Spring Floral Tips & Trends

Spring is in the air! Well maybe not in Rochester-yet-but it will be soon!!

“It’s a Garden Life” is the theme for this year’s Gardenscape at the Monroe County Fair & Expo Center from March 13-16.   Gardenscape is the annual flower & garden show for the Gardenscape Professionals Association. The landscape and garden displays are always breathtaking and inspiring; as well as the perfect RX to get our winter weary souls through the next few weeks. Rockcastle Florist along with some of our fellow Floral Association members will be providing accents and displays to help reinforce the spring theme at the former Dome Arena.

Easter is early this year
Sunday, March 23!!

This is a great time of year to celebrate the change of seasons, especially with the promise of Spring just around the corner.  Along with a great assortment of bright, fresh spring floral bouquets, baskets and centerpieces for the Easter Holiday we have an abundance of bulb and flowering plants.

Bulb plants are a wonderful pick me up and a gift that continues to give long after the flowers are gone.  Bulb plants and gardens are generally designed while in the green state of development. After they are received you can enjoy the development of the blooms as they mature.  You may also cut the blooms off of the bulb plants and keep them in a vase of clear water for even more prolonged enjoyment.  Cut the bulbs from the plant, remove them from the soil and they can be planted in your garden in the fall.  Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths, Crocus and Iris are in great supply from now until Easter.

Other great plant varieties available this season are indoor and hardy azaleas, hydrangeas, mums, reiger begonias and calla lily plants.

Trendy Spring Bulbs
A wonderful trend with flowering bulb plants is to remove the stem and bulb from the soil, while keeping it in tact.

Carefully remove all soil from the stem and bulb area, gently rinse under water to remove all soil; try to keep roots in tact.

Find a clear, shallow vase in a square or round shape (approximately 5”x5” is a nice size). Add a nice layer of natural color river rock to the bottom of vase. 

Place clean stems with bulbs in the vase, be generous with the amount that you use as the arrangement should look dense and the flowers should add support to the arrangement.

Hyacinths are a great choice for this. They are short and will only peek out a little over the top of the vase.

Cut flower & Fresh Arrangement Care
When receiving a bouquet of fresh cut flowers, follow these preparation guidelines for longer lasting flowers while placing them in your vase:

Gently, remove any foliage from the stems that will fall below the water line in your vase. Greens and foliage that remain below the water line can contribute to bacteria build up in your water.
Always (even if they arrive in water tubes) give the bottoms of stems a fresh cut on a diagonal with a sharp kitchen knife, then immediately place in fresh water with flower food.  Scissors will compress the stem and actually do more harm than good. The fresh cut with a sharp knife allows that stem to take fresh water again, re-hydrating the stem and head of the flower.

Check water daily, if it appears to be cloudy, change it as needed, add more flower food if available.  Flower food helps to cut down on the bacteria build up in the water and aids in the hydration for most cut flower varieties.

Display arrangement in your home out of direct sunlight or heart source if possible.  Concentration of extreme sun and heat will take away from the longevity of your bouquet.  Never place fresh bouquets on any appliances, such as the TV or Stereo.

When you receive a bouquet in a glass vase, follow the instructions above for “check water daily” and change water as needed.

Bouquets received that have been designed in fresh floral foam, require water daily. Just add water between the oasis (green foam) and the liner it sits in. Try not to over water, as it will seep out of container it sits in if water overflows the container. You may want to add water at the sink to avoid water on your table.  
 
I hope you find this information useful as you continue to enjoy fresh flowers and plants.

Please join me next month when I will be discussing this year’s Prom Trends and Fashion flowers!!

Wendy Rockcastle

Posted by: admin | 03-10-2008 | 08:03 AM
Posted in: Uncategorized