Nano -Technology and Flowers!

Interesting little read.

                Searching the web for info on flowers and plants, I came across an interesting little article about flowers and the field of Nano –Technology. 

                Anyone who is in the flower industry or who receives flowers knows that the life span of fresh cut flowers is 4 to 12 days at most.  This research suggest that maybe there is some hope to prolong this time  to around 12 to 20 days with the use of silver nano particles in the vase water.

                I am going to get a little techie here so bear with me.  What causes, your flowers to decay are the, bacteria which after a few days, will start to grow in the vase water of your flower arrangement.  The bacteria will grow so much that it will then start to block the xylem vessels responsible for the water uptake of your flowers.  What keeps your flowers looking fresh is the water uptake through those xylem vessels.  Therefore it is the blockage of the xylem vessels by the bacteria in the vase water which causes the flowers to wilt.  We can see this by the cloudy water, and browning of the stem bottoms after a few days.  This is why we request to our customers to change the water and re-cut the bottom of the stems when you notice the water getting cloudy.

                 Now we need to give credit where credit is due.   This study was conducted by: Seyed Hossein NEMATI, Ali TEHRANIFAR, Behnam ESFANDIARI*, Azar REZAEI.  From the Department of Horticultural Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Faculty of Agriculture, Mashhad, Iran.  What the scientists did was to do an experiment, in which they would add silver nano particles to the vase water of floral arrangements.  The flowers used were ornamental lilies.   Using different sized silver Nano particles, about 20nm average give or take, they found that Nano silver treatments significantly enhanced the vase life of cut flowers. 

                There conclusions of the study are that the silver nano particles get drown into a plants xylem vessels keeping them open and thus the flower hydrated longer, The silver nano particles also help to slow down the process of the bacteria blocking the xylem Vessels .  Thus making your arrangement last longer.  FANTASTIC!! Now I have only one Question?  WHERE IN THE HELL CAN I BUY ME SOME SILVER NANO PARITCLES.? 

Wanna Get Lucky!

O.k. People get your head out of the toilet. This is a clean pg rated blog. Got your attention though didn't it. I want to share an experience of mine. It shows just how powerful flowers can be. A customer of Al Medina Floral and Gifts recently went through a very messy divorce.  Her habit was to come and buy a flower bouquet for her moms grave at the funeral home down the street once a week.  I Noticed that for a few weeks she seemed quiet when picking up her flowers, usually she had something to say.  So I asked How are you, and if everything was o.k. That was when she told me of her divorce.  I listened and reassured her that all would be o.k.  After all everyone knows the old saying " life must go on". She came for two more weeks and after that She quit.  So after about 3 weeks of her not showing up for the weekly bouquet we

decided to just send her a bouquet of flowers with a note that said " Hope all is well from your friends at Al Medina Floral" .  The very next day we get a phone call from the customer,  Thinking us for the flowers and how happy she was to know that someone was thinking of her. Turns out that after the divorce she went into severe depression to the point that she was just staying in the house not wanting to go or do anything. What she told me next is why i am writing  to you.  She told me that the flowers I sent, just out of the blue, showed her that people do care which helped her to get out of bed and start enjoying her life again.  The lesson I have learned is care for others! if there is someone who you know is upset of acting different ask if they are o.k. Listen and don't judge. Its also good to give a little something, just for the sake of giving. If we can all do a little of this we are truly lucky in our lives and business.

Indo/pak weddings

The Desi South Asian Wedding season is in full swing at the shop. Orders are coming in daily for the wedding Harr or wedding Garland. So for those who don't know much about South Asian Culture a Harr or Wedding Garland is a necklace of flowers worn around the neck of the bride and groom during there ceremony.  The most common request are roses and carnations. Some clients request all carnations.

or a mix of carnations and roses,

Back in the South Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Napal the Harr's are made with jasmine buds which are tied together with the strings. However here in the States This extremely fragarent flower is not available, and if imported would mean prices which no one is willing to pay.

Succulents!  I am amazed of the huge popularity of these little guys.  We are getting request left and right for these easy to care for drought resistant plants. Our designers have been busy trying to incorporate them in anything and everything. Customers are requesting them in floral wedding bouquets and corsages.

Potted succulents are especially popular right now. I mean whats not to love about the little guys. If in the home or at the office, just water once every 2 weeks and they are good to go. At the shop we have them all over the place and no matter where we put them they do just fine.

With over 2,000 different varieties to choose from its hard so see how anyone could get tired of  working and designing with them.