During my childhood, I was fascinated to see a large colorful plant with round pink or blue flowers. I was too young to understand why most plants had pink flowers and I would see a blue flower every so often. So I decided to research and write about the Hydrangeas.
Pink Hydrangeas
The plant with the beautiful flowers is popular again. There are many more varieties and colors available today. Hydrangeas comes in other colors such as green, white, with variation of pink and blues almost purple in addition to the traditional pink and blue. Some varieties have smaller flowers and foliage that will change to fall colors.
In the yard, Hydrangea plants are happy with moist-well drained soil and some shade especially in hotter climates. The plant will not bloom if there is too much shade, improper pruning and drastic change in weather.
The flower can be used as cut flower provided the flower is treated properly. If the flower is not properly treated, the Hydrangeas will wilt. The flowers are very popular in arrangements especially for weddings.
Pink or blue is determined by aluminum in the soil and is necessary to produce the blue pigment in the hydrangeas. Most garden soils have adequate aluminum, but the aluminum is not available to the plant when the pH soil is high. If the pH is too high, you can purchase Alum in the spice section of the grocery store and add the proper mixture to change the color to blue. Alum is used for pickling recipes as a preservative to retain the crunch for fruits and vegetables.
I recently purchased a pink Hydrangea and looking forward to changing the color of my plant to blue next year.
Article source: http://www.colormakesflowers.com/flower-arranging-blog/2010/06/26/pink-or-blue-hydrangeas/
I recently had the opportunity to design centerpieces for a beautiful wedding reception. The bride and groom requested for white or off-white flowers and the color theme for the wedding was sage green. As for the primary flowers, it was a toss up between roses and hydrangeas.
The young couple was very flexible when it came to flower choices. The primary flower was determined two weeks before the reception due to the unavailability of white roses. White roses were difficult to obtain at the Los Angeles Flower Mart. It would require at least 18 roses to make a nice arrangement in the container used. Also, depending on the type of roses available, not all rose buds will bloom and requires more filler materials.
Hydrangeas were selected as the primary flowers and were readily available during the month of June. Hydrangeas are large flowers which provided more coverage for less flowers. I also incorporated off white lisianthis and an airy fern was used for greenery.
The following materials were used in the beautiful hydrangea arrangements:
Hydrangeas four or five stems
Lisianthis three or four stems
Fern three stems
8 inch tall cylinder container
Sage green ribbons – a small amount of the container was braided with the ribbon and a hand tied bow was attached
handful of gems
A flower arrangement consists of primary, secondary and filler flowers with extras which are optional decorations. Extras are decorations that can be incorporated into your flower arrangements due to the seasons, holidays or a themed party throughout the year. Just use your imagination and most extras can be part of your floral arrangement.
The following small or miniature items can be incorporated into your floral arrangements during the year. These items can be ceramic, plush materials, resin or even wood.
For the winter months of January through March, footballs, small party favors, hearts, bears, shamrocks, gold coins, feathers, leprechauns, purple, gold or green beads, masks, chop sticks, lai si*, bamboo, small origami decorations and stirrers.
For the spring months of April through June, eggs, rabbits, pencils, bird nests, sea shells, fish, champagne glasses, pin wheels, insects such as lady bugs, butterflies, bees, flags, diplomas, graduation cap, tassels, playing cards and chips.
For the summer months of July through September, artificial fruits (apples, pears and oranges), stars, flags. Red, white and blue balloons and miniature umbrellas.
For the fall months of October through December ghosts, pumpkins, turkeys, scarecrows, snowmen, candy canes, pinecones, holiday ornaments, red robins, angels, penguins, ice skates, skis, snowboards and berries.
There are many more items that can be used. Just let your creativity shine through your flowers.
Last week we started a look into the history of the poinsettia by seeing the regions of the world where poinsettia grows wild and the characteristics that have made it such a striking and impressive holiday flower.
Now we want to start looking at how this blossom came to be known as the most famous Christmas flower and exactly how it gained the iconic position it holds today.
Pre-Colonial Use of the Poinsettia
As we described in part one of our look at the history of the poinsettia, the flower grows indigenously throughout regions of Mexico, mainly, and also parts of Central America. Because of its striking colour and the uses that it can be applied in it has always been an important plant to residents of these regions.
The Aztecs called poinsettias cuitlaxochitl, a word that roughly translates to “flower that grows in residues or soil” in the Aztec language Nahuatl. The poinsetta (or cuitlaxochitl) was used by the Aztecs to extract red dye and as a medication and, because of its beauty and functionality, it was an important flower in their culture.
Poinsettia as the Christmas Flower
With the arrival of European colonizers, the poinsettia became known for different reasons. Throughout Guatemala and Mexico it came to be known as Noche Buena (“Christmas Eve” in Spanish) and Flor de Pascua (“Easter Flower”) in Spain. It was also significant in South American cultures, with Chilean and Peruvian populations calling it a name that translates to “Crown of the Andes”.
It became part of Christmas traditions beginning in 16th century Mexico, where the influence of Christianity and Spanish culture began to give birth to a brand new holiday symbol.
Next time we’ll look at the evolution of the poinsettia, tracing how it came to be such an iconic flower in Christmas traditions by seeing its growth from Mexican folk bloom to an internationally recognized holiday symbol. We’ll see just how the Mexican tradition began and how it spread throughout the world.
There are a number of flowers that immediately bring the holidays to mind and, perhaps the most recognizable and iconic, is the poinsettia. Its vibrant red and green leaves are a symbol of Christmas and of the winter season in general.
We want to look at the history of the poinsettia, examining what it is, where it grows and how it became one of the most famous holiday flowers.
What is a Poinsettia?
The poinsettia is also known as euphorbia pulcherrima and exists in more than a hundred different cultivated varieties. It grows as a smaller tree or shrub, is characterized by dark green dentate leaves and bright red bracts/leaves. Although red is the most famous colour of poinsettia bracts, they can also range from cream, pink, white, orange, pale green or marbled tones.
This change in colour comes from the amount of darkness and light available to the plant. This process — known as photoperiodism — requires at least 12 hours of darkness for colour changing and intense light during the daytime for bringing out bright tones.
Where Does the Poinsettia Grow?
Poinsettia grows wild throughout Mexico and Central America and is native to deciduous tropical forests. It is most often found on the western coast near the Pacific ocean at moderate elevation levels. Poinsettia grow indigenously from Sinaloa’s south and along the nation’s coasts through Chiapas and Guatemala. It can also grow in Central America’s interior in seasonally dry, high temperature forests in Oaxaca, Guerrero.
Unconfirmed sightings have been made as far away as in Costa Rica and Nicaragua as well by amateurs but have yet to be officially acknowledged by botanists. Over time, the poinsettia has come to be found in many different regions that it does not grow native in. It does best in the conditions mentioned above however and requires the proper alternation of light and dark.
In our next installment of the history of poinsettias we’ll look at how this flower came to be so important as part of Christmas and holiday celebrations.
The modern Mother’s Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in May or in March/April, as a day to honor mothers and motherhood. In the UK and Ireland, it follows the old traditions of Mothering Sunday, celebrated in March/April.
Here in the US we celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. In the 1880s and 1890s there were several attempts to establish a Mother’s Day, but they didn’t succeed beyond the local level. The holiday was created by Anna Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia, in 1908 as a day to honor one’s mother.Jarvis wanted to accomplish her mother’s dream of making a celebration for all mothers, although the idea didn’t take off until she enlisted the services of wealthy Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker.She kept promoting the holiday until President Woodrow Wilson made it an official national holiday in 1914. The holiday eventually became so highly commercialized that many, including its founder, Anna Jarvis, considered it a “Hallmark Holiday”, i.e. one with an overwhelming commercial purpose. Jarvis eventually ended up opposing the holiday she had helped to create. She died in 1948, regretting what had become of her holiday. In the United States, Mother’s Day remains one of the biggest days for sales of flowers, greeting cards, and the like; it is also the biggest holiday for long-distance telephone calls.
Here’s our Top Ten list of flowers to give to your mother.
1. Traditional Bouquet
2. Carnations
3. Daffodils
4. Roses
5. Tulips
6. Freesia
7. Pot chrysanthemums
8. Iris
9. Lily
10. Foliage plants
The most highly coveted of ornamental plants, the delicate, exotic and graceful orchid represents love, luxury, beauty and strength. In ancient Greece, orchids were associated with virility. In fact, Greek women believed that if the father of their unborn child ate large, new orchid tubers, the baby would be a boy. If the mother ate small orchid tubers, she would give birth to a girl.
During the Victorian era, orchid symbolism shifted to luxury, and today this sense of magnificence and artful splendor continues, with orchids representing rare and delicate beauty. The 14th wedding anniversary flower, pink orchids convey pure affection, and the popular cattelya orchid represents mature charm.
Many related plants also share the name “Daisy”, so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as Common Daisy, Lawn Daisy or occasionally English daisy. It is native to western, central and northern Europe. The species is widely naturalized in North America,[ and also in South America.
The flower represents purity and innocence, devoid of any sin or guilt, daisy is the perfect symbol of innocence. Daisy is often used while confessing undying love. A daisy hints at a wrapped up secret and even points at keeping it hidden. Thus, daisy symbolizes truth too. It stands for the concealed truth, away from everyone else’s notice. When a daisy was given in public, it meant a transfer of secret from the giver to the receiver.
When you’ve just started dating a girl, birthday gifts can be really hard to pick out. You don’t want to get too crazy and buy a few dozen roses. If the relationship is fairly new, red roses aren’t the best route to take—we all know that roses are a universal symbol for love.
We suggest a nice bouquet of Daisies, Orchids or even Sunflowers.
Sunflowers are symbolic of adoration. Sunflowers turn their heads to the sun, which is the origin of their common name. Sunflowers belong to the genus helianthus, a reference to Helios, the sun god. In the United States, sunflowers are found in the midwest prairies as well as roadsides. The sunflower generally grows in scrub land and dry areas. Sunflowers are native to the Americas and are the state flower of Kansas and the national flower of Russia. Sunflowers bloom from July through September. Sunflowers are traditionally bright yellow with a central disk or reddish brown
