Brief Introduction Of Anthurium

Less than two hundred years ago, anthurium flowers looked completely different than the way they look today. They produced much plainer looking flowers and they grew untouched by man in the Amazonian rain forests of South America. It was not until the late 1800s that they were introduced to Hawaii by a man named Samuel Damon. Rather, they are fed through two of sources of nourishment. The first is decaying leaf litter. As leaves fall the collect around the roots of these plants and as the leaves decay, they provide a steady source of nutrients. Second, minerals from massive dust storms on the African continent are blown across the Atlantic and are deposited upon these plants when it rains.

When you keep your anthurium plant indoors, the great thing is you are not likely to run into any problems with pests, like scales, thrips and aphids. But if you do encounter these types of infestations you may cope with the majority of them by misting the leaves of your anthurium with water and cleaning them with a soft wash cloth. If this is not sufficient, you may use an insecticidal soap to hold these kinds of infestations at bay. The more difficult, but far more powerful, method to feed your plant is to use a liquid fertilizer. Should you choose to go down this path, you'll want to water down the fertilizer to 10 percent of its regular, recommended strength and use it weekly. This will take a lot more effort, however it may result in a bigger plant and larger flowers.

The 1940s were the decade when Hawaii's anthurium enthusiasts learned how to selectively breed these flowers to produce the dazzling varieties of flowers that we have today. Before this, these plants were propagated solely by cuttings, and when propagated by cuttings, the child plants end up looking exactly like the parent plants. These types of anthuriums usually come in solid colors and are heart shaped, the most famous color being red. While obake anthuriums, on the other hand, are larger than standard anthuriums and they usually come in an elongated heart shape and generally come in two or more colors. And finally, tulip anthuriums are shaped like tulips and come in pleasing colors like white, pink and purple. But if you do encounter these types of infestations you may cope with the majority of them by misting the leaves of your anthurium with water and cleaning them with a soft wash cloth. If this is not sufficient, you may use an insecticidal soap to hold these kinds of infestations at bay.

Sophisticated Bouquet At The Wedding

If you are particularly on a budget wedding, it is very necessary to save every penny for the more crucial needs. So, instead of getting one from the overpriced florist, why don't you make your own cascading bouquet? Parties and special occasions happen throughout the year. Sometimes it's nice to show your host how much you appreciate her and her hard work for throwing a party together and welcoming you into her home. Almost everyone loves chocolate and if they don't, they know someone who does. Think of the conversation your bouquet will spark as aunt and uncles gather around the dining room table or your boss's kids' faces light up with joy as they see sweet chocolate gifts sitting before them.

It is a great way to remember your big day. You can even have printed chocolate with a picture of the bride and groom or your names printed on the chocolate. Besides how beautiful the bride was, everyone will remember the chocolate bouquet at their table. Don't be surprised if this idea catches on among your friends and family and you start seeing a chocolate bouquet on the tables at their weddings too. To begin, someone at the table holds the centerpiece, in this case, the bouquet. Someone, the DJ or best man, reads a story. Every time the word right is said, the bouquet gets passed to the right and the same for the word left. At the end of the story, whoever is left holding the bouquet gets to take it home with them. A simple nosegay of white roses is classic, but when you add sprays of crystals to the centers of the blossoms to complement your crystal bridal jewelry, it will really take it up a notch. Instead of tying the stems of the flowers with a bow, create a tailored bouquet wrap from a luxe satin ribbon and adorn it with a chic brooch. A few easy additions can make all the difference in the world.

A presentation bouquet of long stemmed calla lilies is a fabulous option for a non-round bouquet. Another option is to carry a slightly shaped arrangement, such as a teardrop or crescent. A natural flow of mixed flowers will ensure that the style looks fresh and modern, not stiff or overly engineered. Let long ribbons trail down to emphasize the flow of the flowers. Orchids, calla lilies, lilies, camellias, and gardenias are all excellent flowers to include in your bouquet. Accent them with luxurious satin, velvet, or moire ribbons. Avoid flowers or ribbons that have more of a cute flavor, like gerbera daisies and gingham bows. While white flowers are always gorgeous for a bride, you can also up the sophistication level of your bouquet by using flowers in deep colors like burgundy, dark purple, or chocolate.

Flowers can bring beautiful memories

Your wedding is one of the most very important occasions in your life. Whatever the scale and type of the wedding, well chosen flowers can transform the location of the event, whether indoor or outdoor, and make it into a special occasion for you. Your wedding bouquet should compliment your wedding dress. Set yourself a budget and stick to it. Any florist who’s worth their weight should be able to work within your budget.
You can have the wedding of your dreams and you can have it at any location imaginable – when you carefully plan and select your wedding flowers and lighting.
The charm and fragrance of flowers in combination with the usage of natural light, candle light and lighting fixtures sets or enhances your wedding theme. If you’ve always planned to be married in a romantic paradise, set the scene with soft lighting and warm or pastel shades of pink, lilac, creamy white, gold-tones in the lights, flowers, and ribbons.
Flowers have always been part of the love and romance of weddings, right back to European’s brides and grooms, who wore garlands of flowers to symbolize new life and fertility. Later brides wore light orange blossoms in their hair to represent purity and fruitfulness.
Flowers set the mood and tone for your entire wedding and choosing them has never been easier. That’s because the newest trends in wedding flowers are not about matchmaking – the bridal bouquet, boutonnieres, corsages and centerpieces no longer have to be identical. The latest floral styles are all about color, boldness and individual design. Wedding flowers usually follow fashion trends and right now individuality is in, while conventionality is out. This means that the bridesmaids’ bouquets do not have to match the bride’s and each bridesmaid can potentially have a unique bouquet. Colorful blossoms, as opposed to conventional white, are also in style especially plums and lavenders. This makes it easy for brides making their own centerpieces because anything goes. Be creative! Create a different floral assortment for each table.
Beautiful wedding flowers will enhance your special day and will remain in your memories and pictures forever. Your wedding day will be one of the most important days of your life.

Using flowers to express your emotion

Flower have a uniqueness, even a mystique, occupying a special place in our hearts. We have heard that a smile can launch a thousand ships, that a picture is more powerful than a thousand words. when it comes to flowers, it is said these beautiful, delicate and redolent wonders of Nature have the power of expression which even the most eloquent among us do not possess. Be it any occasion – whether we want to convey our love or whether we want to apologise, appreciate, celebrate or condole – flowers express our innermost feelings better than we ourselves can. 　　
We always associate flowers with feelings. These are feelings of love and affection, of admiration and appreciation. Most of us are shy of expressing these feelings but they need to be expressed, otherwise the human race would lose its humanity. Which is why somebody in the long-gone past decided to use flowers as the ‘signifier’ and thereafter began an era of conveying the most intimate things to another by just gifting him/ her a flower. What would the world have been if flowers had not signified what we know they signify? Our most romantic poems and movies would have looked shallow had they not used flowers for effect.
Our fascination has gone on for decades . We use them for decoration as well as cosmetics. The rose and jasmine baths of yore to the flower-scented perfumes and soaps of present times. Times have changed but flowers have retained the same old charm and significance. That is what makes flowers mysterious. It is this mystique which gives flowers their unique value.
If you want to present your feelings to your dear ones, let them ride on flowers. They will be the best courier.

POLISH FLOWERS

 Poland lies in the central part of Europe. And it’s officially called Republic of Poland. Poland is the ninth biggest territory in the European continent. In Polish culture flowers have significance importance. The geography of Poland is very vast that is divided in many different geographical regions. Costal lakes, running waters, and dunes are the virtue of Poland .In Poland’s culture flowers has immense value because in widely used in different Polish occasions from birth festivals to funerals; hence every occasion in Poland will be empty without the presence of flowers. Because flowers are widely used in all over the Poland in whatever the occasion is. The native flowers are found growing in abundance in the central Europe, and most of these flowers are also finding in the United States of America.
  Polish’s flowers are easy to grow because they tend to grow wild in almost every part of the Poland with dazzling ranges of bright colors. Following are the names of some of the favorite’s flowers to be found in Poland if you want flower delivery in Poland and send flowers to Poland to your friends, relatives or loved ones. ‘Siberian Iris’ is one of the favorite flowers of Polish’s people and it does grow all over the central Europe in the wild. ‘Globe flower’ which is a relative of buttercup family is a very beautiful native flower of Poland. Another flower which is very liked in the central Europe is “annual baby’s breath’, this flower is popular for its long blooming span. ‘Corn Poppy” is another good flower for you if you’re sending flowers to Poland because corn poppy is very easy to grow and very beautiful and lavish in colors.
  Corn poppy is also recognized as a national flower of Poland. And sending flowers to Poland is now very simple and easy to do with the ease of technology. And Internet is playing a very vital role in the flower delivery in Poland. If you want to send flowers to Poland internet will be your biggest help because many online florist of Poland, as well as international florists can be found on internet and online Poland flower delivery gives you many advantages over other types of Poland flower delivery; you don’t have to leave your home or work place to search for a florist, all you have to do is just connect to internet or your mobile phone which is compatible to use internet. Online flowers delivery to Poland is very quick now and you can find many online florists with huge number of catalogues where you could find enormous amount of information about your favorite flower and deliver it using online services within a day. Some of the online florist also deliver flowers in Poland within some hours also, with the great customer service and the quality of flowers are very noticeable due to freshness, fragrance, scent and the mesmerizing colors of the flowers. As a flower always symbolizes love, tranquility and peace the gift of flowers will surely bring a big smile on the faces of recipients.

Jack & Jill Isn't the Worst Film of the Year

　　

Review in a Hurry: Adam Sandler once again takes the low road to laughs by playing identical twins: One's a dude and the other looks like a dude in bad drag. It plays out as lame as you might think with the dude version being Sandler in "angry" mode and the sister nothing more than a collection of obnoxious traits.
If not for a few sorta funny scenes with Al Pacino (playing himself), this would be the worst film of the year. As it is, it's merely one of the worst films of the year...so hooray for that.
The Best Harry Potter Movie Moments Ever: Why Is Ron Afraid of a Necklace?
The Bigger Picture: Turns out all those trailers and posters for Adam Sandler's latest romp really are for an actual movie. We thought it was a riff on his character from Funny People, a famous comedy actor who's finally succumbed to making the dreaded man-in-drag flick. Nope, it's a real film that will play at the multiplex. Sadly, there's never a moment where Sandler looks at the camera and says, "Just kidding, I mean, that would be terrible if I had actually made that!"
None of the gags in this laugh-free zone are even remotely funny. From the moment sister Jill shows up for an extended visit with her brother Jack and his family, everything is played to the hilt. Gross sweat stains, a gas explosion from Mexican food, and really horrible computer-generated FX with donkeys and JetSkis. Didn't anyone think that Sandler with his pretend lady voice would have been a bad idea for a five-minute SNL skit let alone an entire feature?
A number of Sandler's usual suspects make cameos like a fake cleavage-baring David Spade as a Jersey girl. But clearly, Sandler has a lot of friends in Hollywood as, in addition to getting Pacino, there are a host of other appearances. (Poor Katie Holmes plays Sandler's wife.) And what is Johnny Depp doing in this? Depp shows up during a courtside scene at a Lakers game, so we're hoping he was just there and Sandler started filming?
Pacino as Pacino has the hots for Jill, and while that doesn't work, there are a few scenes that indulge in the usually serious-minded actor's traits that do work. While it isn't memorable, exactly, seeing Al take a call while doing Shakespeare is slightly amusing.
The strangest thing about this turkey? Near the end of the film (Spoiler! Oh, who cares), Jack realizes that social outcast Jill is a good sibling and worth caring about, and, well, that scene actually works. Though it's totally obvious and uninspired, somehow at the very end, Sandler manages to eek out some semblance of a character in both the brother and the sister. And it lasts all of five minutes...
The 180—a Second Opinion: If you're a die-hard fan of Sandler and his Happy Madison productions, you know what to expect. The many poop jokes, over-the-top stereotypes and Sandler's cringe-worthy falsetto are packed into the (mercifully) short 90 minutes.
All wizards and witches know that a good wand is essential. But at the same time, one must not overthink things. After all, the wand chooses the wizard.
As we gear up for our livestream event of the DVD release of The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, our own Kevin Pereira took a trip to Ollivander's wand shop with Potter star Evanna Lynch to find the perfect wand.
So what's going to work best—something with Phoenix tailfeather? Perhaps some dragon heartstring? Or maybe some unicorn hair? Check it out as Kevin lets go and trusts in the right wand to find him...and also discovers that Ollivander's doesn't take American Express. Silly muggles.

 

Gardens to Visit

In my capacity as editor of the annual publication, Gardens to Visit, not only do I get the opportunity to visit gardens all over the UK, but every year I also have the privilege of delivering talks and lectures to scores of garden clubs, horticultural societies and many other groups up and down the country.
One of the talks I regularly give is entitled 'Gardens to Visit in Autumn’ and it always seems to come as a surprise to people that there are just so many stunning gardens to visit in Britain at this time of year.
For me, it is the most wonderful time of year to be in a garden; six months of growth leads to this dramatic final display of fruits, seeds and colourful leaves, which normally lasts from mid-September until early November. Of course, the vagaries of the British weather always make it difficult to predict the exact time when the autumn leaves will be at their most colourful, but this year — after a relatively early start to autumn with some leaves turning colour in mid-September — it looks like the best colours will be on display in mid to late October.
The further north you travel to visit an autumn garden, the earlier the colours are likely to peak.
Although there are of course many gardens with herbaceous borders and autumn-flowering bulbs that can maintain colour and interest well into autumn, I am always drawn to good collections of trees and shrubs, because these will invariably be looking at their best at this time of year.
Wakehurst is a wonderful mixture of botanical science and horticulture. There are three gardens, woodland walks and the Loder Valley Nature Reserve to explore. The National Trust’s most visited property isn’t just for gardeners. Children can be entertained with family-friendly activities as well as 180 acres to explore. Popular attractions include the Himalayan Glade, Millennium seed bank and the Water Gardens.
Visit the Seed Café or Stables Restaurant for a great range of meals and snacks.
I garden at Spring Cottage in the Cotswolds. It may sound idyllic, but I live in one of the bleakest, highest villages in Gloucestershire. My garden faces due south with far-reaching views over sheep and small fields, but south-westerly winds sweep over the plateau, either scorching my plants to a crisp, or bunching them together like tango dancers in a knee-locked clinch. The site has two saving graces: frost often rolls away down the hill towards Bourton-on-the-Water, and there is a spring that trickles melodically out of one wall.
The watercourse means that some areas of my third of an acre never dry out. For that I am eternally grateful, as rain often evades us in the high Cotswolds. It streaks the sky to the west with slanting grey lines that seem to taunt me. Winter is less reluctant: it comes in with a vengeance every year, but spring is tardy and arrives a good three weeks later here than it does in low-lying valleys just three miles away.
I practise the sport of extreme gardening for much of the year; five years here have given me a weather-beaten glow and lots more wrinkles. And that’s before you factor in the bantams who create craters in the lawn, and four grandchildren under five who thoughtfully harvested most of my pears 10 days ago.
My garden is scrutinised by hikers on the Macmillan Way, which runs just outside the wall, plus family, friends and locals. They expect great things of me as a garden writer and an RHS committee member: sadly it doesn’t stop me making mistakes.
Dahlias have long been a passion – they have been my pride and delight since I was a small child. Then they were disbudded and grown on allotments as dinner plates to be picked for the local show. In the garden these giants stuck out like sore thumbs, so much so that dahlias were all but abandoned by the Sixties. The late Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter kept the faith and did much to rehabilitate them as garden plants. I now serve on the RHS dahlia panel and we have many interesting discussions, referring to disbudding in hushed tones, but fear not. Our AGMs are awarded to good garden plants only.
I am ashamed of my dahlias this year. I planted the tubers in mid-March, the correct time here, but the hot days and cold nights of April meant huge extremes of temperature. However, my real undoing was planting them out too early, lulled into a false sense of security by an early season. The garden suffered two frosts in the following weeks and my dahlias were checked, although they survived. It may have been better if they had succumbed. The driest spring on record didn’t help and two months later the three-feet high canes were still more evident than the dahlias. When rain finally came they could not respond and are now beyond hope. I am living proof that tender plants shouldn’t go in the garden before the middle of June, however seductive April and May seem.
All dahlias are late this year. We began to assess the trial at RHS Wisley on August 11 and even the National Collection, at Varfell Farm near Penzance in Cornwall, is running three weeks late. There they leave their tubers in the ground over winter. I have to lift mine, but for the last two years they’ve perished in the garden shed despite being shrouded in blankets and bubble wrap. So this year I must find a better place to store them.
I can recommend several single, dark-leaved dahlias bred by Dr Keith Hammett who was awarded the Reginald Cory Cup by the RHS in 2008 for his work on dahlia breeding in New Zealand, a ruggedly exposed country. 'Magenta Star’ is a pristine magenta-pink and 'Dovegrove’ a rich red velvety single. Both are AGM varieties that appear on the RHS trial as “benchmark” singles grown for comparison. Hammett has a new dark-leaved, single yellow dahlia called 'Mystic Haze’, which I haven’t grown, that has just won the Best New Plant at the Horticultural Trades Association National Plant Show. It will be launched at next year’s Chelsea.
Keith Hammett, once a National Dahlia Society judge, originally bred for the showbench, not the garden. Exhibiting sharpened his critical eye and gave him a love for the neat and tidy bloom. His scientific background enabled him to source dahlias (both wild and cultivated) from across the world and he amassed a large gene pool, key to breeding hybrid vigour.
The craze for seed-raised singles with dark foliage, or dark red to black fuller-flowered varieties continues. However, there are many excellent double dahlias that come in shades of lemon or pink, white or peach. The pale pink decorative 'Karma Prospero’, or the almost white 'Eveline’, with her touch of lilac, shine in any border. These are largely ignored, but it’s time the pendulum swung towards them – double forms have longer lasting flowers that normally appear between July and October.
They also cut well, and a visit to The National Trust’s Dunster Castle in Somerset reminded me of how good they are. They bedecked every room. If you want to see colourful dahlias used to full effect in superb colour-themed planting, visit Wollerton Old Hall Garden near Market Drayton in Shropshire (01630 685760; www.wollertonoldhallgarden.com). Incidentally, the best nursery I’ve found for buying a range of tubers, still my preferred method of growing, is Rose Cottage Plants in Essex

New York's Ze Café Bursts with Flowers, Flavor and Fantasy

At Midtown East dining spot Ze Cafè, flowers, food and flavor collide.
The owners, Brazilian husband and wife florists, moved their flower shop around the corner and transformed the old space, a converted antique carriage space, into the dining room that stands today: an elegantly adorned restaurant with earthy wood paneling, exposed brick and, naturally, several lustrous bouquets. From the floral arrangements, to the blossoms in the soup, to the wine's floral notes, this charming French eatery is all about the flowers. Imported French wicker chairs and classical music, coupled with the atmosphere, making this dining spot one of appealing warmth.

　　Photo Courtesy of Ze Cafè
Chef Jonathan Roman, who's cooked privately for Martha Stewart, has developed a new dinner menu featuring such delightful choices as: Wild Blossom Salad, boasting mixed greens with a colorful helping of edible blossoms (such as snap dragons, pansies and nasturtium in pink, yellow, red and purple) in a champagne vinaigrette; Long Island duck breast with persimmon purée and shallot gastique garnished with peas from a local farm; Roccheta medjool dates; Lardoons with a champagne vinaigrette rendered in bacon; Signature Soft Shell Crab Sandwich in house-made, buttery brioche and more.
For desert, the restaurant offers seven different seasonal pies, classic apple, mixed berry streusel, strawberry pistachio meringue, strawberry rhubarb, blueberry meringue, coconut cream and key lime.

Crabcake
Photo Courtesy of Yelp.com
Be sure to sample one of the unique food and flowery cocktail parings, such as the Hibiscus Royal, combining sweetened hibiscus flower with champagne and liquor or the Gin Blossom concocted from edible pansy and sky blue juice.
Perfect choice for Valentines Day, don’t you think?

Falmouth Spring Flower Show bursts to life

　　Memories: Falmouth in 1910 Photo: The History Collection of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society
There’s nothing like a spring flower show to shake off winter, and in Falmouth, south Cornwall, a century-old show takes place next weekend.
A county of great estates and commercial horticulture, Cornwall abounds in expert growers and climate-defying gardens, so the show, which first took place in 1910, promises to be a feast of daffodils, early magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias.
This year at Falmouth there will be a new cup for children, given by Ken Pound, who, 60 years ago, was sent from the nearby St Budoc’s Home for Boys to a farm orphanage in Australia, under the Child Migrant Programme.
Pound is returning to Cornwall to dedicate the cup to Charles Rowe, former gardener at Fox Rosehill Gardens, a council-owned park next door to St Budoc’s. A troubled child, Pound regularly shinned over the wall from the home and was befriended by Rowe and his assistant Brian Phillpotts. Rowe gave Ken jobs to do in the greenhouse and encouraged him to join the Boys Brigade, where he learnt to play the bugle (see inset).
Throughout an extraordinary life, in which he set up Australia’s first nature conservation project, Ken Pound was nurtured by his memories of Falmouth and the gardeners who encouraged him as a schoolboy. In memory of the man who instilled in him his lifelong passion for nature, the Charles Rowe Trophy will be awarded each year to a child or group of children.
This year Pound, together with his Australian colleague Robert Hawkes, a specialist in flowering shrubs, camellias and orchids, will be guest judges at the show, joining the committee for their traditional Cornish pasty and saffron cake before the judging begins.
Ken recalls helping out at the Falmouth Spring Show as a child, as well as winning prizes: “I helped carry plants to the Princess Pavilion, to stage displays of flowering and coloured foliaged plants.
“I remember alongside them more than 100 different named narcissi in small milk bottles – from trumpet 'King Alfreds’ to mini 'Bonbons’ – and in the main hall fragrant sprigs and blossoms of many shapes and colours, plus wooden boxes of narcissi, violets and anemones, all so meticulously bunched .
“Nearby were children’s exhibits of pressed seaweeds, wild flowers and grasses, miniature gardens in biscuit-tin lids, with lawns of moss and mirror pools, twig fences and matchbox houses.”
The show now has 32 cups; the oldest is the Falmouth Spring Show Challenge Trophy awarded for the most points in the open single bloom daffodil class.
As well as spring flowers there will be bonsai, orchids and flower arrangements on display, plus a photography competition. This year’s show chairman Ron Scamp, an expert daffodil grower, will have a trade stand at the show and many other plants will be for sale.
The show, which starts off a Spring Festival across the region that runs until April 3, will gladden the heart of any gardener whose enthusiasm has been shrivelled by a long, cold winter.