Rose Arrangement
From a single flower to a massed display of blooms, roses can provide beauty in a variety of arrangements and surroundings. Alone or combined with other flowers, they can be casual or formal, intimate or elegant, riotous or restrained. One thing roses seldom are, however, is long lasting; without care their beauty tends to be sweet but fleeting. To make roses last as cut flowers they must be picked while still in the budding stage, then plunged immediately into several inches of tepid water, preferably water that contains one of the cut-flower preservatives sold by Frenchay florists and garden supply stores. These chemical compounds, containing both nutrients and antibacterial agents, can double the life of a rose arrangement. Stand the roses in a cool place for at least an hour to cut down the process of transpiration: the loss of moisture through petals and foliage. Then, just before arranging them, cut off any unwanted foliage and strip off all leaves that would fall below the water surface, where they might rot and foul the water. A special stripping tool facilitates this task and also removes another troublesome appendage: thorns. Trim off a fraction of an inch of stem to open a fresh water-absorbing surface, and place the rose in the container. To hold it in place use a commercial flower holder, such as a block of foam plastic or a needlepoint holder, or force a ball of crumpled chicken wire into the mouth of the container.
Assembly of a prayer book spray
Collect all the materials together and, working on a sheet of paper, prepare the ribbons (if required), and then the foliage and the flowers. This elongated style of corsage will require longer-than-usual units of flowers and foliage.
Florists Sidcup will assemble the corsage by binding units together under the focal flower. Use finer materials to create the outline, and position the main flowers in a curving line to establish the profile. Add the trailing units of flowers and foliage. Next, bind in single leaves and flowers on various levels and recess some materials. Now trim out excess wires; tape the stem end, and firmly wire the spray onto a ‘figure-of-eight’ wire foundation.
Check that the book is the correct way up, then position the spray on the centre, bending the wire frame over the top and bottom edges of the book and clamping it firmly onto the inside cover.
Place the ribbon streamers where they can act as a page marker during the ceremony. Check the design; adjust the materials; carefully and lightly mist the spray; protect the book with paper, and store it in a cool place until it is required.
Woody or hollow stemmed flowers
Woody-stemmed materials can prove difficult to condition. Use warm water and flower food or if necessary, the boiling-water method, to encourage water uptake.
Flowers with hollow stems, such as delpinium hybrids, can be inverted and filled with water from a watering can. Plug the end with cotton wool and place the stem in a bucket of tepid water. The cotton wool acts as a wick, and the water in the stem will keep the whole flower turgid. This is usually a process carried out by the florist and the flower delivery Akuna Bay for the customer will already be done.
Stand the test of time with silk
You can easily cherish your wedding bouquet, keeping it looking as beautiful as the day you wed, long after the last piece of frozen wedding cake has been eaten. Silk wedding flowers can be a great way to make an elegant expression without spending a great deal of money. If you are looking for ways to have a wedding on a budget, using fake wedding flowers is a great way to cut costs. Just get your local florist to send flowers Auldhouse over to you to allow you to make your choice. They can often look just as good as fresh flowers, particularly from a distance, so for many it is a viable option.
Nature at Work
The process of "crossing" or intermarriage between natural species in the same family of plants varies greatly with the different families. Just why this should be so no one knows. In some cases no assistance from the hand of man, the plant breeder, is required. Nature, unaided, attends to the job. In the woods on Cape Cod, for instance, we can find a half-dozen distinct species of oak, interspersed with innumerable mongrel types which show, in varying degrees, the characteristics of the several parents. In a waterside grove of black gums, however, all are as alike as peas in the same pod. It is a general characteristic of hybrid varieties that they are more vigorous, and grow satisfactorily under a wider range of conditions of soil and climate, than was the case with their parents. This is especially true of man-made or controlled hybrids developed during a long series of crosses, for the simple reason that the weak-growing and otherwise least satisfactory ones are constantly being discarded in the process; or, in the case of those which may show some unusual but desirable character, such as a new color or flower form, be retained merely for further breeding until the new color or form can be combined with a more vigorous strain. Many Clayton florists possess flowers that have been created in such a way.
Planting flower borders
Never plant a flower border too near a hedge: make a path at the back, which makes for easy working and prevents weeds from beyond and under the hedge from encroaching into the garden. Always make borders wider than you think they should be, and try to place at least some so that you can look along them: you can get a wonderful effect from a wide flower border, whereas narrow borders seen straight on are often disappointing.
Don’t make too many small flower beds: they look fussy and take up a lot of time. To decide on which flowers you would like to grow, why not take a trip to your Skid Row florists? A paved area can be a lovely feature in a garden with either sink gardens or just paving and sweet-smelling plants such as pinks, lavender and honeysuckle growing from small areas left clear between the paving stones. Best of all, if you can design your paved area so that it is close by the house, slightly sunken or sheltered by wall and hedge, you have a perfect ‘sitting-out’ place.
Flowers of the world - Gypsophila paniculata (baby’s breath)
Characteristics: Baby's breath is tiny white clouds of flowers on strong branching stems. The plant adds an airy effect to both the summer garden and winter dried arrangements. The flowers appear in midsummer and continue to bloom until early fall. Try growing the large double-flowered variety 'Bristol Fairy'. 'Early Snowball' is an early blooming variety with small, double flowers. Gypsophila is also available from Santa Clara florists in the annual form G. elegans, which has lance-shaped foliage and pink to white flowers. Another annual, 'Covent Garden White', has clusters of large white flowers. Both of these annuals can be easily air-dried and used in arrangements. The flowers tend to darken into an off-white color after drying. This antique white color is preferred for certain projects.
Cultural Information: Gypsophila does best in well-drained, alkaline soil in full sunlight. A generous handful of lime sprinkled yearly in a circle around the base of the plant should keep the soil alkaline. The roots of baby's breath are deep and need a lighter soil through which they can penetrate. Propagate by sowing seed in early spring, or taking cuttings in late spring. Plant baby's breath 36 inches apart. Like most perennials, it requires division after three years. Annual Gypsophila, G. elegans, is best propagated by direct sowing seeds in early spring.
Exotic and beautiful
Some of the flowers described as exotic are now regularly to be seen in Northeast Rockwall florists’ shops. Dendrobium orchids, kangaroo paws, wax flowers and gerberas are now popular with customers and can be used in a wide range of designs to stunning effect.
Other species are not seen quite so often, including the Bird of Paradise — a lovely name for Strelitzia reginae. Heliconias, with their rather odd names, such as ‘Lobster Claw’, ‘Manoa Midnight’ and ‘Yellow Christmas’, flower in colours ranging from lavender, orange, green and yellow through to dark red and almost black. One of the most recent arrivals, from South-East Asia, is the curcuma, a lilac-purple plant, with colourful bracts that resemble the ginger flower, and which, along with proteas and anthuriums, displays the excellent lasting qualities of tropical flowers.
Several of the flowers and foliage types mentioned here are cold-sensitive, and should not be put into cold store, but kept at room temperature. Orchids and other exotic materials are valued for their long life, bold forms, strong colours and interesting textures.
Wedding flowers on a budget
You could use a floral headpiece as a substitute for the bouquet if you are on a tight budget. The floral headpiece can easily be used instead of a bouquet to throw into the crowd of expectant women. This sure is an unusual way to lend that personal touch to the ceremony and can be really inexpensive when compared to the cost of a bouquet. If you plan on wearing a veil, then flowers can still be incorporated into the design. Just ask your local florist to get the best advice on which flowers will look best with your colour scheme. Once you have decided on the arrangement you want, the florist can send flowers
Broad Channel over to you.
Additional information
If you love flowers as much as we do you may also enjoy Florist News Desk. Another blog dedicated to bringing you the very best florist information on the internet.
