Ton Verzijl has been running his own flower shop in Holland for a quarter of a century. During this time, he has also been traveling the world training florists and shop personnel. Through the years, he has visited hundreds of wholesalers. With each visit, he sees something that could be done better.
Just as a flower shop tries to entice consumers to buy their products, wholesalers should do the same thing with the florists. In his training, Ton therefore deals with the four “Ps” from the marketing mix – product, price, place and promotion.
Incognito
When he wants to show a wholesaler what his business looks like to others, Ton first visits him incognito as an ordinary customer. This way, he can take a leisurely look at the product presentations and how the wholesaler receives his visitors and talks to customers. “If I arrive in the afternoon for a training session, I see some people looking a bit flustered. “Shoot, you are the trainer,” they call out in despair.” Verzijl says with a hearty laugh. Making people aware that they can do their work better is the first step to actual improvement.
The Los Angeles Flower District is the Los Angeles area’s premiere flower market resource for flower growers, shippers, suppliers, floral wholesalers, distributors, floral designers, event planners and retail florists in the floriculture and horticulture industries. Just a stone’s throw away from downtown Los Angeles, the Flower District and its flower markets and members are convenient to major freeways and only minutes from major cities and commercial centers, facilitating the flow of floral products from field to consumer. read more
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Some new treats are available for the holidays, but don’t look for them in the candy aisle or bakery — try the florist instead.
These indulgences are eye candy, with names like Christmas Cookie, Santa Claus Candy, Peppermint, Champagne and Plum Pudding. The food-themed names belong to several new varieties of poinsettia developed this year.
University of Florida environmental horticulturist James Barrett said companies in California and Germany that developed the roughly two dozen new strains of poinsettias for this year are responsible for naming the new varieties.
“All the Christmas names related to food are fairly interesting and new for poinsettias because we haven’t had those types of names before,” said Barrett, a professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. [ read more ]
History and Legend The Aztecs called poinsettias “Cuetlaxochitl.” During the 14th - 16th century the sap was used to control fevers and the bracts (modified leaves) were used to make a reddish dye.Montezuma, the last of the Aztec kings, would have poinsettias brought into what now is Mexico City by caravans because poinsettias could not be grown in the high altitude. Continue Reading »
Around 120 million years ago, when the dinosaurs ruled the land, much of the world was covered by primordial forest, and plant life was rapidly becoming diverse, flowering plants were evolving and one of the first of these was the orchid.
As the world underwent many changes species of both plant and animal life died out or were replaced, but the orchid family expanded, populating every corner of the world except Antarctica, living on trees, rocks, in the ground or under it, tropical rainforest or lush grassland, high mountain or bog, they thrived, nothing seems capable of upsetting their evolutionary process , indeed it is generally accepted that in the world today, there are around 35,000 different species of orchid in existence; many myths abound concerning them, the most common of which is that they are parasitical plants, this is not so, orchids grow on trees - true, but they do not feed from them, they use the host merely as somewhere to be.
A truly blue rose has been the Holy Grail of rose breeders since 1840, when the horticultural societies of Britain and Belgium offered a prize of 500,000 francs to the first person to produce a blue rose.
Molecular geneticists with Florigene and Suntory achieved the prize that had long eluded conventional rose breeders by combining something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. [ read more ]
The Open Day, to be held at UQ Gatton campus on August 20, will give commercial native flower growers an inside view of the latest research being conducted by the CNF on native plants - including plant breeding, plant production and postproduction issues. [ read more ]
The sixth China International Garden & Flower Exposition will open on the Zhongzhou Island of Jimei, Xiamen from September 23, 2007 to March 2008. The sixth China International Garden & Flower Exposition will open on the Zhongzhou Island of Jimei, Xiamen from September 23, 2007 to March 2008.
Construction on the venue, the Xiamen International Garden & Flower Expo Park, is close to completion. With an area of 6.76 square kilometers, it is expected to become the world’s largest park on the sea. Altogether 24 cities from abroad and 44 Chinese cities will show their gardens and flowers. [ read more ]
Did you know that the aromatic Lavender flower is also a remedy? What a pity it is less known than other medicinal and useful plants. We’re presenting you some of the most used lavender home made products.
Lavender powder plant
Grind the lavender plant till you’ll obtain a lavender powder then introduce it in a tight closed glass jar. Put the lavender powder jar in a cool dark place. Take one spoon of lavender powder thrice a day, by keeping it under the tongue for 10-15 minutes and then swallow with water. We want to warn you that the lavender powder is kind a bitter in spite of its sweet scent. That’s why it’s preferred the lavender tincture as a treatment. Continue Reading »
Lavender is a real treasure in the kitchen too. Besides its medicinal benefits, Lavender is used as a spice. Lavender spice is a loosing weight natural remedy, by reducing the appetite, because the lavender helps the digestive system. Mix the lavender with thyme in a 1/5 proportion and you’ll obtain a special spice for the most delicious and most refined meals. Continue Reading »
Lavandula is a flowering plants genus from family Lamiaceae. Commonly known as Lavender, the plant is an evergreen small shrub, native of Mediterranean region and of North Africa and South-East Asia.
Between Lavender species, there are some commonly grown Lavenders: Lavandula latifolia, Lavandula pedunculata, Lavandula stoechas. From 25-30 Lavender species, the most known is Lavandula angustifolia, very appreciated for its medicinal uses and healthy benefits. This aromatic plant entered in traditional medicine of Europeans, wide spreading and being quickly adopted and used for its therapeutic capacities. Continue Reading »
The white flowers are a reason to relax and enjoy your time in the home garden. The white means purity, innocence and satisfaction. The white flowers are gladding the eyes and soul. Especially when you’re a busy man and you got tired after a full week, the white garden is the perfect answer. If your only chance to admire the home garden is in the evening, we are suggesting you to choose to garnish the garden with white Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana affinis). In Romania, we like to call it the Queen of the night, because of its blooming in evening and also of its special calming effects scent.
Description
Coming from South America, Nicotiana Flowering Tobacco sweetens the hot summer air, without being such a decorating plant. The love and appreciation for Nicotiana affinis comes from the perfume that its flowers are spreading in the air. Flowering tobacco is a flowering shrub which can reach even 1 m in height. The flowering tobacco’s leaves are a kind of silky and the flowers seem like little trumpets very bright colored. There are white flowers as well as pink, purple, red, yellow, violet flowering tobacco’s flowers. Continue Reading »
The flowers are a part of our life, excite and make us happy and also the flowers give us a reason to show the purest and sincerest feelings. A flower will never be associated to the lie, hypocrisy and cheat. By itself, the flower can command respect and also bring to light the deepest emotions.
More often, the flowers are the messenger of love and passion and respect, making the eyes and especially the soul happy. Therefore maybe the wedding bouquet is one of the most important accessories for a bride to be. In the most special moment in a girl’s life, all has to be perfect as she always dreamed. And the wedding bouquet is for the bride, she is carrying it during all day long. That’s way she’s the one who chooses the flowers, her favorite flowers and her favorite colors. Because the flowers will complete the bride and put forward her feelings and her unique personality. Continue Reading »
Related to medicinal and useful plants, we want to present you the benefits of the White water lily (Nymphaea alba L.) and of the Yellow water lily (Nuphar lutea).
Both of water lily species above are perennial aquatic plants, growing in ponds or stagnant waters with 1.5-2 m deepness (if it’s about white water lily) or 3m, for yellow water lily. Water lilies are rooted in substratum and their flowers and leaves float on the water surface. Continue Reading »
Montezuma, the last of the Aztec kings, would have poinsettias brought into what now is Mexico City by caravans because poinsettias could not be grown in the high altitude. 
