Flower News Archive - Feb 2009

Philadelphia Flower Show

Heading to the Philadelphia Flower Show? Roman arches dripping with roses, Tuscan fields of sunflowers, and verdant Venetian grottos will fill the 10-acre exhibit space of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Berkeley flower shop

Whole Foods Market's decision not to renew the lease of a Berkeley flower shop operating on the company's parking lot was met with protest by residents Wednesday.

Arranging flowers

Choose flowers that are seasonal and local. At this time of year we are spoilt for choice, with tulips, daffodils, ranunculus, anemones and hyacinths ? all inexpensive.

Flower Shop

Lindenhurst-area residents will no longer be able to pick up flowers, cards and trinkets at Eva's Hallmark and Flower Hut, but they can take a piece of the store home with them.

Flower cultivation project

Under the "Krushi Navodaya" program implemented by the Central Bank, a flower cultivation project has been initiated in Ruwanwella in the Kegalle district as a step taken to identify and promote new export opportunities.

Betty's Flower Shop

Everett Shekelton, owner of Betty's Flower Shop says he expects the business to reopen in a rebuilt building by the end of March.

Plant lovers

At this time of year, plant lovers begin to twitch. It won't be long now, we think. Only a few months more, we hope. And the wonderful thing about this passion, interest or hobby, depending on how you look at it.

Garden for spring

Spring is in evidence virtually across the country, . It's been here for a while now, with winter annuals suddenly bustling with energy.

Cypress Gardens

Local businesses weathering a rough economic climate have a bit of good news to celebrate: Cypress Gardens is reopening in March.

Cottage Garden Florists

A pair of kind-hearted florists are celebrating today after successfully sending more than 3,000 goody boxes to brave troops in Afghanistan.

Philadelphia Flower Show

SEPTA will provide additional R5 train service between Lansdale and Center City Philadelphia for passengers traveling to the 2009 Philadelphia Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from March 1-8.

Flower competition

Croydon has been chosen to represent London in the the Royal Horticultural Society?s Britain in Bloom UK Finals.

Northwest garden show

Last week's Northwest Flower & Garden Show drew 54,443 people to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, up 3 percent from last year and turning around six years of declining attendance, producer Salmon Bay Events said.

City of Gardens

The Rockford Park District's City of Gardens program recently received three grants totaling $4,650 from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.

Community Garden Project

An organizational meeting for a proposed community garden project will be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at Journey Church 2095 W. McPherson Highway, Clyde.

Poly floral design

Horticulture and crop science students Danielle Ruais, Amanda Lemm and Beth Hall traveled to Sanremo, the flower capital of Italy, in January and received the "Best Historical and Iconographic Research" award at the 2009 Festival dei Fiori.

Blackheath Flower Club

A Flower arranging club has celebrated its 50th anniversary with a special appearance from a national demonstrator.

Ways to save money this year

As the dreary winter starts to edge toward spring, it's a good time to start thinking about the garden and ways to save money this year.

Flower Ideas

There's no disputing that flowers are an essential part of the ambiance puzzle at any wedding, Cost of wedding estimates couples spend an average of $315 - $525 on flowers for their ceremony alone.

Roses

Roses are finicky. Roses are hard to grow in South Florida. No one buys roses during a recession. But conventional wisdom hasn't stopped Debbie and Geoff Coolidge from producing and shipping more than 5,000 rose bushes a year from their 1-acre wholesale nursery in suburban West Palm Beach.

Valentine's Day

A difficult and pressured time for flower suppliers and florists alike, Valentine's Day is not the hot potato that it used to be, but with Mothering Sunday coming up on March 22, the flower industry remains optimistic.

Floral Industry

Floral industry is one of the major industries in many countries, and Pakistan can also generate a lot of revenue by increasing the export of flowers, if it is conducted along modern lines, florists and floriculturists have said.

Small-scale flower farmers

Small-scale flower farmers have started cutting down on production following heavy losses occasioned by market cutbacks.

Edible Flowers

People have been eating flowers almost since the beginning of recorded time. Who knows what prompted the first floral snack? It could be that the flower looked so tasty somebody tried eating it. We can be glad, for flowers still provide a delightful addition to a healthy diet.

Uganda flower exporters association

The government should create incentives for investors in the floriculture sector, Juliet Musoke, the executive director of the Uganda flower exporters association, has said.

Flower Victoria

Fresh flowers, donated by Victoria's flower growers, have been distributed in the fire-ravaged town of Kinglake in memory of those tragically killed in the recent bushfires.

Uganda's flowers

Uganda exported $34.2 million in flowers in 2008 from $32.05 million in 2007, but expects earnings this year to fall on high input costs, low prices and weak demand, a flower body said on Wednesday.

Hummingbirds in your garden

If you'd enjoy the sight and sounds of hummingbirds in your garden this summer, don't just leave their visit to chance. Plant the right flowers, trees and shrubs, and they will come.

Garden

February in the South can be fickle, cold one day and mild the next.But those who venture out into the garden will discover a host of winter delights, including early daffodils, Winter Sweet, Chimonanthus praecox, Mahonia, Okame Cherry, Japanese Flowering Apricot, us mume ( there are many different selections.

Redwood City florist

When a customer of a Redwood City florist needed a ride to drop off a flower arrangement Sunday night, the store's owner obliged.

AQIS(Australian Quarantine Inspection Service)

Cut flower growers maintain overseas countries are not fulfilling their quarantine obligations, despite increased testing of imported flowers by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service.

Global credit crunch

After the badly hit local tourism, now the second major revenue earner for Arusha - the horticulture industry - has its leaves burnt in the raising heat of global economy recession.

Valentine's Day mop-up

Love lies bleeding in a skip at Glenorie, where one of the largest producers of roses in the state expects to dump up to 9000 unsold red roses in the Valentine's Day mop-up.

Valentine's sales at local florists

"We see a huge difference in sales on Valentine's Day when it's in a holiday week (with President's Day) and when it's school vacation," said Laverne Lovell, who with her husband, George, have owned Lovell's Flowers & Nursery in Medfield for 40 years.

Valentine's Day

A weekend Valentine's Day is tough on florists, with businesses reporting up to a 20 percent drop in revenue compared to a weekday holiday.

Local flowers shops

Local flowers shops were busy Saturday with people looking for something perfect for their sweethearts for Valentine's Day. Whether it was a significant other, mother, father, son, daughter or grandparent, flowers were one of the options that were just the right touch to say those three special words on Valentine's Day.

Philadelphia Flower Show

The upcoming show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, with its "Bella Italia" theme, is adding retail space to the annual show-stopping floral displays and bustling horticultural marketplace, as well as promoting other Italy-related museum exhibitions currently or soon to be in Philadelphia.

Snow and frost

Snow and frost have killed off many of the country's earliest blooming flowers and plants.Surveys in Devon and Cornwall - traditionally the counties with the earliest blooms - have revealed a 60 per cent decrease in flowering plants.

Camellia festival

Fans of the flowering plant meandered along the brick-paved paths at Massee Lane Gardens, admiring the camellias bursting with blooms of pink and white and red.

Chelsea Flower Shows

At previous Chelsea Flower Shows the display has been supported financially by the NFU as well as additional sponsors, but this year's search for a sponsor has so far failed to bear fruit.

Rose Society

Over 400 children take part in painting competition organised by Rose Society, Rose Society of Ranchi organised the competition where three special children of Deepshika also exhibited their talent.

Valentine's Day celebration

While no one can put a price on love, plenty of people will be spending less for it this year.Berkeley resident Eric Heard, for instance, has put love on a budget, turning his usual two-day Valentine's Day celebration for his wife of 30 years into a one-day event.

Gaza Strip for Valentine's Day

Nearly 25,000 flowers can be exported to Europe from the Gaza Strip for Valentines Day, the Israeli military says.

St Valentine's Day

Farm worker Daniel Apinde pushes a cart laden with long-stemmed red roses through Oserian farm, a 240 acre (97 hectares) business nestling on the shores of Kenya's Lake Naivasha.

Flower vendors in Manila

PGMA's Flash Report said that at Manila's Dangwa center on Laong Laan Street, the biggest concentration of flower vendors in Metro Manila, shops were selling a dozen red and white roses for P350 and P300 for paper roses.

Valentine's Day

Patrick and Shannon Mitchell hoped flower sales would pick up enough over the holidays so they could keep their shop open until Valentine's Day.

Floral Industry

The floral industry held its breath this year, worried about whether people would buy flowers for Valentine?s Day in the middle of a recession.

Gaza flower growers

Israel is relaxing its blockade of the Gaza Strip to let through 25,000 carnations headed to Europe for Valentine's Day.But the head of the Gaza flower growers association said that was "nothing" compared to the 40 million flowers a year that came out of the territory before the blockade.

American International Group Inc.

AIG Global Investment Group, a unit of insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG.N), said on Tuesday that it acquired a substantial equity interest in Falcon Farms, a Latin American supplier of flowers to the United States and Canada.

Williams Flowers closed

What started in an old house in Archdale, became a High Point staple.And 70 years later, Williams Flowers closed its doors for the last time Jan. 30, leaving behind decades of memories.

Flower vendors in Manila

Expecting to make a killing during the occasion, flower vendors in Manila and cabbies near motels in Pasig City have jacked up their prices for the Valentine's weekend.

Valentine Day

It's that time of the year when love is in the air. Some go for flowers, some for chocolates and others for cards. But this Valentine's Day, many are giving to their loved ones something truly precious time.

How different cultures pay homage to Cupid

What began as a ritual remembrance of a recalcitrant priest has bloomed into a love fest stretching to the farthest corners of the globe.

Going green on Valentine's Day

Scott Graham, owner of Toronto-based Eco Flora, an online shop that specializes in flowers grown in an ecological way, says buying "green" flowers in an array of colours for a loved one on Feb. 14 can be an environmentally friendly move.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day isn't another commercialized attempt to empty your pocketbooks, says Patti Stanger, founder of the Millionaire's Club and host of Bravo's The Millionaire Matchmaker.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has been a day to shower your loved one with expensive dinners, gourmet chocolates, flowers and gifts galore. But this year, it seems even love cannot completely conquer a weak economy.

South American flower growers

Valentine's is the most important day of the year for South American flower growers, and this Feb.14 they're hoping romance will triumph over the economic gloom afflicting their biggest markets.

Valentine's Day bouquets

Federal officials at local international bridges are busy making sure that flower imports used in Valentine's Day bouquets are free from insects and diseases.

Romantic weekend of the year

Chocolate is a Valentine's Day staple and a luxury lately according to Cerreta Candy Company in Glendale. The candy factory expects to do a rush of last minute orders from men who forgot to get their significant other a special treat.

Ontario's florists prepare for Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day around the corner, things are heating up in the refrigerated warehouse, where more than 1 million flowers cool their heels until it's their turn to join the parade.

Ethiopia flower earnings

Income from Ethiopian flower exports has reached only 60 percent of a targeted $298 million over the last 18 months as the global recession hits the sector, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Flowers from Colombia

Flowers from Colombia are grown in blood, according to a small delegation from that country asking Canadians to think twice about the origin of flowers they buy for Valentine's Day.

Valentine's day flowers

The global economic downturn that has touched so many areas of society now threatens romance. Valentine's Day approaches, the day when Cupid meets commerce, and even the poorest of paramours is expected to pony up with a present.

Non Toxic Flowers

For Valentine's Day, birthdays, anniversaries or other special occasions, giving flowers often seems like a gift from Mother Nature herself.

Street of flowers

Hanoi authorities have agreed in principle the building of a flower road around the Hoan Kiem Lake.

Valentine's Day Flowers

For this season of celebrating the things you love, there has to be mention of flowers and chocolate. I am more a fan of flowers than chocolate.

Tips for buying flowers

I'm standing in the middle of the showroom floor of Owens Flower Shop kicking myself.Why, oh why, have I never taken the time to talk about flowers with my wife? Here I am staring at a bunch of roses at $4 per rose, and yet right over here are these wonderful creations called chrysanthemums.

Valentines Day Flowers

Valentines Day is often celebrated with purchases of flowers and chocolates: typically 180 million red roses and 36 million boxes of delectable chocolates.

Flowers in Alaska

Once upon a time a scientist in Fairbanks wondered out loud about an idea that seemed fantastical at the time.Why not grow flowers in Alaska, put them on jet planes.

Flower pests

With so many businesses having a tough time in this economy, it is rare to see one thats growing. But this time of year is one for flowers.

Largest Flower Festival

Radio Misty 94.3 FM, the first fm station of North Bengal partnered with the largest flower festival of North East. Radio Misty 94.3 FM, the first fm station of North Bengal partnered with the largest flower festival of North East. Thousands of people including students and foreign tourists visited this Flower Show in Siliguri for four days.

Tips from a veteran in the flower industry

Nearly every woman wants a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on Valentine's Day. It's a shame when those flowers only last a few days. This year, take a few simple steps to make that gift last longer.

Growers show off the area's finest blossoms

Frank Luccarelli, owner of the fine foods store and garden center, noted the lush contrast to the outside world, below-freezing temperatures and a ground cover of snow. But put together an estimated 2,000 orchids.

Flower grown with lover

Nigos Floriculture is a brand you will love and it has a quarter of a century experience behind its name.The company's success has been based on closely following developments in the industry

1-800 Flowers.com

1-800-Flowers.com, a florist and gift shop, has launched the 1-800-Flower.scom Mobile Gift Center application on the Apple App Store.

Valentines roses

Kurlansky said buyers should look for roses that are tight and not yet open. Those that are open will be past their prime by Valentine's Day. If you squeeze the head of the rose, it should be firm.

Horticultural Crops

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has been urged to reschedule loans extended to flower farmers because many of them may fail service them because of the global financial crunch.

Al-Harm

Zygophyllum qatarense, popularly known as Al Harm, has been announced as the flower of the year by the Friends of the Environment (FEC). Al Harm was chosen as the 'flower 2009' under FEC's annual "A Flower Each Spring" programme.

Gift of love

This Valentine's Day, lovers across Europe, Australia, Japan and Saudi Arabia will be exchanging Taj Mahals, one million of them to be exact. Only, these Taj Mahals sport long green stems, bulbous tops and a hint of fragrance.

Flower Exporters

The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) is to link flower exporters to international partners and help them look for more markets.

Flower Experts

Kenyan flower growers this year aim to raise export volumes despite the global slowdown, the chief executive of their association said on Thursday.

The Austin City Council

Expect more of the same. On Monday, the Austin City Council voted to slash its budget this year for the area's flower program in half. About 50 percent of the funding for the $40,000 program comes from donations, with the rest coming from the city.

New England Spring Flower Show

The 137-year-old New England Spring Flower Show has been a well loved Boston tradition, the oldest continuously mounted indoor horticultural display in the world.

Santa Maria upholds ban on sidewalk flower sales

Council members in Santa Maria uphold their decision to ban sidewalk flower vendors, but with a few exceptions.

Mum's Flowers

Ten years ago, Fay Chipman graduated from Mt. Hood Community College's horticulture program with a degree in floral design. During the past 10 years, she's worked at other floral shops.

Obama Flowers

Obama flowers are expected be the trend of the upcoming gardening season in Europe.Dutch flower farm Royal van Zanten in Valkenburg in the southern Netherlands has developed a special chrysanthemum that it has named after new US President Barack Obama.

Santa Maria street

Plans to ban flower vendors from Santa Maria street corners and lots are a step closer to reality after Tuesday night's City Council meeting.

Austin City Council

The Austin City Council has decided to slash the budget this year for its flower program in half, citing likely cutbacks in Local Government Aid.

Planting Flower Garden

If you're thinking about creating your first flower garden in 2009, following those three steps will give you a good chance at success, a low-cost test to judge whether horticulture is for you, and a basic introduction to the joys and successes that await if you continue next year.

Cherry blossoms and camellias

Cherry blossoms and camellias have been seen blossoming in the mountains north of Taipei recently, a clear indication that Yangmingshan's flower season, and its many related activities, is on the way.

Flower traders

Local producers and exporters of horticultural products are struggling to stay in business due to declining demand caused by the global economic meltdown.

Agriculture Business Idea

Millions of flowers are purchased each year for every kind of occasion imaginable, and all of these occasions have one thing in common, the flowers have to be arranged once they arrive at the event. The opportunity for making money by creating and selling flower arrangements are endless

VOA Special English Agriculture Report

We have a question from a Chinese student who is interested in floriculture. Wang Yue wants to know what kinds of flowers Americans like to plant in their gardens.

Ordering flowers online

Valentine's Day is a time for flowers. In fact, more than a-third of gifts given on Valentine's Day are flowers. It used to be that you went into a florist and hand-picked what you wanted.

San Francisco

If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to remember that our city has one of the finest flower and plant markets around. The city's flower-business history dates back to the 1800s. Although the San Francisco Flower Mart at Sixth and Brannan streets has been rolling with the real estate and rough economic punches like the rest of us, a day at the Mart is a great way to brighten anyone's day.

Valentine's Day shoppers

The global recession is taking some romance out of Valentine's Day for the flower industry.

Tough economic times are hurting flower sales, and suppliers expect less spending on roses and other blooms for the Feb.14 holiday, perhaps down by 20 percent or more.

Just Beginnings Flowers

It's still a year before the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games open, but June Strandberg has already struck Olympic gold.

Strandberg, owner of Just Beginnings Flowers and School of Floral Design, has won a Vancouver Organizing Committee contract to design the floral bouquets medal-winning athletes will clutch on the podium as they bask in Olympic glory.

Flower thrips

A rose is a rose? but if that rose has been riddled by thrips, it may lose some of its traditional charm. Flower thrips are a common pest to roses and other ornamental crops in the home landscape. A thrips' (thrips is the plural and singular form) color can range anywhere from a creamy white to a dark brown. They are barely visible to the un-trained eye, measuring only 1/16 of an inch.

Street flower sales

With flower sales on Santa Maria streets already temporarily banned for Valentine's Day, a permanent prohibition is coming to the City Council this month.

New England Spring Flower Show

When organizers pulled the plug on this year's New England Spring Flower Show, they cut off a vital link between businesses and customers who connected at the annual show.

BAGUIO CITY

Traffic was stalled at the summer capital on Sunday. But residents were more forgiving because downtown Session Road was packed with school children in costumes who performed for the opening parade of the 14th Panagbenga (Baguio Flower Festival), a month-long activity here.

Spring flower fest

More than 500,000 visitors took part in the 29th HCM City Spring Flower Festival 2009, which opened at District 1's Tao Dan Park on January 18.

dress up your table with fresh flowers

If you're throwing an outdoor party this summer, why not dress up your table with fresh flowers that might come right out of your garden, even if the gathering is as casual as a hot dogs-and-chips get-together