Fast delivery flowers
by: Clinton Porter
Are you in a rush and looking to send flowers to celebrate a special occasion with a friend or family member? Or do you need to act quickly to respond to a bereavement overseas? Next and same dayflower delivery services offer the perfect solution for you - featured on selected online florist websites.
If you’re not sure what types of flowers to send, several ideas are listed below.
Flowers sent in sympathy and ordered online include:
• seasonal and cluster wreaths • an open heart or Christian cross shape • a single red rose with leaf surround • simple posy arrangements and • basket and potted plants.
Ideas for celebratory flowers include items such as:
• 6, 12 or 24 red roses • cut orchids in a vase • tulip bouquets and • seasonal flowering plant pots.
A good online florist will be able to quickly advise you of relevant cultural customs of destination country if appropriate, as well as national public holidays. Note that in North America, it is normal practice for florists to deliver flowers in a container such as a vase or basket.
Online international florist, http://www.Flowers4.co.uk/ offers a same and next day flower delivery service. Their same day service accommodates European destinations whereas their next day delivery serves non-European countries. Each system specifies set times for customer orders.
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Why Not Send Flowers Online?
by: Muzrak Maksidov
Life is hectic for most of us, but no one wants to miss those special occasions, so why not send flowers online? It's as easy as pushing a few buttons and far more convenient than taking the extra time to run to the flower shop on your lunch hour.
Sending online flowers in Chicago way is a breeze. The city has a wide network of cooperating florists who'll have your bouquet in the hands of that special someone within 24 hours in most cases. If you live in DeKalb send flowers just as easily with a bevy of florists just waiting to fill your order with the freshest blooms available. Many local florists do not charge extra to deliver flowers in Chicago.
When you send flowers online, you have the added bonus of choosing from a selection of standard arrangements in beautiful color photos that let you see exactly what you'll be sending. No more standing at the floral counter trying to describe what you want and hoping the resulting arrangement is what you had in mind. When you send flowers online, you take the guess work out and get just the arrangement you want.
Many florists make it even easier to send flowers online by having their designs arranged by the occasion. Think of the convenience of clicking a link and seeing an array of lovely New Baby bouquets, ready to send directly to the new mom's hospital room. Never suffer the guilt of forgetting Valentine's Day or an anniversary again. Even last minute orders can usually be taken care of if you put your order in an hour or so before closing time.
Perhaps it's more convenient to search for your floral arrangement by sentiment? Many online florists have categories for Get Well, Thank You, and I'm Sorry. Sounds pretty easy, doesn't it? Or you can send the perfect bereavement arrangement by looking in the Sympathy category. Need to send a little something to spark your special someone's anticipation of tonight's dinner date? Check out the Romance section. Whatever sentiment you wish to express, you can conveniently send flowers online in a matter of minutes.
When you decide to send flowers online, you take the hassle out of showing friends and family how much you care. For your convenience, many online florists will allow you to create an account with special dates and occasion to be remembered. You can either pick your choices ahead of time and have them sent out automatically and billed to your account, or you can choose to receive an e-mail reminder to send flowers online. Never get the cold shoulder for forgetting an important event again.
When you look at the overall convenience, there's no reason not to send flowers online.
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Artificial Flowers and Artificial Plants Have Their Advantages
by: Muzrak Maksidov
While few things are as lovely and fragrant as real flowers and plants, artificial flowers and artificial plants do have their advantages in some situations. If you are planning an event, or need to send a remembrance, sometimes artificial flowers and artificial plants make the best sense.
When many people think about artificial flowers and artificial plants, they think of those awful plastic arrangements found gathering dust on discount department store shelves. But things are quite different today and realistic silk orchids or flowers have replaced the tacky plastic flowers and plants of the past.
Weddings
Artificial flowers and artificial plants can be great for extending a wedding budget. Silk flowers can be used in place of real flowers, and with a drop of scented oil applied in the very center, most people can't tell the difference between the two.
Silk flower wedding arrangements are also perfect for high traffic areas where real flowers would take a bruising. Artificial flowers and artificial plants make perfect pew decorations. Guests may accidentally brush up against them as they are seated, but the petals will look as lovely as ever. You never need to worry about silk orchids or flowers wilting.
Scrapbooking, Crafting, and Cake Decorating
Artificial flowers and artificial plants are the perfect way to add floral accents to scrapbook pages and crafts. For example, a copy of the wedding invitation is usually saved by the bride for a keepsake. Silk flowers, whole or with petals and leaves separated for convenience, can be used to decorate the pages of a scrapbook or keepsake frame.
You can also decorate a cake with realistic silk flowers that are far more beautiful and dramatic than piped frosting creations, and you can save them afterward in a keepsake box.
Bereavements
Sending flowers in times of sorrow is a time honored tradition, and real flowers are both lovely and fragrant, but they fade away all too soon. Many families have a custom of offering bereavement floral arrangements to friends and family as a poignant remembrance of a loved one's passing. Silk flower arrangements make a lasting gift that will bring back fond memories of absent friends and family for years to come.
Artificial flowers and artificial plants made today are just as beautiful and nearly identical to the real thing. If you want the beauty of flowers in your life, why not add some permanence with lovely silk flowers and plants.
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Flowers And Flower Delivery
by: Tina Banks
Flowers are one of natures beautiful things that have always fascinated humans. Flowers are perfect for all occasions. Be it a birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s day, funeral or a wedding there are flowers to suite.
Flowers can be the perfect gift and a perfect way to express your emotions. And its not just women who like to receive flowers as a gift either. The society of American Florists conducted a survey and found that 60% would like to receive flowers on special occasions, especially Valentine’s Day.
By searching on the Internet or looking through the local phone directory you should be able to find a good florist to arrange a flower delivery. If you would like to arrange for a flower delivery and you have not done this before you may be slightly unsure of some things. For a florist the busiest times of year will be Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, although a good florist will manage to stay busy all year round by specializing in creating flower arrangements for funerals, weddings and other events. If you want to arrange for a flower delivery around a busy time like Valentine's Day then you should do your best to contact a florist with plenty of advance notice. You wouldn't want your loved one to not receive any flowers because you left arranging the flower delivery till the last minute would you.
The range of options open to you from a good florist is very impressive. It is possible to arrange for flower deliveries anywhere in the country, but also worldwide if needs be. Many florists will also be able to store your personal details like your important dates and preferences. This way the florist can alert you when a birthday is coming up or even your wedding anniversary should you forget it. This way you will always have a perfect present arranged for your loved ones.
Of course many florists will now have a web site therefore making it even easier to arrange for a flower delivery. You will normally be able to go on the web site and order by flower type and see pictures of what will be sent and then arrange for the flower delivery. Many people do not mind what flowers they receive so do not worry too much if you are unsure what to send, as the gift of any flower will make a person happy.
When arranging a flower delivery it would probably be a good idea to ring a few reputable florists and compare prices, as there can be large variations. Flowers are such a wonderful gift and so easy to send to someone that there really is no excuse for not doing so.
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The World's Largest And Stinkiest Arum
The most remarkable carrion arum is the titan arum or bunga bangkai "corpse flower" (Amorphophallus titanum). Native to equatorial tropical rain forests of Sumatra, Indonesia, this amazing plant flowered at the New York Botanical Garden in 1937. At its maximum development, a spadix over 8 feet tall (2.4 m) emerged from a huge vase-shaped, pleated spathe over 4 feet (1.2 m) tall and 12 feet (4 m) in circumference. This floral giant developed from a tuber measuring 6 feet (2 m) in circumference and weighing over 100 pounds (46 kg). According to B. Meeuse and S. Morris (The Sex Life Of Flowers, 1984), the enormous blossom generates such an overwhelming smell that people have been known to pass out from taking too close a whiff.
Although the blossom of this arum may tower over an adult human, it is not the world's largest flower. It is technically an inflorescence composed of numerous small, unisexual male and female flowers clustered around the base of the spadix, within the showy, funnel-shaped spathe. Female flowers consist essentially of ovule-bearing pistils deep within the spathe. Staminate (male) flowers (consisting essentially of stamens) are packed around the spadix, just above the female flowers. The conspicuous upper part of the spadix is sterile (flowerless) and emits the stench. Since the male and female flowers reach maturity at different times, cross pollination between different plants is the normal mechanism for sexual reproduction and seed production. Female flowers are typically receptive before the anthers release pollen, a cross pollination incentive known as protogyny. After pollination, the minute female flowers give rise to several hundred seeds. Although truly magnificent, this inflorescence is rather small compared with the Bolivian bromeliad Puya raimondii, with a flower stalk 35 feet (11 m) tall bearing over 8,000 white blossoms. In case you are wondering about the generic name Amorphophallus, it is derived from the Greek words "amorphos" (shapeless) and "phallos" (penis). Actually, the 8 foot phallus-like spadix of A. titanum rivals the size of a blue whale penis. This remarkable arum flowered in spring of 1996 at the University of Bonn Botanical Garden in Bonn, Germany.
On August 2, 1999 an Amorphophallus titanum achieved full bloom at the Huntington Botanic Garden in San Marino, California. This was only the 11th recorded bloom in the United States and the first ever in California. Equally astonishing was the number of people who came to visit this magnificent plant on the peak day of its blooming period, over 10,000 admirers. They waited patiently in a long line in 80-90 degree heat, a line that at one time extended the length of two football fields (or about 200 meters). Some people wore protective nose masks, and one boy even wore a gas mask. Actually, no one was overcome by the stench (the plant was roped off to prevent people from getting their faces too close to the funnel-shaped spathe).
The magnificent titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) at the Huntington Botanic Garden on August 3, 1999 (one day after its peak blooming period). The large, funnel-shaped spathe (red on the inner surface) is already folded closed in photo. Thousands of people witnessed this very unusual blossom. Those lucky enough to be at Huntington Botanic Garden on the previous day (August 2) saw this spectacular inflorescence with the reddish spathe opened wide, resembling the drawing on the commemorative T-shirt (right), for sale at HBG. To find out more about this amazing plant (or T-shirt) log on to the Huntington Botanic Garden web site at www.huntington.org.
On the 14th of June 2000, another remarkable Amorphophallus titanum was in full bloom at the Fullerton Arboretum on the campus of California State University at Fullerton (CSUF) in Orange County, California. Known affectionately as "Tiffy Titan," the plant came from one of two tubers donated to the CSUF Department of Biological Science in October 1994. [Incidentally, Tiffy's name is derived from Titan, the mascot for CSUF.] Both tubers came from seeds that were planted the previous year. The typical life cycle of A. titanum starts with a seed that develops into a dormant tuber, followed by leaf production, larger dormant tuber, flowering and seed production. At CSUF, the complete life cycle has taken seven years. Pollen from another A. titanum that bloomed the previous summer (1999) at Huntington Botanic Garden was applied to all of the female flowers of "Tiffy Titan" at the peak day of flowering (14 June 2000).
Left: "Tiffy Titan" (Amorphophallus titanum) in full bloom at Fullerton Arboretum on the campus of California State University at Fullerton. Right: Another Amorphophallus titanum near the end of its gigantic leaf stage. The withered compound leaf is supported by ties to the shadecloth ceiling framework.
On July 16, 2002 another spectacular Amorphophallus titanum came into full bloom at Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, California. The blossom (inflorescence) developed from a huge, tire-sized tuber in a large flower pot. As the spathe opened into a reddish-purple funnel surrounding the yellow spadix, the blossom emitted a powerful carrion stench that filled the air of this serene botanical garden.
One of the original two tubers of Amorphophallus titanum donated to CSUF was still in its leaf stage on June 14, 2000 when "Tiffy Titan" was in full bloom. The single, enormous compound leaf was approximately eight feet tall (2.4 m) with a spread of at least 8 feet (2.4 m). It was already brown and withered, and was near the end of its leaf stage. Following the leaf stage, the enlarged tuber of this second A. titanum (with sufficient carbohydrate reserve) will hopefully produce another striking, stinking blossom.
Pollination of "Tiffy Titan" (Amorphophallus titanum) at Fullerton Arboretum on the campus of California State University at Fullerton. Pollinators are Leo C. Song Jr. of the CSUF Biological Science Greenhouse Complex and Chris Barnhill of the Fullerton Arboretum.
Another bizarre Malaysian species of Amorphophallus (A. paeoniifolius). Older references often list this species by its synonym of A. campanulatus. An enlarged, inflated, flower-bearing spadix protrudes from the vase-shaped spathe. Clusters of yellow male flowers (stamens) can be seen above the whitish stigmas of female flowers (pistils). Photo was taken at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, Papaikou, Hawaii. This remarkable arum was grown by Horticulturist and Garden Manager, Sean Callahan.
Underground tubers of the Malaysian Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, also listed by the synonym of A. campanulatus.
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Rare giant flower blossoms in Indonesia's Sumatra
A rare Rafflesia Arnoldi, believed to be the world's biggest flower, has blossomed in Bengkulu Province in Indonesia's Sumatra, news reports said Thursday.
Hundreds of people have been flocking to a site where the giant flower was found about a week ago by a forest ranger just 15 meters off a main road linking Bengkulu city and Curup Rejang Lebong, the state-run news agency Antara said.
Fully blossoming since Monday, the red flower with white dots has a diameter of 60 centimeters and is expected to live until Friday.
Six buds of one of the world's endangered floral species have been found near the gigantic flower and the local authorities have fenced the area to protect the buds.
The flower has also offered some income to the local government as hundreds of visitors have to buy tickets to enjoy the rare sight, despite the bad smell it produces.
The almost extinct flower was identified in Bengkulu by Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles and Joseph Arnold in 1881.
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