2010 January | 416-florist.com Flower Blog

Archive for January, 2010

Toronto Valentine’s Day Flowers, and Not Roses!

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

valentinesday

Think roses are overrated? Sure, they may be the most popular flower to give as a Valentine’s Day gift, but they just don’t do it for you. It could be that those prickly blooms don’t express the right sentiment, are far too typical, or are disliked by your recipient – whatever the reason, not to fret. Your local Toronto Valentine’s Day Florist has such a wide variety of other types of flowers for this special day that it won’t be difficult to find something perfect for your loved one. And with the price of roses skyrocketing for Valentine’s Day, you’ll get more for less (but don’t tell that to your recipient!)

Orchids
Elegant, exotic and unique, orchids are rapidly becoming a favoured flower for any occasion, not just February 14th. Orchids symbolize a number of traits, most important of them being your love and the delicate and exceptional beauty of your loved one.

They also last longer than many other types of blooms, allowing your recipient to enjoy them well after Valentine’s Day.

Calla Lilies

Red-Calla-Lillies

Calla lilies have long enjoyed being one of the most popular flowers for traditional weddings. The single spathe (wide modified leaf) that forms the head of this flower curls around in a trumpet shape, with the frilly edges delicately tapering into a dovetail. Their simplicity is what makes them so elegant.

These gorgeous flowers are available in a number of colours, including red, white, yellow and pink.

Tulips

Every tulip symbolizes love in an ideal form, making these easily identifiable flowers perfect to send to your loved one on Valentine’s Day. Pick one in their dazzling array of colours, and you’ll express your heartfelt sentiments even more eloquently. If you want to declare your absolute true love, pick red like the bouquet of handtied tulips shown above. To express caring, pink is best. Apologizing for making a mistake and want to seek forgiveness? Sending them a bouquet of white tulips on Valentine’s Day may help the reconciliation process.

Want to see what else we have for Valentine’s Day? Please browse through our online Valentine’s Day Gift catalogue or call us at 416-346-7478.

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Spotlight on Calla Lilies for Mississauga Sympathy Flowers

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Mixed Colour Calla Lily

Today we’re showcasing the Calla Lily, or Zantedeschia, a tropical native from the area of South Africa and popular bloom of wedding flower and funeral flower arrangements (as seen in the arrangement pictured below). Preferred by florists, clientele and even psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, they boast long smooth stems topped with trumpet shaped heads.

First, let’s get something straight. The Calla Lily is not, in fact, a lily. It is actually a member of theAraceae family (unlike lilies which are part of the Liliaceae family), a group of plants that have a spadix or spike covered in tiny flowers, enveloped partially or completely in a spathe, otherwise known as a bract or modified leaf. The spathe is what creates the signature dove tailed bloom, elegantly fluted and so adored.

Colours
The original colour of Callas is white, however as they grow in popularity, these blooms can now be found in other tones as well, including shocking yellow, gentle pink and rich purple. Spotted and variegated shades are also available, but no other colour comes close to competing with pure white. It is this colour that truly conveys elegance, while gratitude may be expressed with yellow and admiration with pink.

Miniature-Calla-Lily-Boutonniere

Looking for Callas? Find them in a range of arrangements leaning toward the modern for all occasions. You may have difficulty buying just one Calla, since they don’t look nearly as attractive when alone. Florists usually group a bunch together to create an arrangement, or combine them with other types of blooms. They are particularly popular in wedding bouquets, centrepieces and corsages/boutonnières when sophistication and elegance are the theme.

Calla lilies are also available in combination with carnations and true lilies in the White Funeral Flower Package, available for $499.96 or $599.96. They make a beautiful bloom to commemorate a loved one at any Mississauga funeral.

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Flower Food with Flower Arrangements

Monday, January 18th, 2010

We just received a delivery at our home of funeral flowers for a family member who just passed away. The bouquet has a bunch of little packages of powdery stuff. Is it necessary to put this in the water for the flowers? It seems like extra work.

Whenever you buy a flower arrangement from 416-Florist.com for any occasion, you’ll notice that we include one or more small packets of a fine granular substance. Labelled as flower food, these do more than just provide sustenance for your fresh blooms – they also preserve their longevity so that you can enjoy their beauty longer.

Loving Sympathy Arrangement

Flower food does 3 important things:
1. Provides sugars for the flowers to feed on.
2. Those same sugars provide bacteria to feed on. This protects the stems since the bacteria have something else to eat rather than the stems.
3. Helps the stems absorb water more easily.

All flower food have a unique formula that combines sugar, chlorine and alum to create a fresh cut flower preservative. Other ingredients vary depending on the type of flower the food is designed for.

The funeral flower arrangement you’ve received was sent to commemorate the life of your loved one. Maintain its beauty by simply dissolving the flower food in the amount of water recommended (as stated on the back of the package) before placing your flower arrangement in the vase. It is worth the trouble.

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