flowers,camera, action..

Just a few pictures of flowers we used yesterday.
We have a new camera and its taking a bit of mastering.....
and since the laptop fell on the floor in the post Christmas scramble its new technology
all round...
The shop has lots of gorgeous things at the moment all to brighten these cold January days....
beautiful scented narcissus from The Scilly Isles....tulips in all shades....elegant hellebore in the darkest burgundy and of course bulbs in all shapes to pot up or let us do the work for you..we have lots of vintage containers all ready to go.
If i work out how to rotate a picture on this computer I'll post some more photos tomorrow!!

spring fever

its bulbs at very turn in the shop at the moment.

blue ones....hyacinth, muscari, iris,

white ones...snowdrops, white magic muscari, hyacinths in threes and ones... hellebores....

pinky purple ones.... hellebores...oh and hyacinths...ok we are a little hyacinth crazy here!!

as well as all the yellow ones ..tete a tete... narcissus....ranuculus ( sorry sold out)...

and lilies..white this week ( potted at an unbelievable price)

We have them potted into lovely containers ....some vintage.....some quirky....of course this is Martin and  the Magpie....

or ready for you to plant up yourself......

Spring (Season)

The definition of 'Spring (season)' (according to Wikipedia) :

Meteorologists generally define four seasons in many climatic areas: spring, summer, autumn (or fall) and winter. These are demarcated by the values of their average temperatures on a monthly basis, with each season lasting three months. The three warmest months are by definition summer, the three coldest months are winter, and the intervening gaps are spring and autumn.

(....)

In spring, the axis of the Earth is increasing its tilt toward the Sun and the length of daylight rapidly increases for the relevant hemisphere. The hemisphere begins to warm significantly causing new plant growth to "spring forth," giving the season its name. Snow, if a normal part of winter, begins to melt, and streams swell with runoff. Frosts, if a normal part of winter, become less severe. In climates that have no snow and rare frosts, the air and ground temperature increases more rapidly. Many flowering plants bloom this time of year, in a long succession sometimes beginning even if snow is still on the ground, continuing into early summer.

Meaning:



Ice cream colours....



Lovelyness in a mug (or two!)

Gorgeous parrot tulips

Snowdrops in teapots

Hurrah for spring!!!!!!

Special Delivery!

When a very large box arrived in the shop this morning our hearts leapt...

...We knew what secrets it held....

Beautiful Cornish Anemones...a riot of soft colours....who will be able to resist these beauties?

If only we had smell-o-vision, as these English Narcissus are the perfect scent of Spring....4 different types adorn the shop, it is hard to pick a favorite.

I think it is safe to say that if put under interrogation, all 3 of us would crack and have to admit Spring is our favorite season....

We all took flowers home today, and a perfect start to 2012 they are!

Tricks of the trade

Spring is coming!

The days are getting longer, the weather is mild and all the bulbs are coming up.

Daffodils, Tulips, Crocus, Lily of the Valley, Snowdrops and many more lovely spring flowers are adorning our houses, gardens and everywhere else around us.

Including the gorgeously scented Hyacinths.

But how can you tell what colour they will be?

Let me tell you the tricks of the trade:

Option #1 - The easy way:

Look at the side of the plastic pot. It usually gives you a little picture with the Hyacinths in flower. The pot should correspond with the bulbs! It will also tell you the colour in Dutch. Now I do realise that not everyone's Dutch is as good as mine (me being a Dutchman does explain a thing or two!) so hereby the colours and the translations:

Roze = Pink

Blauw = Blue

Wit = White

Paars = Purple

Rood = Red

Sometimes, especially with single Hyacinths, the whole pot is in the colour of the Hyacinth.

The easy option

So that was the easy option. But what if the pots are lovely gift wrapped, the bulbs are planted up or for some reason there is no label or anything on the pot?

Option #2 - The 'impress your friends and family'-way:

You can determine the colour of a Hyacinths bulb by looking at the bulb itself and by looking at the green leaves:

- If the bulb is a pale brown/sandy colour, it is a white Hyacinth

- If the bulb is of a more purpley colour, it is usually either pink or blue.

- If the tips of the leaves of the Hyacinths are darker than the rest of the leaves, it's blue.

- If the tips of the leaves are lighter than the rest of the leaves, it's usually pink.



Left = blue, top = white, right = pink



As you've noticed before with the translations, Hyacinths do come as well in a more lilac-y pink and a reddish colour, but the are often sold as single Hyacinths and less common to be planted up.

But because the bulbs and the tips of their leaves are very similar to pink Hyacinths, what looks like a pink Hyacinths doesn't always need to be one! If you're not sure, just ask us/your florist!

We/they should know!

Class dismissed!!!

Your teacher for the day: Martin