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Forced blooms are a beautiful addition to your next arrangement. It's nature's way of bringing its wonder and beauty inside. End of February to early March is the ideal time to start forcing blooms indoors. In our area, this year may be an exception as the extreme cold from January 28 to February 4 froze the setting buds. This put fruit trees in jeopardy throughout Nova Scotia.  Dabbled Willow buds in spring arrangement. Photo by Carol Millett of Foraged Florals. What does it mean to force a bloom? You are creating the conditions inside your home for flowering shrubs and trees to bloom. Here are the steps to force shrubs. Step 1: Choose Your ShrubSelect a shrub that forms its flowering bud the previous fall, such as Forsythia. If you are new to forcing blooms, we recommend you start with Forsythia. It's a rock star for forcing blooms for three reasons:
 Forsythia blooms in moss garden. Photo by Carol Millett of Foraged Florals. When I am selecting branches to cut I use this time to improve the health of the plant. I remove branches that have crossed over other branches to allow for greater airflow. This helps to reduce the risk of disease. You can also cut suckers. Suckers often don’t bloom but the foliage comes out and adds another element to the arrangement. Remember to use clean secateurs to avoid introducing bacteria to the mother plant. Other shrubs I force are wild honeysuckle, dogwood and currants. The cherry tree did not survive on our new property, yet make beautiful forced blooms. Quince and magnolias are too small to take cuttings this year. I tried a haskap branch and was very pleased with the soft yellow bloom. Step 2: Select a MethodThere are two methods to force blooms:
Underwater MethodI use a galvanized wash basin filled with tepid water. I then place the branches in the basin and leave overnight. The next day place the branches with the cut end in a fresh bucket of water. Cover the tops with plastic, to keep the moisture in. Place in a cooler room in your home  Forcing shrubs in jars. Photo by Carol Millett of Foraged Florals Place in VaseAdd about an inch of fresh, clean water to a jar or bud vase, then add the branches. Store the vase in a cool room, spraying often to keep the buds moist. After about a week, with whatever method you use, you will notice the buds have little tips of yellow. This is a signal to bring the branches into your living space. Continue to spray the branches to maintain moisture. Enjoy! Step 3: Create the Right EnvironmentShrubs thrive in a humid environment. I often arrange Forsythia or Dappled Willow in with moss gardens as they both appreciate moisture to keep lush. It’s a high impact, low cost addition to a spring arrangement. Place your finished arrangement out of direct sunlight, away from a heat source.  Spring arrangement of dabbled willow, magnolia and silver maple. Photo by Carol Millett of Foraged Florals ConclusionForcing shrubs to bloom helps us connect to the outside world and allows us to experience the marvels of nature, the blooming shrub.
Happy flower arranging with nature as your teacher.
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Are you starting to plan your dream wedding? Don't forget about the flowers! Consulting a seasonal floral designer in the early stages of your wedding planning process can help you create a cohesive and memorable wedding aesthetic. Here are some of the benefits of working with a floral designer early on:  Bridal bouquet with flowers and greenery from flower farm. Photo by Carol Millett of Foraged Florals. Personalized DesignA floral designer can work with you to create a custom wedding floral design that perfectly reflects your unique style and vision. With their expertise, they can guide you through the selection of the right flowers, colours, and arrangements to create a cohesive and stunning design. You can chose flowers that symbolize your wedding message, including moss that symbolizes new beginnings. I remember my first bride was clear on the colour scheme of her bouquet – white and green. No other colours. I put together a moss garden to use as a jumping off point to show her the variations of green, as moss means deep connection, and for her to select her favourites. This bride's grandfather couldn’t be there to celebrate with her. I discovered his favourite flower was a daisy, so the daisy became a single focal point for the bouquet. The season had passed for daisies. Yet I found a daisy and placed it in the bouquet in the bride‘s viewpoint, so the grandfather could be close to her heart. Budget PlanningA floral designer can help you understand the costs of different floral options and work with you to create a floral design that fits your budget. Local sustainable flowers are aways more budget friendly than imported flowers. By working with a floral designer early on, you can avoid any last-minute surprises and ensure that your floral arrangements are just as memorable as the rest of your wedding day.  Wedding day at Foraged Florals. Photo by Carol Millett of Foraged Florals. AvailabilityBy booking a floral designer early, you can ensure that you have access to the freshest and most beautiful blooms on your wedding day. In addition, early consultation with a floral designer can help ensure that the flowers you want are available during the season of your wedding. Secure your date so the floral designer makes your wedding their first priority. Specialty Floral ServiceA floral designer can offer you a specialty floral service using seasonal flowers, evergreens, and moss to extend the flower season. By incorporating local and sustainable flowers in their designs, you can create an eco-friendly and unique floral aesthetic that will leave a lasting impression on your guests. ConclusionIn conclusion, consulting a floral designer in the early stages of your wedding planning process can help you create a stunning and cohesive wedding aesthetic.
With their expertise, you can rest assured that your floral arrangements will not only look beautiful, but also reflect your unique style and vision. By working with a floral designer early on, you can take advantage of their advice, personalized design, and budget planning, ensuring that your wedding flowers are as memorable as the rest of your wedding celebration. And with a specialty floral service that utilizes seasonal flowers, evergreens, and moss, you can create an eco-friendly and unique floral aesthetic that will leave a lasting impression on your guests. So, why wait? Book your floral designer early and enjoy the journey to your dream wedding! IntroductionFlowers have the power to brighten up a room and lift your spirits. A weekly seasonal flower arrangement service will bring joy and positivity to your home or workplace on a regular basis. In this blog, we will discuss the top 10 reasons why you should consider buying a seasonal floral arrangement service. 1. Sustainable and LocalBy choosing our weekly seasonal flower delivery service, you support a local florist while also doing your part for the environment. Together we can grow the slow flower movement. Read our blog on the slow flower movement.  Tulips and dianthus. Photo by Carol Millett, Foraged Florals. 2. Easy and ConvenientYou don't have to worry about shopping for flowers every week. A weekly flower delivery service will bring the beauty of fresh flowers right to your door, making it easy and convenient for you. 3. Perfect GiftIf you're looking for a unique and thoughtful gift, a weekly flower arrangement subscription is the perfect option. You can gift the service to a friend or loved one, or even treat yourself! You always have a beautifully designed floral arrangement for a cheerful gift. Visit our flower subscription page. 4. Affordable LuxuryWhile fresh flowers may seem like a luxury, our weekly subscription service can actually be quite affordable. You can enjoy the beauty and benefits of our designer floral arrangement every week without breaking the bank. 5. Boost Your MoodFlowers have a natural ability to boost your mood and bring a smile to your face. A weekly delivery of a fresh, seasonal arrangement will keep your home or office feeling bright and positive throughout the growing year.* 6. Stress RelieverFlowers have been shown to have a calming effect and can help reduce stress. Having a weekly reminder of nature's beauty in your home or office can be a powerful stress reliever.** 7. Seasonal VarietyWith a weekly seasonal flower arrangement service, you will be able to enjoy a variety of different flowers and arrangements throughout the growing season. From spring tulips to summer sunflowers, you will be able to enjoy the best of each season's offerings. Here's a sampling of our floral arrangements.  Seasonal arrangement. Photo by Carol Millett, Foraged Florals. 8. Creates a Focal PointFlowers have the power to transform a room and create a beautiful focal point. With a weekly seasonal flower arrangement service, you will have a new and stunning centrepiece every week. 9. Set A Homey Feeling'Create a show ready home, realtors and magazine editors use flowers as the final staging steps to make a house feel warm and inviting. Take a page out a realtor's playbook and create a homey feeling each week with a fresh, seasonal arrangement. 10. Supports Local BusinessesBy choosing a weekly seasonal flower arrangement service, you support local florists and farmers. On our permaculture flower farm we primarily grow perennials. We also source from other local flower farmers in New Ross, Roundway Farm and Bar M Ranch. Buying local not only helps the local economy but also helps to preserve the tradition of floristry. ConclusionIn conclusion, a weekly seasonal flower arrangement service is a wonderful investment in both your personal well-being and your local community. From boosting your mood to supporting local businesses, there are countless benefits to choosing our weekly floral arrangement service. References:
• Haviland-Jones, J. et al. (2005). An environment approach to positive emotion: Flowers-safnow.org. ** Ikei, H., Komatsu, M., Song, C. et al. The physiological and psychological relaxing effects of viewing rose flowers in office workers. Like the sustainable floristry industry, the global cut flower industry has a story to tell. Many people enjoy cut flowers for their beauty, symbolism and connection to nature, unaware of the harm done to the floral farm workers and the environment. These three floral experts are leaders in growing the sustainable floristry movement in North America: Rita Feldman, Founder, Sustainable Floristry Network Debra Prinzing, Founder, www.slowflowers.com, a searchable database for the Slow Flower Movement Becky Feasby, Creator, The Sustainable Flowers Project. Let's explore what the experts are saying and doing to grow the sustainable flower movement. The Global Floristry Industry Is Unsustainable"If there's one thing you could do to be more sustainable, it would be to get rid of floral foam completely, Feasby says." (https://montecristomagazine.com/design/floristry-industry-garbage-problem-canadian-sustainable-florists-trying-change) Becky Feasby, of Prairie Girl Flowers, created The Sustainable Flowers Project to educate on sustainable methods in the florists industry. Floral foam, a petrochemical product used to anchor flowers in arrangements, breaks down into micro-plastics that leach into the soil and ground water making its way into oceans. When in water, micro-plastics cause harm to aquatic life.  Flowers laid 5 feet deep outside Buckingham Palace after Princess Diana died. Source: reddit.com Floral plastic wrap creates its own environmental problem. Floral single use plastics puts 100,000 tons in our global landfills each year. (https://montecristomagazine.com/design/floristry-industry-garbage-problem-canadian-sustainable-florists-trying-change) Imported cut flowers, largely from Columbia and Ecuador, make up about 80 per cent of all cut flowers sold in Canada and the US. Flowers are shipped from South America to North America in dedicated cargo jets, held in temperature controlled warehouses then delivered to retail outlets nationwide in refrigerated trucks. During peak demand, 30-40 cargo jets of flowers leave Bogatoa for Miami — a day! (https://atmos.earth/cut-flowers-environmental-carbon-cost-facts/) Each year the global transportation of cut flowers contributes an estimated 360,000 metric tons of CO2 to global warming. (https://montecristomagazine.com/design/floristry-industry-garbage-problem-canadian-sustainable-florists-trying-change) Use of Toxic ChemicalsMany countries that grow flowers for the global export market lack laws to control pesticide use on flower fields. This results in serious harm to both the flower workers and the environment. "Workers are rarely trained on how to use these pesticides properly, resulting in multiple health problems and damage to local eco-systems. In particualar, pesticides pose a threat to water systems, as run-off from chemicals in growing fields often ends up in neighbouring waterways." (https://ethicalunicorn.com/2019/02/19/what-is-ethical-sustainable-floristry/)  Arrangement by Susan Larder of Foraged Florals. Photo credit: Carol Millett. Local, Seasonal and Sustainable Floristry MovementRita Feldman, founded the Sustainable Floristry Network " out of ... frustration with a system that has lost connection with its roots in celebrating nature, beauty, and seasonality."(https://www.sustainablefloristry.org/about-sfn/the-team/) The Sustainable Floristry Network focus is on education. From the SFN website: "The Foundation in Sustainable Floristry has been developed for all skill levels, from beginners through to teachers. By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of how they can:
Debra Prinzing, a writer and journalist with a passion for local and seasonal flowers, launched a searchable database, slowflowers.com, as "a response to the disconnect between humans and flowers in the modern era ... Slow Flowers connects consumers with the source of their flowers, putting a human face of the flower farmer and floral designer behind each bouquet or centrepiece." (https://www.slowflowers.com/about-us.html) Debra Prinzing has authored numerous books, among them The 50 Mile Bouquet: Seasonal, Local and Sustainable Flowers (2012), and Slow Flowers: Four Seasons of Locally Grown Bouquets from the Garden, Meadow and Farm (2013). Debra Prinzing is a contributing editor to the Slow Flowers Journal and is nearing 600 episodes on her Slow Flower Podcast known as the "Voice of the Slow Flower Movement". Sustainable Floristry In CanadaBecky Feasby, of Prairie Girl Flowers in Calgary, is Canada's ambassador for the Global Sustainable Network and the Slow Flowers Movement. She created and runs The Sustainable Flowers Project, an "annual creative + educational workshop that celebrates sustainable floristry and our love of flowers". The goal of The Sustainable Flowers Project is to help educate flower lovers of the benefits and practices of sustainable floral design, bringing together international experts in the sustainable floristry field. The number of sustainable florists in Canada is growing as the environmental crisis deepens. It is time to develop a Canadian searchable database of sustainable floristry business by province. This will benefit flower lovers, florists and the environment. How We Support the Local, Seasonal and Sustainable FloristryWe started Foraged Florals for our love of flowers and to recover our health by being on the land. We care for the earth as much as you do. That's why we grow, harvest and design floral arrangements we can all feed good about. We commit to using sustainable floral practices, including no floral form and single use plastics. PermacultureWe grow flowers using permaculture practices we learned in Guatemala on farm stays. This method of farming allows the plants to capture carbon. Permaculture is the natural process of the forest to regenerate and to oxygenate. This builds healthy soil which grows resilient plants and allows breathtaking floral arrangements.  Designing. for the food industry. Design by Susan Larder. Photo credit: Carol Millett. Sourcing Local FlowersWe source our flowers from our own farm and local flower growers, Bar M Ranch and Roundway Farm in New Ross. Our round trip to collect flowers is 13.8 km. We have also invited local home gardeners to join our wedding flower registry. Traditionally in rural communities, young brides would be given wedding flowers by local gardeners. It's a beautiful, meaningful, and sustainable tradition worth reviving today. Creating a Sustainable Floristry Directory for Nova ScotiaWe know people protect the things they love. Our goal is for everyone to love and buy local and seasonal flowers and floral arrangements for weddings and events. To do that, people need to know who the sustainable florists are in their area. Solution — a sustainable floristry directory.
We would love to have your comments on how we can grow a sustainable floristry industry, and in particular a directory. |
Written bySusan Larder Archives
March 2023
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