Future of florists is bright

Telephone Books and Newspaper for Pressing

Telephone books are good for drying. They're cheap, plen­tiful, and have absorbent pages. This means you probably won't even need to use paper towels. If you bring the phone book right out into the garden, you can place your flowers directly into it (which lessens the chances of delicate petals being blown apart). When you open the telephone book to check your flowers, remember to start from the back of the book. The pressure will hold the other flowers flat.

For larger plants, use several sheets of newspaper. The fo­liage of many plants, such as ferns and astilbe, dry beautifully using this method and become more durable if you choose to send flowers Chester Park to another place. Follow the directions from a florist for layering each page. Cover with more sheets of newspaper. Allow about 10 pages between each filled page. Continue to layer leaves and paper, and finish by putting a weight on top.

Planting Depths for Summer Bulbs


If you plant your bulbs too deep, they will exhaust themselves trying to reach the surface; if you plant them too shallow, they may dry out or be killed by frost. For a true bulb, such as a lily, or a corm, such as the gladiolus, the general rule of thumb is to plant so the bulb is covered with soil equal in depth to approximately three times the bulb's maximum diameter (measured from the surface of the soil to the shoulder, not the tip, of the bulb). But many summer bulbs are not true bulbs or corms, and exceptions to the rule exist even among those that are, so that proper planting depths vary considerably, as indicated in the charts that can be obtained from a florist Bexley that show depths for many of the most common summer-flowering types. The fleshy rhizomes of the agapanthus, for instance, should be set upright just beneath the surface of the soil. The tubers of the glory lily, on the other hand, should lie horizontally and be covered with 4 to 5 inches of soil. Specific planting depths for other bulbs are listed in flower encyclopedias. In very heavy clay soil plant the bulbs an inch or two shallower than specified, in very light sandy soil an inch or two deeper. But stay within this range or you will run a risk of getting no flower at all.

Assembly of a prayer book spray

Collect all the materials together and, working on a sheet of paper, prepare the ribbons (if required), and then the foliage and the flowers. This elongated style of corsage will require longer-than-usual units of flowers and foliage.

Florists Hampton Park will assemble the corsage by binding units together under the focal flower. Use finer materials to create the outline, and position the main flowers in a curving line to establish the profile. Add the trailing units of flowers and foliage. Next, bind in single leaves and flowers on various levels and recess some materials. Now trim out excess wires; tape the stem end, and firmly wire the spray onto a ‘figure-of-eight’ wire foundation.


Check that the book is the correct way up, then position the spray on the centre, bending the wire frame over the top and bottom edges of the book and clamping it firmly onto the inside cover.

Place the ribbon streamers where they can act as a page marker during the ceremony. Check the design; adjust the materials; carefully and lightly mist the spray; protect the book with paper, and store it in a cool place until it is required.

Get some seedlings

Hopefully, many of your gardener friends will have spare plants and will be happy to give you seedlings and cuttings, and I do advise you to accept these even if they are not exactly what you want, for they can always be replaced at a later date.

I tend to plant much too close together, pessimistically assuming that not everything is going to grow, but I suppose the ideal would be to plant each subject with enough space to grow to full maturity. Seeds, of course, can sometimes be included within a flower delivery Blairdardie instead of you having to take a trip to the nursery. If you are strong-minded and can do this, I suggest filling in during the early years with annuals, especially those like atriplex and moluccella, which are also lovely for picking and drying.

How to Buy Bulbs


When you shop for bulbs, the best advice I can give you is to deal with reputable firms. If you choose to have the bulbs sent to you via Denton flower delivery, always be certain to check the bulbs before signing your receipt. Wrapped in the tight brown packages of their own tissue, bulbs can hide, even from a practiced eye, internal damage they may have suffered since leaving the grower’s fields. They may have been improperly dried, or cured, or they may have been overheated in shipment or storage, either of which can doom the embryonic flower inside. The terminology under which bulbs are sold is not much help: some are classified by their circumference in inches or centimeters; others are labeled “top size” or “exhibition,” called “jumbo,” “first size,” “second size” or “flowering size.” If you buy from a top-grade nursery, garden center or mail-order house, however, you can depend on the fact that, despite the trade jargon, what you will get will be of a size and grade suitable for growing in your garden with satisfying results.

Condition wild flowers

The most important point of all about getting wild flowers for arrangements — you must be sure to condition them as well as possible. I have mentioned that they should be placed in a polythene bag when first cut, then the re-cut ends put into very hot water. This is the same treatment as for garden flowers which do not stand well when cut. The boiling water technique may be used for a mixed collection of wild and garden flowers — hydrangeas, roses, dahlias, clematis, wild roses, cow parsley, willow herb and other wild flowers — treating them all the same. Place the end of the stems into an inch of boiling water, count up to thirty, and then stand them in cold water for several hours so that they may have a really long drink. You can also use this method of course when you have flowers delivered Benedict Canyon that need conditioning prior to being put into a vase.

What flowers can I dry?


Tropical cut flowers, such as the members of the Proteaceae family, can successfully and easily be dried. Australian honeysuckle (Banksia), king and queen proteas and pincushion proteas can ‘double up’ by being used in fresh arrangements before being dried. Foliage such as eucalyptus can be air dried and the many and varied species do keep a little of their fragrance for some time.

Kangaroo paw (Ariigozantbos sp. hybrid), another native of Australia, adds an unusual form to arrangements, and also dries well.

Latest Trends

The latest materials to be air dried are slices of fruit — apples, oranges and lemons can be successfully air dried in a warm airing cupboard, if you are lucky enough to have one in your florist Sebastopol shop. Encourage customers to bring their arrangements back regularly for cleaning, freshening up and maybe even sell them another lovely design.

Flowers for Drying

When we visited Colonial Williamsburg one Novem­ber, we regretted not seeing the gardens when they were in bloom. But the beautiful dried arrangements in each home nearly compensated for what we missed. For as long as people have gardened, they have dried flowers to enjoy during the cold seasons and also for the ease of flower delivery Tenaha, and modern techniques have made it easy to dry even those species that were once difficult to dry successfully. Many perennials are effective in dried arrange­ments, including artemisias, yarrows (Achillea), pearly everlastings (Anaphalis), small globe thistle (Echinops ritro), sea hollies (Eryngium), baby's breaths (Gypso­phila), and Chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi), as well as acrocliniums (Rhodanthe), strawflower (Bracteantha bracteata), honesty (Lunaria annua), love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena), and numerous other annuals. Many ornamental grasses, such as hare's tail (Lagurus ovatus), go well in dried arrangements, as do plants with interesting seed clusters and pods. Certain herbs are also worth drying. Look for the easy-to-dry plants listed in garden catalogs.

Preparing for Christmas

Carefully thought-out and well-organized preparation is essential if you are to meet the needs of this busy selling time.

• Clearing stock rooms creates storage space for the Christmas stock.


• Tidy workrooms, offices, chillers and cellars to gain maximum working and storage space.


• Plan shop window and interior displays so that special props and display stands are made in advance.


• Clean and re-organize the shop to give extra display and serving areas.


• To gain maximum interest, Christmas merchandise can be put on display in late October / early November.


• All stock must be clearly priced; staff must know every product, where it is displayed, and its name, use and price.

The florist Fort Wadsworth shop must always look attractive and full. Display areas and shelves must constantly be tidied and restocked to tempt customers to buy. During November, Christmas designs made with dried and fabric materials can be prepared, as can bows for gift wrapping. Nearer Christmas, prepare planted bowls and decorate holly wreaths, crosses and door garlands.

Serving areas must be stocked with wrapping/packing equipment and order pads. During the hectic Christmas rush, courteous, friendly and knowledgeable sales staff in the florist’s shop can make Christmas shopping a pleasure.

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