Fall Bulb Planting

• In the fall, you'll find bulbs to purchase just about anywhere! Make sure you buy your bulbs from a reputable nursery or garden center,. Second-rate bulbs product second-rate flowers or don't sprout at all.
• Plant anytime before the ground freezes. For the New England area I would suggest anytime before November.
• See the chart below for type of bulbs by hardiness zone. .
• Ideally, plant your bulbs soon after you purchase them.
• Select a site with lots of sun and well-drained soil. Work a few inches of compost in the soil.
• Plant bulbs generously just in case some do not sprout. And plant them in random order and spacing for a more natural appearance. If you love groves of daffodils and blanketed landscapes of tulips, be prepared to buy and plant a large quantity of bulbs!
• In general, plant bulbs at a depth of three times the width of the bulb.
• After planting, apply fertilizer low in nitrogen, such as a 9-6-6 formulation.  If your soil's sandy, plant bulbs slightly deeper; in clay soils, slightly shallower.
• Water well after planting. Apply mulch to keep the weeds down and hold in moisture.
• Do you have voles or chipmunks? Consider planting your bulbs in a “cage” fashioned with chicken wire.

"Flower Power" Photographer Marc Riboud Dies

A legendary French's m photojournalists, Marc Riboud, whose 1967 snap of a protester confronting US soldiers with a flower captured the movement against the Vietnam war, has died aged 93.

Riboud, equally famed for a 1953 picture of a workman painting the Eiffel Tower high above the Paris skyline, passed away Tuesday after a long illness, a family member told AFP.

A master of black-and-white imagery, Riboud joined the prestigious Magnum agency at the invitation of its founders, photography greats Henri-Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa.

Riboud, whose shots appeared in top magazines such as Look, Life, Stern and Paris Match, was among the handful of photographers who managed to enter North Vietnam in the late 1960s.

Fresh Summer Florals

Saying goodbye to Summer is tough. We're making sure to go out in style by using the brightest, boldest combinations in our arrangements this week. Check out a few of the pieces we snapped on our steps before sending out for delivery! And enjoy the last days of summer! 

High Contrast purples and lime greens for this fun birthday party. 

Warmer sunset tones are softened in this arrangement by the celosia flower, which has a fuzzy texture to it. 

Umbrella fern adds a touch of tropical spice to this centerpiece. 

Anatomy of a Summer Arrangement

    Bold summer colors and luscious leafy textures make this three-sided statement arrangement a real show stopper. " I wanted to create something which included many different elements but didn't look weedy" says designer Serena Nelson. Choosing to make multiple small groupings of different florals and textures has created just that look. Here's a quick guide to what went into making this arrangement: to start, a  monstera leaf is cut and sunk into the glass vase as the base of the arrangement. Next, we see the ball of deep red Heart roses are placed head to head to form an eye-catching point low down. To the left, a spray of mango calla lillies lay in front of stems of oncidium orchids, to draw the eye across the whole piece. At the center, we have a bright mix of pincushion protia, green trick dianthus, mokara orchids and burgandy snap dragons. These make up the body of the piece. Wide deep green monstera leaves and bunches of cordyline extend towards the back of the arrangement, with touches of curly kiwi branches to give it height and depth. One final touch we decided to add  are the two small echeveria succulents tucked towards the right hand side of the arrangement. Cut succulents add a whole new element to the traditional cut flower bouquet, as they can survive out of soil/water for days. Once the rest of the cut flowers pass, the succulents will live quite happily if transferred to a bed of moss or soil in a timely manner. 

 Our team of designers is always on hand to create arrangements like the one shown here as well as others for any occasion. 

Rio Olympics no longer giving arrangements to winning athletes

Since the beginning of these Olympics during the medal ceremonies included athletes receiving a bouquet of flowers after being presented with their respective medals. The Rio Olympics are changing this tradition and have replaced the arrangements with a model of the logo . This hasn't escaped viewer’s attention, and now everyone is asking why the medalists are receiving a sculpture of the Rio Olympics logo instead. Well, the answer is simple, Sustainability.

The main theme for the 2016 Olympics is sustainability, with the majority of the torch relay focusing on stories around it. This is also the reason flowers were replaced since it's not a gift most athletes treasure anyway.

Late Summer Early Fall Window Boxes!

Since the summer has been so hot and humid some of the plants are a bit tired in the garden and containers. We are now starting to switch things out for the upcoming season and beginning to receive out spring bulb plants for planting in fall.

Here is an example of a window box we just finished. 

In the Shoppe: Terrariums

Hi all! Hoping everyone's summer is going as well as ours has been. Boy are we busy! If you're looking for a place to cool down on days like today, stop by our Beacon Hill shoppe and take a minute in our 1897 walk in cooler.  While you're here you can also check out our incredible selection of terrariums and globe gardens! In this week we have a big selection of mini terrarium plants, tons of vessels in all shapes and sizes and as always, so many different echeveria succulents to choose from. Below you'll find a few shots of some of my absolute favorite pieces. 

Echeveria are great additions to terrariums because they do not require frequent waterings, nor do they need a lot of space to grow.  We enjoy the look of groupings of these little succulents- but they also look stunning on their own. 

These assorted mini terrarium plants have been a huge hit this summer! We can barely keep them on the shelves, Coming in many different colors and textures- from tiny palms to colorful splash plants they bring a wonderful gardeny look to plantings. 

Here we've placed a tall glass cloche on this slice of birch to beautiful effect. Inside we've placed a blooming air plant and the dried flower Craspedia also known as Billy Buttons. Air plants are fantastic for such a set up, because they do not have a root system that requires any type of soil. They will live quite happily on a bed of moss or even just in the air! 

 A silvery echeveria sits in a globe terrarium, amidst bright green reindeer moss and cork chips.  

One of out favorite summer window displays (so far!) 

All this and more in our shoppe! We hope to see you soon! 

Monsanto working on a product to not make flowers wilt.

According to a recent article in MIT Technology Review, Monsanto is working on anti-aging technology for flowers using genetic alterations it can feed through vase water. In its patent application, the company disclosed that it’s testing a new way of stopping roses, petunias and carnations from wilting, which could help get flowers to supermarkets just as they’re ready to bloom.

Monsanto is attempting to develop temporary, spray-on genetic alterations for fresh flowers in a program it calls BioDirect. The new approach — unlike GMO, or permanently changing a plant’s genome — involves temporarily modifying specific genes by spraying them with genetic molecules called RNA, or feeding the molecules to their roots.

A couple of years ago, Monsanto scientists tried to use RNA to interfere with cut flowers’ ability to make ethylene, which plant scientists call “the aging hormone.” The company claims it had some success blocking the hormone by doping vase water with RNA designed to block ethylene production. If this concept proves successful, could plants be made to blossom on command?

A spokesperson for Monsanto said the flower effort represents “early discovery work” by teams that have tried to identify new applications of RNA in agriculture. If the technology works, “it will meet a real need in the flower industry,” said Hilary Rogers, a scientist who studies stress in plants at Cardiff University in England, in the release.

The flower industry could definitely use some new ideas for reducing waste because it faces many challenges in marketing a very perishable product. Plus, as Rogers noted, the hidden environmental costs of shipping flowers across the world by air spurs some critics each year to say, “buying flowers just isn’t worth it.”

Color Pallettes for Fall 2016

The world of fashion always has its way of influencing all design backgrounds whether it be in the interior or floral design world. For fall 2016 we believe the color palette will consist of six key palettes as explained below.

Terrain: Earth Tones:

Terrain consists of a complete palette of saturated earth tones. This fall, brown makes a significant comeback which is not only imitated with roast, but also in shades like prune and softer tones like cognac and coppertone. These two colors camel and toffee are essential  to the Terrain palette. Adding a bit of natural color darker yellow and red rust add a spice component. Greens are also leveraged, from an olive base to pea colroing.

Olive

Copper

Rust

Frontier: Neutral Colors

This color palette brings a new group of neutrals what are a bit darker than recent seasons. Blue plays an important role in the this palette, ranging from a mid steel blue to teal- water and navy as a base color. Brown "terrain" is also even more important with dark chocolatecolor. Wheat is offered as the tan to sort brown  of the season, while rich plum enters. Grey hues include dark charcoal and a mid-tone of slate, while petrol becomes a new sludge-inspired hue.

Teal:

 

 

 

New York Botanical Garden Enjoys the Rare Corpse Flower

The Botanical world and lucky  New York residents  are enjoying the extremely rarecorpse flower at the New York Botanical Garden.

The botanical spectacle, which lasts anywhere from 24 to 36 hours, began on Thursday afternoon. It will likely be several more years before the flower blooms again, according to the Botanical Garden.