carnation

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The Flower Council of Holland launched their My Favourite Flower campaign with the biggest bouquet in Britain.  The enormous bouquet was made at Potters Fields in front of London’s Tower Bridge.  The Flower council tweeted that people could come and take a bunch of their favourite flowers away.

Passers-by were encouraged to give the flowers to give away to loved ones.  As research carried out by the Flower Council revealed that half of British adults have never been given flowers,  64% of men have never received flowers and 31% of women only receive their favourite flowers once a year.

The colossal bouquet stood 6 metres high and 5 metres wide, it took a team of 6 florists, 18 hours to construct.  It contained 12,000 stems of cut flowers, highlighting the UK’s top ten favourite flowers, rose, tulip, lily, orchid, freesia, calla, carnation, sunflower, delphinium and amaryllis.

My Favourite Flower camaign has a rather clever website where you can pick your favourite flowers and have the chance to win a bouquet of them.  It’s presented by more lovely boys like the ones here, who whizz round selecting the flowers you choose.   The campaign has been extended until the end of the month, so you still have some time to take part and win some flowers.

 

Images:

funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk – FlowerCouncil of Holland

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Jubilation-by-north-west-area-of-NAFAS

The North West Area of NAFAS created this patriotic design at Tatton Flower Show.  NAFAS stands for National Association of Flower Arrangers, they earned a Silver-Gilt medal for their display.  The exhibit depicts the royal barge Gloriana in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Parade, with the Houses of Parliament in the background.

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The intricate design in royal red and gold features eremurus, delphiniums, roses, carnations, anthuriums, gerberas and hypericum berries.

tatton-flower-show-jubilation

Hundreds of dried leaves were painstakingly applied to the outside of the barge to create the red paint colour.  Gloriosa, agapanthus and chrysanths are used in this section of the barge.

Cheshire-Area-of-NAFAS-tatton-flower-show

The Cheshire Area of NAFAS designed a display named ‘to keep thee what thou art, an English home’.  They were awarded Best exhibit in the Floral Design Studio and gained a Gold Medal for their work.

to-keep-thee-what-thou-art-an-english-home-cheshire-NAFAS

They used mainly white flowers with a touch of green, mixed with lots of earthy brown materials like gnarly branches, vines, pine cones, bark, lichen and dried leaves.  The flowers included calla lilies, roses, carnations, ornithogalum, and gerberas.

Cheshire-NAFAS-tatton-flower-show

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chrysanth-arrangement

We all want to get the most out of cut flowers and enjoy them for as long as possible. There are a few things you can do to increase their longevity and of course it helps if you know which flowers are long lasting.

chrysanthemumChrysanthemums
These robust flowers come in almost every colour imaginable.  There are two main types, spray chrysanths have lots of small heads on a stem, and blooms which have one large head.  Forget boring mixed bunches; new varieties from florists are funky and modern.  They are very hardy and will last up to three weeks.
Cymbidium OrchidsCymbidium Orchids
All orchids are long lasting, but cymbidiums last particularly well as they don’t damage easily like other more delicate orchids.  The exotic blooms are large enough to be used individually in arrangements.  They are available in white, pink, yellow, red and green. They last up to three weeks and work well submerged in vases.
AlstromeriaAlstromeria
These elegant flowers come in many colours from white to pink, orange, red and purple.  There are several heads on each stem of Alstromeria.  English grown Alstromeria is far superior when in season, usually from spring to autumn, with beautiful large heads. They will last up to two weeks or longer, sometimes English Alstromeria will last three weeks.
CarnationCarnations
You are spoilt for choice with carnations, there are literally of hundreds of colours.  You can get frilly, feathered or two tone varieties.  Choose from pure white to the palest pink, to cerise and velvety crimson. Standards carnations have one large head, whilst spray carnations have several small heads on a stem and are sold in bunches.  They are great value for money and last up to two weeks.
King ProteaProteas
These impressive flowers are very long lasting.  They come in in many varieties ranging from small pincushion proteas to huge king proteas.  They last 2-3 weeks, sometimes longer as they gradually dry out. King proteas can have flower heads up to 25cm across; the tactile petals have a velvety feel.  Proteas are available in a range of colours from white to pink, red, orange and yellow.
For tips to help your flower last as long as possible have a look at this article

Images:
Chrysanthemum arrangement – Justchrys.com

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Jennifer-Murphy-Chelsea-2012

photo: Flowers by Moira

First time Chelsea competitor Jennifer Murphy walked away with a Gold Medal and the coveted title of RHS Chelsea Florist of the year.  Jennifer travelled from Dunshaughlin in Ireland with all the parts of her design to compete at Chelsea.  The brief was to create a chandelier to be hung at the Queen’s Jubilee dinner.  The fabulous design contained 60 mini crown charms each embellished with a tiny button chrysanth to signify the Queen’s 60 year reign.

Jennifer used roses, chrysanthemums, carnations, calla lilies, phalaenopsis orchids, eryngium, and hypericum, all in reds and purples to represent the royal colours.  She made metres and metres of braided and crocheted silver wire and 500 diamante pins to decorate her chandelier. The design featured large rings of test tubes which mirrored the uniformed rows of crystals on chandeliers.  The design was a staggering 1.85 metres in length when complete.  Jennifer said she spent many hours preparing all the wire work for the design at home and then worked all night to finish it in time for judging.  The hard work and preparation was definitely worth it, Jennifer’s design was a worthy winner.

Jennifer-Murphy-Chelsea-2012-close-view

photo: Flowers by Moira

List of Medals for RHS Florist of the Year 2012

Winner:
Jennifer Murphy, Flowers by Moira

Gold:
Kate Bainbridge, Simply Flowers
Heather Rogers, Springbank Flowers

Silver-Gilt Grenfell:
Julie Cambridge, Julie Cambridge Floral Design
Amy Ford, Curtis & Ford
Jillian Page, Something Special Flowers

Silver Grenfell:
Lisa Fowler, Eden Taunton Floral Design
Tracey Griffin, Tracey Griffin Flowers
Younghyun Kim, Writtle College
Sherrie Phelps, B1 Blooms

Bronze Grenfell:
Lana Bates, Anastasia Flowers
Amy Curtis, Curtis & Ford
Sachiko Hojo Smale, Bicton College

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