Flower News Archive - Oct 2009

crops, organic agriculture and plant pest and disease management

2008 Farm Bill was the focus of a House Ag Subcommittee hearing Wednesday. The Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture took a look at the implementation of provisions regarding specialty crops, organic agriculture and plant pest and disease management.

The 2008 Farm Bill was the first to contain a separate title for issues related to specialty crops and organic agriculture.

First-ever Flower festival

FIFTY guests have the chance to join the Lord Mayor of York in his historic home for wine, canapés and guitar music to celebrate the launch of the Mansion House's first-ever flower festival.

The race is on to snap up tickets for the festival's preview evening, with all proceeds going to the Lord Mayor's charities York Against Cancer and Brunswick Organic Nursery and Craft Workshop in Bishopthorpe.

Floral gift program

In recognition of November's Alzheimer's Awareness Month, the Forget Me Not Flower Club announced the launch of its online floral gift program, celebrating caregivers who love and look after for those currently suffering with Alzheimer's as well as other diseases associated with aging.

The Ghost Orchid Declaration

One in four species of wild flower in Scotland is under threat according to the campaign group Plantlife Scotland.

Among those flowers most at risk are the corn marigold, heath cudweed, and the lesser butterfly orchid.

Gardener Magazine

Gardening is becoming the hot new leisure activity for young, middle-class city dwellers, who are increasingly turning to NZ Gardener magazine to guide their growing interest.

The latest Nielsen National Readership Survey shows a continuing dream run for the Fairfax magazine, with readership increasing by 22.4%, or 54,000, in the year to September. NZ Gardener is now read by 312,000 New Zealanders aged 10 or older1.

The National Garden

Nearly 25,000 avid gardeners entered the Osmocote® plant food brand's sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Washington, D.C. Linda Hopper of Ridgeland, Mississippi was the green thumb awarded The National Garden visit.

White House Garden

Michelle Obama welcomed students from Bancroft Elementary School and Kimball Elementary School to harvest vegetables in the garden on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday afternoon, where she revealed how much the White House Garden cost to plant.

The chrysanthemum

Board member of the National Chrysanthemum Society Ron Hedin expects to fill as much time as Garden Club members and guests will allow when he addresses the club on Monday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Woman's Club, 901 Haverford.

Secret Garden of Perlis

Gua Kelam, a tourist attraction with its 370-metre long limestone cave, is to have a world-class flower garden soon.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said two garden design experts from France and another from England would be brought in to look at the site for the garden at Gua Kelam, which is located in the small town of Kaki Bukit, near here.

Wisbech Standard

Something rare is happening in Madison, Wisconsin. The Titan Arum is in bloom. The Titan Arum is better known as the Corpse Flower, one of the smelliest plants on earth.

Over the course of its 40-year life span a typical Corpse Flower will bloom only four or five times.

variety of plants and flowers

The Gramercy Park Flower Shop opened a store in Chelsea Market two weeks ago, next to the new Jacques Torres Chocolate stand. It's the company's second Manhattan location, and while it is small ? about 400 square feet ? it packs in a lot of merchandise.

Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) will review third quarter fiscal 2009 earnings and take questions from analysts during a live webcast on November 11, 2009. Flowers Foods will release third quarter earnings on November 11 prior to the webcast.

flower cut industry

Nine companies dealing in the horticulture business have signed recognition agreements with Uganda Horticultural and Allied Workers Union committing themselves to uphold workers rights and enhance their salaries.

Fruit harvest

Himachal Pradesh is expecting a bumper harvest of the exotic persimmon with the trees literally drooping under the weight of the luscious fruit even though unfavourable weather through the season hit other crops like apple and cherry.

Less chill in the last winter and deficient rain in the monsoon have little impact on the yield of persimmon, whereas the production of apple and other stone fruits has been severely hit in the state

Garden centres

Success is flowering early for some of NI's top horticulture students.

Two teams of Northern Ireland horticulture students have won prestigious UK Skills Landscape Gardening Competitions.

Held last month in England, both teams, from the Greenmount Campus of the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), achieved first and second places in this competition in intermediate and advance levels.

Flower pot attack

A Santa Clarita woman accused of hurling a flower pot at a woman's head and kicking out the back window of a sheriff's patrol car while drunk over the weekend was being held in lieu of $30,000 bail Monday, authorities said.

Clevedon Pride gardening group

VANDALS have destroyed two flower tubs in Clevedon's Queen's Square.

The large containers, recently planted by the community group Clevedon Pride, were overturned onto the pavement late last Friday evening damaging the contents.

Largest local grower

Elmira Floral Products, a 106-year-old wholesale flower grower in Elmira Heights, will close its doors Wednesday, the president of the family-owned company said.

Lowman said the business was being pressured from two directions. It competed with wholesalers that imported flowers instead of growing them in-house. Elmira Floral grew several varieties of flowers in the greenhouses behind its building at 415 E. 14th St. until energy prices grew too costly.

Big and small parks

The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has decided to increase the maintenance allowance of parks given to registered resident welfare associations (RWAs) from the existing Rs 1 per sq metre to Rs 1.30 per sq metre. A notification to this effect will soon be issued.

To ensure better maintenance, GMADA has handed the responsibility of 37 parks to different RWAs, while around six applications are still pending with it.

Garden clubs

Representatives of garden clubs from throughout the FFGC District II were in Chipley Oct. 23rd to review new information from the Florida Federation of Garden Club (FFGC).

The garden clubs continually work to help beautify their communities and involve young people in gardening.

Lansdowne Park

Farmers and other vendors who sell their wares at the Ottawa Farmers Market say they don't want the busy market to be moved.The Ottawa Farmers Market attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year to Lansdowne Park, and market organizers predict that number will quadruple by 2015.

Images show him stealing from plant pots

ARMED with a trowel and spade, he is not Calderdale's most usual suspect.

But a light-fingered OAP has been filmed stealing flowers from plant plots along a town's landmark bridge.

Wisbech Standard

Fewer people are buying flowers for All Soul's Day, but this did not stop flower vendors from raising prices of their products.

In Manila's Dangwa district, flower vendors complained of low sales, with people choosing to buy candles instead of flowers.

fruit 'mandis'

In a strategy to improve its marketing techniques for delivering added benefits to the growers, the Jammu and Kashmir government has designed a comprehensive programme to upgrade all fruit 'mandis' in the state.

Minister of state for horticulture Javid Ahmad Dar said, "Better marketing and other facilities would be provided to the growers within the ambit of fruit mandis." The ministry released Rs 2 crore for the purpose of upgrading the local fruit market.

Gardenia Garden Club

Academics aren't the only things being taught at Snively Elementary School of Choice in Eloise. The opportunity to learn ornamental horticulture, a little botany, the art of nurturing and self-development also are being offered to the fifth-grade students by Snively Elementary.

Snively Elementary was "adopted" more than 10 years ago by the Gardenia Garden Club of Winter Haven. Club members wanted to form a Junior Gardeners Club and give fifth-graders the opportunity to have fun learning the "hands-on" way

Moth orchids

Once an exotic luxury, moth orchids now are a staple at Homes Depot, Costco and supermarkets throughout the country, said Doug Brothers, who manages Rocket Farms, Salinas, Calif., a major orchid grower.

Flower species

Toyota has created a new plant species designed to offset the CO2 created by its Prius assembly operations. Two flower species that absorb nitrogen oxides and take heat out of the atmosphere.

The flowers, derivatives of the cherry sage plant and the gardenia, were specially developed for the grounds of Toyota's Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan.

Kenya Flower Council

The Kenya Flower Council has become the first growers association to be certified to audit flower farms.

Traditionally this has been a preserve of highly skilled personnel contracted by Western-based international inspection firms. This development brightens an industry that has suffered a 30 per cent drop in sales occasioned by drought and the global financial crisis.

The flowers at the Hayward

Flower boxes on the fire escapes of the Hayward Hotel will be removed today, a seemingly simple bit of neighborhood beautification nixed by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The department says that the boxes could impede its ladders, and is requiring that they be removed.

extremely dangerous

Rochester police were looking for two men Thursday that were described as 'extremely dangerous'.Police said the pair broke into a home and tied-up a woman at gunpoint. It happened in a neighborhood near Rochester Road and Stoney Creek Road.The woman told police that the two men were posing as a flower delivery service, then pushed their way inside, tied her up and left.

Petunia Flower formation

Dutch researcher Anneke Rijpkema investigated how petunia flowers are formed and discovered that nature is even more varied than the naked eye can spot. The genes involved in flower formation can function differently in different species.

Horticulture is Kenya's third export earner

Kenya's flower production recorded a 30 percent drop in the first nine months of this year because of a severe drought and low demand

greening work this autumn

Employees of public institutions are now required to plant flowers at their homes, triggering heated debate in Hongya county of southwest China's Sichuan province

A notice issued by the county government said that employees working in local state organs and public institutes were required to plant at least two bougainvilleas, on their balconies or in their courtyards, or they would be reprimanded publicly.

one flower at a time

Childcare providers across the state are being honored one flower at a time.

The West Virginia Kids Count Fund is sponsoring a statewide "Take a Flower to Childcare Day" through its Kids First communities campaign.

Flower power

Workers at Prestbury Flowers rallied round their boss Valerie Bradshaw when she was diagnosed with cancer ? and now they have got the whole village on board with their fundraising mission.

Flower Shop

Lebanon-based Royer's Flowers is growing. Its latest acquisition, Landisville Flower Shop in Lancaster County, is its third this year.

"We're always looking for opportunities (to expand)," Greg Royer, president of Royer's, said Wednesday while working on the transition at Landisville Flower Shop in East Hempfield Township. "We would entertain any opportunities."

The Daisy Wheel

THE LEAGUE of Friends charity flower shop at the Alexandra Hospital has now closed after 22 years of selling fresh flowers and plants.

Negotiations with hospital management concerning a new area in which to carry out fund-raising work in the future are currently on-going.

Flowers of all varieties and colours

Georgina Burrell's demonstration at the October meeting of the Castle Donington & District Flower Club was entitled "The Burrell Collection Re-visited". Georgina is from South Yorkshire and had visited the club a few years before.

Flowers and plants

Electronic tickets to the 2010 Philadelphia International Flower Show, "Passport to the World," are now available for purchase and download at theflowershow.com. The 2010 Show, billed as an exotic journey to dozens of destinations around the globe

Flowers fresh

A Georgia State University professor has developed an innovative new way to keep produce and flowers fresh for longer periods of time.

Vineland Research and Innovation Centre

Faster access to new plant varieties and processes will help horticulture producers remain innovative and competitive. The Governments of Canada and Ontario will invest $15.6 million in the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (VRIC) to coordinate and deliver commercialization opportunities to the horticulture sector.

Special award to a revolutionary food growing system

The new generation sustainable hydroponic system - entitled VertiCrop(TM) - is the brain child of a Cornwall-based corporation, Valcent Products (eu) Ltd, (Valcent EU) which developed the system to find new ways of growing plants in a world of rapidly-diminishing resources.

Leafy garden-style

The hush-hush search for a new White House florist is almost over: The Reliable Source has learned that Laura Dowling, a floral designer from Alexandria, is the front-runner for the prestigious position.

Indian researchers tell how

Imagine preserving the colour and shape of a flower for nearly 15 years! A team of researchers at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) museology department claims to have developed a technique that can do just that.

National Certificate Horticulture

Prisoners working on Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE) Grounds Maintenance teams will be able to study towards a National Certificate Horticulture Levels 1 & 2 from this week.

Corrections Inmate Employment have been working alongside the NewZealand Horticulture Industry Training Organization to develop a programme for offenders which accurately reflects their day to day work.

Hunger, the motivation

More than two thousand organic gardens to be found in the slums around Cape Town in South Africa. The owners themselves have healthier food on the table and at the same time profit from the fast growing demands from the city for unsprayed vegetables.

The Garden Club

The Social Circle Garden Club celebrated its 80th anniversary on Thursday by throwing a tea party for its members, and members of other local garden clubs.

organic vegetables

Senegal's main university hospital has established an organic garden to provide free, healthy meals for AIDS patients.

Flowers are vital part of prayers

Ahead of Diwali, the festival of lights, flowers are in high demand in the holy city Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

The wholesale flower market of Varanasi is popular in north India. Every year in comparison to other Hindu festivals, sale of flowers is very high particularly during the festival of Diwali and Dhanteras, when people decorate their houses and also buy utensils or jewellery.

California Cut Flower Commission

The gears are in motion to create a cooperative transportation system for California's cut flowers, a plan that growers see as a potential savior for competing in the global marketplace.

The flower business in Uganda

THE once-blooming Ugandan fresh flower exports are withering due to crippling transport costs, a lack of new investors and the global economic downturn.

wild flowers are threatened with extinction

Plantlife, the conservation charity, said more than 500 rare wild plants are in danger of dying out in Britain including may lily, pasque flower and lady's slipper orchid. Plants like box, snake's head fritillary and corn cockle, that are cultivated in gardens, are now seldom found in the wild.

Fruits, Flowers Become Expensive

Initially the drought and flood. And now Diwali. Fruits and vegetables are proving to be out-of-pocket expense for the people. With Diwali knocking on the doors, the soaring prices are troubling many.

Autumn Colours

A COOKHAM DEAN church was ablaze with autumn colours when a flower festival brightened up its pews.

More than £3,000 was raised by St John the Baptist church during the festival two weeks ago.

Flower Market

After 40 years in the flower business and 20 years owning her own shop on Red Wing's Main Street, the proprietor of River City Flower Market is stepping aside.

Warwood's Florist

Police in Ohio County are searching for an armed man who robbed a flower shop in broad daylight Wednesday afternoon.

The robbery happened at Warwood's Florist at Third Street and Warwood Avenue around 2:40 p.m. Police said the man pulled a gun from the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt and demanded money.

Flowers open at UQ Gatton

The University of Queensland's Centre for Native Floriculture (CNF) welcomed approximately 50 people to its Open Day, ?Opportunities with native flora?, at the Gatton Campus last week.

As plants are an integral part of our lives, our researchers have been motivated to develop new cultivars and techniques to manage plants in an environment that has less water.

Festival and the Flower

In Japan -- since its introduction from China in the eighth century -- the chrysanthemum has come to represent longevity, dignity and nobility. Not surprising then that it's become an emblem of the imperial family.

Virginia Harmon, director of grounds maintenance for the garden, answers questions about the festival and the flower it celebrates.

Bringing Nature Home

Flower fanciers have generally forsaken native plants over the years for the fashionable and the flashy, but the robust perennials are quickly becoming garden chic and the center of an ongoing conservation campaign.

Flower Farm

Addis Ababa (October 13, 2009) - Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi , Managing Director of Karuturi Global of India vowed to make Ethiopia the leading cut flower exporting country in the world.

Meet the Buyers

On 12,Oct announced that US Farms will be a sponsor at the upcoming Annual Living Plant Growers Meeting on October 15, 2009 in Vista, Ca.

Rick Hogan, COO for US Farms stated, "We are pleased to be acting sponsor for the upcoming Annual Living Plant Growers Meeting. As an active member of the Nursery community, we are always actively seeking new and better ways to grow and sell our nursery products which will be the theme of the meeting.

Increase in the prices of flowers

Not only did typhoon "Pepeng' cause prices of vegetables to sky-rocket in Metro Manila, it also triggered an increase in the prices of flowers coming from northern Philippines.

Radio dzBB?s Roland Bola reported Tuesday that in Manila, the prices of flowers, especially those from the north, spiked to nearly three times their normal prices.

Help fight hunger

Janice Cutler, president and owner of North Raleigh Florist (www.northraleighflorist.com), located at 7457 Six Forks Road, has announced that the store is joining forces with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina to help fight hunger. A box for food donations will be kept at North Raleigh Florist through Friday, Oct. 30.

Tortillas have moved into the mainstream

FRESNO, Calif. -- In a recession, it seems, people eat more tortillas and stop buying flowers for their sweethearts.

It's not actually that simple, but tortilla-makers landed on a recently released top-10 list of best-performing privately held companies, and florists landed in the bottom 10.

Bay lavender

Lee County horticulture agent Stephen Brown's new fact sheet on sea lavender - also known as bay lavender, beach heliotrope and sea rosemary - touts this native as one of the finest ornamental plants with resistance to salt spray. It can be utilized as shrubbery, and even will grow (albeit quite slowly) into a small tree.

Sparaxis elegans

The exotic bulb from South Africa, which grows without a lot of fuss, makes a good companion to native plants.

Sparaxis, a group of bulbs -- underground stems called corms, to be precise -- that hails from South Africa. It grows to about a foot high and can be so alluring, it will have you crouching for a closer look.

Diwali season

This diwali season as natural flowers are short in supply and those available are very expensive, market places are stuffed with artificial plastic and paper flowers from Australia, China, Dubai and Thailand.

Looking into the demand for artificial flower arrangements even those who sold natural flowers only had included these artificial flowers into their stocks.

Flower-bearing Trees

The city will have more green cover and Mangalore will look beautiful with varieties of flower-bearing trees if everything goes according to the forest department's plans.

Around 2,000 plants of different flower-bearing trees like cassia, tabulia, vahinia, would be planted. Preference would be given to medium sized tree varieties to suit the city atmosphere.

Green and pleasant land

ELLESMERE Flower and Produce Show was an unqualified success, attracting numerous entries and throngs of people.

Entries were of an exceptionally high standard, with an increase in the floral art and the children's section.

Flowers Foods, Inc.

SADIF-Investment Analytics has applied its StockMarks? stock-rating system to Flowers Foods, Inc. and produced a report, rating the company's attractiveness to long-term investors.

The 7th National Flower Exposition

The 7th National Flower Exposition concluded in the eastern suburbs of Beijing on Monday. Over the course of ten days, the event attracted over one-and-a-half-million visitors from home and abroad.

Michigan among top growers

The pumpkins -- if they had a chance to grow -- are smaller in size and yield than last year's crop, growers and agriculture experts say. Heavy rains at some farms trapped the seeds underground or flooded them out before they could germinate.

A FARMER 'S invention

A FARMER 'S invention is a result of a curious mind, a keen eye for observation and hours of relentless pursuit.

But when such discoveries are ignored by some in the scientific fraternity it causes pain and dejection and a good invention, which could have benefited the society, gets lost.

Garden therapy

EVER REALISED why roses make you happy or cactuses make you angry? The colour, the smell and the feel of certain flowers is said to originate positive energy as per one's personality type.

Volatile organic compounds

To add a charm to interiors or give a nice touch to the aesthetics, the potted plants have had been a favoured option for many but not anymore, as researchers have found that they may have negative effects on health.

Opportunity to learn how to garden

The Community Education Summer Compass program partnered with the Master Gardeners, Douglas County Extension and the Alexandria School District 206 Food Service to teach children the art of gardening.

The U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory

The U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory has been closed since Friday after an employee became ill and remains hospitalized in intensive care, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

boost to the state 's horticulture sector

A R Rather, finance minister of Jammu & Kashmir, said adequate steps would be taken to give a boost to the state's horticulture sector that had kept the economy going during the tough times of militancy.

The New Zealand Flower Growers ' Association

The New Zealand Flower Growers ' Association says its fears have mounted since the volume of flower imports started to grow rapidly two years ago, especially roses from India.

Total devastation

Crucial paddy, onion, sugarcane, and horticulture crops have been lost in the floods in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, though the quantum of loss is being assessed.

Origin of Flowering Plants

Scientists have discovered a piece of fossilized amber that came from a plant living more than 300 million years ago.

Boost from the Netherlands government

Small flower growers in Uganda have received a Shs2.5 Billion (900,000 Euros) boost from the Netherlands government to build capacities in producing for the export market.

The flower industry

About five years ago, the flower industry seemed the most vibrant and most promising one in Uganda with a projection to increase to 10,000 hectares by 2010. The scenario seems to have changed for the worst as Dorothy Nakaweesi notes the challenges it is currently facing.

Threatened by climate change

A report called "National Parks in Peril: The Threats of Climate Disruption" say the changes in landscapes and ecosystems are harming plants, trees and wildlife, but also threaten human activity in the parks and manmade structures. The factors include a loss of ice and snow, including melting glaciers; a loss of water, especially in the West; and higher seas and stronger coastal storms, which leads to flooding in coastal areas.

Kristi's Flowers in Redford

When employees at Kristi's Flowers in Redford put up a sign trying to appeal to thieves who took a large pumpkin earlier in the week, the response was prompt

United Health Services

An annual walk supports the families, who have lost a baby.

United Health Services sponsored the event at Otsiningo Park in Binghamton.

The car struck The Flower Bin

City police on Saturday were searching for a motorist who crashed his car into a northside business, then drove away.

The car struck The Flower Bin, 211 W. McGalliard Road, shortly before 9:45 p.m.

The Flagstaff Union

At the age of 79, and after 23 years organising the Flagstaff Union Parish's fair and flower show, Gaynor Earl and Muriel Braid have pulled the plug.

Tulip Festival

THREE weeks ago it appeared the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens' annual Tulip Festival might be cancelled.

Indian Flowers

Floriculture exports from India are expected to see a 20 per cent decline this year "as buyers are holding on to their purse strings due to the slowdown," S Jafar Naqvi, president of the Indian Flowers and Ornamental Plants Welfare Association (iFlora), has said.

Painted flowers

Sunflowers will soon again bloom at Zimmerman's Kill Creek Farm. But unlike the real sunflowers grown there this summer as a De Soto Rotary Club fundraiser, the next crop will be painted flowers marking the state's sesquicentennial.

Temecula flowers

The two-hour event featured a musical performance and food and beverages served al fresco amid the sea of colorful blooms. It was intended to raise money and public awareness of the garden. Proceeds from the event would be used to continue its promotion, development and maintenance.

America's favorite flower

Hundreds of people attended the first day of the Garden Club of Virginia's 71st annual Rose Show, and club members and the event's organizers hope that many more will visit Thursday.

18 additional flowers

The plants usually produce just one main flower, but temperatures of up to 92F (28C) caused a remarkable flurry of growth. Father-of-five Graham Whitlock, 62, planted the sunflower from seed in his garden late last year.

40 million potted flowers

The demand for flowers to dress up the city is said to have kept at least 10,000 Beijing farmers busy, and given a much needed boost to the floral industry. Feng Yanxin, Manager of Beijing Caoqiao Yangzhen Planting Base of Flowers and Trees, knows all too well the perks of getting involved in a major event.

Chrysanthemum

A gardener from Trowbridge who last year dedicated a new variety of flower to his late mother, has now grown another variety in memory of his father. Clive Webb, 66, of Wyke Road, Trowbridge, has called the white single variety of chrysanthemum.