State of Bliss Corsage

The event that was decorated with flowers, weddings, showers, birthdays, even funerals leave behind a mass amount of flowers. They are great to display and to gift out until their beauty starts to fade, butt then what do you do with them. Many merely toss them in the trash; however, you have other options.

Before your flowers begin to fade, you can preserve your bouquet by freeze drying them. It is best to have this professionally done because the process does not just mean placing your flowers in a cooler of dry ice. Professionals use special equipment and chemicals to remove the moisture from your flowers to preserve their color and beauty. Once they are done though, you can admire their beauty for several years. This is a rather expensive option, but if you want to relive your special moment or memory as long as possible, it is a great option for longevity.

Another option is to press your flowers. It is not too hard of a procedure and here are a few links of the process to help you out.

How to Press and Dry Flowers from Family Crafts.com

How to Press Flowers from AmazingMoms.com

Here is a video I enjoy. Not only does it show you how to press flowers but a neat way to use those flowers after they are pressed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvzmd7PxGaM&feature=player_embedded

You can also dry your flowers. There are several different ways you can go about this. Here is a link that will give you various options.
Methods of Preserving Flowers from North Dakota Agriculture Department

Another option is to start a compost pile. It is a great way to start a organic compost for your home gardening needs and gives back the to the environment.

These options are much better than simply tossing the flowers in the trash and gives you the option of keeping their beauty around for even longer.

Florist Grower Selection

Did you know there are many things in your kitchen that can make your flower garden perk up and even prevent or cure diseases? Well it is true.. For example, that left over pickle juice in the bottom of the pickle jar when poured at the base of your gardenias stand up and take notice producing even bigger and brighter blooms!

This little tonic will help your roses blooming all summer long beautifully. Just mix a couple tablespoons of instant tea, a tablespoon of dry red wine, half a teaspoon of fish emulsion, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of iron ( you can get it at any garden center) in a gallon of warm water in a bucket and treat your rose bushes to a quart of the mixture every three weeks during the growing center and you will experience roses like you never have before!

Next spring when you start planting your annuals and perennials, give them a healthy energy boost and a great start by making a mixture of 1 cup of sugar, three cups of bone meal, and one cup of Epsom salt in an old bucket. Now, before planting your seedling, just sprinkle a pinch or so in the bottom of the hole and you will between last years plantings and your current flowers when they grow faster and stronger and provide more blooms!

Another cure for black mold I didn’t mention before comes in a cleaning solution mixture of 1 cup of antiseptic mouthwash, one cup of chamomile tea, and one cup of Murphy’s oil soap in a 20 gallon hose end sprayer. Spay down all your treasured beauties and repeat every two weeks through out the growing season and you will have the best looking flower beds around!

Do you have any flower secrets you would like to share with the readers? Feel free to do so here!

Black Spots on Roses

It makes you want to cry when you see your prime roses covered with black spots. What on earth is happening to your prize roses you ask. Black spot disease is yet another evil villain of our beloved flowers and another common fungal disease. And roses are its biggest victim.

The disease typically begins as black spots on the foliage. They are most prevalent on upper leaf surfaces, and may be up to ½″ across. The leaves will eventually turn yellow around the spots, then become all yellow and fall off. The spots may also appear on rose canes, appearing first purple and then turning black.

Again, the culprit for this disease is too wet of conditions for too long of a time frame. It only takes seven hours for infection to set in, so when watering your roses be sure to water early in the morning to give ample sun time for drying and avoid watering on known cloudy days. Also, make sure to water from the ground avoiding all foliage and flowers. Use proper spacing so your roses can get good circulation. These things will help to minimize the disease and or prevent it totally.

Black spot fungus overwinters in fallen leaves and infected canes. Prune out infections and rake the fallen leaves at the end of the season.

Rose varieties vary greatly in their resistance to black spot, so choose resistant ones. If this information is not indicated on plant labels, you can research the variety online or check with experts at your local nursery. Several of the shrub roses show resistance to black spot—and powdery mildew. Many of the other shrub roses and old-fashioned roses are resistant as well.

To help control black spot disease, dust roses infected with black spot with sulfur powder. Sulfur will not kill the fungus spores, but it will prevent a new generation from germinating. You can also use a spray solution of 1 tsp. baking soda mixed in 1 qt. warm water in the early morning hours on your roses foliage. In addition, when your plants are in the dormant season, spray your roses with a dormant oil or Bordeaux mixture.

Gray Mold on rose flowers

Gray mold is one of the most common types of diseases that afflict flowers. It is more prevalent during periods of high rainfall and cool temperatures. It has an appearance of a powdery mildew that is gray in color, thus its name. It appears primarily on old and dying leaves and flowers. When water sits on plants without the natural ability to dry within a reasonable time frame a gray fuzzy coating begins to appear – gray mold.

Gray Mold on Marigold leaves

To care for plants and flowers affected with gray mold, remove all diseased flowers and or leaves right away and spray with a beneficial bacterial control. To prevent gray mold keep your garden bed flowers spaced to allow for plenty of air circulation and well weeded. Also avoid overhead watering.

gray mold on strawberries

Gray mold can also present on trees, shrubs, and small fruits like strawberries. Recommended disposal of affected leaves, flowers, and fruits is burning, but since many urban areas do not allow for burning, burying the affected plants is also acceptable.

Phlox ~ You can see the mildew on the leaves. This is after two treatments of baking soda water mix. Before the leaves were fully covered with the fungus.

We got a request to answer a flower problem one of our readers asked. The reader was questioning what a powdery mildew was on her phlox leaves. I took this as an opportunity to answer that question for anyone who may be dealing with this in their flower beds.

In Mid to late summer is when gardeners will begin to see signs of plant diseases. Powdery mildew on your plants leaves is just one of the diseases you may encounter. Over a period of seasons, this mildew will weaken your plant until it no longer produces or dies.

This condition can be isolated to just the flowers leaves, but if severe can move onto the plant stem and flower as well. Although not instant detrimental to your plant, it isn’t very attractive and if left unattended will eventually kill off your plant.

Annual flowers that are particularly susceptible to powdery mildew include zinnias, snapdragons and verbena. Perennials that are commonly infected include delphiniums, lungwort, bee balm and garden phlox.

This fungal disease is spread by wind and splashing water. To help prevent the onset of this fungus avoid getting water on the leaves and flowers, water in the early am to give leaves plenty of time to dry during daylight hours.

Most fungal diseases are spread by microscopic structures called “spores” that are transferred on wet foliage. However, powdery mildew flourish in high humidity. By keeping plants well-spaced and removing weeds will help ensure good air circulation and reduce the humidity around plants thus lowering risks of this fungus. .

To control this fungus there are several different things you can try – use a horticultural oil, insecticidal soap or another spray. Begin applications at the early onset of the disease and when treating make sure to treat all foliage. Repeated applications are usually necessary right through the duration of the growing season

A home remedy that works for some is a mixture of baking soda and warm water. Mix 1 teaspoon baking soda per quart of warm water and spray on plants every seven to 10 days.

If you have a gardening question, feel free to ask! If we don’t have an answer for you we will get one!

Thoughtful Lily Bouquet

The great thing about Brant Florist is you can count on delivery when you need it. If you are planning an event and want to decorate with flowers but are on a budget, rather than order pre-arranged flowers, you can order fresh cut flowers and create your own flower arrangements. You can count on Brant Florist to get you the fresh flowers you need on time.

Once you receive your flowers here are some tips to get you started in making simple arrangements that will please everyone.

Vase proportion to flowers: Bubble bowls, cube vases, and shorter vases require shorter cut flowers. Tall slender vase require longer flowers, like gladiola or veronica’s. Vase should be 1/3 of floral arrangement height, or if using short vases, 50% of the height.

Cut flowers to height gradually: You can always cut off more if need be but you can’t add. Cut stems at an angle and make sure to submerge in water immediately, or better yet, cut under running water and submerge immediately in vase.

Float flowers for a quick floral arrangement: If using short wide mouth vases, simply cut the stems short and “float the flower(s) in the vase. The great thing about this is, if you do not have many matching vases, you can easily use dessert dishes, sundae dishes, etc that you do have a set of and have a nice flow with your flowers! This works especially well if you are entertaining on long rectangular tables as you can space them centered through out the length of the table. Use a table runner down the center first on top of your tablecloth to even give it a fancier appeal.

Color Scheme: The great thing about Brant Florist is you can order cut flowers in any color scheme you choose. This keeps unity throughout your décor and give a great impact to your guest.

Don’t be afraid of color: Feel free to mix colors to give added dimension. It can be a great way of adding drama to your décor.

Play around and have fun with it: Your floral arrangements will express who you are as a person, and that is the most important aspect of any event you are throwing. The great thing about flowers is – no matter what, they will always look beautiful!

Florist Cut Bouquet Gift Wrapped - Your Color Choice

Summer time is a great time for flowers! They are everywhere, from your own personal garden to wildflowers growing in ditches. It gives everyone a perfect chance to try their hand at flower arranging. Here is a few tips that will help you make flower arrangements for your home. As always, BrantFlorist.com is always available to deliver flowers fro you anywhere you have a flower need.

Keep your arrangement simple: Too many flowers stuffed in a vase takes away from the individual flowers beauty and will make it look messy. Keep the stems that are under water clear of any foliage.

Don’t over cut: When arranging your flowers, take your time when cutting the stems to get the height you seek. If you cut off too much at once, you are stuck. Cut them as long as possible when cutting them from your garden initially.

Focal point: Use a larger flower for a center focal point or a gathering of smaller flowers.

Before Arranging: When cutting flowers from your garden, have a bucket or container of water that you can immediately transfer them too. Allow them to rest in that water for a good 45 minutes before starting to re-cut to size and arrange.

Practice makes Perfection: Have fun with it and don’t worry about perfection. It will come in time. Remember, a cut flower in a vase is beautiful even when it stands alone.

Easter Lilies are probably one of the most popular flowers sent as a gift or greeting for Easter. After all, the Easter lily is the traditional flower for Easter. With a large, trumpet-shaped white flower, the Easter lily symbolizes purity, hope, and life. It is a beautiful plant for celebrating Easter as well as spring in general. The Easter lily is only available for sale for a few short weeks across most of the US so there is not much time left if you want to send an Easter Lilies to friends or family.

Here are a few care facts for your Easter Lilies:

• Lilies bruise easily, so handle them gently.
• Lily pollen can stain clothing and furniture, so carefully dust with a tissue or remove the anthers (the pollen-coated tips) before displaying.
• If you remove older flowers it will make room for new buds to open.
• Lily plants prefer moist soil and diffused light.
• Keep lilies away from pets. Lilies can be poisonous to cats or dogs if ingested.

Pets are an integral part of many households and although sending flowers to family and friends is a wonderful way to express your feelings, take into consideration the furry family members that reside with them.

Pets, especially cats, dogs, and potbelly pigs (yes, they are in a lot of people’s home making a great addition to their households) are nosey creatures. They love to sniff and taste everything, and flowers are definitely no exception. The beautiful colors and the sweet aroma of flowers are a strong attraction on their own to both human and animal alike.

Household with pets take a little bit more thought when sending flowers to ensure that the flowers you are sending won’t bring harm to any family member, furry or not.

Most plants/flowers won’t cause more then an upset tummy if it is ingested by pets but some can cause more serious health problems.

Here are some common pet friendly plants/flowers you can send to pet friendly homes without issue:

• African daisy
• African violet
• Alyssum
• Bachelors buttons
• Begonia
• Celosia
• Common Snapdragon
• Easter Daisy
• Orchids
• Peruvian lily
• Brazilian lily
• Rose

For further listing on plant/flower toxicity for animals check out the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center website.

Orchids are just one of the many beautiful delicate and exotic flowers that are universally beautiful in any flower arrangement. Orchids can be enjoyed in your own flower garden easily and for those who fear the power of their green thumb, can be enjoyed through flowers delivered from Brant Florist.

Due to the orchid’s exotic delicate nature, newbie gardeners fear attempting to grow them in their garden. In reality, orchids are far hardier and more adaptable then one may think. There are many rugged, popular, easy-to-grow types of orchids that adapt well to the temperatures and light conditions found on the average home windowsill.

Here is a great instructional video on Orchid care to get you started and for more information on how to grow orchids check out the American Orchid Society’s website  or How to Grow Orchid’s website  both full of helpful information.

For those of you who would prefer your orchids delivered pre-grown, here are a few suggestion that can be found on Brant Florist website to decorate any room of your home.

Lovely Orchids

GO GREEN ORCHIDS

Serenity Orchids

Lasting Love Orchids by FTD