Flower Colors

Flowers associated with months of the year

January - Carnation
February - Violet
March - Jonquil (small daffodil)
April - Sweet Pea
May - Lily of the Valley
June - Rose
July - Larkspur
August - Gladioli
September - Aster
October - Marigold
November - Chrysanthemum
December - Narcissus

Caring for Flowers

Buying and cutting flowers

An important part of getting the most from cut flowers is to buy them at the right stage of development. With some flowers buying them when they are immature is as bad , if not worse , than when they are past their best. It pays to spend extra time to select the more mature flowers, with thicker stems than buy small ones you find in prepackaged bunches. They might be a little dearer but they will last longer.

As a general rule, aim to buy or cut flowers from you garden when a few buds are open showing their color. Often tight buds will not open once cut.

Caring for flowers
When flowers and foliage are brought home, before arranging them they all need to be prepared and given a long drink in tepid water to prolong their life as you don't know how long they have been in water.

Before placing the flowers in water the stems should be treated so that they will take up water more readily. The reason for this is that the cut stems heal up quickly with the sap drying ,like a wound. The following treatments should be carried out both when the flowers are given their initial drink and when they need to be cut again. Remember to put the newly cut flowers into water immediately.

Some kinds of flowers have special requirements but as a general rule, we can divide flowers into 3 categories.

Soft stems
e.g. Tulips, Arum Lily. These can take up water very readily. Cut each stem on the slant to give a larger area through which the stem can drink than a straight cut. Use a sharp knife instead of scissors as scissors can tend to compress the stem. The correct technique should be used when using a sharp knife.

Hard and Woody stems
e.g. Roses and Lilac. These have greater difficulty in absorbing water than soft stemmed flowers and greenery. Make a small slit up the center of the stem or a long slanting cut with a knife. You can crush the bottom of the stem, this has the sane effect but it is more difficult to push into oasis. Another way is to scrape the outside of the stem at the bottom. The easiest and effective way is cut the stem with a long slanting cut.

Hollow Stems
e.g. Lupins and delphiniums. Flowers with hollow stems are liable to wilt quickly or droop their heads. To prevent this turn each flowers upside down and fill the stems with water. Keeping your thumb over the bottom of the stem, put the stem into the water. The water pressure will keep the water in the stem

Other tips
Hot water treatment can benefit flowers. E.g. Dahlias and other greenhouse grown flowers like roses. Bring water to the boil and dip the ends of the flowers into the boiling water to depth of 1 inch for about 20 seconds, protecting the bloom from the steam. After taking the flowers out put them into water to a depth just below the flower heads.

Burning stems e.g. euphorbias and poppies. When these stems are cut they give off a white milky sap. Holding the bottom of a stem in a flame for a few seconds will enable them to absorb water more easily.

Pricking the stems e.g. tulips and ranunculus. These flowers will last very much longer if their stems are pricked with a needle just under the flower head as it prevents an air bubble forming, allowing the flower to take up water more readily.

Submerging certain flowers. E.g. hydrangeas and foliage benefit greatly from this and spraying afterwards with a mister. These types of flowers, roses included, take a lot of water in through their leaves.

Straightening flowers. E.g. tulips. Tulips are not easy flowers to arrange because they bend and continue growing towards the light. Leave them in the wrapper you purchased them in and put them in deep water.

Encouraging blooming e.g. gladioli and roses . To encourage flowers to open more quickly, place in fairly warm water and in the case of some flowers like gladioli, take off some of the top buds so the lower ones open more quickly. With roses, you can gently blow into the flower head to encourage blooming.

Keeping water clear and fresh. Before you put any flowers in water, clean the vase, put in the flower food provided, remove any foliage from the flower stems as they quickly sour the water. Cut the stems and place the vase in a cool room with a constant temperature, away from any radiators. Check the vase the next morning as flowers initially can take up a lot of water.

Reviving flowers
Reviving flowers. In the first instance, you can repeat the initial preparation of flowers for your vase or arrangement. E.g. roses, dip them in boiling water, cut stems again and place them in deep water. A lot of problems with flowers occur because the previous procedures have not been applied whether in the home , the florist or the wholesale supplier of the flowers. So give the florist a ring and say what has happened. They want you to come back again for more flowers so if they are good they will work with you to solve the problem

What flowers to send ?

Introduction

What flowers to send when sending flowers, is such a personal thing that choosing the right flowers is important. You also have to consider how the recipient will feel when receiving the flowers. If you take care in your choice, this will be understood by the recipient.

If you have time, look at the flower meanings page and star sign page for help.

As general rule, think of the occasion and age of the person, and imagine how the recipient will feel when they get the flowers. Sending flowers is saying what you want to say in flower language. There is always a card message to help !!

Birthdays
Birthday flowers and balloon

This is a happy occasion, so bright cheerful colors, appropriate to their birth sign would be a good start. I would suggest a Hand Tied with roses, carnations and gerbera in an appropriate color. Perhaps you could send a helium balloon with the flowers.

Anniversaries
At the foot of this page is table of Anniversary names so you will always know how many years represent a particular anniversary e.g. 30 years is a Pearl Anniversary. The flower selection can include a particular color. of flower to represent the anniversary.

Sympathy Flowers
The loss of a friend or dear one is always a difficult time. Flowers sent to the bereaved is always appreciated at a time of sorrow whether to the home, the funeral or as a remembrance. It is always a comfort to know someone is sharing your thoughts of the deceased.

A traditional or hand-tied bouquet, basket arrangement or just simple flowers in a vase are quite in order.

Flower deliveries for a Funeral can be quite difficult as you don't always know all the information about the funeral. As a local florist, if you don't have all the details of a funeral, we are only to glad to help. Local florists will know the local Funeral Directors and will be aware of what is going on. That's our job.

The ideal situation is to supply the date and time of the funeral, the deceased's name and the Funeral Director organizing the funeral. If you don't know this then the flowers would be taken to the home of the deceased, so phone no is very handy.

What flowers should I send to a funeral ?

I would suggest that if you were close family send a spray or maybe a personalized tribute and if your were a friend of the family a wreath. It is quite common to have only family flowers as there might be a collection at the service for a favorite charity so in that case it would be appropriate to send flowers to the home in the form of a bouquet or basket where they can be appreciated for longer by the family.

Special Days
Special days would be Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter. For these peak period days I would advise that you send your gift, with the exception of Valentine's Day, in advance of the rush as the florists will have more time to prepare and deliver your gift.

Flower Meanings

Flowers have been used as symbols of love and expressions of emotions as well as superstition for centuries.

The language of flowers started in the Middle East, where secrecy between lovers was essential. Each flower had a meaning and secret messages could be exchanged using flowers.

The Victorians adopted this language to send secret love messages as we still do today.

Nowadays however, anything goes and while we might not be using the old language of flowers so much, flowers still convey messages but are used increasingly as a fashion statement whether in the home or as a gift.