Angelina Jolie Receives Sunflowers From A Rock Star

What do rock stars buy for their mega-movie star friends after the birth of a child? Well, rocker Gwen Stefani recently answered that question when she and her husband, Gavin Rossdale, brought an enormous bouquet of sunflowers to actress Angelina Jolie after the birth of her daughter with her boyfriend, actor Brad Pitt.

Sunflowers are aptly named since their enormous golden blooms closely resemble the sun. They also, quite literally, follow the sun; their blossoms turn to follow the sun as the day goes on.

Sunflowers come in several varieties, such as:

* Autumn Mix: These are the giant plants that grow over six feet tall. They come in yellow and rust colors with blooms five or six inches wide.

* Teddy Bear: This variety is a smaller type that has a full, fuzzy bloom. It grows to around 18 inches tall.

* Italian White: These sunflowers aren't the typical sunny, golden color; they're a creamy whitish color. The plants grow to a height of approximately four feet and produce small blooms.

* Large Varieties: These varieties include the huge 20-inch blooms of the Russian Giants and the ten to fifteen foot tall plants of the Kong Sunflower.

Sunflowers are an ancient flower, used by Native Americans as a medicinal flower and food source since as early as 2300 B.C. They provided early Americans with medicines to treat warts, snakebites, and sunstroke. They also provided oils used on the hair and were ground up to create face paints. Foods made from sunflowers included seeds roasted and ground to meal for baking, seed balls much like today's peanut butter, and roasted hulls steeped in water to produce a hot beverage.

Today sunflowers are a very popular garden flower loved for their big, beautiful blooms as well as the ease with which they're grown. They should be planted in full sun after the threat of frost has subsided for your area. If you're starting them from seeds, plant the seeds about one inch deep and six inches apart. If you're planting seedlings, plant them about eighteen inches apart (twelve inches for the smaller varieties). Give them a good dose of water after they're planted and keep seeds damp until the plants pop through the ground. You may need to stake the plants as they grow to provide support and keep them from bending or breaking in the wind.

Even if you choose not to grow your own sunflowers, you can still enjoy them or given them to friends to enjoy just by visiting your local florist who is sure to have these gorgeous flowers on hand. So, go ahead, send some flowers to the movie star in your life-or just to your best friend or mom-she'll appreciate them as much as Angelina Jolie did hers.

Finding A Florist

Finding A Florist When You Need One

It's not always easy to find the right florist. Florist retail shopping can be so time consuming and florist retail prices vary so much from shop to shop, season to season, it's hard to know if you're getting the best flower selection and the best price. Don't you wish there was an easier way to buy flowers when you need them? Well, there is an easier way; buying flowers online. Online florist companies take the headaches out of flower selection, and a simple search on the internet can provide hundreds of quick results. You can find a florist who will take your order, take your credit card, and deliver your flower arrangement or bouquet right to your loved one's door, often on the very same day. Need to send a flower arrangement to a sick friend's hospital room? Your online florist will be happy to take care of that for you too. In fact, your florist will provide delivery anywhere in your city, and perhaps in nearby areas as well. But what happens when you need to send flowers outside of your local area? Shipping can leave your floral arrangements looking worse for wear, so travel needs to be kept to a minimum. Online florists, such as Society Hill Florist and Sycamore Florist, are often members of a network of florists across the country that can take your order and forward it to an approved florist in your destination city. You simply place your floral order and your network florist will take care of all the troublesome details. Using an online florist network can also help you save money on your floral purchases. Less travel means less delivery expense. Larger florist networks often have the capacity to hold larger stocks of the most popular flowers, and good supply usually translates to better pricing, which your florist then passes on to you. Sounding better all the time, isn't it? The computer age has brought a lot of conveniences to modern living. Instead of rushing from store to store, most things are available right at your fingertips. You never have to worry about reaching a store before it closes. Shop 24 hours a day if your like. You never have to rush with your selections because there is no grumpy customer waiting in line behind you. With all this convenience, should your floral shopping be any different? Once you've experienced the services and selection of an online florist, you may never buy flowers any other way again.

Express Your Self With Flowers

Express Your Self With Flowers

Annual flowers on the other hand are wonderful flowers to plant in your gardens. You will find that many of these flowers are excellent choices for the garden as they can be grown in the different seasons. The best way to select the type of annual flowers that you want is to decide which flower varieties you want to see. You should buy the annual flowers that are appropriate for the required season otherwise your flower plant will rot even before you have a chance to plant it.

When you start selecting your annual flowers you can buy hardy annuals, half hardy annuals and tender annuals. These differences reflect the type of weather and soil conditions that these annual flowers will grow in.

Hardy annuals are beautiful plants that will produce flowers even in the cold winter season. These annual flowers are planted during the spring season or fall season when the weather is not that cold. Unlike other annuals these hardy annual flowers don’t like hot weather as they are not heat tolerant.

The types of hardy annual flowers that you can buy include calendula, foxglove, viola, sweet alyssum, stocks, cornflowers, pansy, larkspur and the many varieties of dianthus cultivars. The half hardy annual flowers include torenia, snow-on-the-mountain, blue sage, strawflower, baby’s breath, candytuft, bells of Ireland, celoma, love-in-a-mist, and forget-me-nots.

These half hardy annuals don’t mind damp cold weather but they can’t live during the cold harsh months of winter. You will need to plant these annual flowers after the last spring frost. Unlike tender annuals these half hardy annuals have no need of warm soil conditions for the seeds to begin sprouting.

While some flower species can’t tolerate lots of hot summer weather the half hardy annuals may sometimes droop for the weather but they will perk up in the later summer months. You can choose some tender annuals like scarlet sage, morning glory, petunias, begonias, celosia, balsam, nasturtium, and verbena.

These annuals as their name suggests are not comfortable in the cold winter months so the ideal time to grow them is three weeks after the last spring frost. Since these annual flowers grow well in warm climates you can expect to see them in all of their glory in the late spring and the warm months of summer.

These are just a few of the hundreds of flowers that you can grow in your garden, and the riot of colors and scents that they bring will be calming and relaxing. They will absolutely make your garden look beautiful. You will also have the added benefit of flowers that grow in different seasons adding a burst of beautiful colors all through the year.

Wax Flowers

Materials: Fabric paint Flower thread Green flower tape Aluminium flower wire Pips Wax Chart paper Finix paper

This paper have 2 different textures on either side. It is very handy to work with - can be easily stretched, shrunk and even can be depressed to a cup like shape by using your thumb.

Method:

First draw the petals on the chart paper and cut them in different sizes. With the help of these petals cut out the original petals from the finix paper. It is always better to use the chart paper samples, to draw the outline on the finix paper and cut the petals carefully. It is stretchable and can give the desired shape of a fresh leaf or a petal. Now paint the petals with the fabric paint. The Finix paper and the fabric paint should be of the same colour. Finix paper is available in different colours, we can have our own colour choice depending upon the thing which we intent to do.

To make the flower, take a aluminium wire and tie 2 to 3 pips on the top end. The pips should be folded at the center before being tied to the aluminium wire. Take two or three small petals and keep it around the pips and tie it with the flower making thread. Arrange the larger petals around the small petals and tie it carefully with out spoiling the shape of the flower. With the green tape wrap the aluminium wire till the end neatly.

Take a big round bowl with water and let it boil. Now place a small bowl with some wax in it and let it continue boiling (double boil). When the wax melts properly, dip the flower in the wax and dry it on a paper. Next day arrange the flowers in a beautiful vase.

Flower & Plant Varieties

Fresh Cut Flowers

This section contains many common flower varieties that can often be found at your local professional florist. With an expanding global market and advanced technology, more and more varieties are available year round.

Used alone or mixed with others, they can create a beautiful arrangement. Talk to your florist about the varieties you are interested in and let him or her put together something to fit your personal needs and desires.

Click on a picture to view a larger image and learn more details about the flower.

Alstroemeria	Anthurium	Aster
Bird of Paradise	Bouvardia	Calla
Carnation	Chrysanthemum	Daffodil
Delphinium	Freesia	Gerbera
Gladiolus	Gypsophila	Heather
Hydrangea	Iris	Liatris
Lily	Lily of the Valley	Lisianthus
Orchid	Rose	Snapdragon
Statice	Stock	Sunflower
	Tulip

Fresh-Cut Flowers Like a Professional

10 Ways To Extend The Life Of Fresh-Cut Flowers Like a Professional

1. Florists realize the virtue of cutting flower stems under water before transferring them from bucket to vase. When flower and foliage stems are exposed to air they will immediately begin to seal up inhibiting the absorption of much needed nutrients. Secondly, when fresh cut stems are exposed to air, bubbles of air become trapped in the stems, preventing the steady flow of water to uptake through the stem.

2. Florists and commercial growers use lukewarm water for their cut flowers. The water temperature should be comfortable to the wrist, approximately 100°F to 110°F. Theobject is to facilitate the water and nutrients to get to the head of the flower as quickly as possible. Warm water molecules move faster than cold water molecules and thus will greatly enhance the absorption process. The one exception to this rule is bulb flowers, such as tulips, tend to thrive in cooler water.

3. Florists know that a well balanced preservative solution drastically increases the longevity of cut flowers. Under normal circumstances, the plant will supply what the flower needs; however, when severed, the flower becomes immediately deprived of these essential nutrients. Commercial preservatives offer a form of these nutrients to the cut flower. Such solutions contain sugar for nutrition, antibiotics to fight bacteria, and citric acid to add necessary acidity to the water. When using a commercially produced or homemade preservative, always be sure to use the recommended measurements. The recipe included with this article offers the same preservative properties found in most commercial brands, and is extremely effective in prolonging the vase life.

Flower Preservative Recipe:
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon bleach
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
1 quart lukewarm water

4. Florists know that clean, bacteria free, shears or clippers, made specifically for cutting plant stems vastly improves a flower’s ability to uptake fluids. Using ordinary scissors, made for cutting fabric or paper will crush the flower’s vascular system, and prevent proper water uptake. A bulkier gauge tool, designed for cutting stems, will create a sharper cut, causing less damage to the stems delicate vain system.

5. Florists realize the advantages of cutting flowers and foliage at an angle and approximately one inch up from the bottom of the main stem. Cutting a 45 degree angle near the bottom of the stem provides a larger, more exposed area for the uptake of the water. In addition, the angle also enables the stem to stand on a point, allowing the water to be in contact with more of the cut surface.

6. Florists are aware that recutting limp flowers enables the stem to readily absorb more water. A fresh cut will open the veins up allowing the flower stem to absorb necessary nutrients.

7. Florists are aware that keeping fresh cut flowers away from drafts, direct sunlight, and ripening fruit drastically prolongs the longevity of a bouquet . Ripening fruit emits ethylene gas, which encourages poor petal color, discourages petals from opening, and shortens the overall vase life of a bouquet. In addition, direct sunlight and drafts are also major culprits in shortening the life and beauty of a fresh flower bouquet.

8. Florists know that keeping the Oasis foam clean, fresh and soaking in preservative treated water extends the vase life of a floral arrangement. If your bouquet arrives in wet Oasis foam, keep the floral foam soaking wet by adding a small amount of preservative treated water each day. In addition if, after a few days, the Oasis is carefully removed (while keeping the flower stems inside the Oasis), and allowed to drain for only a few minutes, then placed back in a clean vase with fresh preservative treated water, the bouquet’s life can last far beyond the normally expected vase life.

9. Florists know that the stems of hollow-stemmed flowers will benefit from being manually filled with water. Simply turn the flower upside down and pour water into the open cavity of the stalk. To keep the liquid in, plug the stem with a small piece of cotton, then place it in the vase, or place your thumb over the opening at the bottom of the stem and place it in the water. The water trapped inside will keep the stem strong and straight.

10. Florists understand the advantages of removing excess foliage and dieing, wilted blooms. By removing all the lower foliage when initially creating a bouquet, and by tossing the dead flowers as they begin to die, the vase life of an arrangement can be lengthened or even doubled. Changing the water, adding the correct amounts of new preservative, and rearranging the bouquet to compensate for any loss, will also lengthen the cut flower’s general appearance and overall freshness. Simply by taking simple steps to freshen the bouquet, retarding the bacterial growth, you can increase the beauty and life of a bouquet while also creating a bright, appealing floral arrangement that will last well beyond its anticipated expiration

Symbols Of India Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai And The Lotus Flower: Symbols Of India

Aishwarya Rai is one of the latest beauties to come out of India. She burst into the spotlight twelve years ago when she competed in the 1994 Miss World pageant as a representative of India. After winning the pageant, she went on to become a very successful model and actress who has been dubbed "The Queen of Bollywood." But, Rai isn't the only beauty to come out of India; the gorgeous and exotic lotus flower is an ancient flower so revered in India that it was named their national flower.

The lotus flower has been given a sacred place in Indian culture. It plays a huge role in the art and mythology there and has done so for centuries. In Indian society, the lotus represents divinity, fertility, wealth, knowledge, and enlightenment. Perhaps the reverence of the flower stems from the fact that is an unquestionable beauty despite the fact that it grows out of murky waters and mud. Because of its ability to grow in the water, the lotus is often referred to as the water lily.

Though they have an exotic look, lotuses are actually fairly simple to grow. However, first time lotus gardeners should be aware that the lotus is a very invasive plant that can take over your entire water garden if not tended to carefully. Also, you'll notice that lotus plants may not bloom during their first year-don't be discouraged, the plants will almost surely blossom in the second year. As you watch your lotus plants grow and blossom, watch for yellowing foliage and faded blooms; you'll want to remove them to allow other leaves and blossoms to grow healthy and strong.

Lotuses come in a variety of types that include small plants with one-inch blossoms and larger ones with blossoms as big as your face. Lotus colors include red, yellow, white, peach, violet, and cream.

The lotus plant loves the heat-the hotter the better! In fact, the hotter it is at night, the bigger the flowers will be. During the winter you'll need to make certain the lotus tuber doesn't freeze or it will die. If you're growing them in your garden pond, the pond will need to be at least three feet deep so that it doesn't freeze solid, which will jeopardize the tubers. If you're growing them in pots, bring the pots inside for the winter.

With proper care, your lotus flowers will grow to exotic and fragrant flowers worthy of their status in India. They're exquisite beauty will rival that of fellow Indian Aishwarya Rai.