Clare Florist Blog

Robin is Seventy !!

Our favourite box maker Robin was 70 last month!
He is taking it a bit easier now and has a few holidays booked this year to celebrate so wont be with us so much. So we decided to make the most of his time here and gave him a wee party on the morning of his birthday.
We had bucks fizz and birthday cake for breakfast - yum yum !
As you can see from the photos of Robin we gave him a fantastic birthday hat and presented him with his favourite lily bouquet.

On the Sunday Robin kindly invited the team to his official birthday bash at his favourite restaurant The Open Arms in Dirleton.
Here are some photo's of us all enjoying the fabulous food and champagne along with some sunshine - which we would have all made the most of had we known it was to be the last sunny day!

Robin gave all the ladies some phalaenopsis orchids which are my favourite.

 

So thanks so much to you Robin and please do enjoy your retirement - until we need you to come and help out with the boxes!!

Flower Astrology ~ Leo (July 23 to Aug. 22)

Leo, the Lion, is a Fire sign and the sign of the Sun. Leos are the most extraverted of  the signs, confident and limelight-loving, but they are also generous and warmhearted. They are go-getters and achievers but they also have a strong sense of honour and dignity. Eye-catching flowers in bright, warm shades like yellow and orange appeal to Leos, who also love to attract attention. The perfect blossom for Leos is the sunflower, which matches both the big-hearted and attention-grabbing, confident nature of the sign. Both bold and beautiful, sunflowers symbolise happiness and warmth.

July Prize Winner

The Clare Florist prize draw winner for July was Janet Pendlebury from Bispham in Blackpool.
Janet was thrilled 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 will be automatically entered into our monthly prize draw.
We do read all of the postcards and it's great for us to have your personal feedback.

How to say “I love you”

Actions, it is said, speak louder than words, and what do we say with flowers more often than “I love you”, but do you ever wonder what those words are around the world? I know a few, but I thought it would be fun to learn some more. Here’s what I found, see if you can guess all the languages! (I’ll put the answers below.)

Ta gra agam ort
Taim íngra leat
Rwy'n dy garu di
Ich liebe dich
Ik hou van jou
Kocham cie
Jag älskar dig
Ya tyebya lyublyu
Je t’aime
Te amo
Ti amo
Mi amas vin
S'agapo
Seni seviyorum
Ana behibak/behibek
Main tumse pyar karta hoon
Saya cintamu
Wo ai ni
Kimi o ai shiteru
Nagligivaget
Ayor anosh'ni
Tiako ianao
Ek het jou lief

To see how these are written in native script and for even more languages see here. An alternative list which gives more information on variations can also be found here.

And below is how to say “I love you” in American Sign Language, for a clearer picture see here, and
you can see the British Sign Language version at the end of this short video.

                                     __
               __                 (    )
              (    )                |__|
              |__|  __    __  |    |
              |    | (    ) (    ) |__|     __
              |__| |__| |__| |    |    /   )
              |      (__) (__)       |  /   /
              |                           |/   /
              |                           /   /
               \                             /

In order, the languages are: Gaelic, Irish, Welsh, German, Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Russian, French, Spanish (also Latin), Italian, Esperanto, Greek, Turkish, Arabic (to a man/woman), Hindi, Malay, Mandarin, Japanese, Eskimo, Navaho, Malagasy, Afrikaans. — and American sign language.

And if you're still shy about saying "I love you" you can always send our amazing "Red Rose - Love" bouquet which will convey the message, with or without words.

Floral crafts ~ Herbal Hair Tonic

This simple recipe makes a wonderful natural hair tonic. Used as a rinse once a week, it conditions and nourishes hair, improving strength and shine. It also makes a lovely home-made gift.

Ingredients:
1 cup (250ml) fresh herbs or flowers of your choice (rosemary is a particularly effective hair conditioner, while chamomile helps to soften and lighten fair hair*)
5 cups (1.2 litres/2 pints) water (use bottled water for added effect)

Method:
1.    Place herbs and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Leave this infusion in the pan to cool.
2.    Once cool, strain mixture into a clean glass container.
3.    Use as a rinse after shampooing the hair.

If you’re making this as a gift, pour the mixture into a glass stoppered bottle and add a fresh sprig of herbs for an attractive decorative appearance.

Other good hair-care herbs include: mullein flowers, marigolds, thyme, sage, horsetail, catnip and burdock root. For more suggestions and information on hair-conditioning herbs see here and for further natural hair-care recipes see here.

Showcase Designs – Hampton Court Flower Show

Held from the 8th to 13th of July, under variable weather conditions (which is as much as the British weather ever promises!), this year’s Hampton Court flower show saw a host of interesting new floral designs. Designers Hans Haverkamp, Sarah Horne, Linda Dovey, Taran Vernon, Rosa Ashby, and Tracey Griffin gave much enjoyed demonstrations illustrating their varied modern designs to bring an international flavour to the show. Hans’s demonstration included one of his world-renowned wedding bouquets, while Linda illustrated a striking Spanish ‘combi’ using both flowers and plants. Taran showed Indian design to the show, utilising a variety of rich colours and imaginative accessories and Sarah brought simple and chic designs which the audience could try out at home. Tracey  demonstrated simple, very modern European design and Rosa showed modern designs with a more a natural look. The international element continued with the show’s inclusion of an interactive 'Tree of Knowledge', showing the various meanings of flowers from around the globe, to which visitors could add their own ideas.

For more information, including pictures of the featured designs see the Flower & Plant Association
website.