My favourite flowers during each and every year!

Of the most regular questions I get asked is “Arnie, what is your favourite flower”? Whilst I do have one that stands out for all time - the Dahlia (which I’ll explain about a little later in this blog) I like to think about favourite flowers across all the seasons! Spring, summer, autumn and winter presents us with their own special ‘gems’ to treasure at each particular time of the year.

SPRING … Ahh, perhaps the most challenging of the seasons to pick a single favourite, so I might list a couple 😉 of my absolute favourites.

Purple Violets!

The violet. Tiny, fragrant and delicate, violets are perennial flowers that grow well in shady spots as they are protected from wind and too much sun. The symbolism of the violet is linked to love and affection and really is appropriate given its heart-shaped leaves. Appearing in a variety of single/solid colours, as well as bicoloured, my favourite by far is the purple! Violets can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman times as it was used to treat illnesses. Known for its incredible fragrance, the fragility and short window span of the violet is what makes it extra special.

Lilac. Nothing can by-pass Lilac’s aroma and colours. Commonly known as the ‘Queen of Shrubs’ due to it’s hardiness, it’s blooming season is typically earlier on in Spring and has a very limited flowering period. Like the violet, only being able to enjoy the beauty Lilac for such a short period of time, makes it so memorable to me.

Heavenly Hydrangea!

SUMMER … Hydrangea! Although first cultivated in Japan, ancient fossils of hydrangea have actually been found in North America from Jaw Mountain in Alaska, dating back 23 million years ago!

As natural pH indicators, the active gardener can try to manipulate the colour of hydrangeas by adding fertilisers and other elements to the soil they are grown in. Hydrangea flowers will turn blue when the soil is acidic and pink when the soil is alkaline.

For me, hydrangea en masse, in the blues, pinks and whites (& available in many other colours and varieties i.e. Paniculata, Oak Leaf, etc ) all are simply heavenly! And then there is the warm rich tones of the Autumn hydrangea - they continuously giving, flowering from Spring - Autumn. From a floristry and creative perspective, hydrangea is golden in terms of being a base, or flower anchor. This foundation is critical in constructing arbours, installations and even vase arrangements.

AUTUMN … Now, remember my opening statement about the Dahlia! This is the flower that I wish my coffin to be draped in (that is how truly fond I am of this truly beautiful flower). The Dahlia origin is Mexico (it is Mexico’s national flower)!  Dating back hundreds of years, the hollow stems of these plant were often used for hauling water to travelling hunters. Exploration of Dahlia as native to Mexican natural history around 1570, but it wasn’t until the 18th century, when botany was developing as a science, that dahlias were first cultured in Europe.

The Dahlia is my No.1 favourite because of its many colours and forms. As a floristry flower, it absolutely brings to every arrangement a very certain “je ne sais quoi”! They are happy, colourful, moody and loved by so many.

Left to right : Dahlia’s, Cymbidium Orchid, Hydrangea

WINTER … Winter is of course the season for many flower species’ ‘sleep’ period. An absolute stand out for me during the colder, darker months is the Cymbidium Orchid. Available in the most stunning array of colours – from magentas and chocolate through to lime green, bright lemons and yellows, pinks and much more.

Also known as the boat orchid – the term ‘cymbidium’ comes from the word ‘cymba’ which is Latin for ‘boat’. This of course, references the flower’s boat-like shape. As a flower that blooms in Winter and into Spring, the Cymbidium Orchid was cultivated thousands of years ago in China. In fact, it is referenced in the Chinese philosopher, Confucius’s writings for beauty and fragrance. Able to withstand cold is due to the early Cymbidium varieties, which first grew in the forests of the Himalayan Mountains.  

I love the Cymbidium Orchid for their flush of spectacular colour, their waxy textured petals and as either a potted plant, or cut stem, offers an extended and long-lasting bloom life which makes them exceptional during the more dormant season of Winter - and a great indoor plant.

There are so many more flowers in my ‘love box’  like delphiniums, gloriosa lily, flowering dogwood, flannel flower, lily of the valley… the list is endless.

It is also a great reminder that knowing your seasonal flowers and of course buying in season is best for sustainability and ensures that your flowers life-span are at their peak in terms of freshness and durability.

Curating your own favourite flowers of the year is a fun and insightful thing to do.

Always,

Arn x

From Farm to Vase... The floral journey … a slow movement industry

So, what’s behind the bloom?

‘Slow fashion’ and ‘farm to fork’ have been highlighted (and quite rightly so) over recent years because of their focus on the importance and value of how produce and materials are made and eventually become available to you, as a customer.

From Farm to Vase

Considering the floral industry as part of the ‘slow’ movements is important and puts into perspective how and why the quality and cost is currently determined. When you are given or buy flowers, a chain of many people and businesses have been working with each other to ensure bloom presence in shops, for you. This process, all the knowledge, practice and evolution is years in the making.

Starting from cultivating & growing, to harvesting, transportation, distribution and design, each link in the chain is affected by aspects beyond control, like seasonality, climate dependence, perishability through to logistical coordination issues, long hours and physical demands. The value of flowers is influenced by all these aspects. What is overlooked, is the HUGE amount of ‘behind-the-scene’ aspects that play a part in this industry and are, unfortunately, highly under-valued. It is all this ‘silent’ work that is pivotal in making flowers, ‘happen’.

For starters, consider the grower of flowers. Factors like the growth time of species, climate changes, feeding, weeding, harvesting, approaching businesses for sales. Consider then, the face-to-face shopfront of being a florist. Years and years of practicing your craft, evolving your techniques and skills to match industry trends, improving creative thinking to be innovative in a very competitive space. Hours and years spent building relationships with growers and suppliers to secure the freshest, most beautiful and in my case, the more unique and special offerings.

Long hours - pre-dawn cuttings and market runs, late night creations, midnight bump-outs from weddings are a given but not really acknowledged as part of the service. Behind the scenes, well before creating is even considered, there are constant consultations, contract writing, proposals, emails, phone calls, All part of the process, yes, but in order to have an amazing bouquet, function or wedding, the slow build up to the end result is foundational.

Additionally, the pressures of COVID and economic stress caused by raising inflation and interest rates are hitting ALL small businesses, tremendously. The heart-breaking increase in small business falling and closing is evident and leaves a huge ‘gap’ - which is why the voice of ‘slow’ or mindful production and produce is so important. The pressures over the last few years were felt and are still now hitting he floral industry chain - from cultivation, harvesting, transportation, distribution and design.

As a florist whose been in the business for over 20 years, presently is perhaps the most challenging of all years in the trade, not only for shopfront florists, but for partners in the floral industry. That is why, now, the power of local, community support is vital, and so gratefully appreciated.

Always,

Arne x

The Power of the Flower

We all know the sensations of gratitude and love felt when we receive a bunch or bouquet of flowers. You can’t not help but be caught up in the moment - beauty of nature at its best!

Admittedly for me, having been in the floral and nature industry and community for over twenty years, it’s one of my favourite things - you see a person’s smile, eyes light up… shed a tear of thanks – it’s an instantaneous moment of joy…

Whilst it’s not a new study, the behavioural research conducted by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D. (Clinical Researcher in Psychology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital) in 2006 studied how living with flowers impacts your emotions and self-being -and it was fascinating.  When I say ‘living’, I don’t mean each and every day for your entire life, but as Etcoff puts it, “Other research has proven that flowers make people happy when they receive them. What we didn’t know is that spending a few days with flowers in the home can affect a wide variety of feelings.”

 Yes, I know we don’t necessarily need ‘scientific’ evidence about the positive effects of flowers, but it so intriguing that this topic reaches the realm of investigation!

With winter on the doorstep our moods and motivation can take a bit of hit. We’re at mid-year and I am, and maybe you too, feeling a bit tired and lethargic. For those who haven’t come across this study, I’d like to share the three main and significant findings of ‘The Home Ecology of Flowers Study’:

1)     Flowers feed compassion

2)     Flowers decreases anxiety, worries & depression

3)     Flowers at home can also boost happiness at work!

Compassion: It was revealed that fresh cut flowers at home increased a feeling of kindness and compassion towards others. I find this so comforting in a world that often presents us with angst and anger unwarranted.

Less worry and anxiety: It proved that most participants felt less negative by having fresh flowers in their home for several days. Most relished seeing fresh blooms first thing in the morning and placed in them in areas where they spent a lot time – kitchen, living room and dining areas. I find this reassuring as many struggle with the pressure of each and every day!

Boost of energy, happiness & enthusiasm at work: The study found that having flowers at home has a positive carry-over impact on our mood at work! I found this so wonderful… wow... for all of us that work (which I think is 99.9%) that’s a complete game-changer!

Flowers might not last forever, but in a world of congestion, accumulated trinkets and gadgets that sit and accumulate dust, flowers are a reminder to live in the moment (really what we all only have) and appreciate what nature gives us. Each and every day, all year round, nature gives us flowers to enjoy and injects a boost that simply, material things can’t do.

Flowers for thought!

Arn xx

Our Garden

The ability to create beautiful arrangements is without doubt the abundance of flowers, foliage and berries we use. The berries, seed heads and other interesting textural and tactile elements our gardens gives us is an enormous pleasure in so many ways.

Barry and I purchased our block about 16 months after the 1983 Ash Wednesday bush fires suffice to say there was no garden to speak of, however, we were endowed with beautiful terracing although these needed to be restored and repaired. There was a lot of cleaning up to do before we even considered planning a garden.

The next stage was the home, we built this on the original house site, which, naturally gave us the boundaries on which to plan the garden. I didn’t know much about gardening or even planning a garden back then.

Our instinct was to plant a number of trees to compensate for the bareness left by the Ash Wednesday fires, planting a number of trees such as Oak, Copper Beech, Golden and green Ash, Elms, Maples, Crab Apples, Dogwoods and a copse of Silver Birches. The eucalypts were already re-establishing themselves. My very first tree I planted was the majestic Mt Fuji Cherry tree, which after 30 years of growth, has now a trunk girth of nearly 1.5 metres and canopy of nearly 7 meters. This is the tree we enjoy sitting under in summer.

Next was to plan the perennial beds; today called a ‘cutting’ garden. Most of our beds are designed to be open for ease of access, however, during the process we planted a number of ‘Buxus’ hedges for an element of formality. During he early years of our garden and planting we included David Austin and hybrid tea roses, delphiniums, dahlias, peonies and other interesting perennial and a lower canopy of shrubs of different varieties - viburnums, azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, climbers such as wisteria, clematis and hydrangea and my favourite climbing rose ‘Albertine’.

The next life cycle of our garden was the drought. We struggled through a close to 15-year drought, water being so precious at this time I had the attitude that it had to survive with or without any watering. We did lose a couple of silver birch trees and rhododendrons, one of my favourites ‘Fragrantisima’ sadly didn’t survive, but luckily the rest managed to survive.

Twenty-five years on the top canopy of trees have grown enormously and have provided welcoming shade from the summer heat, however, casting such a wide shadow has impacted on my perennial beds. I had decided to remove perennials and roses that no longer flourished and introduced a number of shade-loving plantings, increasing my hellebore beds, introducing Hosts, delicate cyclamen and a number of other interesting shade loving perennial plants and bulbs.

Our garden is ever evolving, trying to keep pace with the ever-changing weather patterns, our personal needs and how e would like to enjoy our time with the garden. My next ambition is to plant shade-loving native varieties.

Although I do use my garden on occasions for my business as a florist, primarily it is a garden that has grown with us and our life style.

Make your garden your own.