Clare Florist Blog

Summer recipes ~ refreshing beverages

Have you ever tasted real homemade lemonade? I happened on some in a little café near Paddington station a few weeks ago and it was delicious, so I decided to make some of my own when I had time. I found that making this non-fizzy variety is surprisingly quick and easy, and packed with real lemon juice it has a good dose of vitamins too. The basic recipe is:

Ingredients:
250ml (1 cup) water
200g (1 cup) sugar
juice of 4-6 lemons
1l (4 cups) cold water to dilute (you can use sparkling water if you want to give it some fizz)

Method:
1. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring frequently until all the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool.

2. Combine this sugar syrup with the lemon juice, stirring well. Add cold water to dilute and mix well. Garnish with lemon slices.

This makes enough for about six people. You can keep the undiluted mixture in the fridge and dilute it when you want to drink it. You can also experiment with adding other ingredients to make your own special variations: mint, orange juice and jest, ginger, strawberries… even flower ingredients, like rose or lavender (but make sure they're meant for consumption – don't use your bouquet roses!, see my earlier blog on edible flowers).

I also found an interesting sounding recipe for a Jamaican hibiscus drink. I’m not sure how easy it is to find the key ingredient locally but you can always order them over the internet, such as here.

Ingredients:
8 cups water
2 cups dried hibiscus blossoms
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 cup sugar (or to taste)

Method:
In a saucepan, bring the water to the boil. Add the hibiscus and ginger and remove from the heat. Cover and leave to steep for four hours. Strain and sweeten with sugar to taste, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Chill before serving. You can also add some good quality Jamaican rum to make this into a refreshing summer cocktail. You might also be able to find the juice ready-prepared. I first came across this drink not long ago in my local international supermarket, where they sell Hib!, a ready-made version of this drink.

June Prize Winner

The Clare Florist prize draw winner for June was Clare Johnstone from Alloa.
Clare was delighted with her fresh Summer 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 automatically be entered into our monthly prize draw.

Jazz on a Summer’s Day

In addition to the famous Fringe and International festivals, Edinburgh hosts a yearly Jazz and Blues festival, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. It runs from the 25th of July to the 3rd of August (which is when the Fringe begins) and takes place in venues around the city. With a host of varied jazz and blues artists, it promises to meet all tastes and interests. The programme’s up and tickets are already on sale.

And if you’re not sure what you might like, you can get a free sample of some of the older style jazz for free in the ‘Jazz on a Summer’s day’ mini-festival which is being held on the 27th in the Ross Theatre in Princes Street gardens. There’s also a free Mardi Gras event on the 26th. For more details see the link above and for information on the many other Jazz festivals around Scotland see here.

St. Swithin's Day

Is it raining?

It’s St. Swithin’s Day today.

  St Swithin’s Day, if it does rain
    Full forty days, it will remain
    St Swithin’s Day, if it be fair
    For forty days, t'will rain no more.

Though the Met office will probably advise you otherwise, this weather-rhyme has been known in the British Isles since the days of Queen Elizabeth, and it’s true that for farmers through the centuries it’s been vital to keep an eye on rainfall and to judge the best time to harvest. As the well-known proverb goes, “make hay while the sun shines”.

Back in the 9th century, St. Swithun lived and worked as a Saxon Bishop in Winchester. It’s said that as he lay on his deathbed he asked to be buried out of doors, where the "sweet rain of heaven" would fall on his grave. When he was canonised, some years after his burial, however, it was decided that his remains should be moved to a shrine inside the cathedral. Following this, the legend goes, there was a heavy rain storm, a sign of Swithun’s displeasure and the origin of the old wives’ tale surrounding St. Swithin’s Day. As a result, St Swithun is also the perfect saint to pray to in cases of drought, or if, like St. Swithun and me, you just happen to like rain!

Summer flowers ~ Sunflowers

The ultimate summer flower, sunflowers not only resemble the sun with their bright yellow, round flower-heads, but are also famed for their habit of turning their heads towards the sun, which is known as heliotropism. This happens mostly in the bud stage and once they bloom the flowers become fixed, usually towards the east, the direction of the rising sun. The botanical name, Helianthus, which comes from the Greek, also means ‘sunflower’ ("helios" = sun and "anthos" = flower).

Beautiful and useful, sunflowers were originally cultivated by Native Americans and are still widely grown for their nutritious seeds, from which we get much of our cooking oil. Only in recent years have they been grown for their bold beauty, but already they are one of the top selling cut-flowers and many varieties now exist, varying in size and colour, from bright yellow to deep red.

Sunflowers are associated with the star-sign Leo and said to represent adoration and adulation, as well as sunshine, making them a perfect summer gift. They feature in several of our summer bouquets, including our Sunflower bouquet, pictured.

Fun on the Fringe

Despite its unpredictable weather, I reckon my home town, Edinburgh, is one of the best places to spend summer. Certainly many thousands of tourists seem to agree, as they flock to the small capital every year for the delights of Edinburgh’s various summer festivals: the International Film Festival, the Fringe Festival  and the International Festival, among the best-known. The streets are a-buzz with performers in  all manner of amusing dress, venue tents and beet gardens appear in the parks and there’s always a huge choice of different shows from around the world: music, theatre, dance, comedy and children’s. In my experience, quality and cost are also quite varied. I never plan to go to anything and somehow always end up going to four or five shows! You can get two for one tickets by booking early but sometimes I manage to get free tickets to a random show just by walking past one of the venues on a not too busy day. My favourite show last year was one a friend invited me to: stand up comedian Daniel Kitson telling a humorous and touching story with musical accompaniment from Gavin Osborn in a tent at 2am! I wonder what this year will have in store. Best get browsing. Let us know if you’ve any recommendations.

Vintage Boho

This week has seen the premier of "The edge of Love" in Edinburgh. The latest John Maybury film featuring Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller.

It's a romantic love story based around two feisty, free spirited ladies living in the shadow of the war.
The ladies are stylish yet bohemian with quirky taste in the fashion that was available to them.
We often notice an uptake in designs when they are relevant to interior fashion designs or just topical themes.

Hence the reason we have created this delicate Summer bouquet of Pale pink Esperance roses and vintage cream vendella roses, hand tied together with brown hypericum berries and germini. Perfectly finished with touches of cream astilbe for a nice romantic finish. 

Happy Birthday America!

The Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day in the US, marks the day the Declaration of Independence was signed back in 1776, declaring the US an independent nation from the rule of Great Britain. That makes this the 232nd birthday of The United States of America!

Independence Day is a national holiday celebrated publicly and privately with patriotic parades, flag flying, fireworks, barbecues, picnics and baseball games. The history, laws, heritage and traditions of the United States are commemorated in political speeches, in the media and in schools, but it’s also an opportunity for general summer festivities with friends and family.

Patriotic songs, such as "God Bless America", "America the Beautiful", "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", "This Land Is Your Land", "God Bless America" and the national anthem ("The Star-Spangled Banner"), often accompany the evening’s fireworks, while independence day decorations and clothing are coloured red, white, and blue, echoing the stars and stripes of the American flag. In the French flag these same colours represent the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity and, similarly, the keynotes of the Declaration of Independence are the upholding of liberty and justice for all citizens.

Why not send some flowers to your American friends here in the UK - give us a call and we can make you a bespoke bouquet of red, white and blue Summer Flowers.