Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The Meaning of Wedding Anniversary Flowers

Meaning of Anniversary Flowers

1st -  Paper - Red & White Roses
2nd - Cotton - White Carnations
3rd -  Leather - Bird of Paradise
4th -  Linen - Alstromeria
5th -  Wood - Bonsai/Topiary
6th -  Iron - Red Tulips
7th -  Wool - Ivy plant
8th -    Bronze - 
9th -    Pottery - Living plant
10th - Tin - Pink roses
11th - Steel - White Daisies
12th - Silk - Sunflowers
13th - Lace - Stocks
14th - Ivory - Gladiolus
15th - Crystal - Stephanotis
16th - Holloware Silver - Statice
17th - Furniture - Red Carnations
18th - Porcelain - Porcelana Roses
19th - Bronze - Bronze Chrysanthemums
20th - China - Pink and white roses
21st - Brass, Nickel, 22nd - Copper, 23rd - Silver Plate, 24th - Musical Instrument
25th - Silver - Sterling Silver roses
26th - Original Picture, 27th - Sculpture, 28th - Orchid, 29th - Furniture
30th - Pearl - White Roses
31st - Timepiece, 32nd - Car, 33rd - Amethyst, 34th - Opal
35th - Coral - African Violet
36th - Bone China, 37th - Alabaster, 38th - Beryl, 39th - Tourmaline, 39th - Lace
40th - Ruby - Red Roses
41st - Land, 42nd - House, 43rd - Travel, 44th - Groceries
45th - Sapphire - Blue Iris
46th - Original Poetry, 47th - Books, 48th - Optical, 49th - Luxuries
50th - Gold - Yellow Roses
55th - Emerald - Calla Lilies
60th - Diamond - Orchids
65th - Blue Sapphire - 
70th - Platinum
80th - Oak
85th - Wine
90th - Diamond, Emerald
95th - Diamond, Ruby
100th - 10 carat Diamond (and a Victoria Cross)


Monday, June 20, 2016

What flowers do I send a Cancerian?

Cancer - Born June 21 - July 22

Cancerians love home-life, family and domestic settings.  They are traditionalists and enjoy operating on a fundamental level.  They love history and are fascinated with the beginnings of things (heraldry, ancestry etc) A Water sign, the moon is their ruler so they can be a bit of a contradiction and sometimes emotional and moody. However they are conservative so they'll be apt to hide their moods from others.  They have a reputation for being fickle but they'll tell you that isn't actually true.  Cancerians make loyal, sympathetic friends although they do need alone time and when they retreat, let them do so on their terms.




CANCER THE CRAB - Born June 21 - July 22


FLOWERS

White flowers, especially roses are a perfect choice, together with blue flowers such as Delphiniums, Larkspurs, Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus), Ammi (Queen Anne's Lace), ferns, Passionflower, Hydrangea and Iris flowers,

Sensitivity is the watchword for the Crab flower sign.  Perceptive and highly intuitive to matters of the heart and the environment, they are sympathetic although highly influences by outside forces, especially the pull of the moon.  A secure home life surrounded by friends and family who love them and in turn are loved back often helps to keep them grounded and from falling prey to negative influences.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

It only takes a nibble or a lick



  • Lilies are one of the most dangerous flowers to have around cats.  It take only a nibble or a lick to send a cat into acute kidney failure, which can be fatal.
  • If you live with cats, never have lilies in the house.  When sending flowers to friends or family members with cats, specifically request no lilies.
Some plants give pets a lot of grief.  Some plants can even kill dogs and cats.  The plant that creates by far the greatest amount of misery for dogs is WANDERING JEW.    This is a lush green ground cover that grows in shady, moist areas.  If dogs lie ion it they get dermatitis on their belly, legs and under their mouth. This plant is a weed and should be carefully removed.  Many dogs get poisoned by the fruit on BRUNSFELSIAS (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow).  These small shrubs have blue/purple flowers that turn white over a few days.  Remove an Brunsfelsias if you have a dog - especially a puppy. STEPHANOTIS, the climbing plant with perfumed white flowers (much loved for bridal flowers), also produce fruits poisonous to dogs.  Other dog dangers are DAFFODIL BULBS, OLEANDERS and human foods like CHOCOLATE, ONIONS, AVOCADOES and GRAPES.

Toxic flowers and cats

There is nothing that adds colour like a bunch of fresh cut flowers around the house.  They add a lovely welcoming touch to any home.  Cat owners should be aware that those lovely flowers can potentially be toxic for cats, especially LILIES.
DAFFODILS, for example, can cause stomach upsets, vomiting or worse if your cat eats the foliage, flowers or pods.  Other plants you may not suspect, such as ALOE VERA, can be toxic for cats as well.
Listed below are some of the many plants that are potentially toxic for cats and should be avoided.  Be especially careful with ALL LILIES.  All parts (flowers, leaves and stems) are extremely toxic to cats and have caused tragic deaths.

Flowering Plants


  • Amaryllis
  • Hyacinth
  • Hydrangea
  • Autumn Crocus
  • Iris 
  • Bird of Paradise
  • Kalanchoe
  • Lily of the Valley
  • Cyclamen
  • Narcissus
  • Daffodil
  • Poinsettia
  • Day Lily
  • Rubrum Lily
  • Easter Lily
  • Oriental Lily
  • Elephant Ear
  • Asiatic Lily
  • Tulip
  • Gladiolus

Ferns

  • Asparagus
  • Plumosa
  • Lace

Indoor Plants

  • Aglaonema
  • Dracaena

Perennials

  • Aloe Vera
  • Morning Glory
  • Anthurium
  • Sanseveria (Mother in Law's Tongue)
  • Arum and Calla Lilies
  • Nightshade
  • Hellerborus
  • Pussy's Ears
If your cat eats or comes in contact with any of these plants or any other dangerous items you should seek immediate veterinary assistance.  If possible, take part of the toxic plant with you for identification to assist with treatment.

Poisons information phone 131126

Monday, June 13, 2016

Ordering from a real florist

With such a plethora of online websites vying for your business, how do you know that you are ordering from a real florist and not someone sitting behind a computer terminal in a call centre who wouldn't know a helianthus from a hypertext?

It's quite difficult to identify the actual florist among the weeds of affiliate companies pretending to be 'your local flower shop'.  The best flower arrangement, best value, quality and service comes from dealing directly with a real florist who will create something bespoke just for you.


What is an Order Gatherer?  (or a FAKE Florist)


This term describes floral service marketers, both real and virtual, that aggressively promote the sale of flower arrangements and related gifts which they intend to relay to local florists for execution. They work from a call centre and may not even be in Australia.  Recently one Order Gatherer has been mentioned in the Senate with many florists not being paid.

How does this work?


When you call or place an order online, you may, unknowingly be communicating with a FAKE Florist (an order gathering operation).  They take your order and credit card details for payment and then relay your order to a florist in your delivery area.  The order gatherer pockets a processing fee and a hefty percentage of the sale as well, reimbursing the florist a fraction of the actual cost of the delivery, if at all.

Wouldn't it be far better value for your $100 investment to be used creating that wow bouquet or arrangement rather than something for $50?

What are some common practices of FAKE florists? (Order Gatherers)

  • they use misleading advertisement titles and text that confuses consumers by featuring specific city names when they don't operate local flower shops that directly service the location and where their sites fail to clearly inform consumers how these orders are serviced.
  • they use city specific website pages with text crafted to confuse consumers by targeting city names when the order gatherers do not operate shops in the vicinity
  • they use misleading phrases like 'we deliver to' when the order gatherer only relays to a local florist for fulfillment, implying a service which they do not provide
  • they may mislead you by claiming the delivery is free

Don't order flowers from the first paid advertisement that pops up on Google.  These are just some of the companies that gather flower orders from the internet and relay them on to real florists to execute and deliver while retaining large commissions.
  • Ready Flowers (now ZFlowers) as of May 2017
  • Easy Flowers
  • Sarah's Flowers
  • Meg's Flowers
  • 1300 Flowers
  • Fast Flowers
  • Teleflora
  • Bloomex
  • Freshflowersandgifts
  • Floristworks
  • Freshflowers

Tips to avoid being fooled by flower Order Gathers

  • Check the Home and About Us pages for the address of the business 
  • Call the shop - the number should be local to the state and if they answer with a name such as Flower Shop, ask for the specific name of the flower shop.  This can be tricky though because usually it is 1800 or 1300 number and many florists use only mobile numbers. 
  • Ask what is your address and if they decline, consider calling another florist.  This can be tricky too as many real florists work from studios and don't have high street shop fronts
  • Usually the business name ie The Florist Tree has the URL to match ie www.thefloristtree.com.au  In Australia you cannot register a .com.au URL without the corresponding business registration
  • Google the phone number.  If it appears under many different business names with different locations, be suspicious
  • Be aware that just because an ad or website name says City Name Florist, it doesn't mean the company is located in or actually delivers to that city
  • If following a link from a search engine ad, find the site's home page.  Order Gatherer sites often contain directory like links named after states, cities or suburbs.  Each page will appear virtually the same except for the city name.  ie some order gatherers have registered URL's for individual suburbs eg suburbnameflowerdelivery.com.au
  • Check social media pages - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for businesss pages and confirm the contact details and look at their work
  • Check the reviews on Facebook, Blogs, florist websites, Google and Independent reviewers such as Feefo , Yelp etc
    • Order from sites with only real florists listed:- 
    • direct2florist.com.au 
    • floristexchange.com 
    • imaREAL.florist 
    • flowershopnetwork.com
    • interflora.com.au

    Armed with all this knowledge in the future,  I hope you are rewarded with a much happier buying experience.