Artificial flowers don’t generally enjoy a great reputation; ask a few people their opinion and you’ll invariably get told that fake blooms are unrealistic, tacky and, well, just plain nasty. If you hold this view then perhaps it’s time to take another look at the silk flower – it’s come a long way since the mass-produced plastic abominations of the 1960s and 70s.

Silk Gerbera - Red

“Silk flowers” itself is something of a misleading, catch-all term, as modern artificial “silk” flowers are made of anything from polyester, cotton, real silk, rayon, latex and, yes (for stems and berries at least) good old plastic.

Advances in silk flower manufacturing techniques and meticulous attention to detail mean that breathtakingly realistic designs can now be achieved, with the added advantage that they need no watering, are hypo-allergenic and will last indefinitely. (more…)

As summer gives way to autumn, a new spectrum of colours slowly starts to creep across the landscape. Shades of yellow, orange, brown and red dominate the flora and fauna around us, both in the towns and countryside.

September

Harvest Time

Harvesting the crops is a crucial time for the farmers, months of waiting and anticipation for a profitable year depends on elements out of our control – the weather.  September is often a warm, sunny month – much to the annoyance of all those returning back to school or work after the summer break, so the barbeques will still be in full use during this month filling the evening air with tantalizing aromas.

September in the gardening calendar is a good time to plant spring bulbs and repair the lawn after all the summer wear and tear.  While the soil is still warm it’s also a good time to plant hedges and shrubs.  Generally September is the end of the harvest, both to eat now, or to store for later and collect seeds.

If your Birthday is in September your zodiac sign is Virgo (the sign of the virgin).  Your Birthstone is the deep blue Sapphire and your Birthday flower is the Aster – meaning Love, Faith and Wisdom. (more…)

There’s no doubt about it, the architecture that surrounds us is becoming bigger, bolder and more daring. As designers push the limits of what can be done with modern materials and building techniques, those commissioning them continually attempt to outdo each other, competing for who can boast the tallest, most striking or technically accomplished structure.

High demand for unique buildings and significant progress in the science of building materials and methods means architects are free to take inspiration from an impressive variety of sources, from the shell-like Sydney Opera House to the organic masterpiece that is 30 St Mary Axe, London (aka The Gherkin). It is perhaps inevitable that several of our most stunning new buildings honour some of the most beautiful creations from the natural world – flowers.

Lotus Temple, Delhi

The Lotus Temple in Delhi (more properly known as the Bahá’í House of Worship) is a marble-clad concrete structure built in 1986. Multi award-winning, it is one of the most iconic buildings in the world and draws massive crowds; it is estimated that 4 million people visit the temple every year. The person responsible for designing the building is Fariborz Sahba, an Iranian architect of the Bahá’í faith.

Lotus Temple, Delhi

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We often match flowers to a particular occasion or mood, such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or the theme for a wedding, but it can sometimes be a little trickier putting together the perfect bouquet for an individual; a person we might not even have met.

Constellation of Leo

Unless the request is specific, the florist will usually rely on input from friends or family, e.g. favourite flowers or colours, filling in the gaps with the knowledge of which flowers work well together. However, if the recipient takes more than a passing interest in their horoscopes, it can be a fun idea to match their bouquet to their astrological sign.

Flowers, just like people, each have their own unique characteristics and personalities, so here are a few suggestions:

Aries (20 March – 20 April)

Aries is one of the fire signs and Arians are considered to be impulsive, powerful and extrovert people. An equally forceful flower would be the Red hot poker (kniphofias); a strong and striking bloom. (more…)

However you feel about internet file sharing, when the music industry took notorious file sharing website The Pirate Bay to court for promoting copyright infringement, it really was a David vs. Goliath battle.

Standing against a consortium of international rights holders including Sony BMG, 20^th Century Fox and Warner Bros (and their team of expensive lawyers) was a group of just four young webmasters from Sweden, who were being sued for $13 million in damages.

Görel Wallis with some of her flowers

To fight their case, The Pirate Bay relied heavily on the testimony of a series of expert witnesses; among those who testified was Roger Wallis, Professor emeritus of Multimedia at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, who told the court there was no relationship between increased internet filesharing and declining album sales.

Upon leaving the stand, the court asked Professor Wallis whether he would like to be reimbursed for his appearance. “You are welcome to send some flowers to my wife,” he responded. Keeping an eye on the trial from around the world, hundreds of supporters of The Pirate Bay decided to act on his suggestion.

Several Stockholm florists had soon taken anonymous orders of flowers for Professor Wallis’ wife, Görel – hundreds of them, and they kept flooding in. (more…)

There’s nothing we like better than discovering remarkable new species of flowers. Whether they are sublimely beautiful or just plain weird, there’s always something intriguing about out-of-the-ordinary blooms.

So, after bringing you a few ‘unusual suspects’ in a recent post we thought it was time to showcase some more bizarre blossoms:

Corpse Lily

Corpse Lily (Rafflesia arnoldii)

The Corpse Lily is known for producing the largest individual flower of any plant in the world, but it is its overpowering stench of rotting flesh that gives the flower its common name.

Found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, the Corpse Lily is a parasite which survives by attaching itself to the Tetrastigma vine. (more…)

Could there be flowers on the moon by 2012?

It might sound as implausible and unlikely as polka dot roses, but a team of scientists in the United States are convinced they can grow the first flowers on the moon by 2012.

Paragon Space Development, a company based in Tucson, Arizona, has partnered with private lunar lander developers Odyssey Moon and aims to have the first moon-based seedlings sprouting in time for the London Olympics.

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Cream tea - lovely!

And it wouldn’t be a British summer without Wimbledon, which of course means strawberry cream teas. It’s that time of year when the home-grown (or even Pick your Own) strawberries are in abundance. Did you know that strawberries contain more vitamin C than oranges?  Go one indulge yourself!

At this time of year flowers are in profusion.  (more…)

Wolffia angusta

Along with the other members of the Wolffia family, the Wolffia angusta is the smallest flowering plant to be found anywhere on Earth. They are an aquatic plant and float on the surface of fresh water.

The minute Wolffia is also good to eat, being extremely high in protein; it contains proportionately as much as a soya bean! In many parts of Asia they are a valuable food source.

Wolffias are so tiny that, after being swept up by tornados, they have been found in the melted water of hailstones.

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