Clare Florist Blog

Wow, did anyone know that Vanilla originally came from orchids?? Definitely something to remember for next time you indulge in some creme brulee!

For the orchid lovers of you out there, I'm pleased to say that they are finally back in stock for us after the nasty wet days plaguing Thailand recently which has been devoiding us of these delicate belles. Apparently orchids have been hanging around since the ages of dinosaurs, making them around a whooping 80 million years old according to this ancient orchid pollen that's been found.   

Orchids are a pretty strange bunch - with the rather interesting array of forms in which they come in, as well as various distinctive features to encourage pollination, they in fact appear to be mystically intelligent beyond their peers. Just consider a flower that deliberately give off a bad smell to attract a certain fly, or indeed some of the very common moth orchids (phalaenopsis) which only smells good at night to attract moths!

 
Orchids being the stylish madams of the flower world shows off the latest vase fashion...

Even more intriguing is the way the effect of evolution can be seen to go also the other way, so much so that Darwin was able to predict the existence of a moth just based on a particularly striking pattern that was evolving from orchids. Talk about mysterious processes in nature!

On a final note, those of you who still haven't joined our mailing list, do it now! We would very much like to let you in on our latest great offers before all the other non-list-members (kinda like a privilege thing).  Our last offer with the delightful autumn bouquet has been a success and there are plenty more on the way just for you so don't miss it!

This week some of us shall be lucky enough to go and visit our flowers' beautiful home town, Amsterdam - it's time for the annual Horti Fair exhibition, the biggest trade fair in the field showing the latest and wackiest in the world of flowers! Each year different members of our design team get to go and check out the up and coming new astonishing varieties of flowers that are bred, not to mention an exciting preview of what's in and what's out in next year's trends for floral and interior design.

One of the most fascinating part of this fair though, is the Innovation Award. With different categories including new plants, technology and services, the shortlisted candidates are pretty awe-inspiring indeed. My favourite of the bunch must be the FlowerBagVase (Very useful!) and the first ever black flower - Anthurium Black Queen (Jaw-droppingly stunning). The rest of the shortlist can be found on their website too - see what you think?

While in Amsterdam we'll also be visiting our growers too and talk about some great ideas for the upcoming special occasions of next year - too early? Not if we are wanting some rest time in between the busy times! No doubt the trip will leave our design team with plenty of ideas for trendy bouquets to keep us ahead of fashion next year, so stay tuned for our latest bouquets on offer!