July 2012

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What to see at Tatton Flower Show 2012

11 July 2012 | Permalink

On-Moonlight-Bay-by-Claire-Skidmore-&-Clare-Edwards-2011

Gardeners and non-gardeners alike will flock to Tatton Park next week. The RHS flower show is mecca for flower enthusiasts and garden lovers in the North West.  The show is packed with gorgeous plants, garden inspiration and lots of goodies to buy.  It starts Wednesday 18th and runs for five days until Sunday 22nd.  If you plan to visit on Sunday, stay until the end of the day for the plant sale, when you might get a few bargains as exhibits are sold off.

The RHS Young Garden Designer of the Year competition takes place at Tatton Flower Show.  The competition is open to garden designers aged 28 or under.  Entries were submitted in January and the three finalists were short listed to compete at Tatton.  Andrew Percival, 26 from Northwich is creating a public garden designed to be used 24 hours a day in an urban setting.  Katharine Wills, 25 from London, has named her garden A Prison Garden for rehabilitation through Well-Being, using colours and design to encourage social interaction and stimulate peaceful and uplifting sensations.  Tristen Knight, 28 from Hertfordshire has designed a garden to show how forgotten industrial buildings on brown field sites can be resurrected and transformed into places of beauty.

An exciting new category this year is Orchestra gardens.  Four show gardens have been designed to reflect a different part of an orchestra.  The gardens represent string, brass, woodwind and percussion.  The category will inspire visitors to think differently about gardens and show how you can combine gardening with other passions. The Visionary Garden section is designed to challenge traditional perceptions of gardens.  By combining art and sculpture with horticulture, the aim is to break the boundaries of conventional garden design.

Paradise-Isle-by-Sam-Youd-2011

School children from around the North West are also getting involved in gardening at Tatton.  21 primary schools are taking part in the Jubilant Diamond Jubilee container competition, which celebrates the Queens’s 60 year reign. Visitors can vote for their favourite entry and the winning schools will be awarded garden centre vouchers.  Schools have been growing their own plants for the small, Front-to-Front Gardens as well.  These small gardens are 3m x 3m and are inspired by children’s television programmes.  Characters from The Magic roundabout, Postman Pat and Doctor Who will feature in the designs.

This years National Flowerbed Competition is themed around sports, to celebrate this years Olympics.  Lancaster City Council is creating a bed themed on cycling.  It will highlight the coast-to-coast cycle route, the Way of Roses that links Morecambe and Bridlington.  Other sports represented include archery, swimming, canoeing, long jump and running.

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Top ten black flowers – part 2

10 July 2012 | Permalink

black-tulip

Following on from the first part of my top ten yesterday, here are the final 5:

queen-of-the-night-tulip5 Tulip

Tulips are one of the truer black flowers. Queen of night is purpley tulip that appears almost black. They are mainly available in winter and spring. Tulips look fabulous as compact bridal bouquets.

black-orchid4 Orchid

Cymbidium orchids and slipper orchids are available in black. They are a very deep shade of red.  They are the most expensive black flower in my top ten list, as they are rare and only available as a special order.

chocolate-cosmos3 Chocolate cosmos

Cosmos looks a little like a single dahlia.  It is a delicate flower with a scrumptious vanilla and chocolate fragrance.  The flowers have a chocolaty red tone and are available in summer.

black-baccara-rose2 Rose

There are several black roses including black baccara and black beauty.  Black baccara is sumptuous deep red rose, and like all roses, it’s available all year round.

black-forest-calla-lily1 Calla

Black forest callas are my number one black flower.  They are very glamorous and structural.  Callas are available all year round, which makes them ideal for weddings. They are lovely in bridal bouquets.

Images:

Tulip image at top of article – flowerpics.net

Calla – lakesidecallas.com

Orchid – orchidcrazeme.blogspot.co.uk

Tulip – rhymeswithcrow.blogspot.co.uk

Rose – trrs.org

Cosmos – fiftyflowers.com

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Top ten black flowers – part 1

9 July 2012 | 1 comment

black-dahlia-flower

Black is the elusive colour for flowers, we don’t really have any true black flowers.  There are many varieties of flower called black, like black beauty rose and black forest calla lily, but they are really a very deep purple or red.   Dark colours recede, so when you look at them from a distance they appear to move away and look darker. Care should be taken when using a few dark flowers with lighter colours, as a single purple flower can often look like a hole in a design if used with paler flowers. Dark purple flowers have an intriguing, inky black quality and deep red flowers are luxurious and velvety.

Flowers use their colour to attract insects to pollinate them that is why darker flowers are rarer in nature.  The flowers in my list are all available as cut flowers, but they are not the kind of flowers you will find if you just pop into your florist.  A florist may have the odd black flower in stock but generally they are ordered in.

Counting down from number 10:

black-cornflower10 – cornflower

These pretty summer flowers are traditionally blue, but the black variety is very striking. ‘black ball’ is a very deep red with hints of chocolate.

black-gladioli9 – Gladioli

Most black flowers are either dark red or purple, gladioli come in both colours. They have fabulous long stems up to a metre long, perfect for big vases or pedestal arrangements.

black-sweet-pea8 – Sweet peas

These delicate flowers are available in a very dark red or purple.  They have short stems as cut flowers, but they are perfect for wedding work. Sweet Peas have a fabulous scent and are available from March to November.

moon-vista-carnation7 – Carnation

Carnations are great value for money and available all year round.  They are the cheapest black flower in my top ten list.  They are ideal to fill out arrangements or work well used on their own in compact designs.  Moon vista is a lovely deep purple with a velvety sheen.

black-dahlia6 – Dahlia

Black dahlias are a gorgeous shade of deep red. Their symmetrical petals are exquisite in this velvety shade.  They are available from June to October.

The top five black flowers will follow tomorrow.

Images:

Dahlia at top of article – thetreasuredpetal.wordpress.com by Trista Lerit photography

Carnation – florigene.com

Sweet pea – playingwithflowers.co.uk

Gladioli – dutchgardens.com

Cornflower – kerneliv.dk

Dahlia – fightthefondant.blogspot.co.uk

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Monkey Orchid

6 July 2012 | Permalink

dracula-simia

image: Steve Beckendorf

Dracula Simia is the botanic name of these amazing orchids.  Botanist Dr Luer named them Dracula, which means ‘little dragon’.  They are known as monkey orchids because of their striking resemblance to a monkey or baboon’s face.

monkey-orchid

image: S.Schneckenburger

There are over 120 species which grow in the mountains of Ecuador and Peru, at heights of 1000 to 2000 metres.  That is probably why they weren’t named until 1978 as they are hard to find, they are still very rare as cultivated plants. The orchids like cool humid conditions and have a scent of ripe oranges.

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Why you need a wedding flower budget

5 July 2012 | Permalink

rose-and-calla-shower-bouquet

When you arrange to speak to a florist about your wedding flowers, one of the first questions they will ask is ‘what is your wedding flower budget?’ I always supply brides with a price guide and advise them to think about their budget before a flower consultation.  But often brides still say they don’t know what their budget is.  There is no ulterior motive from florists when they ask how much you are thinking of spending, it’s the easiest way to gauge which types of designs and flowers to show you.

As you’ll find with all your wedding supplies, prices vary greatly from hundreds to thousands of pounds.  Flowers are the same, some cost as little as a pound and some cost over ten pounds a stem.  If I have an idea of budget I can suggest suitable flowers and styles to stay within your figure.  The brides that don’t give any idea for their budget are usually the ones who are disappointed when they receive the quote.  As the lovely items they choose at the consultation, are out of their price range.

spring-flower-jug

Don’t worry if you are on a tight budget, it’s far better for a florist to know that at the start.  There are hundreds of flowers to choose from with varying prices.  If you have your heart set on classy elegant designs but have a modest budget, a florist will be able to suggest ingenious ways to achieve your perfect flowers.  In some designs premium flowers can be substituted for cheaper alternatives to achieve a similar effect.  I am honest with brides and always tell them what their budget will realistically allow for.

To work out your budget ask your florist for their price list, and add up the items you think you’d like.  This will be a good guide for you to see roughly how much wedding flowers cost.  If you want only premium flowers, your flowers will probably cost more than the price list suggests, the opposite applies if you are happy to have more inexpensive flowers.  Wedding flowers do cost more than normal flowers, they take much longer to make, they are made by the most experienced florists and have more premium flowers than usual arrangements contain.

rose-buttonholes

You can also find lots of helpful information about wedding flowers on the Flowers & Plant Association website.  They have a price guide for the average costs of wedding bouquets and arrangements, or look on at the flower price list page, which tells you which flowers are reasonable, expensive and premium.

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