A new blog for pics of flowers

Spring's buds of flowers...A fully bloomed daffodil is quite a sight! The following is a link to flowers pics by me, Pinky. Have fun, it's new so check back often or subscribe to the various blog update services.

Admin Professional's Day

Today is the official day for Administrative Professional's Day, and quite often these seasoned pros do receive flowers and plants from their high powered executives. There is usually a week of activities and gift giving as well as other sentiments of appreciation. Flowers and plants are probably the smartest gift to give to the administrative professional for 1 reason: greater productivity. The results of a study sponsored by the SAF, concluded that problem-solving skills, among other skills improved significantly with flowers in the workplace. See SAF to read more about this flower workplace study, and other studies.

Warmer spring brings less flowers

I do not want this to become a flower blog full of doomsday posts, and this is probably the 2nd or 3rd post out of many that seems to highlight of potentially harmful changes to come, but it seems that there are many areas of the world that are seeing the timing of seasonal changes starting to vary, as well as the warming and cooling seasons vary. One example is that in some areas of New York State, flower buds have already developed, due to a milder winter, and unseasonally warm days, then followed by cold snaps. The combination of these factors has stopped the plants from flowering, then subsequent years are not able to seed and therefore reproduce. Other areas of the the U.S. namely the rockies have seen similar instances of warmer springs, bringing on faster snowmelt, taking away the protection of the snow as an insulator and inhibitor to the buds and preventing late season cold snaps from doing as much damage as they otherwise might. Please read more on warmer springs in the Rockies here.

It's Valentine's Day Season again

Once again, it is time to start thinking about your flowers for your sweety. You'll be on your way to a pressure free evening if you can get the flowers delivered to your sweety's workplace. Otherwise, you'll really have to work hard to make her forget that you did not send flowers to her workplace. And, that will take more than just a nice dinner. May I throw out some suggestions? How about organic rose petals drizzled throughout your home? Be careful if you have pets. How about a homemade lavender creme brulee? Sweet and creamy... Dazzle your date with flowers and food, or sweep him/her off their feet with a recipe of flowers with food.

Cut Flowers

According to the California Cut Flower Commission, during fall time, flowers are sent most during Thanksgiving, followed up by Sweetest Day. The voting is still ongoing so for the latest results, please see: http://www.ccfc.org/

Something interesting to note about Sweetest Day is that it was started in the midwest, and seems to be forgotten in other areas of the country. This is interesting as we are seeing that in California, sweetest day may be starting to catch on...This should be welcoming news for those in the cut flower business as California is known as a leader in starting consumer trends. Go Cali!

Flower Drawings / Art

I've been blessed with finding new sites that just radiate - in words - or in this particular case in art - flowers. This blog is all about flower drawings and seems to be from one artist who enjoys using watercolors in her pieces of art. The latest is an unidentifiable blue flower that looks as though it might be a rendition of hydrangeas, but you'll also find tulips in a dancing pitcher, birds of paradise, and even a flowering strawberry plant. Enjoy and peruse the many flower drawings as the blog is titled, but it seems to be more like flowers in fine art. Enjoy the art, and let me know what you think.

Plants and Root Beer

Plants and their integration into one of our favorite beverages - root beer - is one of those recipes that has evolved over the years. Original root beers were a bit different than today's versions. Most of today's versions predominate with wintergreen, and some vanilla. Centuries ago they may have contained ginger, licorice, juniper berries, and usually predominated with Sassafras and Sarsaparilla. The common theme though is that the drink varied by culture and locale and took on its own unique characteristics. It is difficult to find commercial versions of root beers made with these organic plant materials today, but some smaller companies are doing it.

Technically, Historically, Interesting Flowers

I stumbled upon a new, and somewhat technical flower blog the other day. It offers insight into origins, history, and the use of flowers in modern times. One recent post goes so far as to reference the scientific name of the lisianthus used in the anime video game “Shuffle!”. As time goes on, this blog should turn out to be a very well rounded resource for those looking for more of this type of coverage of flowers. This is a very interesting way to follow the path of a flower.

Cinchona Tree

This is the tree that we can thank for quinine, which most importantly was used to ward off malaria or cure those who had it. Today, it is thought to improve circulation and aid in digestion, and still used in hospitals today to help with circulation. The quinine is extracted from the bark of the Cinchona tree, and usually harvested at ten year intervals. It is also used in tonic water, which is used as a mixer for vodka and gin. This use is perceived to have proliferated in the 1800s with the British army in India improving the taste of quinine by adding an alcoholic beverage to it. Today, tonic water has been spoiled by high fructose corn syrup and other cheap ingredients. I'm looking for a tonic water without high fructose corn syrup. Anyone? Anyone?