Cultivation Of Crops: Flower arrangements

Showing posts with label Flower arrangements. Show all posts

Jun 10, 2011

Lily's Boots: Tea for Tulips

This week (and the end of last week) officially kicked off the "Preparation for IFE Madness" for me, so I haven't traveled too far (aside from all over the farm to make sure we're on track!). But I did find a little inspiration while kicking my boots up at home...

I am definitely no floral designer, but I had a lot of fun with arranging my flowers in unusual containers. Of course I've been taking pictures of my creations, as I have developed this not-so-humble suspicion that I might be some kind of creative floral arranging genius! Okay, maybe not. But here are a couple pictures of my latest "masterpieces." I'll let you decide on the whole genius thing.

I put about about ten Tulip stems in the opening of this little black
tea pot. The Tulips looked simply stunning against the shiny black
"vase." My favorite part is the Tulip coming out of the spout!

This arrangement made my coffee table! I love the contrast
between the white tea pot, the black table and the red Tulips.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to ever stick a flower in a tea pot, but I do think that putting flowers in unexpected places is an eye-catching way to make a well-known flower seem like a novelty. For example, single Gerberas in votive candle holders make portable little pops of color for any room of the house. Got an empty honey jar? Fill it with a small, summery bouquet. What about encompassing a red bud in a wine glass? So many ways to do flowers differently!

I guess these simple ideas might not earn me flower arranging prodigy status, so I'll settle for the title of simply "creative," in lieu of "creative genius." But I intend to keep searching for new ways to put my flowers on display. After all, flowers are fantastic tools for self-expression!

What unique containers have you used in your floral arrangements? Share them here with links to the pictures (if you've got 'em)!

Apr 27, 2011

Lily's Boots (or Flip Flops): Lily Wonka and the Bouquet Factory

Around the flower farm Flower arrangements Holiday flowers

This week, I traded in my boots for a pair of flip flops. No, we didn't have a heat wave in Arcata - I travelled down to our So Cal counterpart to experience this side of Sun Valley's operations. So, over the hills and through the fog to the Oxnard farm I went... and what an amazing journey!

When I arrived at this truly sunny Sun Valley, I immediately found myself immersed in the Sun Pacific Bouquet Department, which is in overdrive during this busy time of year. The department operates out of a large warehouse filled to the brim with buckets upon buckets of colorful flowers, brightly colored packaging, and a multitude of cutesy, classy, fun, funky, earthy and mirthy flower containers. Not to mention the Team Members working diligently to transform single stems into magnificent masterpieces. One gets the feeling of being in a certain chocolate factory around here...

Here are some of the magical things I witnessed in the Bouquet Factory...

"Lemon Drop" Tulips, "Violet Mint" Matsomotos and "Cotton Candy" Lisianthus...

Carts full of "Bubblegum" Gerberas...

A flaming red "Fireball" Gerbera...

Team Members using "Secret Recipes" to make our Bouquets...

"Jawbreaker" Seasonal Surge Bouquets, ready to be packed...

A "Gumdrop Sea" of Papella Bag arrangements...

"Candy Button" Take Me Out arrangements...

Finished product rolled on carts to the Packing and Shipping area...

The buzz in the Bouquet Department never died down throughout my entire visit, not even for a minute. And that is just one component of the farm. For this reason, I wasn't able to pay a visit to the other areas of the farm on this trip. One would need a Glass Elevator to see it all. Due to my lack of said elevator, I'll save the rest of the journey for a later date.

For now, I'm off to the other side of the country to inspect product and observe just a small part of the floral trade from the Miami perspective.

As the ever-busy Willy Wonka said, "So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it."

Look for a recollection of my adventures in the Miami heat next Friday!

The candy names below pictures are not actual product names. Contact your Sales rep for product details: (800)747-8700... And please don't ask for Mr. Wonka!

Apr 25, 2011

A Royal Lilies Wedding

Flower arrangements Flowers in the media

Well, it's finally here: In just a few short days, the whole globe will witness the most anticipated Royal Wedding since, well, that of William's Mom and Dad. Will and Kate have become the most buzzed about couple, their public interest far surpassing that of Brangelina, Tomkat and those kids from Twilight. (Or for you flower people, this happy couple generates more excitement than the Andean Trade Act and the 1099 repeal combined.) People all over the world are throwing hat parties and high teas in honor of the lovely young couple tying the knot. And we here at Sun Valley are right there with them!

Although my Boots couldn't take me all the way to London, I'll be glued to the broadcast with the rest of the girls (and some guys) in the office, maybe even wearing a funny hat, and most definitely talking in a horrible fake British accent all day long saying things like "Bloody right you are!" and "Hmm, yes darling, I do prefer the PG Tips to Twinings with my Digestives" (tea and biscuits, in case you're wondering).

Royal Highness Lily

But most importantly, I'll be trying to catch a glimpse of the flower arrangements embellishing the aisles of Westminster Abbey. And I'll probably be annoying everyone within a 50 foot radius of my desk with complaints that the regal pair didn't throw some Royal Lilies into the mix! All joking aside, I'm dying to see how the florists honored to provide their services to the King and Queen-to-be will deck the event. Certainly their designs will inspire a plethora of trends for the dawning wedding season.

All right mates, what luvvly-jubbly foofies do you reckon the jammy chaps will present at the Royal knees up in the C of E? (And in American-English: Ok friends, what lovely flowers do you think the lucky guys will display at the Royal party in the Church of England?)

Apr 13, 2011

Fountain of Youth: Testing the vase life of Sun Valley's Lilies and Matsomotos

Around the flower farm Flower arrangements Vase life

Shocking, Royals and Matsomotos

I wanted to know just how long our Royal LA Hybrid Lilies, Sonata OT Lilies and Matsomoto Asters would live once I took them home from the farm... Okay, no I didn't. I really wanted to adorn the lovely vase that my sister made for me and fill my dining room with their beautiful appearance and fragrance! But testing their vase life was an added bonus of bringing these beauties into my home.

The picture above was taken 12 days after I put the flowers in water (placed in indirect sunlight, temperature set to 68 degrees, with no flower food). While the petals are just starting to curl, the arrangement still looks and smells wonderful. I'll give it a good three days more before filling my vase with another bunch of Sun Valley flowers.

And next time I'm throwing some flower food into the arrangement. Before I came on board at Sun Valley, all I knew about flower food was that it nourishes flowers, which is essentially all one needs to know.

However, having a little better understanding of flower food makes a stronger case for actually utilizing flower food. Let me put it this way: Cut flowers need four conditions for maximum vase life, which are as follows:
1) water,
2) energy (sugar)
3) free-flowing vessels within the stems to transport nutrients, and
4) proper pH balance.

Once flowers leave the ground and get placed in your vase of water, they continue to grow slowly, but it's harder for them to receive the nutrients that are vital for their survival. The sugars in the flower food will be used by the plant as an energy source, while the acidifiers will helps balance the pH of the water. In addition, flower food contains "stem unpluggers" that will ensure that the flowers have those "free-flowing vessels" in order to take up water and nutrients.

As you can see, the combination of water and flower food gives your freshly cut flowers everything that they need to survive longer.

Hurrah for flower food!