Category: News

While the observance of Halloween dates back to ancient Celtic rituals; it is today a holiday for children and the young at heart. Although not celebrated throughout the world, it is one of the world’s fastest growing holidays. In North America over half of all families make or buy a costume for Halloween. In the United States, Halloween is the number one holiday for candy sales with over 2 billion dollars spent on candy last year. Flowers are central to Halloween entertaining and Halloween floral arrangements are considered the perfect “non-fattening” gift for adults. So, stock up with candy for the neighborhood “Trick-or-Treat-Children” and get in touch with your Florist – Flora2000 and they will deliver the perfect gift to all of your friends.

Far more brides are choosing October for their nuptials. It is predicted that in 2009, October will be the biggest wedding month. This is certainly no surprise to a flower lover. The explosion of colorful blooms, the natural beauty of fall foliage and the cool, crisp days lend themselves well to a ceremony in the vineyard, a garden wedding or, for the brave at heart, a mountaintop setting.

It is the time for long walks in the mountains and leisurely strolls though the park gathering treasures of the season. Pine cones, seed pods, mossy branches, mushrooms and colorful leaves abound. Just like the child that fills their pockets with the treasures of the season, I come home with a bag or shirt tail or basket or yes, even my pockets filled with seasonal collectibles. This is a wonderful activity for the whole family and the bonus is the bounty of beautiful design material for decorating your home.

Zinnias are one of my favorite garden flowers. As a child, I would help my dad plant a zinnia garden alongside the house. We created a riotous explosion of color – red, yellow, orange, chartreuse, and pink – every color we could find.  The first blooms would appear in June. By July, the garden was full of color and blooms of every size imaginable. We had the itty bitty Lilliput Zinnias and the great big, State Fair Zinnias as well as everything in between. Each day I would gather my favorites and add them to a bouquet on the table. The amazing thing was the more I cut, the more they would bloom – clear through October and right up to the arrival of the first frost. I don’t think we ever made it to Thanksgiving but often, our little zinnia garden would provide colorful blooms for festive pumpkin arrangements at Halloween.

Looking for a new idea for your autumn centerpiece? This creative approach to floral design creates a luxurious tapestry of color and texture that begs you to touch. Yes, it is ok to touch the flowers. Go ahead! You can design with any flowers you like. My favorite flowers for pave’ designs are roses, sunflowers, chrysanthemums and statice. You can enhance the centerpiece with the addition of stones, shells, mosses, cones or seedpods. For a sophisticated touch, tuck in a few votive candles or a single fat pillar candle. Pave’ – a fabulous look you are going to love!

Native to the Mediterranean region, Lavender is a member of the mint family and is one of the oldest and most widely used of all flowers in the world.

Lavender is grown for its oil which is used as an antiseptic, insecticide and for aromatherapy. The flower buds are dried for potpourris and sachets. Lavender is used as a flavoring for pastries, teas, desserts and sugars. It is also used medicinally as an anti-inflammatory.

Each year, I look forward to making floral bouquets with fresh lavenders.

There are many Floral Design competitions throughout the world. In the United States, the most prestigious and longest running contest is “The Sylvia Cup”.  Hosted by the Society of American Florists (SAF), this competition is structured very much like an “Iron Chef” competition; selected top floral designers throughout the United States are given a surprise package of flowers and supplies, a surprise task and two hours to complete a fabulous design. The contest is a showcase for unique, creative and innovative floral design.

For centuries floral design has been accepted in Asia as an art form, yet only recently has the western world begun to accept floral design as a true art form.

In the late 1980s French Floral Designer Christian Tortu began his revolution of Floral Design as Art. Andrew Goldsworthy an accomplished English artist and sculptor raised awareness in the traditional art world through the use of flowers and organic materials in his work. Other significant floral artists include Gregor Lersch of Germany, Daniel Ost of Belgium, Elly lin of Twain, Damian Koh of Singapore, Hitomi Gilliam of Canada and John Haines of the United States.

Today there are organizations and art galleries in nearly every country of the world which feature floral design as art. Some of these include the American Institute of Floral Design, the Floral Art Society of New Zealand and the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies.

If you love flowers, make a point of visiting a Floral Art Exhibit sometime. You will be amazed.

There is always time for a backyard barbecue. Call your friends and throw the burgers on the grill. Plans to be made – checkerboard table clothes, plenty of napkins, fill the Ipod with dancing tunes and gather up the flowers.

For fresh inspiration, create a floral centerpiece in a watermelon or pick an excellent arrangement from Flora2000. Yes, fun, fresh and sure to put a smile on everyone’s face. Add candles to light up the evening and a pitcher of Mojitos with fresh mint from the garden. Mmmm… Sounds like a great time is about to begin.

There are so many flowers to choose from, where do I even begin? Pick your favorite color and choose one of everything you can find. Yes! That is the perfect answer. Mother Nature knew best when she designed the explosion of blooms at the end of the harvest. There is no need to limit yourself to just one variety. Gather one of every flower you can find – the more sizes, textures and shapes, the better.

Start with a small cluster of flowers and add individual stems into the bouquet at a slant. That is the magic trick! Place each bloom in at an angle and you will end up with a fabulous rounded bouquet. Before you know it, you have created a lovely bouquet. Pat yourself on the back for choosing such a grand collection of flowers and say thank you to Mother Nature for planning out the season of blossoms so well.