Here are some of our employees ensuring the arrangements look gorgeous.

While we are up at the race track early every morning, the horses are out getting their exercise.  We couldn’t resist taking this photo….

Here’s a link to get all the information about the 2010 racing season at Del Mar: www.dmtc.com

Let us know which is your favorite arrangement.

The first had a theme of “Taste of the Orient”. Kristine received a 3rd place for her design. Here is a photo.

Kristine, designer at Adelaide's

For her next competition, the theme was “Java Jive”. Take a good look at the photo and check out the “coffee” coming from the coffee pot. The “coffee” is strings of hypericum berries (otherwise known as coffee berries). She is so talented. She won a 2nd place ribbon for her efforts.

Here is a photo of her second competition:

Kristine - Fair 2010

If you want to see some of her 1st prize arrangements, stop by Adelaide’s.

Remove the mother plant and pup from their container.

Gently pull the soil away, exposing the area where the mother plant and pup are joined.

The pup may or may not have its own root system. If necessary, pull additional soil away so you have a clear view of the base of both plants.

Most of the time, the pup can be pulled off the mother plant without the use of any tools. If it resists a firm but gentle tug, make the cut near the base of the mother plant.

Before planting the bromeliad pup, let it sit in the shade for at least a day. This allows the area that has been pulled or cut away from the mother plant to callous, preventing soil-borne diseases from entering through the soft tissue. Then you can plant the pup, using one of the recommended mixtures and gently pressing down on the soil around the base of the pup.

Care for the young plant just as you would a mature bromeliad.

Culture:
It’s best to use purified water, especially for soft-leaf types like Guzmanias. Do not use water from a softener.

Let the plants dry out between waterings. It is okay if the soil on the bottom of the pot still is a little damp, but the surface should be dry to the touch.

Water the plant by pouring directly into the “cup” or “tank” formed by the center leaves. The tank is an evolutionary adaptation that acts as a reservoir, providing an emergency supply of water and nutrients. Continue pouring after the tank begins to overflow, allowing the excess to spill out and moisten the soil below.

Direct light on a sunny day is far too intense for most bromeliads, including Aechmeas and Guzmanias, the two most popular types. Direct sunshine can exceed 10,000 foot-candles; the ideal light level for bromeliads is generally around 1,800 foot-candles. If you don’t have access to a light meter, simply look for an area that is somewhat shaded and protected from long periods of hot, direct sunlight.

Scientific studies suggest bromeliads can help improve indoor air-quality as you sleep. In the photosynthetic process, most common indoor plants remove carbon dioxide while emitting oxygen and water vapors during the day. But research indicates that bromeliads behave differently during the day / night cycle, releasing oxygen and removing air pollutants at night. Data collected by the Plants for Clean Air Council suggest that when combined with foliage plants, bromeliads can help provide around-the-clock indoor air purification.

Re-Blooming:
Bromeliad blooms are a wonder of variety and longevity. They come in an astounding array of colors and shapes. Some remain tucked inside the rosette of leaves, while others grow into plumes reaching two or more feet in length.

Numerous factors contribute to bromeliad blooms: time, light and water are just a few. One of the most important variables is temperature, with a minimum requirement of 50 degrees

Many of the more popular types of bromeliads, including Guzmanias, Tillandsias and Vrieseas, bloom naturally during the spring, summer and fall months. Guzmanias require purified water and more humidity than other types.

It is possible to prematurely force a bloom by exposing a bromeliad to ethylene gas, a natural byproduct of decomposing organic matter. For the home enthusiast, take a slice of an apple and place it at the bottom of the plant or tuck it into one of its leaves. Commercial products such as Florel, often used to ripen tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables, have successfully been used to produce bromeliad flowers.

Propagation:

To be continued…..

You can see what a difference lighting can make.

When designing this style of wedding, flowers are very important.  They are the focal point, even with personal flowers.  Here’s the bride’s bouquet as well as the flower girl’s.

Thank you to the bride and groom for allowing us to view such an elegant affair.  Thanks to Patti, our wedding coordinator who took the couple’s idea and created this very elegant look.  Thanks to Paul Barnett who took these great photos and allowed us to use them.

Here are some pictures from around the museum and if you visit, take a close up look at the succulent structure at the entrance to the museum.  It is stunning!  Best of luck to all the florists!

Good Luck to all the floral designers!

And what fun vases they are.  Every time we get new ones in it’s such an adventure.  Some of the Tequila bottles are the fanciest.  If you need a fun gift idea, try flowers in one of these vases.  You won’t get anything but compliments.

As you see they come in all sizes.  Here is another photo.

Besides fresh flowers which are a great idea for Earth Day, we are also promoting our fair trade items.  These all come from Exotic World Gifts. 

There is pine resin jewelry from India, notebooks with paper made from recycling cotton rags, recycled glass key rings from Africa, jewelry made from the nuts of the tagua palm tree and beautiful shawls from Thailand that are handmade, naturally dyed.  Our first photo showed some of the beautiful handcrafted bowls from Bali.  Stop by and check it out.

Academy of Our Lady of Peace
Adopt a Float
All Hallows Academy
American Floral Endowment
American Ireland Fund
American Liver Foundation
Aquatic Adventures
Athenaeum Library
Bird Rock Elementary Parent’s Committee
Bishop’s School
Boy Scouts of America
Boys and Girls Club of San Dieguito
Cathedral Catholic High School
Challenge Center
Children’s School
Congregation Beth El
Crossroads Foundation
Explorer Elementary Charter School
Friends of Kate Sessions Elementary School
Friends of La Jolla Elementary
Friends of the Trinitarians
Friends of Vista Hill Foundation
Gillispie School
Globe Guilders
Interface
Junior League of San Diego
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Kiwanis Club of La Jolla
La Jolla Country Day School
La Jolla Country Day School PTA
La Jolla Garden Club
La Jolla High School Foundation
La Jolla Historical Society
La Jolla Kiwanis Club
La Jolla Music Society
La Jolla Rotary Club
La Jolla United Methodists Church Nursery School
Las Patronas
Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center
Liam Foundation
Mainly Mozart
Mary Star of the Sea
Mission Beach Women’s Club
Mt. Soledad Memorial Association
Museum of Contemporary Art
National Multiple Sclerosis
Parents’ Committee of Bird Rock Elementary
Patrons of the Prado
Project Concern International
Promote La Jolla
San Diego High School Foundation
Salvation Army
San Diego Chinese Cultural Association
San Diego Cooperative Charter School
San Diego Hospice Foundation
Scripp’s Cancer Center
Social Service League
Seany Foundation
St Germaine’s Children Charity
Stella Maris Academy
Sundt Memorial Foundation
Teen Challenge International
USO Council of San Diego
Zoofari
Zoological Society of San Diego

The photos are courtesy of Josh Elliott Photography.

Here are some photos from that interview.

Here’s another one with Nancy Clarke and Joe Lizura, KUSI.

And here’s a group picture after the interview:

These flowers are the least likely to cause allergic reactions:

Hydrangea
Lilies, asiatic only (anthers have been pulled)
Roses
Orchids – dendrobium, phalaenopsis, mokara, oncidium
Hypericum (coffee, non-blooming varieties)
Carnation
Dahlia
Iris
Tropical flowers – anthurium, heleconia

These flowers have some pollen/fragrance:

Tulips
Daffodils
Chrsanthemums – the double varieties
Gypsophillia – double varieties

Some of the worst culprits are tree pollen and grass pollen.

Here’s a link for some more information: http://ezinearticles.com/?Flowers-For-the-Allergic&id=1857795

We are carrying unique glass hearts from a local artisan, Cindy McQuade, Blown Glass Artist. She has studied internationally as well as locally. Her hearts are beautiful and unique.

In a nutshell, here’s how she makes them. The pictures are amazing. First you gather molten glass – 2150 degrees. Roll into colored glass chips and powder. Melt the chips and powder into the glass. Gather more glass over the first gather of glass and colored chips, this magnifies the colors underneath. Then you shape the glass. After the heart if finished it goes into an annealing oven, – 920 degrees – where at the end of the day the temperature will be brought down slowly to keep the glass from cracking.

Here are some pictures. The one on the end is an assortment of hearts we have for sale.

Flowers:
Our Flower of the month is the unusual Hellebore. It is in the ranunculus family but that’s where the similarity ends. There are so many kinds of hellebores. The plants are typically grown as perennials in shade gardens. Hellebores come in shades of white, green, rose, purple and violet. They will last up to 10 days with the correct care. When you receive your Hellebore, trim a bit off the stems and immediately plunge the stem ends (1/2”) into hot water containing a floral preservative for about 15 seconds. Then put the flowers up to their necks in cool water for a few hours or overnight before arranging.
 
Some hellebores are named for the time of the year in which they bloom. For example, there’s the Christmas-rose, and the Lenten-rose. In fact, both of these will typically be in bloom well into late spring. If given winter protection, the Christmas-rose will bloom throughout the winter months. Our hellebores come from Northern California.

Plants:

How are your phalaenopsis orchids looking? We have some photos to guide you in the proper way of trimming your orchids.

We are going to show you what to do with a not so looking plant. This plant needs help. The first picture shows you an orchid plant with a dead stem (see the color – it’s beige, not green) as well as a green one, except as you can see in the second photo the green stem has a top that is dead. Also note all the roots growing out of the top of the pot. The smaller dark brown branches are birch that is used to support the blooming stem. We are going to trim the dead branches off and also the plant needs to be re-potted.

In the 3rd picture, you can see the node and our hands on either side of this node. We are going to “snap” the branch into two. We could use scissors or a knife but please clean them first with rubbing alcohol before using them to cut off the dead stem. In the 4th and 5th pictures you can see the clean end of the stem.

The 6th picture shows the potted orchid in it’s new pot. The original orchid was planted in moss. When repotting, we remove all the moss and re-plant it in bark.

In the next series of photos, we show a new orchid plant. Notice that there is one bloom open and the others are just buds. This is why in the second photo you see the bloom on the left is dead. This is not a problem, it’s just been around the longest. Just remove that bloom. The others will continue to bloom.

If you have any questions on orchid care, just send us an email: plants@adelaidesflowers.com.

color blocking

Here are some more distinct areas.

And another close-up shot.