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It’s getting to that loved up time of year again.  Valentine’s Day is a few short weeks away and florists are preparing for one of the busiest days of the year.  If you are normally rushing on the way home from work, you’ll probably still find a florist open as they tend to stay open later on busy days, but you might not find much left to choose from.

All good florists will have Valentines flowers on their website to choose from now.  The easiest way to organise flowers is to have them delivered, all you have to do is pick what you want and order them, job done.  This will probably get you the most brownie points too, especially if you have flowers delivered to your partner’s workplace, everyone secretly loves to receive flowers in front of their colleagues.

If you want something more individual you can phone the florist and ask for their advice.  Florists stock all the usual flowers at Valentines Day as well as plenty of red roses.  But don’t automatically think you have to go down the red roses route.  It’s true red roses cost more during Valentines week than the rest of the year, because the whole world wants them that day, the price at the auction goes up. Florists usually stock lots of different coloured roses around Valentine’s Day, why not pick a bouquet of roses in your partners favourite colour.  Other colours of roses usually cost a bit less than red roses too at Valentine’s Day.

vintage peach rose

There are so many other options available, think about what your loved one would like to receive. Do they like roses? not everyone does.  Most people have a favourite flower, it is far more personal to receive a bouquet of your favourite flowers and it shows more thought has gone into your gift.  If you are stuck for ideas ask the florist, they will be more than happy to tell you what pretties they will be stocking that week.  Seasonal flowers are always fabulous quality and Valentines Day is perfect for spring flowers, plus they smell gorgeous.  A mixed bouquet with a single velvety red rose in the centre is another favourite.

Beware the last minute supermarket dash on Valentine’s Day.  You might think you can pick up something for dinner and a bunch of flowers at the same time.  Big mistake, supermarket flowers will not compare to a florists bouquet, most often squashed together in a bit of clear plastic.  They may be a bit cheaper but will definitely look it and your loved one will know they required all of two seconds thought.  Even the posh supermarkets don’t cut it for flowers at Christmas and Valentine’s Day, their flowers will cost the same as a florist but the quality grade will be lower and the stems a lot shorter.  Last year I told you how the length of flowers relates to the quality.

spring bouquet

If you only have two minutes spare to sort your valentines flowers, phone your local florist, ask for a bouquet to be made to your budget and collect it on the way home.  Infinitely better than a sad supermarket bunch.

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hand tied bouquet

You have just been surprised with some gorgeous flowers as a gift, they look amazing and you want to keep them that way as long as possible.  There are various things you can do to ensure your flowers don’t wilt prematurely and encourage every bloom to open.  I’ve written this guide to help you along the way and dispel some old wives tales about flowers.

Before you put your flowers into any container make sure it is clean.  If your vase been lurking on a shelf for months and is dusty, it will need washing.  If you wouldn’t want to drink out the container don’t put your flowers in it.  Bacteria, dirt and dust will cause flowers to fade prematurely.

It is essential to trim the stem ends, as flower stems start to heal after being cut from the plant and air bubbles can cause blockages.  Cutting the stems helps flowers to absorb water and flower food.  Read the flower food packet to ensure the correct dosage.  Flower food provides the necessary nutrients and prolongs vase life.

Fresh flowers don’t like direct sunlight, it accelerate the ageing process. So your sunny window sill will not make a good home for flowers.  Plants however need sunlight, although every type of plant has different requirements, so refer to the plant label for more advice.

fruit

Direct heat such as radiators will also cause flowers to open more quickly and dry out, therefore reducing the longevity.  Don’t put your flowers near any fruit as ethylene given off by fruit causes sensitive flowers to die.

Remove all leaves that would be under the water line.  Leaves carry lots of tiny things that will infect the water and make it smell, such as bacteria and fertilizer residue. Preventing infection is the easiest way to help your flowers last.

Old wives’ tales

Don’t be tempted to put anything other than water and flower food in your container, apart from having no way to measure the dosage, they don’t really do anything useful.  Pop a penny in your vase? Definitely not, copper coins release copper very slowly and are therefore not effective, plus most coins are covered in bacteria. Lemonade won’t work either as it doesn’t offer enough sustenance to support flowers.  Sugar won’t help either, it encourages harmful bacteria to grow and sees off your flowers early.

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Mmm….gingerbread

Gingerbread house

A gingerbread house to be exact.  It smells very scrumptious all spicy and sweet.  It’s entirely edible and I’m fending off naughty elves who want to eat it on a daily basis.

 

 

Gingerbread house

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plasticine flower

After James May’s Plasticine Garden at Chelsea, I was tempted to make my own plasticine flowers.  If you fancy having a go yourself there’s a step by step guide below to make a rose suitable for kids or big kids.

You will need a few colours of plasticine including green for leaves and some heavy gauge florist wires. (If you don’t want to let children use wires a pencil will do) The plasticine will need rolling a little to make it pliable. Start by rolling the colour for your petals into a thin sausage shape. Cut several small pieces of the plasticine and press flat into oval shapes.  These are the small petals for the centre of your rose.

Take your smallest petal and loosely roll it up to make the centre of your rose.  The next petal is placed around the open edge of the centre petal.  Continue adding more petals always placing them over the open edge of previous petals.  When you have used all your small petals, roll another long piece of plasticine.  Make this piece slightly thicker than the first and cut into pieces, which should make bigger petals.  Press them into flat ovals again and add to the rose.  Each layer of petals should be slightly looser to make a nice open rose.

plasticine flowers

When you are happy with the number of petals on the flower, you can make the flower stem.  Take your green plasticine and roll it until pliable.  Gather together about five wires and mould the green plasticine around them leaving a little wire showing at the end to place your flower head on.  To make leaves follow the directions for making petals and then pinch at one end to make the tip of the leaf. If the leaves are too heavy you can push a short wire through up centre to support them.  Place the leaves along the stem and push the flower head on the top of the stem. You should be able to make several flowers from one pack of plasticine.

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plasticine garden

Anyone with a remote interest in gardening will have heard about James May’s plasticine garden at Chelsea Flower Show last week.  An insider at the show said “it was touch and go. Some thought it would damage the RHS and what it stands for.”  Love it or hate it, it has certainly provoked a reaction in people.

Thousands of people crowded round May’s child like garden complete with apple tree, stream, rockery, veg patch and grapevines.  The garden was made entirely out of plasticine models of fruit, flowers and plants.  2.5 tonnes of plasticine in 24 colours was used to make it.  The team behind the garden labelled it “a sculpted art installation, not constrained by the rigours of season, climate or geography”.  The models were made by hundreds of volunteers including school children, war veterans and professional model makers.

I can’t decide whether I think it’s a very clever piece of art designed to highlight gardening for all age groups or a stunt to gain publicity for May’s new television show about children’s favourite toys.  The question that sticks in my mind, is how it could it be judged as a garden if it contained no real plants? The Chelsea judges obviously knew they couldn’t judge it as a normal garden and therefore it was awarded a plasticine medal instead.

plasticine medal

While I’m sure there are many true gardeners whose distaste for the garden will linger long after the plasticine has melted.  The people have spoken and voted for it in their thousands.  It has gained the much coveted Peoples Choice Award for small gardens.

The lovely photos were taken by Geoff Hodge

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