Tulip - Flower of the Month January

Tulip

From Turkish turban to Amsterdam canalside house

Ah, tulips! You’d think you can hardly get anything more Dutch, but the tulip is actually pure Iranian, pure Afghan and pure Kazakh. Nomads brought the colourful flowers to Turkey, where manly sultans started wearing a tulip on their turban. That’s how the flower got its name: ‘tulipan’ means ‘turban’.

Colours and shapes

The ever-cheerful tulip comes in white, red, yellow, pink, purple, orange, green or with multi-coloured petals. The shapes of the tulip are also a feast for the eye. You can find them with a single or double row of petals, whilst there are also eye-catching fringed and parrot tulips with serrated petals, and there’s the playful lily-flowered tulip. Peony tulips look like peonies, and French tulips are exceptionally tall (unlike the average French mademoiselle) and have very large flowers

Symbolism

If you gave someone a tulip in the sixteenth century, you were giving them a fortune. At that time the flower was incredibly popular and a speculative trade in tulip bulbs developed. You could buy a whole canalside house in Amsterdam for the price of one tulip bulb in those days. A nice bunch of tulips now costs just a couple of pounds, but the symbolism has gained in value. If you give someone tulips, you’re also giving them a message. Hence red tulips mean passionate love, and with black tulips you’re saying: ‘I love you so much I will sacrifice everything for you.’ So don’t give those to just anybody.

Origin

Tulips can be found growing wild from north Africa and southern Europe across to north-west China. The greatest diversity can be found in three mountain ranges in central Asia: the Pamirs, the Tian Shan and the Hindu Kush. With cold winters, long springs with cold nights and a dry summer, the climate here is ideal for tulips. Tulips need a cold night and a cold winter in order to be able to grow, which is why they can’t be cultivated in a warm climate.

Caring for tulips

With these care tips consumers can enjoy their tulips for 5 to 12 days:

•    Select a clean vase that’s tall enough: tulips will continue growing a few centimetres.
•    Add cut flower food to the water for a longer vase life.
•    Place the tulips in the vase for an hour wrapped in paper or film. The tulips will then suck up water and straighten up.
•    Use tap water at room temperature.
•    Trim the stems diagonally with a clean and sharp knife or secateurs.
•    Place the vase in a cool spot away from the fruit bowl and not in the sun.
•    Tulips drink a lot, so regularly top the vase up with tap water.

All this and more can be found on this page, a great source of inspiration and ideas for flowers in the home.

http://www.funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk/

If you are looking for tulips to display in your house, for your wedding or to send as a gift please get in touch to discuss your requirements.

Sandra x

Amaryllis - Flower of the Month

Amidst all the festive decorations there is one flower which holds its place perfectly: the sparkling amaryllis. Consumers can read all about this Christmas star in the Flower Agenda at Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk. This long-stemmed stately beauty is perfect for capturing hearts: a festive delight! 

The amaryllis’s origin
Our amaryllis originates from South and Central America and the Caribbean, and is not actually an amaryllis. What we call amaryllis is actually called Hippeastrum. This radiant flower is derived from the narcissi family and grows from a bulb. The name Hippeastrum comes from the Greek and literally means ‘knight star’, referring to the star-shaped petals. Hippeus = knight and astron = star.

The amaryllis’s colours and shapes
The amaryllis’s petals are very unusual: they look like they’re made of fabulous velvet. In terms of colour they come in white, red, yellow, pink, salmon, purple, orange and bicoloured. There are usually 4 to 6 impressive flowers on the stem. The amaryllis as a cut flower does not have any leaves, which is why it’s sometimes called ‘Naked Lady’ in America.

Care tips for customers
Help your customers to enjoy their amaryllises for a long time by giving them the following tips.
•    Select a clean vase and fill it with tap water at room temperature.
•    Add cut flower food to the water for a longer vase life.
•    Trim the stems diagonally with a clean and sharp knife or secateurs.
•    Regularly top the vase up with tap water.
•    The amaryllis’s stem is sometimes too weak to bear the weight of the flowers: a stake inserted in the stem is then the solution to keep it properly upright.
•     Amaryllises will last longer in a cool spot; do not place them in the sun or close to a source of heat.
•    Don’t place amaryllises near a fruit bowl. Fruit emits ethylene gas which will cause the flowers to age more rapidly.

Amaryllis symbolism
The amaryllis symbolises pride and enchanting beauty and represents friendship and affection. It’s the perfect flower for capturing someone’s heart so it’s a lovely gift to receive!

I have these in stock for the Christmas period as cut flowers. Please get in touch if you would like to send them as a gift for Christmas

Sandra x