All posts tagged summer flowers

All About the Sunflower: A Perfect Bloom to Give for Summer

June 23, 2016

What kind of flower is perfect to give for a summer occasion? A bloom that looks like the shining sun and encourages people to be joyful, just like summer can.

If you’re looking for flower ideas for a summer birthday, housewarming gift, or just-because present, consider the sunny and summery sunflower.

Want to know a bit about the bloom you’ll give, so you can appreciate how special it is or share fun facts with your giftee? Enjoy the following sunflower trivia.

A Good Food Source

In addition to providing visual joy, the sunflower can satisfy in other ways. It’s a critical food source in many places in the world, because it gives off protein-rich seeds and healthy vegetable oil. Sunflowers provide tasty culinary benefits, and they offer economic stability for farmers who grow the blooms.

Native to the Americas

North and South America bring us potatoes, tomatoes, corn, and sunflowers! Sunflowers from the Americas were cultivated as early as 3000 BCE, when they were used for food, dye, medicine, and oil. They were exported to the rest of the world in about 1500, by the Spanish conquistadors.

Popular Through Time

Tsar the Great loved the sunflowers that he saw in the Netherlands, so he took some back to Russia. Russian immigrants to the United States, in the 19th century, brought their highly developed sunflower seeds to the Americas to grow bigger blooms than the native plants. This sparked more interest in the flower. In 1946, in Missouri, farmers began producing sunflower oil to include in many consumer products. Today, sunflower oil is a popular oil alternative to animal fats.

The sunflower looks like the sun and it requires a lot of sun to thrive. Most sunflowers grow best with about six to eight hours of daylight each day, but they can certainly get more and be okay. There are sunflowers that grow up to 16 feed tall! Long-stemmed sunflowers are an exquisite and special gift to give to someone during summertime.

Comments: 0 Posted by: Categories: Sunflowers

The Right Flowers for Summer

June 16, 2016

How do you choose the right flowers for summer? You opt for any of the following beautiful blooms.

Aster

The aster looks a bit like a wildflower and a little like a sunshine. It’s a perfect flower to keep in a summer garden or to give in a seasonal bouquet. And, it’s an exquisite and cheerful addition to a home – either kept in a kitchen or a living room. The aster can be casual or formal, depending on the vehicle it’s in and the flowers that surround it. It’s September’s birth flower and it’s sometimes given for 20th-year wedding anniversaries.

Carnation

Carnations are lovely flowers to have around during summertime. Florists use these blossoms as go-to stunners in wedding floral arrangements and boutonnieres, and they’re often given for birthdays. Carnations come in shades of white, pink, red, purple, green, and more hues. They’re long lasting and they’re easily revitalized after extensive car (or flower truck) rides.

Freesia

Freesia is a member of the Iris family. It’s often considered one of the most fragrant flowers on earth, and it’s frequently grown for ornamental and practical purposes. Some freesia have a stronger scent than others, but all of them offer a delightful aroma that’s perfect for a garden or floral arrangement. Freesia is a bulb flower that comes in many colors and in many variations.

Local florists usually have all of these flowers in stock. Sometimes, you’ll find these flowers’ seeds or bulbs in nurseries or in home improvement stores. You can always purchase them online, through a local or national web-based florist.

Comments: 0 Posted by: Categories: Aster, Carnations, Freesia, Seasonal

About the Dahlia

May 19, 2016

The dahlia is a flower that we love to grow and give during summertime. Its beautiful shape reminds us of a shining sun and its colors are cheerful and bright, which is perfect when we want something to perk up our garden or our home – or flowers to bring joy to a friend or family member.

To celebrate the dahlia and the impending arrival of summer, we’ve put together a list of some facts, figures, and trivia about the lovely bloom.

Enjoy! And, enjoy bringing dahlias into your life this summer!

  • Dahlias make a bold statement in a garden or bouquet, thanks to their pom-pom shape and bright hues. There are large and small varieties of dahlias, all easily grown and most easily found.
  • Some of the favorite dahlia varietals include “Fidalgo Julie” and “Alloway Candy.
  • Dahlia plants product prolific flowers during all of summer and well into fall. In mild climates, you might find dahlias blooming as early as June.
  • Cutting dahlias encourages the plant to bloom more abundantly.
  • Dahlia foliage is excellent for accenting a garden or bouquet, since it often produces beautiful pale yellow-green, or purple, hues.
  • Dahlias are bulbs, and during fall you can divide the tubers to increase your stock of the flowers.
  • You can grow dahlias from seed. You might see seeds at garden centers, or in catalogs, as well as dahlia bedding plants.
  • Dahlias bloom in color ranges from pink to purple and yellow to orange. They come in white, red, and even bi-colors.
  • Use dahlias in gardens or bouquets along with annuals or perennials, as they mix quite well with both.
  • Most dahlia plants grow to be anywhere from three to six feet, so they’re a nice flower to plant in the middle of a flower bed.
  • If you plant dahlias around the border of a garden, and keep them trimmed low, you’ll easily locate the tubers for dividing.

These are just some of the amazing things about the glorious dahlia. Do you love dahlias? If so, feel free to leave us comments about your experiences with the flower.

Comments: 0 Posted by: Categories: Dahlia, Seasonal

Asters for Summer

May 12, 2016

Summer’s coming, which means we get to decorate our homes and gardens with beautiful summer flowers – like the aster! The aster is one of our favorite summer blossoms because it’s cheerful like we feel during summer and it looks like a shining sun.

If you want to have color, gorgeous shapes, and summer-like energy in your home or garden this upcoming season, consider the aster for arrangements or flower beds.

The following is a bit of information you might not know about the lovely aster:

The Showy Perennial

The aster is a splashy and showy perennial that ranges from small to tall. It’s a flower that makes a statement in an arrangement or garden – not a dramatic one, simply a “look at me, I’m here to enjoy life” kind of one.

Asters offer vibrant shades and hues for a summer garden, such as pink, purple, white, and blue. They’re ideal flowers to keep outdoors if you want to attract butterflies and bees, and they also bring other wildlife to you.

Types of Asters

There are many types of asters, including New England, New York, calico, heath, smooth, aromatic, and wood. All of these asters are native to North American and the vary in terms of height, bloom time, and bloom color.

The two primary varietals of asters are New England and New York asters. Some people have a hard time telling these flowers apart, but you can see the difference when you examine the tall stems of the New England asters (around three to four feet tall) and the shorter stems of the New York asters.

New England asters are typically full and dense, and they bloom in late summer or early fall. New York asters have thinner stems and their leaves are smooth.

Some of the asters you might be able to find near you include the Professor Anton Kippenberg New York aster and the Andenken an Alma Potschke New England aster.

If you can’t find asters near you, consider looking online. You’re sure to find someone that will ship asters to you or ship their seeds.

Comments: 0 Posted by: Categories: Aster
Skip to content