rod, rack, coat hanger or any other sturdy support.
Bring those tired vases back to life
Maybe you have got a suitable vase, but it's ugly, or the colour doesn't go with your flowers, or you are tired of looking at it. We've all got such a vase tucked away somewhere that only sees the light of day on Mother's Day each year. Try wrapping a headscarf around it - place the vase in the middle, pull up the fabric around, and tie with a ribbon or even a rubber band at the neck. If you don't have a scarf, try crepe paper or giftwrap - just take care when you add the water. You could then co-ordinate the flowers with the colours in the fabric or paper for a delightful effect. Whenever I have a Melbourne flower delivery Seymore I always order some suitable wrapping paper to decorate the vase, that way I'm never caught out with drab looking vases.
A Based Heart
One of the favourite funeral tributes is a heart, representing love and affection, especially from a close member of the family. It is often requested as a sympathy tribute from a husband or wife. The design shown here might be made in different shades of pink if it were for a woman, perhaps from her husband, and carnations might replace the single chrysanthemum.
It is not usually necessary to wire the flowers going into the foam, but sometimes, if the stems are a little soft, it is advisable to wire the few that form the point, for extra security. The ribbon edging is box pleated by the florist Alphabet City, and can be secured to the frame either with German pins or with a glue gun.
The foam bump must be firmly screwed into the base before the spray is made. The outline materials and main flowers can be support wired if necessary. The spray should tone in with the base flowers. The spray is diamond-shaped, and should be a third the size of the completed design. The central rose is the highest in the spray, with the other flowers used to build the profile.
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