Clare Florist Blog

Delicate in appearance, the sweetly scented freesia is in fact a very resilient little flower. Named after the German physician, Dr Friedrich Heinrich Theodor Freese, they come in an array of colours, from snowy white to sunny yellow, to deep purple and red. Unlike most flowers, in freesias it is the darker varieties that have the strongest scent; their pungent fragrance is used in many soaps, body lotions and shampoos. Sun-loving flowers, most varieties of freesia come from the Cape Province of South Africa, with a few species growing further north in the tropics of the African continent. They were first imported to Europe in the late 1800s and since then have become a firm favourite around the world, with over 100 million stems being sold in the UK each year and an recent survey by F & PA (The Flowers & Plants Association) found that over half of the respondents listed them as one of their favourite flowers.

Freesias belong to the same family as the iris, the Iridacceae. They should be kept away from sources of heat and from fruit as they’re very sensitive to ethylene gas which is produced by ripening fruit!

Handtied fragrant freesia bouquet

If you missed it back in March, or if you just prefer to celebrate it in May, by the International date, here's another chance to tell your mum how much you love her.

The British Mothering Sunday is held in March but it's the second Sunday in May that's celebrated as Mother's Day in most other English speaking countries (like the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa), as well as diverse nations around the world, from the Caribbean islands of Anguilla and Aruba to Zimbabwe. There are a number of other mother's days around the world (you can find the dates here) but it's this one —this year on May 11th— that is considered the International Mother's Day. The establishment of this day came through the efforts of three American women in who, in the latter half of the 1800s, promoted the recognition and celebration of women and mothers. The first of these was Ann Jarvis, a young housewife who sought to improve sanitation in 1858, and throughout the Civil War, through “Mother's Work Days”. These involved women joining forces to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides in the war, and after the Civil War Ann extended her efforts to work for reconciliation between people who had supported either side of the war.

Ann Jarvis's efforts inspired social activist Julia Ward Howe who called for a “Mother's Day for Peace” to unite women against war and to honour motherhood and womanhood. In 1870 she wrote the 'Mother's Day Proclamation', calling for disarmament and peace. Although not a main focus of modern Mother's Day traditions a Mother's Day for Peace was held in parts of the US for 30 years following Howe's original efforts and certain organisations, such as the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament, continue to organise protests on Mother's Day, like the 'The Million Mom March' which called for sensible gun laws.

The woman who succeeded in establishing a popular Mother's Day was Ann Jarvis's daughter, Anna Jarvis, who, upon her mother's death in 1905, swore that she would dedicate her life to further her mother's dream and to found a day on which mothers, both living and dead, would be honoured. It's said that her mission was fuelled by the fact that she and her mother had quarrelled shortly before her mother died. Two years later, Anna arranged a special service at her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia, in which she handed out 500 white carnations, one for each of the mothers in the congregation. Thus, the first Mother's Day was celebrated on 12 May 1907, and it spread from there. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, honouring in particular those mother's who had lost son's during the war. The occasion continued to grow in popularity, so much so that Anna Jarvis turned to opposing it as she felt it had become overly commercial! 

In France, Mother's Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of May and one tradition involves the presentation of a special cake which resembles a bouquet of flowers to mothers at the Mother's Day dinner. In Spain it's held in December as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, honouring both our own mothers and Mary, the mother of Christ. For more on the ancient origins of Mother's Day, have a look at my earlier blog here and to learn more about the tradition in the UK and the connection between Mother's Day and flowers click here.

I'll leave you with a few inspiring quotes:

"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground." -- Zora Neale Hurston

"A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary." -- Dorothy Canfield Fisher

"To nourish children and raise them against odds is any time, any place, more valuable than to fix bolts in cars or design nuclear weapons." -- Marilyn French   

Polly has just come back from her spring holiday. She is lucky enough to have a Dad who lives in Spain, a sister who lives in Wales, a brother who lives in Australia and a Mum who lives in Harris!
So Polly spends most of her holidays visiting family.
Here is a fab picture of Polly and Mum enjoying a wee glass of wine - the question is are they very small people or was that a whopping glass of wine ???

Today is the day of St George, the patron saint of England, and, as it happens, the birthday of England's world renowned playwright, Shakespeare! (The great bard was born back in 1564 and he reputedly died on the same day in 1616).

Despite his famous dragon-slaying heroism, St George is not as widely celebrated as the other patron saints of the United Kingdom (St Andrew, St Patrick and St David) and recently there have been calls to revive the festival and even suggestions that St George should be replaced by a saint more closely related to England, such as St Alban. Little is known about the real St George. He was born in Turkey in the 3rd century CE into a Christian family and later moved to Palestine. He became a Roman soldier and protested against the Roman's persecution of Christians, for which he was imprisoned , tortured and beheaded. It's said that during the time of the Crusades he appeared in a vision to the Normans, granting them victory, and this is where he connection with England began. St George represents the ideals of bravery, honour and chivalry and, as well as England, became the patron saint of soldiers, knights, farmers, riders and more recently of scouts, as well as of several other nations, including Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Germany and Greece.

St George's day customs include the flying of the flag of St George, a red cross on a white background, the singing of the hymn Jerusalem and the wearing of a red rose, the national flower of England. The rose, the queen of flowers, has long been associated with England and the red rose has been England's emblem since the Wars of the Roses in which the royal houses of York (represented by a white rose) and Lancaster (represented by a red rose) battled it out for the throne from 1455 to 1485. Henry VII of the the victorious house of Lancaster became king and combined the white and red roses to make the Tudor rose (red with a white centre) when he married Elizabeth of York. Shakespeare himself went on to write about the Wars of the Roses in his history plays Henry VI and Richard II.

The red rose has since become a powerful and enduring symbol of romantic love, as wrote Scotland's famous poet, Robert Burns "O, my luve is like a red, red rose, That's newly sprung in June."

Love - Red Roses  Promised Roses Twelve Red Roses

I am just back from a much needed break after all the busy periods we have had.
I took my family to Malta which was very nice indeed! Spent lots of time eating and drinking but managed to do some nice sightseeing as well.
Here are some nice Spring shots of some of the pretty sights in Malta - I have to say it was a bit of shock coming back and finding out it's still winter here! Although the weather is picking up a bit - fingers crossed.
Now that I am nice and refreshed we have been working on a new range of Summer bouquets which we will be introducing over the next few weeks - so watch this space.

Kerryanne

View from my hotel to Valletta and me enjoying the sunshine!

The quirky Bedford buses and Valletta town - how many tiny houses in one space?

Can't resist some flower photo's whilst I'm away....

The Clare Florist prize draw winner for March was June McHardy from Banchory.
June was delighted with her fabulous spring bouquet worth £50 which was delivered to her with our very best wishes.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is post back our comments card when you receive flowers and you will be automatically entered into our monthly prize draw.

Appearing next to warm orange tulips in our Mandarin Blues spring bouquet is the more elusive, regal bloom of the dark blue iris. The iris symbolises hope, faith and wisdom and was most famously known in history as the emblem of the French royalty, the Fleur-de-Lis. This stylised depiction of the iris has also appeared in numerous flags and coats of arms over the years, and today is used to represent the Spanish monarchy and makes up the flag of the  Brussels-Capital Region. It is also the flower the Swiss Municipality of Schlieren, Zürich and the state flower of Tennessee — a popular and potent symbol.

The iris takes its name from the Greek word for rainbow on account of the numerous colours in which it can be found; there are so many varieties that they can be grown naturally all year round. And it's not just ornamental: iris root and blossom are used to give flavour and colour to certain brands of gin, such as Bombay Saphire and Magellan. The root of the bearded iris is known as orris root and has been used in herbal medicines and perfumes for centuries, and the essential oil of the flowers is used in aromatherapy for its calming effect.

Walking to friend's flat yesterday I was stopped in my tracks by breathtaking beauty of a cherry tree in full bloom, leaning out over the pavement from someone's garden, sumptuous soft-pink blossom covering the branches like a thick snowfall. No wonder the Japanese have held cherry blossom viewings and festivities for over a millennium. In the 8th century, during the Heian Period in Japan, cherry trees were grown in the grounds of the royal family in Kyoto and cultivated to optimise their beauty. During the flowering season the elite classes —noble families, poets, singers and other aristocrats— would gather and celebrate under the trees.

The practice of hanami, flower viewing, continues to this day, following the blossoming up the country from January in Okinawa to late April Hokkaidō, with the blossom usually appearing in Kyoto and Tokyo in late March. The Japanese Meteorological Agency report on the sakura zensen, the cherry-blossom front, so that the public can plan their eagerly awaited viewings.

March 29th – April 13th also marks the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival of Washington DC. This commemorates the gift of 3,020 cherry trees given to the US by Japan in 1912 as a symbol the growing friendship between the two nations. This gift was renewed in 1965 with a further 3,800 trees which can be seen in their spring glory in West Potomac Park. Many other US cities now also have large collections of flowering Japanese cherry trees, including Los Angleles, Philadelphia and Macon in Georgia.

In China, cherry blossom is a symbol of feminine beauty and love, but in Japan the brief, though beautiful, blossoming of the cherry is seen to exemplify the transient and ephemeral nature of life. This principle, known as mono no aware, is a key idea in Japanese art, pointing to an appreciation of the extreme beauty of the present, that is forever changing, forever dying. The great beauty and quick fading of the cherry blossom is therefore an important emblem in much Japanese art, music and poetry.

Enjoy it while it's here!

Have you ever eaten a rose-petal salad or violet ice-cream? Ever since I was a little girl, playing with my flower-fairy dolls, I've always loved the idea of eating flowers and been delighted by the occasions such opportunities arose, like when my friend's sister decorated a cake with candied pansies, or when my mum put fresh nasturtiums in our salad.

There are other flowers I, like many people, usually think of simply as vegetables and have eaten without realising that they are in fact flowers, like artichokes, cauliflower, broccoli and capers (which are in fact tiny pickled flower buds), but they don't carry the same thrill as pretty petalled blossoms.

You'd be surprised at how many beautiful edible flowers there are out there. For a more comprehensive list and recipe ideas have a look at Linda Stradley's article on the What's Cooking America website, but here are a few of my favourites:

Nasturtiums — Nasturtiums are a common edible garden flower. The beautiful blossoms come in fiery shades of yellow and red and have a peppery, spicy flavour, similar to watercress. They make an eye-catching, tangy addition to salads as well as pretty garnishing next to any dish.

Roses — Rose flavour is known to many through its addition in turkish delight and chocolate rose creams but the petals can also be used whole in exotic recipes like Thai Rose Petal Salad or Quails in Rose Petal Sauce, as featured in Laura Esquivel's magical-realist novel, Like Water for Chocolate. All untreated roses are edible but the darker and more scented varieties have a more pronounced flavour. When cooking with rose petals you should remove the white ends of the petal as these can have a bitter taste. Rosebuds and petals can also be used to make a subtly flavoured herbal infusion.

Elderflower — While the deep purple berries can be made into jam and elderberry wine autumn, the tiny yellow-white blossom of the elderberry bushes which are a common feature of British gardens and countryside can be made into sweet cordial, refreshing in summer served cold and good for colds made hot. They can also be sprinkled into pancake batter for crepes with a pungent floral twist, perfect with lemon and sugar. Only the fruit and the flowers are edible –the rest of the plant is poisonous – so make sure you remove the stems when cooking with the flowers.

Pansies — These common garden flowers come in a variety of bright shades including deep purples and vibrant yellows and have a grassy flavour. They make a pretty addition to green salads, fruit salads and desserts. Along with many other flowers, they make great decorations as when candied and can be used to adorn cakes, ice-cream and sorbets.

Violets — Violets  have a distinctive perfumed flavour. Like their cousins, pansies, they make decoration added to salads or candied for desserts. They can also make a special embellishment in cocktails, there's even a Violet Cocktail made with violet liqueur. I also discovered divine violet ice cream when I was on holiday in France. If you're feeling adventurous, here's an Italian recipe for Mascarpone Ice Cream with Violets . Yum, yum.

A word of caution!

Not all flowers are edible and some are poisonous and can make you very sick, so only eat flowers if you are are sure what they are and that they are safe to eat.

You should also make sure that any flowers you eat are organic: have been kept well clear of pesticides and other chemicals often used in flower cultivation. Even if the chemicals have only been used on other parts of the plant they may well have spread into the flowers.

And remember, when you've got some good ones don't overindulge as too many flowers can cause stomach complaints!

Happy Easter!

You may notice that it's earlier than usual this year, that's because Easter follows the Jewish lunar calendar and not our solar Gregorian calendar. In our calendar, it falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21st (the Spring, or Vernal, Equinox). That means it can fall anytime from March 22nd to April 25th.

Although it has come to be known chiefly as a Christian festival, commemorating the resurrection of Christ, the name Easter in fact stems back to Anglo-Saxon pagan mythology, and Eostre (also known as Ostara), the goddess of fertility and motherhood, friend to children, symbol of the spring (the ancient word for which was eastre) and resurrection. The Vernal Equinox (on March 20th or 21st) is the time of year when the growing days and the shrinking nights find exact balance before the days overtake, and it marks the official beginning of spring.

This is the time at which Eostre was celebrated and these roots can still be seen in Easter celebrations today. The Easter Bunny was originally a hare, Eostre's favoured animal and her attendant spirit, a traditional symbol of fertility, also associated with the moon and the dawn. The connection between hares and the spring probably comes down to the fact that, though rare now, in the spring the usually shy and elusive hares can be seen 'dancing' and 'boxing' as they chase and fight one another in their mating rituals. It was thought that it was the males that fought in this way, competing for mates, but it's been found that it's usually the female hares fighting off unwanted suitors (or perhaps  testing them?)!

Eggs are fairly self-evident as a symbol of birth and new life but there is also a legend in which Eostre, for the sake of amusing the children she so loved, turned her pet bird into a hare. It then laid brightly coloured eggs which the goddess bestowed on the children as gifts. Thus arose the peculiar tradition, still followed today, of painting Easter eggs and of adults, under the guise of the Easter Bunny, hiding eggs for children to find on Easter day.

As for all the chocolate, well, that may be partially because lent is finally over, but really any excuse will do!