Clean fresh water is the key to healthy flowers

Mixing Colors

Because silk, preserved and dried flowers can be found in nearly any color range, knowledge of a color wheel will help tremendously in floral designing. Once focal colors are established, adding in accent colors becomes the next challenge. If you aren’t sure which color would be best, consulting the color wheel helps in determining the desired color range.

A good color wheel contains information and examples of color hues, tints, tones and shades as well as the basic information. This allows you to see how colors of the same or varying values would look when combined. Or how contrasting colors can work together to produce a harmonious arrangement.


Oftentimes the current season will be the determining factor in the colors used within certain projects; spring seems to lend itself to pastel arrangements, while fall seems to call for more striking arrangements. As a florist Redcliffe, my tendency is to use monochromatic or analogous color schemes simply because I am comfortable with those colors and the blended look they provide. However, experimenting with complementary colors often produces striking and pretty designs. They are nice surprises which encourage further explorations of the many possibilities involved in mixing colors in the floral designing process.

Wreaths

Wreaths can easily be decorated with dried flowers, berries and other dried material. Once associated only with Christmas, wreaths are now used year ‘round, both indoors and out. Try placing small wreaths on tabletops or around the bases of hurricane lamps or candlesticks. I suggest purchasing ready-made wreath frames from a florist Redbridge or other specialty store. They come in many sizes and shapes and are made of materials such as straw, grapevines, floral foam and wire. The first step in making a dried flower wreath is to cover the entire frame with a base material such as moss, artemisia, statice or lavender. These base materials can be added while they are still fresh and pliable, and they can dry on the frame. My favorite dried wreath is one covered with sea lavender. This lavender, which I collect in late summer, grows along the shoreline. I wire to­gether tiny bunches and secure each bunch to the frame with wire or clear fishing line. A sea lavender wreath is lovely by it­self, or with the added color of a ribbon. If you want to add more colorful flowers or other materials over your base mate­rial, allow several days for the base material to dry. Once it has dried attach additional flowers with wire or floral picks. Work in the same direc­tion, and go around the entire wreath. Complete the wreath with a pretty ribbon or bow.

Wildflowers and how to use them


The prospect of wild flowers growing in grass is a thrilling one, but I must sound a note of warning! If you have a large garden and an out of the way place where grass and wild flowers may grow in happy confusion, that is fine. But should your garden be small I would strongly recommend you to move with caution — after the first few weeks of delight the long grass will start to look a mess and very unattractive. It will also be difficult to get it back into shape as a lawn again. I believe Lady Bird Johnson was responsible for having thousands of seeds scattered on the road verges of Washington during her husband’s presidency, and I think that was a lovely thing to do.

If you are thinking of gathering wild flowers from the countryside it is important to have a clear view about conservation. Nowadays with the ever- increasing amount of building it is essential that we watch over our precious native plants. This is especially necessary in rural areas where the rarer species such as orchis, fritillaria, lily of the valley and other delightful flowers are at risk. The sorts of wild flowers you can safely pick are what I call ‘wayside flowers’ — wild flowers that grow along the sides of roads and which will be cut down anyway by the council when the verges are ‘tidied’. You will be surprised how many wild flowers delivered Geelong you will find — I have used dog daisies, which spring up in hundreds whenever any waste land is disturbed, sorrel and docks, hemlock, cow parsnip, parsley and carrot (better know in the USA as Queen Anne’s lace), willow herb and grasses of all kinds. They all flourish abundantly and picking them will not worry the conservationists.

The Growth Cycle of Bulbs

In the growth cycle of a bulbous plant, the underground bulb, nourished by its storehouse of food, goes through a number of distinct stages. The bulb sprouts roots, stems, leaves and flowers Cardonald, simultaneously growing larger or producing new bulbs for the following growing season. After the leaves wither, it enters a period of dormancy. All bulbs progress through each of these stages, but the details of the cycle vary among the five major types of bulbous plants: true bulb, corm, tuber, tuberous root and rhizome. The gardener with his spade or lifting fork plays a part in the growth cycle of many of these bulbs. Many of the true bulbs, such as the daffodil, can be left in the ground through the winter in all parts of the country. Most other bulbous plants demand more care during winter dormancy. A corm like the gladiolus, a tuber like the tuberous begonia, and a tuberous root like the dahlia must be dug up in fall and stored in a dry place until spring in areas where the ground freezes. Even in the South such bulbs produce the biggest flowers if dug up, divided and stored until the spring planting season.

What to send?


Women will certainly appreciate just about any flower arrangment that you send them, but each woman usually has a particular favourite. Whatever you decide, always remember to be spontaneous - this is the key. Receiving flowers for no reason at all is a sure way to brighten up the day of the people you care about. Not only will you score brownie points for surprising her, you will also have made her very happy.

As with certain other things, size isn't that important guys. If you can't afford a huge $100 bouquet then just go for a cheaper alternative. Do not be fooled into thinking that a bigger bouquet gets a bigger reaction. A small, tasteful bouquet can make as much of a statement as a larger sized one; the trick is to pick the appropriate size for the occasion that truly expresses your sentiments. Flowers delivered Pendlebury do not have to cost the earth, but it can be worth it's weight in gold.

My dearest flower series - Galanthus

Snowdrops are among the first flowers to open in spring and can also be grown indoors for midwinter bloom. Each translucent blossom is composed of three green-tipped inner petals and three longer, all-white outer petals; the slender leaves grow 3 to 8 inches long and wither away in late spring. Snowdrops grow particularly well beneath deciduous trees and are well suited to random planting amidst rough grass. The only species usually available from a South Shores flower shop are the giant snowdrop, 6 to 9 inches tall, and the common snowdrop, 4 to 6 inches tall; both have 1-inch flowers. The latter has several varieties; two merit special note: G. nivalis 'S. Arnott,' which grows 6 to 10 inches tall with sweetly scented flowers, is considered the finest variety. Another notable variety is G. nivalis flore pleno, which grows 4 to 6 inches tall with many-petaled globe-shaped flowers.

Tools of the trade when flower arranging

It is not necessary to rush out and buy a whole lot of equipment to complete a wide variety of arrangements successfully. The main purpose of taking the time and effort needed to arrange the material is to show it off in the most effective way possible. Care should be given to shape, proportion and colour, as compatibility between flowers, foliage and the container is essential.

On some occasions the vase may be almost as important as the flowers themselves. There are many times, however, when the container is hidden by the arrangement and serves solely as a receptacle to anchor the material and provide a source of water. In these instances, a baking tray can be just as useful as an expensive vase. The reverse may occur when you have only a few blooms, as the container’s style and appeal will be paramount and can contribute greatly to the charm of the arrangement.

A flower container does not have to be a vase. The kitchen cupboard will invariably provide a variety of interestingly shaped objects. Jugs, casserole dishes, a soup tureen, mugs, a lidless teapot or even an empty bottle or spaghetti jar can often provide just the shape and size to match the material. In addition to finding the right container, it can sometimes be necessary to use some florists Ramona aids. These materials can be bought from most florist shops or florist’s suppliers.

Spring Bulbs


To most beginning gardeners, spring bulbs mean crocuses, tu­lips and daffodils, and certainly no garden should be without them. But there are more than a dozen other kinds, (see your nearest florist Lorena if you have questions), each of which may include many species and varieties that are as charming as they are easy to grow: the tall, imposing fritillarias, the graceful, mottled trout lilies, the gay, free-flowering ranunculuses, to name a few. Moreover, most spring bulbs are inexpensive, multiply prodigiously and put on a splendid show of color in the garden.

But to prepare the show, they need time. Spring bulbs must be planted in the fall, when they look about as lively as split peas in a jar. They are not, however, going to sleep the whole winter away. Most true bulbs or corms are ready to release their stored-up en­ergy and develop their embryonic leaves and flowers as soon as they are set in the ground. They quickly push out roots from their bottoms and, a little later, stems from their tops. The stems probe upward, sometimes to within a hair's breadth of the soil's surface. Then they halt, even if frost has not set in, guided against danger by their own internal biological clocks, which stop growth when the temperature falls below a certain point. Sometimes the bulbs are tricked by a late-winter thaw and pop the tips of their stems up barely above the surface of the soil, but they quickly put on the brakes when the cold returns and suffer no appreciable harm. Afterward, when the increasing warmth of the spring sun finally signals all clear, they start growing again.

Polystems

Less expensive permanent flowers have their place in floral designing. Known as “polystems,” the stems are plastic-coated wire with fabric leaves attached to molded branches. Sometimes the leaves contain wires which allow them to be easily shaped to resemble natural leaves. Usually though, the silk leaves are glued to a plastic “vein” to extend outward from the stem. They are perfect when used as filler or secondary flowers, and are priced to allow them to be used abundantly.

Polystems that look like dried flowers are also available in a Park Slope flower shop. The tips of the petals are curled and stiff to the touch, having been slightly overheated during the creation process. If a dried look is desired, but the availability of dried flowers is limited, these flowers substitute nicely. In fact, since they are constructed of fabric, they last longer than dried florals because they eliminate shattering.

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 The Flower Fact Files which has even more information for you.