Clare Florist Blog

Flower prize winner for May.

The Clare Florist prize draw winner for May was
Mrs B Hutchison.
A beautiful bouquet of flowers worth £50 will be delivered free to her with our very best wishes.

A First Few Fast Flower Facts!

• The colour pink is named after the flower! Pinks are known as such not due to their colour but allegedly because of the pinks (ragged edges) on their petals.
 
• We do not see some colours in flowers – they actually are more vividly coloured than even we see them. For example, the daisy has a colourful central zone that we do not see – but that butterflies do, therefore aiding  them to be pollinated.
 
• The same chemicals that give cherries their colour may be a better pain relief agent than aspirin or ibuprofen.
 
• Life jackets used to be stuffed with the stems of sunflowers
 
• How much rent would you think Prince Charles would be paid in rent for his lands on the Island of Scilly? The answer is one daffodil!
 
• Honey bees must visit two million flowers to make just one pound of honey! Each worker bee makes 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime!
 

That is just a first brief glimpse into the wonderful world of mother nature.

More to come - so watch this space!

Prepared by Viki.

Categorisation of floral scents in the perfume industry.

Traditionally/Scientifically, perfumes are grouped together into “putrefactive families”.  I will certainly go into these groupings in due course.

However today, I would like to pick up on something from the “Flowers and Plants Association” - one might say an alternative way of grouping flowers for perfume – by way of scent.

The F&PA surveys show that 1/3 of people are influenced by scent when buying a bouquet, and that for most of us the first thing we do with a bouquet is to smell it. It is also noted that the perfume industry tries very hard to reproduce the natural scents of flowers.

The following is a brief list of scents, and the effects they are said to have on our inner-person (Future listings will have more on scents and their effects):-

• Orange Blossom/Lavender Sedative
• Citrus Smells Great pick-me-up

Because the trend is now for flowers to smell more for, well floral, and thus it follows that the perfumes they are used to produce also smell more floral. Flowers and similar are now increasingly being graded on a “scent scale” akin to wine tasting.

Please see below for the 5 new “scent categories” which have been created - and what comes under these headings:

• Spicy/Peppery

  • chrysanthemum
  • florists' broom (Genista)
  • hypericum – spicy
  • pink (Dianthus) – sweet clove
  • stock (Matthiola)

  Citrus

  • mimosa (Acacia)
  • waxflower (Chamelaucium) – lemon and marzipan scent
  • eucharis – delicate lemon curd scent

  Aromatic

  • dill (Anethum graveolens) aniseed fragrance
  • eucalyptus foliage – rub the leaves for full effect – medicinal rub
  • lavender foliage – herb sachets
  • marjoram – italian dinners
  • matricaria (Tanacetum)
  • grape hyacinth (Muscari) – faint musk
  • rosemary foliage – sunday lunch!

  Sweet/Floral

  • bouvardia
  • carnation – especially “Bagatel” (white spray), “Gipsy”, “Candy White”
  • freesia – especially “Aladin” (yellow) “Blue Moon” (lilac), “Cote D'Azur” (purple), “Golden Wave” (rich yellow), “Oberon” (burnt orange), “White Wings” (white)
  • hyacinth
  • lilac (Syringa)
  • lily of the valley (Convallaria)
  • phlox
  • rose – especially “Extase” (rich purple-red), “Jacaranda” (deep blue-pink), Juliet (soft apricot), Rosalind (pale pink)
  • sweet pea

  Heavy/Exotic

  • gardenia
  • oriental lily – especially “Casablanca” (pure white) “Le Reve” (pale pink), “Stargazer” (white with dark pink stripe), “Pompeii” (white with yellow stripe)
  • longiflorum lily
  • narcissus – especially “Cheerfulness” (double lemon), “Paperwhite” (pure white, “Soleil d'Or” (golden yellow), “Ziza” (pure white)
  • stephanotis
  • tuberose (Polianthes)

As I said previously, this is just one (and a new/modern) way of classification for scents and fragrances. I will be going into this in more depth soon – so watch this space!

Prepared by Viki, posted by Bob

Introduction & History to flowers & Perfumes / Scents

The use of scents and such like by humans goes way way back in history. So far in fact, that it seems no one actually knows when we started to make them. To give you some idea, the Egyptians put down roots in the fourth millennium B.C. At this time, they already used plants and flowers to make scented oils and balms. The increased demand in needing these raw materials meant that inventive ways evolved of extracting the scents, such as pressing and pulverization, and so, the first steps were made into the production of essential oils by distillation.

Possibly even earlier civilizations offered flowers and herbs to their Gods. This is backed up by archaeological findings, oral tradition and very early writings.

Roman writings describe how fragrances were used lavishly – following the spread of the use of perfumes to the western world. The use of perfume changed from being for mainly religious purposes to being for “the person”. This caused a sway towards the perfume industry as we now know it – bringing employment and industrial advantage to the community.

After the Roman Empire fell (in the Middle Ages), so too did all the inroads that they had made into the perfume industry in Europe. It became again a mainly religious sanction. The beginning of the 13th century saw trade to the Orient being re-established and so the emergence of further exotic flowers, herbs and spices . The Arab races were knowledgeable in alchemy and distillation by this time. Venice emerged as the centre of the perfume trade and this rapidly spread to other countries throughout Europe.

For at least 4000 years the manufacture of perfumes and relating – aromas, cosmetics etc. came from natural sources (i.e. animal or vegetable). Despite the long tradition of making perfumes and scents, the first synthetic fragrance material was not made until the late 18th century. With the increase of synthetic ways of making the perfumes increasing, so too did the perfumes industry as a whole. Many still preferred the natural way of doing things (as we have recently seen a major trend towards returning to), and thought that the synthetic raw materials had a harsh and possibly distasteful aroma to them.

The mass-production of perfumes using synthetic materials continues to this day, although there has recently been an increase towards the natural and organic (not only in perfumes – but other cosmetics, food etc.) Many now choose to make their own perfume and skincare products – to name but 2 areas. I will show you ways of doing this in the coming weeks... so keep watching!

Prepared by Viki, posted by Bob

Perfume / Scent making - A brief intoduction ..

There are at a basic level, 3 main parts to making a perfume or scent.

1. Creation of the actual “scent”. The first part can be ester, aldehyde or other aromatic organic components that are sourced from flowers, fruits or whatever scent helps towards the final fragrance.
2. The solvent (e.g. Acetone or Ethanol). This is used to dissolve all the fragrance and helps to make it evaporate over a period of time - lingering- rather than dispersing all at once.
3. After this, the preservatives are used, as well as stabilizers and fillers to prevent the degradation of the perfume over time, and to bulk it up.

Now this, very brief and somewhat patchy introduction is just for information only, and should not be used as a “recipe” or formula of any sort. Organic chemistry is dangerous and should only be attempted by those who know exactly what they are doing.

However, that is not to say that you should be put off after reading this, in venturing into the making of your own perfume – I urge you to bear with me as I will go on to show you that you do not need a lab to make many recipes .  Many perfumes are very easy to make, and after a few practices, you never know, you may see your own brand of floral-based scents before too long!

Keep watching – there is more great stuff coming up...

Send flowers- Freesia special offer £19.99

Hi,

I have just realised that we are currently offering 30 stems of Freesia for the price of 20, and this is all for the excellent price of £19.99 inclusive of delivery throughout the UK, 6 days a week.

Freesias are known by everyone for their delicate scent. Everytime you walk in a room you will be bowled over by the strong sweet scent.

Buy them now by using this link.

These beautiful flowers are from our new "Summer Flowers" range, and are are just one choice from a huge variety of flowers available for you to send throughout the UK whatever the occasion from Clare Florist.

Flower Shows - UK

The month of May just sees the start of many of the Flower Shows that we will see springing up across the nation. I will try and cover most of the bigger shows. For now though, here is just a taster of the shows coming up:

The Chelsea Flower Show

One cannot talk about Flower Shows in the UK without mentioning possibly the most well-known of them all – the Chelsea Flower Show.

Running from 22-26 May, this is considered by many to be one of the most prestigious Flower Shows in the UK. Supported by the Royal Horticultural Society, you can gain a wealth of information about the event from it's website, including highlights from the 2006 show in this link.

The Bath & West Agricultural Show

Running from 30 May – 2 June, this is described on its webpage as being the show

“where all aspects of farming and rural life can be seen, from the best of British livestock to the latest business innovations in farming. The show offers the perfect day out for the whole family; the best for shopping, food, flowers, crafts, country pursuits, equestrian competitions and arena displays.”

That says it all really! I may add however that it seems to have a wide range of things going on – so would be a great choice if going with family who will inevitably have a variety of different tastes.

The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

Running from 3-8 July, this is another show supported for the Royal Horticultural Society.

As well as the: floral marquees, plant plots and festival of roses to marvel at, there are other attractions such as: competitions, floral art and an art gallery.

The RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park

This being one of the later shows, running from 18-22 July. The show at Tatton Park is also (as the title suggests) supported by the Royal Horticultural Society, you can gain a wealth of information from its website. Things you can enjoy at the park include the gardens: show gardens, show features and back to back gardens, as well as the “RHS/Ball Colegrave National Flower Bed Competition”

Please watch out for more coverage on the shows as the warmer months progress. And if you have been or are planning to go to any of the shows – let me know your thoughts – I would love to hear from you!

Prepared by Viki, posted by Bob.

May Traditions - introduction

May 1^st – or “May Day”

Although not the official start of summer in the modern calendar, May Day is traditionally celebrated as the start of summer. There are a great many traditions surrounding this day – many of which are centuries old – some are geographically specific, whereas others are more well known (although possibly no longer actively practised throughout the UK).

Origins of "May"

The month of May was most likely named after "Maia" – the Greek goddess (please see: this Wikipedia entry for more on Maia.  (Maia was the eldest of seven sisters and  was famed for being the most beautiful and the shyest of all the sisters and was also the goddess of fields.

The birthstone for may is the Emerald, and the traditional bird associated with May is the Nightingale. The flower for the month is lily of the valley (or the hawthorn).

Maypole Dancing

Children (and adults) after much practising, put on a type of dance around the “May pole” where each of them hold a long ribbon attached to the top of the “pole” at the centre. As they dance around the pole a pattern is made of the ribbons from the top of the pole downwards. This is often part of a community event – a gala or fair is often held in many areas (particularly primary schools) where parents and locals gather to watch the dance.

Morning Dew on the first day of May

It is a tradition in many areas to wash one's face in the morning dew at dawn on May Day. This is said to bring beauty and to cleanse the skin for the coming year. Obviously the place where this is done depends on locality – an example is Edinburgh, where locals traditionally go to “Arthur's Seat” to wash in the morning dew – but other areas may have their own traditional place to perform the ritual.

Prepared by Viki, posted by Bob.