Are flowers the key to a woman’s heart? According to consumer research, the answer is yes. The fact is most women truly enjoy receiving flowers, be it on a special occasion or for no reason at all. In return, the men who send them are as good as guaranteed to have made a lasting impression. A gorgeous bouquet doesn’t just say “I love you” or “I’m sorry” – it can say anything you want it to. Flowers are certainly romantic, but they can also give off a multitude of different vibes to suit mothers, close friends or family members. Undeniably, flowers are a pick-me-up for any female.

Let’s face it; the art of giving flowers is not exactly a strong point of the male species. However, with our guy’s guide to flowers, men can use these tips and advice on how to pick the perfect bouquet to send his intended message to the women in his life.

The first step is picking a recipient. Do not limit your options. Any of the leading ladies in your life would be ecstatic to receive a bouquet out of the blue. When sending flowers to a romantic partner, it is advised to keep her favourite flowers in mind. You may even choose blooms which signify important stages in your relationship – sending the flowers you had at your wedding would certainly be a thoughtful and meaningful choice.

For a platonic female friend, think bright, bold and beautiful. Wildflowers are unique and fun, and an ideal way to let someone know they’re on your mind in a casual manner. When it comes to family, a flowering plant or something with subtle colours should do the trick every time.

What about design, you ask? Well, while it is always advisable to trust your florist, do not be afraid to make decisions on your own. The 3 most important aspects in floral design are type, colour and texture. For an exciting and usual bouquet, why not include several different colours of the same flowers for a rainbow effect. An arrangement of multi-coloured roses would be both stylish and pretty.

Alternatively, create a fresh bouquet of blooms of different varieties in various shades of her favourite colour. This monochromatic look is a sure winner. Your other option would be to mix both colours and types, resulting in a contemporary and adventurous look to take her breath away.

As for the message in the card that accompanies the flowers, always speak from the heart and keep it simple. Honesty always prevails and she will appreciate the sentiment.

Whatever you decide, always remember to be spontaneous. As mentioned earlier, 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 is often said, size doesn’t matter. The same goes for flowers. 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.

Now you’re ready to put these helpful tips into use. Send some flowers today. Then sit back, relax and watch the smiles grow on the faces of your loved ones.

Source: StreetDirectory

Do you long to brighten up your home and catch the scent of fresh flowers as you enter a room? Decorating your home with fresh flowers is the perfect way to beautify and freshen your home while bringing the outside in.

No matter your decorating style, you can brighten your home by custom ordering an arrangement from your local florist or creating one of your own:

* Educate yourself on varieties of flowers and greenery
Knowing the varieties of flowers and greenery, their season, and the colors each is available in is your first step to decorating your home with flowers. Use a good flower encyclopedia for your research.

* Choose flowers, colors and styles that accent your home’s décor

o Traditional
Choose full-petalled focal flowers, such as roses, chrysanthemums, or lilies and accent with baby’s breath or solidago (golden rod). Arrange flowers loosely with a few stems of greenery in a glass or crystal vase.

o Country
Try a watering can, basket, terra cotta pot, or small bucket and fill it with tulips, gerbera daisies, or dahlias for a fresh from the garden feel. Accenting with spray roses, columbines, or larkspur will add a wildflower look.

o Contemporary
Choose flowers that make a bold statement with a single bloom, such as calla lilies, birds of paradise, or orchids. Your vase should be equally simple, yet bold. Use minimal flowers and little or no greenery to keep the focus on the individual blooms.

o Romantic
Create a dramatic arrangement with full, soft flowers, such as peonies, roses, and gardenias. Use draping greenery, such as ivy, and arrange flowers closely in a crystal vase or Grecian urn.

* Choose the appropriate flowers for the changing seasons
Many flowers, such as roses, are both available and appropriate year-round. Other flowers, however, have a specific season. For the perfect seasonal arrangement, choose the right flowers, colors, and accents:

o Spring
Tulips and daffodils are popular spring flowers, and are often the staple of spring arrangements. Soft or bright colored blooms are appropriate for spring arrangements.

o Summer
Sunflowers and dahlias are popular summer flowers that can be included in any summer arrangement. Bright or vibrant colored blooms will enhance your summer arrangements.

o Autumn
Golden or rusty-orange hued flowers are ideal for autumn arrangements. Chrysanthemums or red-dyed sunflowers, accented with autumn leaves, will make the perfect autumn arrangement.

o Winter
Amaryllis is a winter blooming flower that comes in red and white, and will be a stunning addition to any winter arrangement. Accent your winter arrangements with holly, ivy, or stems of pine.

* Care for your fresh flowers
Once you have the perfect arrangement for your home, you will want to be sure to care for your flowers properly. Our video guide to caring for your fresh flowers will provide you with important tips for extending the life of your cut flowers.

Place your floral arrangements in any gathering area of your home where they can take center stage, and enjoy your home as it comes into full bloom!

Source: http://interiordec.about.com/od/flowers/a/decorateflowers.htm

Fresh flowers will only look good for so long, but here are a few tips to make sure that’s for as long as possible!

1. Flowers love fresh water. Make sure your vase is clean and replace the water every few days. This stops bacteria from blocking the water vessels.

2. Cut the stems. As soon as a cut stem is exposed to the air it starts to close.

3. Cut stems under water if you can. If not, get them into water as soon as you snip them. Use a sharp knife rather scissors (scissors can squash the water vessels) and cut stems on an angle in order to create as much surface area for the stem to suck up the water. Repeat every few days.

4. Strip all leaves on the stem below the waterline. Wet leaves breed bugs, as well as releasing phenols, chemicals that clog the stem, slow budding and wither the blooms. They also tend to go mushy and smell!

5. Spray flowers with a cool mist. The beads of moisture look pretty too.

6. Give your flowers some fresh air. Flowers are sensitive to a natural chemical called ethylene. Keep them away from fruit, fungus and rubbish and give them good air circulation (not drafts).

7. Add extra life for your flowers in your water. Common ways to help flowers last longer include adding a sprinkle of sugar, a brass coin and a drop of lemonade to the water.

8. Keep poisonous sap separated. The sap of daffodils and narcissi is poisonous to other flowers. Either display them separately or keep them in water on their own for at least 12 hours before mixing with other flowers.

9. Remove pollen that stains. Avoid getting pollen stains on your clothes or furniture by cutting out pollen stamens in flowers such as lilies.

10. Talk to your flowers. Well, they say that talking to plants helps their growth! If nothing else, it’s relaxing.

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10. To remind her that you exist.

9. So she’ll forget that you came 2 hours late for your last date.

8. To prevent her from dumping you for someone who will give her flowers.

7. Because you can’t figure out what else to give her.

6. Sending flowers is easy – you can order them while you wait for the match to start.

5. She’ll tell her girlfriends about it, and soon you’ll gain a reputation for being a gentleman.

4. Because life is a bed of roses. Avoid being the thorn.

3. She’ll expect them. Sooner or later.

2. It makes you happy to see her smile.

1. Because you love her.

About the author:
Deyana writes because she is trapped by too many thoughts that have no way to escape but through her mouth or her pen (or in this case, keyboard). She believes that ‘all the world’s a stage’ – it is at times a comedy, and at other times a tragedy. She enjoys laughing very much, partly because she thinks that the tragedy would be lessened if people didn’t take themselves too seriously. She also enjoys doing nothing and can spend hours staring at something extremely mundane. She is waiting for the day when she can see traffic jams in the sky, caused by hordes of flying cars. Picturing such a scene makes her laugh very hard. Deyana currently writes for Streetdirectory.com Food Advisor & Travel Guide because, well, a girl’s gotta eat.

ONE DAY LAST year Sandy Meadows, who supervises the floral department at an Albertson’s grocery store in Baton Rouge, was helping out at another Albertson’s that had lost its florist. An inspector from the Louisiana Horticulture Commission stopped by and told her to throw out the seven arrangements she had produced that morning. Otherwise, he’d have to give her a $250 citation for practicing floristry without a license.

Although Meadows has nearly a decade of experience arranging flowers, state law requires that she practice her art only in stores that also employ a licensed florist. She does not qualify because she never passed the two-part licensing exam, which includes a one-hour written test and a highly subjective four-hour practical test judged by the very florists with whom applicants would compete. Unsurprisingly, most fail.

ouisiana appears to be the only state in the U.S. that does not trust consumers to judge the quality of floral arrangements. If Meadows gets her way, it will no longer have that distinction. In December she and two other women whose floral work has been praised by the public but rejected by the state filed a federal lawsuit challenging the licensing requirement as an arbitrary, unconstitutional infringement on their right to earn a living.

With help from the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Justice, Meadows and her fellow plaintiffs–Shamille Peters, a New Orleans woman who also has worked in an Albertson’s floral department, and Barbara Peacock, a Shreveport woman who wants to open a wedding chapel–are asking a federal judge to declare the licensing barrier a violation of rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. They argue that the regulations fail the “rational basis” test because they do not serve a legitimate public purpose.

Seeming to concede that point, Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom told the Associated Press that if the floral industry asked him to scrap the licensing requirement he’d support legislation to do so. Clark Neily, the lead attorney in the case, notes that “asking licensed florists whether they wish to throw the industry open to all comers is like asking the fox if it wants to stop guarding the henhouse.”

COPYRIGHT 2004 Reason Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Tip # 1. Always cut stems at a sharp angle. This increases the surface area of the stem and allows water to be better absorbed through the stem.

Tip # 2. Stems cut at an angle will not rest flush against the bottom of the container; thus they allow the water to penetrate the stem.

Tip # 3. After the end of the stem is cut, place it directly into the water. It only takes a minute for the stem to begin to dry and seal up.

Tip # 4. Thick stems and thin branches should be cut at an angle, and then cut up the center for better water absorption through the fibrous stems.

Tip # 5. Thick stems and thin branches should be cut at an angle, and then cut up the center for better water absorption through the fibrous stems.

Tip # 6. Remove the extra bark around the shat­tered part of the stem to prevent contami­nating the water. This will prolong the vase life of the flowers.

Tip # 7. Pull or trim all leaves and thorns that will be below the water level in the container. Allowing such materials to decompose in water will allow harmful bacteria to shorten the life of the flowers.

Tip # 8. Scrape all of the small debris on the stem such as small thorns, branching stems, etc. with a sharp, curved knife to thoroughly clean the stem before it is placed in the water.

Tip # 9. Clean stems should be placed in the deepest water possible to promote vase life. Water can be absorbed from the out­side part of the stem as well as the base, A nick or crack in the stem left exposed above the water level can create an air pocket and block water flow to the flower. The deeper the water, the less likely this is to occur.

Tip # 10. In conditioning flowers, the water temperature should be comfortably warm. Submerge your hand to test the water. Cold water is not as readily absorbed by the flower. Hot water will penetrate the stem, but will almost shock the flower.

Tip # 11. Once flowers are placed in water, they begin to decompose or break down by releasing gases and forming bacteria. The cleaner the stems and the less debris in the water, the less decomposition occurs, and the longer the flowers will last.

Tip # 12. All the same kind of flower in a vase or container will last longer than a mix of different types. Certain flowers have a different makeup and decompose by different means. This mixed reaction can shorten the life of all the flowers. The same kind of flower will break down by the same reaction, Actually, a single flower in a vase will last longer than several of the same kind.

Tip # 13. Cloudy or discolored water is an indication of decomposition and bacterial growth. Change the water in the container at least every couple of days, using new, warm water. This will open the stems to allow water to flow to the flower.

Tip # 14. Fresh, clean water is best for the vase life of flowers. Some commercial floral foods can lengthen the vase life as well, but be very careful in measuring the amount. Using too much can actually be harmful. Homemade versions or substitutions, such as lemon lime soda, are not a good idea, because sugar promotes bacterial growth in the water.

Tip # 15. Stems will develop a film and become discolored from stagnating in the water; this blocks water flow to the flower. Recut the stems each time the water is changed to allow water to penetrate the stem.

Tip # 16. Mixed arrangements are sometimes hard to disassemble to change the water and to recut the stems. Flushing the container with fresh water will help somewhat to prolong the life of the bouquet. Use the tap or the spray nozzle on your sink full force for a few minutes with warm water to flush the container completely.

Tip # 17a. Use a piece of heavy twine to tie your arrangement at the top of the container. Once the flowers are tied snugly, pull them from the vase. Recut all the stems at an angle.

Tip # 17b. Clean the vase, and change the water. Hold the tied bouquet upside down.

Tip # 17c. Place back into the container and cut the twine. Your bouquet should fall back into place.

Tip # 18a. Many flowers will open in the light. This does not mean they are not fresh. It is the nature of that type of flower, which will close again in the dark. Temperature will also cause the same effect.

Tip # 18b. Warmer temperatures will cause the flower to open, and cooler temperatures will cause it to close.

Tip # 19. Flowers last best in temperatures around 45 degrees. Misting flowers with cold water a few times a day will cool them and create this environment temporarily. Flowers can also absorb this extra moisture through their petals.

Tip # 20. Keep flowers out of direct light. Flowers will last longer in a place of low to indirect light. Light creates heat and speeds up the life cycle of the flower. However, flowers with a green tinge owing to early cutting, or tightly budded flowers and branches, will need a strong light source to develop. Once the flowers show full color, put them in a place with less light so they will last.

Tip # 21. Most flowers are accustomed to the outdoors, so air circulation is important for their vase life. Keep them in a place with good airflow. Cigarette smoking is harmful to flowers.

Tip # 22. Many believe that placing flowers in the refrigerator at night helps them last longer. However, many foods may cause a negative reaction in the flowers from the gases they release in the breakdown process. Placing your flowers next to a window or in a cool room at night is a good idea.

Tip # 23. Purchased cut flowers will usually be wrapped in paper or cellophane to protect them. It is a good idea to leave them wrapped and hydrating in deep water for about an hour when they are brought home before conditioning or arranging them. This ensure the flowers will be upright.

Tip # 24. Pinching or trimming off spent blossoms and leaves encourages other blossoms to open and makes the flower last longer. The spent blossoms take some of the energy the flower has to stay alive. Trimming these away allows the flower to channel the energy to the healthy parts.

Tip # 25. Some flowers, such as carnations and dahlias, have separations or nodes along their stems.The stem is thicker and more fibrous at these parts. Cut the stem between the nodes to allow water to penetrate the stem.

Tip # 26. Branching or spray flowers will last longer if the stems are separated at their base. This allows for water to be directly absorbed by each blossom.

Tip # 27a. Some flowers secrete sap or latex when cut. Singeing the ends will keep this fluid contained in the stem. The fluid is what the flower needs to last.

Tip # 27b. Some believe that placing the end in boiling water will seal the stem. This works, but the hot steam is not good for the flower itself; burning the end works the best. Try using a gas flame on a stove, or a candle with an extra-thick wick. Singe about one-half to one inch of the base of the stem.

Tip # 28. Poisonous flowers are best used alone in their own container. These flowers secrete latex that is harmful to other flowers. Condition by standing them in deep water with a drop of bleach for 24 hours before mixing with other flowers.

Tip # 29. Tall or heavy flowers, such as lilies and hybrid delphiniums, may bend or break before they are completely hydrated.Tie the tip of the flower and the middle part of the stem to a branch or stick loosely with twine to support the flower for proper hydration.

Tip # 30a. Flowers with hollow stems, such as amaryllis, are designed to draw water up through the outer layers of the stem. Some believe that filling the stem with water and plugging the end will help the flower last longer,This may help, but it is unnecessary because of the way the flower is designed.

Tip # 30b. Hollow stems will crack and break more easily than solid stems. Support them by slowly inserting a stick into the end of the flower. A clean branch or bamboo works well. Covering the stick with a soft, water-absorbent material will protect the inside of the stem and provide extra moisture as well.

Tip # 31a. Bent or cracked stems and flowers that bend owing to their heavy heads can be salvaged with floral wire. Insert the wire partway into the strong area above the bend or break, or under the flower head. Also see arranging tip 18.

Tip # 31b. Support the stem with the wire and straighten it to the upright position.

Tip # 31c. Gently wrap the wire around the rest of the stem.

Tip # 31d. Wrap the stem or the point of incision with floral tape to keep air from blocking water to the stem.

Tip # 32. If flowers wilt or droop prematurely, cutting them short and placing them in slightly warmer water should revive them. Both the cutting and water temperature help the blossom absorb water more quickly.

Tip # 33. Some flowers bend or droop because their flower heads become too heavy for their stems. The stems become water­logged and stop conveying water to the blossom. A tiny prick just below the head of the flower will release air, thus increasing the water flow.

Tip # 34. Wilted flowers can also be revived by completely submerging them in cool water. Do this by filling a deep bucket or tub with cool water. Place the flowers lying down in the water and weigh them down with a weight of some kind, like a brick. Let the flowers stay submerged for a few hours.

Tip # 35a. Some flowers bend or droop owing to light, temperature changes, or just because it is the nature of that flower.

Tip # 35b. Gently roll the paper around the flowers, forming a cone shape.

Tip # 35c. Secure the paper with twine or with staples so that the paper braces the flowers.

Tip # 35d. Mist the flowers and paper to keep them damp. Place the cone of flowers in deep water for several hours.

Tip # 35e. Unwrap the flowers and they will be upright again.

Source: FlowerstoCN