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Gardens to see Daffodils

March 26, 2010 By 5 Comments
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The Daffodil

Daffodils are known as the flower for March birthdays, so would be a great idea for a gift and personalised birthday card.

In the language of flowers the daffodil means–

  • Regard
  • Respect

This greeting cards is available through our online shop – Easter Cards

I think this flower would be most appropriate for use in business, as well as for a personal message.

Business strive to be respected in their given profession, and want to show respect to their customers /clients.

It could also be a great gift to give someone as a thank you.


Various cultures and religions have various associated meanings with this flower –

  • The Greeks have a rather sad mythology associated with this flower, involving a punishment from God for our human failures, such as the story of Adonis. There was also a man named Narcissus who thought of himself better than anyone else. He died staring into his own reflection in a pool of water. A flower grew where he died and was named the narcissus.
  • Psychologists use the term ‘narcissist’ to describe those who are obsessed with themselves, excluding all others.
  • The Egyptians used the daffodil bulb skins as part of their burial ceremony.
  • Christians associate the daffodil with re birth and resurrection; the daffodil is used as a symbol of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We use the daffodil as a part of our Easter card collection for this reason.
  • On ‘Mothering Sunday’ or ‘Mother’s Day’ – it’s traditional to give your mum daffodils. The tradition goes back to when those who were in service (maids and servants), were allowed the day off from work to visit their families. As a gift to their mums they would pick wildflowers, including the daffodil. In church services, it’s common for Mums to be given daffodils as part of the service celebrating this day.
  • The Daffodil is the emblem for Wales – also worn with pride on St David’s day (Welsh - Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant) St David is the patron saint of Wales and the celebration takes place on the 1st of March.
  • William Wordsworth in 1804 wrote a poem called Daffodils. To hear Jeremy Irons read it beautifully -  Daffodils
  • The Marie Curie Cancer Charity has the daffodil as their emblem.

Here is some information about the lovely daffodil

  • The Latin name for the daffodil is narcissus.
  • There are thousands of different types of daffodil.
  • Due to the huge number of varieties, they have been divided into 13 specific groups to help narrow them down to particular styles, shape, growing conditions and so on…
  • Plant them from September onwards to flower in the following spring.
  • Need help with growing daffodils? -  Then The RHS have provided a helpful guide – Daffodils
  • Daffodil Bulbs are a tasty treat to snails and slugs, and squirrels have been known to dig them up. They are also prone to diseases such as bulb rot.
  • You can grow them indoors as well as outdoors. The indoor varieties brighten up your living space and often have a wonderful smell.
  • Advice from Gardener’s world suggest that the best varieties to grow indoors are -

-          Grand Soleil d’Or an early flowering narcissus

-          Minnow

Gardens to admire the beauty of the daffodil

Daffodils tend to be a park favourite, and you may also see them planted alongside roads and roundabouts.

– Daffodils at Glencoyne Bay, Ullswater

-  ‘Doras Field’

We have daffodil cards and a daffodil tote bag.

Please see our online shop for further details – www.sendaflowercard.com

Where are your favourite gardens to see daffodils?

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floral gifts

March 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Gerbera Mother's Day cards

I have been mainly focusing on personalised cards using my flower photography for the past two years.

My floral gift collection includes personalised totebags and notebooks, as well as coasters and candle holders which will be available to buy through my website soon.

For those who enjoy gardening we have the lovely ranges – Pocket Garden and Bee Good candles from Canova

Within the last few months we have been working towards providing a larger complementing gift range using my flower images.

Many customers and friends have asked if my flower photography was available as framed or canvas prints, so I have been working to expand my range. The below image is an example of the prints available to buy. They would make a lovely Easter or Birthday gift, bringing a touch of nature to your living space.

As well as my special collection of floral art prints, I am pleased to be able to tell you that we are now able to provide a range of personalised mugs, t-shirts, aprons, baby outfits, shoes, tote bags and so on through our zazzle shop.

Nigella Love-in-a-mist slip on shoes kedsshoe

I am particulary excited to have my floral prints available on shoes.

I hope you will like my collection.

If you are interested in our gift range please visit my website for further details. – www.sendafloralgift.com Sunflower Apron apron

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Other places to see snowdrops

March 8, 2010 By 2 Comments
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Last week, I went on my annual trip with my dad, looking for snowdrops.

Snowdrops in the Dorset and Hampshire region have flowered quite late this year and after all the cold windy weather we have been having, some snowdrops which are open to all the elements, have had a rough time holding their delicate heads held high.

In the language of flowers the snowdrop means – A friend in adversity and hope.

If you know someone who is having a hard time, a trip to see the lovely snowdrop is sure to life their spirit.

Now is the time to plant snowdrops ‘in the green.’ Planting them now will give you a fantatstic display next year.

On my day out we decided on visiting 2 areas that we knew would be excellent to see this lovely flower.

Damerham church has the wow factor of several thousand snowdrops planted together in the church grave yard. They often hold special snowdrops days to welcome visitors. It was lovely to see, and just how I remembered.

The snowdrops were beautiful, even though they were a little windswept. If you want to see snowdrops in their thousands, then this is a lovely place to visit next year.

We then moved on to Breamore church.

As we carefully moved around the wonderous display of snowdrops in the pretty church yard, I counted around 5 different varieties growing there. There was probably more, but this was the number I spotted. These snowdrops had a little more protection from the elements than the ones at Damerham, so there was plenty of opportunities to photograph them.

There was also a lovely area of winter aconites.

The yellow of the aconites and white and green of the snowdrops had a really fresh, spring feel.

I watched Countryfile the other week, and the presenter looking at snowdrops in Scotland said he thought snowdrops looked all the same. Well if you view them from a far, you may agree. It’s not really until you examine the detail of each of them, that you will see how different and special they can be. It’s epecially hard to see the differences, due to the fact that they are low to the ground, and the flower heads point downwards.

This particular snowdrop wanted the world to see her beauty, as this flower head was pointing outwards. I was so pleased to have spotted this one and capture the image. I have heard of some people using dental mirrors to see the insides of low growing flowers, and I can quite see how useful this would be.

If you like this snowdrop image, it is available to buy as a framed, mounted or canvas print

As I have said before you can see beautiful flowers all over the place. You don’t always need to go to a specific garden to see them, it’s often fun to look into alternative places, such as church yards, roundabouts etc…

Where are your favourite places to go?

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Crocuses

March 1, 2010 By 2 Comments
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In the language of flowers the Crocus stands for cheerfulness!

I think this has a wonderful meaning; can you not help but smile when you see their stunning display? I can’t.

I was looking for some new areas to find the crocus treat last year. Matt (my husband) came back one day from work and took me for a surprise trip to Kinson in Bournemouth. I must admit, I wondered why Kinson was the place to be that particular day, but I was told to shut my eyes as we came to a gradual stop in the car. All of a sudden he said ‘open your eyes’ and there before me was a purely blissful sight to see. It was like a sweetshop for crocuses, in shades of lilac, blue, yellow and white.  These beautiful flowers were planted in their hundreds around a couple of trees in a urban area. I don’t know if they were planted by the council gardeners, or if a gardener planted it as a surprise for their neighbours, for whatever reason it was gorgeous and I can’t wait to make a return visit.

crocuses

Here is some information about the crocus

Crocus – plural Crocuses or Croci is a perennial flowering plant

They grow in Europe, North Africa, Asia.

There are more than 100 species!

There are three types of Crocus – Early spring, late spring and autumn flowering

crocuses

Early spring flowering Crocus flowers from February and March.

Late spring flowering Crocus flowers from March to April (these tend to be Dutch Crocuses.) crocuses

This variety tends to be larger than the early spring and autumn varieties.

Autumn Flowering Crocus called the Colchicum is also referred to as Meadow Saffron, but don’t try adding this to your cooking as it is poisonous, just admire their beauty. These flower from September through to November and quite easy to grow.

There is a wonderful display of colours found in the Crocus family. Like the Snowdrop and Bluebell they are beautiful singly, but are also amazing in large numbers grouped together.

Crocuses are wonderful planted under and around trees, lawns, borders and in containers. When you visit the garden centre around spring time, you will often see lovely displays of this lovely flower grouped together with other spring bulbs such as daffodils.

You may have also spotted in various shops gift sets including this pretty flower; you can grow them inside for a little colour too – this could be an idea for a Christmas gift!

If you want to create a natural look when planting your crocuses, gardeners often advise that you drop them carefully onto the area you wish to plant them, and plant the bulbs where they land for a less formal look.

The good news is that the Crocus doesn’t usually fall foul to disease, but they are a tasty treat for squirrels and rabbits! If squirrels and / or rabbits are nibbling your crocus bulbs, try planting the bulbs deeper in the soil.

If you want to know what the weather will be like, you can usually spot the signs displayed by your flowers. On a bright sunny day you will see the crocus shining brightly for all to see. When it is a wet dull day, they tend to close their bowl shaped petals.

To see some lovely samples of crocuses that you can buy, then please visit  - Rare Plants

Where to see the Crocus?

  • Most towns will have an area for the popular crocus, so ask around and see if someone can share their favourite places to go.
  • As with snowdrops, old church grounds are often a good place to see Crocuses
  • Broadleigh Gardens in Somerset
  • The Garden House in Devon
  • Kew Gardens in Surrey. (Have a look and see their amazing crocus carpet)
  • Any of the RHS Gardens are a good place to visit. Wisley again has the national collection, and is a must visit garden!
  • National Trust Gardens such as Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire

Why not help raise money for the Breakthrough Cancer Charity, by participating in, or organising a crocus walk. For more details please see Crocus walk

Where is your favourite place to admire crocuses?

If you love crocuses we have a crocus greeting card and crocus totebag in our online shop.

We also have a crocus print available as a mounted, framed or canvas print.

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