Jewellery News and Reviews

Summers fade quickly, probably because each weekend is filled with a birthday party, a housewarming party, a barbecue, a holiday celebration or a wedding. Your flower garden looks great this year but the weather is starting to get colder. Sometimes the best way to prolong the joy of summer is to grab a handful of daisies, tulips, peonies and lilies to create beautiful summer bouquets. The good news is you don’t have to be a master florist to create something stylish and inspiring!

Step one toward creating vivid summer floral bouquets is, of course, the planting. The best time to begin is late March in the West or May in the East, after the threat of frost has diminished. According to Beth Benjamin, floral expert at Renee’s Garden Seed Company, the best flower garden picks are cosmos, sunflowers and zinnias. In the front row of her garden, she’s planted purplish blue cerinthe, deep violet love-in-a-mist and phlox. Her second row is comprised of white cosmos flanked by chartreuse bells-of-Ireland and backed by white ammi majus as filler. In the third row, round colorful zinnias grow next to blue and red salvia. The fourth row hangs ardent love-lies-bleeding to the left and cherry pink cleome to the right, flanked by pink and rose cosmos. In the rear, tall sunflowers grow with strawflowers at each end.

For perfect summer bouquets use sharp clippers to make a clean break that won’t crush the stem. Given the right cut, water will be able to travel up the stem into the flower head to make your bouquet last longer. Another trick is to give the flowers a second snipping underwater, by filling your sink with several inches of water, which will send water up the stem, rather than air. Before arranging, keep the blooms in a cool, dark spot for a few hours. “There are many old wives’ tale recipes for flower food,” says floral consultant Libbey Oliver. “Flowers fresh from the garden really don’t need extra nutrients. Instead, every few days re-cut the stems and change the water in the vase. This will prolong their life more than anything added to the water.” Florists do offer small packets of nutrients as well.

Summer bouquets can be colorful or fragrant, relaxing or invigorating, country or contemporary, depending on your selection. Nothing sets the mood like a bit of fresh nature in your living space. A recent Harvard Study found that people who had floral bouquets in their homes were generally happier, with greater productivity at work. They felt more compassionate and more energetic, the study found. “Other research has proven that flowers make people happy when they receive them,” said head researcher Nancy Etcoff. “What we didn’t know is that spending a few days with flowers in the home can influence a wide variety of feelings.”

Flowers top the list of the “most popular product purchased online.” Even though electronics, books, toys and wines are also purchased via the internet, it seems that reliable flower delivery has spread like wildfire. The Society of American Florists reports that the industry made roughly $20.1 billion last year and that there are about 22,751 local shops operating in the US. Even though online sellers have flourished, many of these local shops continue to do well because they pair up with the national giants to service their local markets.

There are numerous occasions to buy flowers, the most obvious being Valentine’s Day and Birthdays. However, never underestimate the power of an unexpected delivery! To really impress someone, send an arrangement to acknowledge a job promotion or to express sympathy during a difficult time. For family members, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving and Easter are popular times too. It’s customary to send flowers gifts of to newlyweds to wish them well. Of course, there are also flower faux pas to be aware of.

For instance, it’s not customary to send flowers to Muslims following a family member’s death. In Asian culture, white blooms are given only during mournful and unhappy occasions. In the US, it’s customary to send the flowers in arrangements of one dozen, but in some European countries an even number is considered inappropriate. Also, Asians have superstitions about receiving four blooms (which signifies “death”) and many countries are superstitious about the number thirteen.

If you are planning to send flowers to your mate, then you will want to choose just the right ones. At www.avantegardens.com/design-your-own-flowers.html you can choose your style, size, colors and favorites, and then you will be sent a picture of your creation before sending! Similarly, www.myfloralplace.com allows you to browse signature floral bouquets, then customize by using an interactive tool to add or remove blooms and view online before ordering. While each flower has its own meaning, do not feel limited to this type of arrangement. Rather, create a message that says something about your loved one. Perhaps you will put together a fiery combination to match her fiery personality or you’ll want a rare, exotic bouquet to match your rare love. Is your lover free-spirited or traditional? What is her favorite color or variety of flower? The best bouquets of flowers show that you truly know your partner.

There are many places to buy flowers. Some people like to go down to their local flower shop and choose right there, while others like to browse and order online. Websites like www.ftd.com, www.proflowers.com and www.1800flowers.com offer great, reliable online shopping experiences. Often, online shops offer same day flower delivery, which is very convenient. While the ease of flower sending via the internet is indisputable, some consumers still prefer traditional shops because the delivery charges are more straight-forward and they can hand-write their own cards.

The difference between heading to your local flower shop and purchasing flowers online is primarily just convenience. While you may be able to find a cheaper iPod online, such is not really the case with a flower delivery. Generally, a big national name will be serviced by local florists anyway, so the prices are usually comparable. There are other points to consider when ordering blooms online though.

First of all, when buying flowers via the internet, you’ll need to be aware who you’re ordering from. Since anyone can open a website, you’re not necessarily ordering from an established florist. Some mom-and-pop flower shops service just a small area and have a website taking online orders for local deliveries only. Other times, a national website will be equipped to handle online orders, yet will expect local affiliates to fulfill the arranging and delivering for them. A third possibility is that you’re ordering from floral growers, brokers, shippers or marketers that ship unarranged flowers in a box by overnight air. It’s easy to assume that all flowers are delivered by hand in a beautiful vase, yet when you’re ordering from these guys, they will send flowers in boxes and you’ll need to do the arranging when they arrive. If the price seems “too good to be true,” then you may be ordering directly from a grower.

There are a number of “order gatherers” online who pocket a nice commission before having local flower shops pick up the slack. “Consumers receive less than what they pay for and have little recourse for resolving problems,” explains Amy Stewart, author of “Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers.” She adds that order gatherers often appear local but are usually based elsewhere. If you’d like to avoid the middle man while ordering flowers online, then she advises checking out local business directories like www.bbrooks.com or www.flowershopnetwork.com.

When choosing flowers online, find a florist with years of experience, has industry credentials and provides consumer testimonials. Look for secure ordering, a satisfaction guarantee and a seller that has won awards. Many people prefer looking up local flower shops, but some national sites have a good reputation, such as www.ftd.com, www.proflowers.com and www.teleflora.com, to name a few. Be aware that the middle man sites may be scooping a nice commission before passing on the order to a local florist, who fills up to dollar value, resulting in less flowers than you anticipated.

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