A Blog In Bloom Presented by Seminole Florist

Is the ASTER…and here’s what it means:

The Latin name for the aster is Aster, meaning star. It’s name reflects it’s shape.

Asters are sometimes called the Michaelmas daisy because their blooms coincide with the feast of St Michael. Wells writes poignantly that “Michaelmas was always the date of beginnings: the academic year at Oxford and Cambridge, the quarterly court session, the day for debts to be settled and annual rents (often including a goose) to be paid. In the garden both Michaelmas daisies and Chinese asters bloom in the autumn, magnificent curtain calls of summer but reminders too of new beginnings after winter’s sleep.” (8)

Legends Surrounding the Flower

According to Greek mythology, before humans fell into evil, the gods and goddesses walked the earth. When humans began to become more and more corrupt, Astraea the goddess of innocence left earth to dwell in the heavens as the constellation Virgo.

Eventually, even Zeus became tired of the corruptness of humanity and created a flood to cover the entire earth except for the top of Mt Parnassus. Two humans, Deucalian and Pyrrha survived the flood on top of Parnassus. However, after the flood receded they wandered the earth lost and alone. Astraea took pity on them and created starlight to guide them. As she wept from pity, her tears landed on earth and formed the star-like flower, the aster.

The Language of Aster:

If you send someone asters you are speaking to them of romantic things such as Love; Daintiness, and Affection.

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Ever wanted to talk the talk?  Here’s what you need to know when it comes to working with your florist:

Florist terminology:

CONSUMER BUNCH (aka ’split and wraps’)—A bunch smaller than a grower bunch, good for a customer, with sleeve. ‘Split and wrap’ is the term used in the northwest.

GROWER BUNCH—The size bunch delivered from your farm.

FRESH TO DRY BOUQUET—Bouquets sold as fresh, but have elements (such as strawflower or statice) that also dry well.

MIXED BOUQUET—Bouquet with different flower types and colors.

MONOCHROMATIC BOUQUET—Bouquet with a color mix comprised of different shades of one color group.

RAINBOW BUNCH—A bunch comprised of one kind of product but with stems of different colors (like all zinnia or all statice in different shades).

SLEEVE—Plastic sleeve to hold bouquets for consumer sales. (Cuts down on flower breakage from manhandling customers at farmers’ markets and provides a professional look). Sleeves can be purchased from specialty dealers like A-Roo.

Delivery terminology:

WET PACK—Delivering flowers already in water.

DRY PACK—Flowers are sleeved and packed in boxes according to bunch count per box.

PROCONA—Special wet-pack used in California.

HAMPERS—Upright boxes sometimes including a bucket.

CLEATS/STAKES—The wooden sticks used to secure flowers to keep them from shifting in a box.

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Did you know…

There are over 270,000 species of flowers that have been documented and are living in the 21^st Century.

The first plant fossils found were woody magnolia

Paleobotanists have more recently uncovered tiny herb-like flower fossils dating back 120 million years.

The Emperor of China owned over 600 books about Roses

Empress Josephine of France collected 2,562 different roses

There are nearly 25,000 varieties of Orchids

Tulip Bulbs were traded like stock!

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Name: The botanical name is Helianthus. The Greek word “helios” means sun and “anthos” means flower. It is aptly named after the sun which it resembles.

Origin: South and West of the USA.

Color: Most sunflowers are bright yellow with dark brown centres, but varieties are appearing now which have tan, orange, maroon or striped petals, and green-yellow centres. Some are even without the central disc, but are fully covered in petals instead.

Availability: A summer flower, but some are available all year round (‘Orit’) and most can be available from late spring to late autumn.

Family: Asteraceae, Aster family

Care Tips: They need a lot of water.
Did you know that lifejackets used to be filled with sunflower stems?

Name: From the Turkish for turban, after its rounded form. Botanical name Tulipa.

 
Colors: Everything except blue and true black.

Availability: November to May

Origin: Middle East

Care Tips: Tulips continue to grow in water and will curve towards the light. Make allowances for this when putting them in a vase or wrap the stems tightly in newspaper and stand them in water directly beneath a light for a few hours. Tulips have a vase life of just over a week, and buy flowers in bud but with colour showing.

Trivia:
Facts: Tulips are the third-biggest selling flower in Holland and are also very popular in the UK where many are also grown. The painter David Hockney displays them in his studio in Los Angeles and so they appear in many of his autobiographical paintings and for a long time were seen as his trademark.

Language of Flowers: In the Victorian language of flowers red tulips are a declaration of love, making them ideal gifts for Valentine’s Day.

History: In the middle ages tulipmania saw bulbs change hands for the equivalent of £4million pounds a bulb!

Ok history buffs…heres’s some info for you!

The History of FTD

Founded in 1910, FTD is one of the largest floral companies in the world and is a leader in quality, artistry and dependability. FTD connects approximately 20,000 North American retail florists and supports an international floral delivery network of 50,000 affiliated FTD Florists in 154 countries. FTD can deliver products to nearly 100% of the U.S. population. FTD stands behind our Satisfaction Guarantee on all orders sent through FTD for delivery within the U.S. and Canada.

On August 18, 1910, fifteen American retail florists agreed to exchange orders for out-of-town deliveries. Originally called “Florists’ Telegraph Delivery”, FTD was the world’s first flowers-by-wire service.

Fifty-five years later, FTD expanded to include international transactions. The company was renamed “Florists Transworld Delivery” to reflect its growing worldwide presence.

In 1914, FTD adopted the classic figure of Mercury as its official logo. With worldwide visibility, the gold “Mercury Man” is one of the most recognized logo in the world. It has become the floral industry’s emblem of quality.