365 Days of Floral Education - Days 201 - 205

As part of our 125^th Anniversary celebration at Stein Your Florist Co. we are sharing a year of floral education, November 1, 2012 thru October 31, 2013. Each day we will post something new on our Facebook page to share our knowledge of our favorite things, flowers and plants and we'll be updating our blog every 5 days or so. No need for pencils and notebooks, just sharing some simple lessons in floristry.

Day 201 - Seen from interstate 5 in Carlsbad, CA, the 40 acres of wildly colorful fields where these Ranunculus are grown are such an incredible sight that over the years the farm has been opened up to the public and has become one of the few flower "destinations" in North America. First established by the Frazee family back in the 1930's, the Flower Fields of Carlsbad are now managed by Mellano & Co. The Ranunculus bloom from mid-March to mid-May and during peak production more than 11,000 bunches will be harvested for the professional cut flower industry EACH DAY! Once the flowering season is over the bulbs will be dug up for sale to the home gardening industry and the fields will be re-planted from seed for next year’s crop!

 

Day 202 - Greenhouses in Latin America are mostly not heated, so when there is a big difference between daytime and night time temperatures, roses respond in a way that the pigments concentrate. In yellow and pink varieties, concentrated pigments appear as red flames or intense color chips, but in red varieties, pigments appear black.

Day 203 - More than 100,000 people—many displaced by Colombia’s guerrilla wars and rural poverty—labor in greenhouses spread across the savanna. Seen from an airplane, the greenhouses form geometric gray-and-white patterns reminiscent of an Escher drawing. Up close, they turn out to be bare-bones structures of plastic sheeting stapled to wooden frames. But the low-rent look is deceptive; the operations are highly sophisticated, producing some of the most beautiful blooms you’ve ever seen.

Day 204 - Scabiosa “pods” are currently on trend, favored by brides and other fashion savvy flora appreciators for their intriguing texture and delicate muted colors. Though not pods in the botanical sense, these pale globes, comprising papery, funnel shaped bracts, do have a dried flower look. The species is Scabiosa stellata, and the spherical inflorescences are marketed as “stellata pods” from late July to late October.

Day 205 - The Uluhe (oo-loo-hay) fern (false staghorn) can be found all over the east (wetter) side of the Big Island of Hawaii. The ferns grow well from sea level on up to 5,500 ft, but the most spectacular Uluhe ferns are found in Volcano and the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The Uluhe begins growth as a shoot that comes straight out of the ground - with the fern tightly coiled at the shoots end. The shoot is about the thickness of a drinking straw. As the shoot grows the end uncoils and the fern leaves begin to appear. As the leaves mature they split into two sets of leaves, and from those another shoot can appear that will make another two sets of leaves. This can continue as the plant grows becoming almost vine like. These uluhe fern coils, fondly referred to as monkey tails around the shop, are very popular with trendy brides and look great in tropical bouquets.

365 Days of Floral Education - Days 141 - 145

As part of our 125^th Anniversary celebration at Stein Your Florist Co. we are sharing a year of floral education, November 1, 2012 thru October 31, 2013. Each day we will post something new on our Facebook page to share our knowledge of our favorite things, flowers and plants and we'll be updating our blog every 5 days or so. No need for pencils and notebooks, just sharing some simple lessons in floristry.

Day 141 - There are many different varieties of roses, including single roses, spray roses and shrub roses. While some rose bushes produce one blossom per branch, others produce several roses per branch. While a spray rosebush won't provide you with long-stemmed roses, depending upon your garden plans or decorative arrangements, spray or individual roses can work for your needs. Spray roses are typically smaller than blossoms grown on other types of rosebushes, but not always. They tend to be lush and have abundant flowers.

Day 142 - Geraniums have been a gardener's favorite for well over a century. The old-fashioned standard for beds, borders, and containers, geranium is still one of the most popular plants today. Traditional bedding types love hot weather and hold up well to dry conditions; many offer colorful foliage. Regal, also called Martha Washington, geraniums are more delicate-looking and do better in the cool conditions of spring and fall. Though most geraniums are grown as annuals, they are perennials in Zones 10-11. Bring them indoors to overwinter, if you like, then replant outdoors in spring. Or they can bloom indoors all year long if they get enough light.

Day 143 – Viburnum is a beautiful flower resembling a small hydrangea that is available as an import from Holland beginning in March and lasting until early April. Domestically it is available from May to early June. Though it is a short window to enjoy these pretty petals as a cut flower they are also a wonderfully versatile garden shrub. When the blooms are immature they are apple green in color and turn white as they mature.

Day 144 - In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is marked by the distribution of palm leaves (often tied into crosses) to the assembled worshippers. The palm branch is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace and eternal life originating in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. The palm (Arecaceae) was sacred in Mesopotamian religions, and in ancient Egypt represented immortality. In Judaism, the palm is associated with the festival of Sukkot. A palm branch was awarded to victorious athletes in ancient Greece, and a palm frond or the tree itself is one of the most common attributes of Victory personified in ancient Rome. In Christianity, the palm branch is associated particularly with Palm Sunday, when according to Christian tradition palm branches were waved at the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It was adopted into Christian iconography to represent the victory of martyrs, or the victory of the spirit over the flesh.

Day 145 - Scabiosa, commonly known as pincushion flower, is a genus in the teasel Family Dipsacaceae of flowering plants. Scabiosa plants have many small flowers of soft lavender blue, lilac or creamy white color borne in a single head on a tall stalk. Scabious flowers are nectar rich and attract a variety of insects including moths and butterflies. The symbolic meaning of scabiosa is unfortunate love.