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.

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.

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.

Image source Wedding Inspirasi

In the previous blog we had a quick look at the stunning flowers used for Edward and Bella’s wedding.  The designer Tammy Polatsek went to town with the natural woodland theme .  Thousands of flowers were using to make the wedding set, but don’t despair you can re-create the fabulous look without a big film budget.  To help keep your flower costs sensible try to use ivory flowers that are in season when you get married.  The flowers used in the film included roses, delphiniums, stocks, sweet peas, hyacinths, ranunculus, freesia, cherry blossom, wisteria and viburnum along with umbrella ferns, and lots of moss.

Image source Twitter

Bella carried a simple hand tied bouquet packed with beautiful ivory flowers.  It must have smelt truly scrumptious, it contained hyacinths, freesia, stocks and ranunculus.  Freesia and ranunculus also make beautiful buttonholes with a couple of simple leaves.  Although you can’t currently get married in a forest in the UK, you can get around this by having a legal ceremony in register office, and then having your ‘real’ big day with all your friends and family at a later date in your favourite woodland. Or you can of course bring the great outdoors inside.  Create a woodland feel by lining your aisle with tall branches with mossed arrangements at the base and flowers arranged to look as if they are growing.

The floral arch in Breaking Dawn was breath taking; it was very tall and packed with flowers.  It featured delphiniums, cherry blossom and other white flowers.  The arch in the film was so full with flowers, it would be budget busting for most brides.  A scaled down version could still feature lots of gorgeous flowers but with a bit more foliage and moss.  Many florists will have an arch structure that they decorate and hire out for weddings.

The reception tables had a very natural organic looking design on them, but they were quite tall and sprawling, so the plates and tableware were very close to the edge of the tables.  Things can get knocked over when the table is that full and if your guests can’t see across the tables they may even move your lovely flowers elsewhere.  I would opt for a design with the candelabra at the centre of the table and have the flowers around the base, arranged in a natural style with lots of moss and foliage.

Image source Entertainment Weekly

The wedding had a Mid-summer nights dream feel to it, everything was very natural and earthy in a forest setting surrounded by lots of flowers, foliage and moss.  The colour scheme for the flowers was white and ivory with lots of deep green ferns.

The ceremony featured low woodland style arrangements lining the aisle and a stunning floral canopy.  The canopy was made with thousands of white wisteria flowers made into 40-50 feet lengths. White lavender and cherry blossom also featured in the ceremony flowers. There were tree stumps dotted around the ceremony to complete the woodland theme, these were decorated with flowers so they appeared to be growing from the stumps.

The aisle was strewn with white petals and at the end of the aisle there was a magnificent floral arch where Edward and Bella said their vows.  It was covered in white flowers including delphiniums and cherry blossom.

Image source casasugar

The reception tables were dressed with moss green table cloths with fabric leaves attached to them.  The centrepieces were large natural designs with viburnum opulus, delphiniums, sweet peas, hyacinths, ranunculus, umbrella ferns and moss.  The centrepiece incorporated candelabras shaped like tree branches.  Small candles were also dotted around the arrangement.

Image source Summit Entertainment

The wedding cake was a large five tier design, simply iced and decorated with ivory and white flowers.  The floral ring surrounding the cake contained roses, viburnum, and sweet peas.

Everyone knows pumpkins make fun lanterns for Halloween, but did you know pumpkins also make great containers for autumn flowers.  Pumpkins look gorgeous with rich shades of autumn flowers.  I’ll tell you how to make your own autumnal pumpkin arrangement in a few simple steps. Before you get started you need to gather a few bits and bobs; a few fresh flowers in autumnal tones, some foliage, a block of floral foam and a few pieces of cellophane.  You can get most of your equipment from a florist shop; if you’ve got a garden have a look for any autumnal foliage you can forage to go in your arrangement.

Before you buy your pumpkin think about how big you want your arrangement to be, as your finished arrangement will be three times the height of the pumpkin.  So if you have a tiny space to display your arrangement in don’t buy a monster pumpkin.

To start slice the top off the pumpkin and scoop the flesh out.  Soak your floral foam in a bucket of water.  While your foam is soaking fill the bottom half of your pumpkin with scrunched up cellophane.  Cut a large piece of cellophane and place your oasis on it’s end in the centre of the cellophane.  Place the oasis and cellophane in the pumpkin, cut the oasis off about two inches above the top of the pumpkin and chop the leftover piece into two wedges, these can be pushed either side of the oasis in your pumpkin to make it fit snugly.  Trim off any excess cellophane.

You can now start putting your foliage and flowers into the oasis.  I used a mixed bunch of autumn flowers and a few berries and twigs from my garden.  Add the foliage first to make the outline for your desire shape and then follow that shape with your flowers.  If you’ve got any lovely autumn coloured leaves in your garden add them to your design.  When you’ve added all your flowers, check for any gaps where you can see the oasis and add some more foliage at those places.

Flowering Plants

Plants have different requirements depending on the family they belong to and their country of origin.  The plant should come with a care label.  Have a quick read of this as it contains all the information you need to keep your plant happy.  A happy plant will be a healthy plant and should reward you with lots of flowers.

The label should tell you the name of the plant, how much sunlight it likes, how often to water it, if it requires feeding and the correct temperature to keep it at.  To encourage your plant to flower for a longer period, remove any flowers that finish.

Flower arrangements

These are ready arranged so you can simply enjoy them as they are.  Perfect for busy people who might not have time to arrange flowers, or as gifts to hospitals and care homes.

Arrangements can come in a variety of vessels such as baskets, ceramic containers, zinc pots or glassware. They are arranged in floral foam that contains water.  They are very easy to look after, simply place on a protective mat and water every few days to keep the oasis wet.

Position the flowers away from sunlight, direct heat, draughts and fruit.  If the arrangement contains a candle, it should never be left unattended when lit.

Gift wrapped bouquets

These flat style bouquets are simply layered and left with long stems, so the recipient can arrange them into a container or vase of their choice. Perfect for creative friends or someone who enjoys arranging flowers.

Put the sachet of flower food in the container and fill with water.  Unwrap the flowers and remove the string or ribbon they are tied with.  Next remove any leaves that would be below the water line.  Gauge the height of the flowers against your container and trim at least 2cm off the stem at an angle.

The flowers are left long in the bouquet so you can put them in a tall vase if you prefer, you may need to cut more than 2cm off the length to make them the right height for your vase.  To make the display more aesthetically pleasing you might choose to vary the height of different flowers.  Place the flowers out of direct heat and sunlight, away from fruit and draughts.

These round shaped bouquets are arranged in the hand and tied, so the recipient can simply put them into a vase ready arranged.  The stems are in a bubble of cellophane containing water to keep the flowers fresh during delivery.  They can be left in the cellophane for a day or so.

Put the sachet of flower food into the vase and fill with water. Hold the bouquet over a sink and cut the cellophane off at the bottom to release the water.  Remove all remaining gift wrapping (but not the string or tie inside the cellophane wrapping) and any leaves that would be under water.  Trim at an angle at least 2cm from the ends of the flowers and place in the vase.

If the bouquet is too tall cut the stems down to the appropriate height.  If your hand tied bouquet is not delivered in water, the stems can be simply trimmed and then place into your vase.  Place your bouquet away from direct heat, sunlight, fruit and draughts.

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.

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.

This time last year I had the pleasure of providing wedding flowers for some good friends of mine.  It’s always extra special when you personally know the bride and groom, and they had also asked me to be a bride’s maid.  It was a gorgeous wedding at The Inn at Whitewell, in The Forest of Bowland.  The ceremony was held at St Hubert’s Dunsop Bridge, a few miles from Whitewell.  Before the ceremony guests were treated to a string quartet in the church and then afterwards at the reception.  Rose buttonholes with ivy leaves were worn by the wedding party.  The wedding reception took place in a marquee at the Inn at Whitewell. There are fabulous views from the inn across the river Hodder and parkland beyond.

The bride picked beautiful bottle green dresses for the bridesmaids.  After much deliberation (and several mood boards) an autumnal palette was decided on for the flowers.  The bridal bouquet was a large informal handtied bouquet.  The flowers centred on cherry brandy roses, these stunning roses were featured in all the wedding designs.  They have red outer petals and open into a warm orange.  Other flowers featured were mango calla lilies, burnt orange freesia, pincushion proteas, orange gerberas and hypericum berries.

A smaller version of the bridal bouquet was carried by the bride’s maids, which looked stunning against the deep green dresses.  The flower girl wore an ivory dress with a green sash and carried a gold wand with a single cherry brandy rose.  Marquees are perfect blank canvas for any colour scheme, the rich colours of the reception flowers made it feel warm and inviting.  The table designs were candle arrangements in baskets using roses, gerberas and freesia. I also used larch branches and red oak leaves to emphasis the autumnal feel.

The bride wanted the cake to be simple and elegant so we scattered some cherry brandy petals around it and on the cake table.  It was an elegant three tier design simply iced and decorated with green ribbon and diamante buckles.  In the evening the fairy lights covering the ceiling gave the wedding a warm glow which perfectly complemented the candlelight of the table arrangements.

A fabulous weekend was had by everyone who attended.  The weather stayed fine all day and the sun even made an appearance for the photos.  I wish the bride and groom every happiness in their life together!

The Queens granddaughter married rugby player Mike Tindall at the weekend.   The ceremony took place on 30^th of July at Cannongate Kirk in Edinburgh.  Thousands of people gathered along Edinburgh’s royal mile to a catch a glimpse of Scotland’s first Royal wedding in almost 20 years.

The bride looked very elegant in a full length ivory Silk Faille gown designed by Stewart Parvin, who is the Queen’s couturier.  The dress features a duchess satin hem and bust and a chevron pleated bodice.  Zara complemented her gown with cathedral length veil in fine silk tulle and the Meander Tiara loaned from her mother Princess Anne.  The maid of honour, Dolly Maude also wore a Stewart Parvin dress.  Her dress was a knee length cocktail dress in dove grey silk duchess satin. The bridesmaids and flower girls wore ivory dresses with grey sashes.

Zara’s flowers were designed by London florist Paul Thomas; she chose a classic theme of ivory and green.  The bridal bouquet was a hand tied bouquet of ivory calla lilies, green thistle, lily of the valley, hydrangea and silver senecio cineraria.  The bridesmaid’s bouquets were smaller versions of the bridal bouquet, accented with blue thistles.  The groom wore an ivory rose buttonhole with senecio foliage.

The outside of Cannongate Kirk was decorated with a huge garland arrangement made using hundreds of ivory flowers and foliage including roses, carnations, stocks, hydrangea, eucalyptus and green thistles. Inside the church there were four large urn arrangements placed behind the altar, of all ivory flowers and foliage.

images from marie claire

Singer and fashion designer Lily Allen recently married Sam cooper in a typical village wedding, their ceremony took place at St James the Great , a picturesque church in the Cotswolds.  Lily wore a vintage style dress by French designer Delphine Manivet, it featured a sweetheart neckline with lace sleeves and overlay with a long train.   She also wore a full length 1920s veil adorned with two large flowers.

Lily carried a gorgeous bouquet of country garden flowers in soft pastel shades.  Her bouquet featured garden roses, spray roses, peonies, hydrangea and field pennycress.  Her bridesmaids wore floaty peach dresses and carried small version of Lily’s bouquet.  The flower girls wore ivory lace dresses and wore circlets of flowers in their hair.

Either side of the entrance to the church there were two large arrangements of garden flowers in blues, purples and whites including delphinium, peony, hydrangea, scabious and viburnum.

A palette of pastel colours is perfect for a vintage themed wedding.  If you want to achieve the same classic look, pick flowers such as stocks that are available in lovely pastels shades including pinks, lillacs and creams. Scabious is another pretty garden flower, in either soft blue or white.  Lily Allen had gorgeous garden roses in peachy apricot tones, the David Austin rose Juliet is a lovely peach garden rose.

Common name:  Lily of the valley, May lily, May bells

Botanical Names: Convallaria Majalis

Origin: Northern Hemisphere, Asia and Europe

Colours: white and more rarely pink

Lily of the valley is also known as May lily which comes from the Latin convallis meaning valley and majalis for May-flowering.  It is said to symbolise purity, humility and the return of happiness.  It has long been associated with May and is said to bring good luck or protect your garden from evil spirits.  Lily of the valley has been the national flower of Finland since 1967.

This pretty plant is a herbaceous perennial that spreads it’s rhizomes (roots) underground to form extensive colonies.  It grows up to 20cm in height and has tiny bell shaped flowers up to 10mm in diameter.  The flowers have a beautiful sweet fragrance.  The plants offer good ground cover and thrive in shady areas.  Although after several years they can take over large areas or other plants if not divided and kept on top of.  All parts of the plant are poisonous including the berries.

The herb is used medicinally for various conditions.  In the First World War it was used to treat victims of mustard gas to lower blood pressure.  It contains cardiac glycosides which are used to treat heart problems.  The roots of the plants are used by herbalists to make an ointment that treats burns.  It should only be used by a qualified medical practitioner as the side effect can be harmful if used incorrectly.

In floristry Lily of the valley is used predominately in wedding work, as it’s petite stems are not long enough for normal bouquets and it is one of the dearer flowers.   It’s main season is March to May as a cut flower.  It is available in some other months, but it is usually more expensive out of season.  It’s delicate flowers look beautiful in hand tied bouquets or shower bouquets, and it’s sweet fragrance has a gorgeous old fashioned quality.   The delicate flowers are so petite a vast number are needed for bridal bouquets of only lily of the valley.  It also works well mixed with roses for an elegant vintage look.

The predictions I made few weeks ago for Kate’s flower style were almost spot on, neutral colours and understated flowers.  The flowers at the wedding all had a very natural organic feel.  The couple reportedly spent £50,000 on flowers, plants and four tons of foliage.  Shane Connolly was the lucky florist chosen to create design for the wedding of a lifetime.  He designed all the flowers for the Royal Wedding including Kate’s bouquet, she held a petite shield-shaped bouquet in ivory and white, not quite a teardrop, a little shorter.  It consisted mainly of delicate lily of the valley with some hyacinths, sweet william, ivy and myrtle.  Kate’s bouquet will have had a wonderful fragrance, as lily of the valley and hyacinth are highly scented.   The wired design was very understated and suited her vintage style dress perfectly.  All the flowers in the bouquet were chosen according to their significance for the Royal Family and the Middleton family, as well as their meaning according to the Language of Flowers.

Lily of the valley – return of happiness

Hyacinth (white) – constancy of love

Sweet William – gallantry

Myrtle – emblem of marriage, love

Ivy – fidelity, marriage, wedded love, friendship, affection

Kate’s sister Philippa wore a comb of lily of the valley in her hair.  The younger bridesmaids were cute as a button wearing circlet headdresses made from ivy and lily of the valley.  The bridesmaids carried tied posies of lily of the valley, hyacinths and sweet william.  The youngest bridemaids carried pomanders of the same flowers held on ivory ribbon.  The buttonholes were also made with lily of the valley.

The flowers in Westminster Abbey were all English grown, many from Royal Estates.  The aisle was lined with 20ft high English trees with growing lily of valley around the base.  The flower arrangements throughout the Abbey were made with ivory flowers incorporating lilac, wisteria, blossom and azalea in a very loose and natural style with lots of foliage including euphorbia, viburnum, beech and eucalyptus.

Even though William and Kate’s royal budget is out of the reach of most couples, there are always more economical ways to achieve your dream style..but that’s another blog.  I think today they showed the world a classic English wedding, and provided a lot of inspiration for a romantic vintage look.

Congratulations to William and Kate, I wish them long and happy life of love and laughter.

Mr Connolly will be heading a team of florists to create the wedding designs, including the florists from West Minster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.  Six members of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies will also be helping to decorate West Minster Abbey.  Shane Connolly is known for his use of organic and seasonal materials as well sustainable methods in his designs, using plants and trees where possible rather than cut flowers and foliage.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have ordered eight 20ft high trees in planters for West Minster abbey, to create an indoor woodland.  The trees are English Field Maple and Hornbeam and will stand in specially designed planters made by craftsmen at Highgrove, which is the Prince of Wales’s Gloucestershire residence.  The trees will be planted in Highgrove Gardens after the wedding.  Many of the flowers are being sourced from Royal estates including Windsor Great Park and Sandringham Estate.  The flowers and plants selected include azalea, beech, blossom, euphorbia, lilac, rhododendron and wisteria.  The couple have sourced additional flowers from English growers.

The couple have chosen flowers themed around the language of flowers.  All flowers have meanings and in Victorian times they were used to convey secret messages.  Shane Connolly is the perfect choice for their theme as he has wrote a book entitled The Language of Flowers.  The flowers and plants in West Minster Abbey are to be left on display until 6th May for public viewing and then donated to charities or replanted.

These are lovely gifts for anyone with a sweet tooth like me, or maybe someone who doesn’t have time to faff about baking from scratch.  Nothing beats homemade cakes and cookies.  The original recipe is from Bakerella, but I’ve made a few tweaks, as I found the original recipe a little too sweet. They are delicious chocolaty oaty cookies, I left the pecans out as I’m not a fan of nutty things (I baked a batch of cookies first before making a jar up just to sample a couple or five)

You’ll need:

1 1/3 cup of self-raising flour or 165 grams

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup oats or 95 grams

¾ cup of smarties (which worked out at 4 tubes)

½ cup of brown sugar or 75g

½ cup of golden sugar or 75g

You’ll also need a large glass jar, a small piece of fabric and some ribbon to decorate your jar.  I used a Large Douwe Egberts jar, but you can buy glass jars from TK Max or supermarkets.  I set up a piping bag rolled down to funnel the ingredients through, if you don’t have a piping bag you could make a funnel with some baking parchment.

I played around with the order of the layers and finally decided on flour first, then oats, smarties, brown sugar and caster sugar.  Make sure you pack each layer down really well, or it won’t all fit in the jar.  My ingredients just about fit in a large Douwe Egberts jar, you can buy plain glass jars from supermarkets too.  The ingredients should be flush to the top of the jar.

You’ll need to make labels and instructions for making the cookies.  You can design your own labels or use the ones on Bakerella’s site like I did, they are very cute.  I stuck the Cowboy cookies labels on the front and the instructions on the back of the jar.  Finish off your jars with a square of pretty fabric tied over the top of the jar with co-ordinating ribbon.

If you want to make these cookies yourself it is very easy using the jar mix.  First preheat your oven to 180 degrees or gas mark 4.  Mix the contents of the jar together in a large bowl.  Then add the beaten egg and softened butter and stir to form the cookie dough.  You might need to press the mixture together with your hands to get all the last bits to stick together, your hands will get sticky soon anyway.  Line a baking tray with baking parchment, then roll 1 ½ inch balls of cookie dough and place about 2 inches apart on the baking tray.  As the balls bake they will flatten into lovely cookies.

It has been banded about that Prince William and Kate might decide to go for British flowers, which would highlight the gorgeous cut flowers we can produce in Britain.  It’s a little early in the year for some British grown flowers, so they would be limited to spring pretties if they did choose to stick with just home grown flowers.  I would love to see William and Kate go for British flowers, and a selection of spring flowers would be beautiful.  Tulips, anemones, hyacinths, narcissi and lily of the valley are all available in April.

When Camilla married Charles, Prince of Wales in 2005, she carried a pretty wired posy of lily of the valley and primroses for her bouquet.  The wedding was quite low key and her petite bouquet reflected this.  It included some Myrtle from Queen Victoria’s Garden on the Isle of Wight. Queen Victoria included a sprig of Myrtle in her wedding bouquet and then planted the Myrtle in her garden afterwards.  Since then all royal brides have included Myrtle in their bouquets including Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales.  Myrtle is said to be the herb of love and is thought to bring good luck.  It is expected Kate will include Myrtle in her bouquet too.

Kate’s flower choices will obviously depend a lot of the type of dress she wears.  If she picks a fairy tale style dress with a large full skirt she may choose a trailing shower bouquet to balance the dress.  This type of bouquet is usually thought of as more traditional.  Shower bouquets have seemed to be out of fashion for many years as handtied bouquets were so popular.  But teardrop shape bouquets have been making a comeback recently, either as a smaller more compact version with a lot less fussy foliage or as a very modern waterfall design constructed on a decorative wire base with minimal flowers wired on.

My bet for Kate’s flower style is understated elegance.  I think she will go for a teardrop shaped bouquet in neutral colours, not a large bouquet with long foliage like Princess Diana had, but a simpler contemporary version.  Most spring flowers are not very well suited to trailing bouquets as they are wired, so I’m not sure Kate will pick British flowers, since she would have to use spring flowers at this time of year.

Whatever flowers Prince William and Kate decide on for their big day, I’m sure they will be fabulous.  Kate always looks very elegant and stylish.  I just hope the sun shines for them on the 29^th.

The independent product testing company Which? recently rated six online florists on their Mother’s Day flowers, unfortunately their decision to test nationwide companies means when it comes to flowers they missed out on the best of the bunch.  They only ended up with one bouquet from an actual florist shop and that order was passed to the florist from Interflora, a relay company. There are several distinct types of florists online and knowing which is which could greatly affect the flowers that are received.

Firstly the independent florist, they are generally a small company, whose main business is selling and delivering flowers from retail premises. It might seem hard work finding a local florist’s website, as there are so many listings for florists online, it can feel a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack.  Often florist shops won’t have a large budget for online marketing, so they will struggle to appear on the first page of a search engine. To find a local florist all you need to do is search florist and the area you require, you should be able to go directly to a local florist in the vicinity you require.  A real florist shop will always list their address and local contact number.

By ordering directly with a florist shop you are ensuring the people actually making your flowers will receive all of your money and you can see how much you’ve really paid for delivery. Your flowers are guaranteed to be hand delivered on the day of your choice as well.   Don’t kid yourself into thinking that someone bigger offers free delivery. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, plus delivery drivers and petrol are not free.  By picking a local florist you know you are dealing with experts, if you need to ask advice about the best type of design for someone in hospital or if your Mum’s favourite flower is in season, a knowledgeable florist will be at the end of the phone ready to help.

Next we have the relay companies; these companies pass orders between local florist shops.  For example if you wanted to send flowers to your aunt Hetty at the other end of the country, you order them in a florist, the florist sends the order to the relay company and they in turn pass it to a florist near the recipient.  It works the same way online, you place your order and the relay company gives the order to local florist shop.  But don’t forget someone has to pay for this service.  Florist shops pay monthly membership fees to be part of a relay service and they also pay for every order they receive by way of a commission as well, which can be up to 30% of the order value. You can cut out relay companies by searching directly for a florist in the area you require this also enables you to view pictures of the florist’s own work, rather than images from the relay company.

There are also order gathering companies, so called as they simply gather orders, take a commission and pass your order onto a florist.  This percentage varies, but can be as high as 30% and often the florist given the order is not aware money has already been deducted.  These companies often advertise for many delivery areas but when you look at their contact details, they may not list an address and only have a free phone number.  The quality and value from this type of company can be very hit and miss, if you are unsure about a company like this try searching online for reviews about them before purchasing.

Lastly there are the big name online florists.  You might normally buy clothes or food from these brands but they also offer online flowers.  They will have flashy websites offering a wide range of floral products for seemingly great prices.  But the flowers are actually often made in a factory by unskilled workers and delivered in an unattractive cardboard box.  When I say unskilled, I mean someone who is expected to whip flowers together very quickly, production line fashion and hasn’t trained for several years like florists in retail shops do.

Bouquets from this type of company are sometimes not gift wrapped and have very little foliage, so the bouquet will simple fall about in a vase and not sit nicely.  Often these companies do not use best grade flowers.  Roses are often the worst offenders from these types of companies, if a stem length is not stated then assume they will be very short and therefore have very small heads. Beware delivery conditions from this type of company too, as their flowers are often sent by courier which means a delivery date is not always guaranteed.

Every household name has jumped on the flower bandwagon in recent years, but what qualifies your favourite supermarket as an expert in floristry?  To get the best quality and service, search for a local florist.  All good florists will show pictures of their own work, beware of shops that only show standard relay company images.  Florists want to show off their own good work.  Many florists have business listings on Google and Facebook, these are good places to see images of florist’s work as well as customer reviews.

Common name:  Rose

Botanical Names: Rosa

Origin: Asia (small number from Europe, North America and Northwest Africa)

Colours: virtually all except blue and black

Roses have been important throughout history; the ancient Greeks and Romans linked the rose to their Goddess of love. In the Middle Ages Rosaries were made from rose hips, which were considered sacred. Roses have symbolised love and beauty for hundreds of years, they are also famed for their fragrance and healing properties.  Rose hips contain high levels of vitamin C and are used in products to treat a number of ailments.  Rose leaves and petals are used to make tea, which is also said to have healing properties.

Roses are avilable all year roun.  They are second most popular cut flower in the United Kingdom and one of the most loved worldwide.  They are commonly given on St Valentines Day. The rose is the national flower of England and worn as buttonholes on St Georges Day.

Each colour of rose has it’s own meaning, in Victorian times they were often used to convey secret messages between lovers.  Contrary to popular belief blue roses do not exist as a natural colour they are dyed to obtain a blue colour. There is also not a true black rose, ‘black roses’ are actually deep burgundy roses.

Red symbolises love and passion.

Orange and Coral stand for excitement, enthusiasm and desire.

Yellow represents friendship, jealousy or apology.

White means purity and innocence.

Light pink suggest youth and energy.

Dark pink stands for gratitude and grace.

Burgundy signifies unconscious beauty.

Lavender indicates love at first sight.

David Austin Rose

Old fashioned English garden roses have become available as a cut flower in recent years.  These roses have large rosette shape heads with many petals, and most have wonderful fragrances.  Spray roses feature several miniature heads on each stems.  They are popular for wedding work such as corsages and headdresses.

Roses are used in all aspects of floristry due to their universal popularity and wide range of colours.  Roses are very popular for wedding bouquets.  With so many colours available you are sure to find a shade to complement any colour scheme.

Every rose variety has it’s own name, a florist often sells them by name as certain varieties are very popular especially at St Valentines Day.

Red roses – Extase is a deep red rose with a fabulous scent. Grand Prix is very large headed red variety.

Pink roses – Heaven is a small but perfect pale pink rose.  If you prefer large roses Sweet avalanche is beautiful large pale pink rose.

White roses – Avalanche is a large headed white rose or Maroussia is a large scented white rose.

Lilac roses – Pacific blue is a lovely pastel shade or Cool Waters has pink outer petals with a lilac centre.

Vintage roses – Amnesia is a lillac/beige rose, Vendella is an ivory rose with an almost peach tone to it. Hypnose is a pretty dusky pink rose.

Sweet Avalanche Rose, Cool Waters Rose

We know that size isn’t always the most important factor, like a small bottle of fine perfume is better than a huge bottle of eau de toilette, but St. Valentines Day isn’t one of those times.

You could pick up a small bunch of short roses with your weekly shop, but they won’t get you many brownie points and may in fact have the opposite effect.  It’s hardly the world’s most romantic gesture, grabbing a bunch of flowers  between your newspaper and veg.

You may be thinking, but I can’t afford a bouquet from a fabulous expert florist – rubbish!  All florists cater for a range of budgets, from a single silky rose in a vase, to bouquets of mixed flowers in gorgeous romantic tones.  But if you are going to do roses…don’t get it wrong, buy the best you can afford.

The science bit is that roses are graded by length.  The length of the stem indicates the size of the flower head.  So if you buy very short stems, you are going to get very small flower heads.  Florists actually buy their roses by length, they pay extra to get long stems which equal big luscious flower heads and happy customers all round.  There are lots rose varieties and they all have their own names like Black Baccara, Ruby Red and Amore.  Two of biggest and most luscious are Grand Prix and Red Naomi.  Grand Prix is famed for it’s large flower size and velvet like petals.  Red Naomi has a very large flower head and an impossible number of petals.

Most good florists have an online shop on their website nowadays, have a look at your local florist’s and if you need any help give them a ring. They are the experts, pick their brains for suggestions, and they will probably tell you which lovely varieties they will be stocking this St. Valentines Day.   If you can’t go the whole hog why not send half a dozen roses or bouquet of mixed flowers with a red rose in the centre.

A bouquet from a real florist, will not only have the best quality flowers money can buy.  It will be arranged by a skilled expert, have lush foliages like palm leaves to hold the flowers perfectly, and it will be finished with gorgeous gift wrappings and a pretty bow.

Make sure you’re not in the dog’s house on St. Valentines Day, put your trust in the experts and go to your local florist.