The Philippines’ Favorite Flowers

In the Philippines, the month of May is about two things – feasts and flowers. All over the country, different places celebrate different kinds of festivals but one event is held everywhere – the Santacruzan procession which is held any time in May.


This festival celebrates the Virgin Mary and young girls who are dressed in white cover the statues of the Virgin with flowers. The whole of the Philippines celebrates Flores de Mayo in honor of the Virgin Mary.

The Kadayawan festival of Davao is usually held on the third week of August. This is mainly a harvest celebration where people dance in merriment for a bountiful harvest of orchids, fruits and flowers. The parade of floats is the main event in the festival.

High in the Cordillera mountain ranges, another flower festival is also held during the start of February. It is a month long celebration for the blossoming of flowers and this festival is aptly named as Panagbenga, an Ilocano term.

Everywhere in the Philippines, the beauty of flowers is highly appreciated – and it’s no wonder why there are so many flower festivals in the country. In a place where hospitality reigns supreme, the atmosphere is of beauty and warmth. Here, sending someone flowers means a lot of things, and it will surely be gratefully received. But before you contact a florist to send flowers to your loved ones in the Philippines, take some time to know about the different favorites of Filipinos. Here are some of them:

1. Ylang Ylang got its name from the Tagalog term for “rare”. It is famous for its fragrant scent which remains unmatched up to this time. Its oils are now used for aromatherapy and are believed to relieve high blood pressure and can normalize sebum secretion for those who have skin problems. The ylang ylang tree is a native of the Philippines and is known to grow in slightly acidic soil. Its flowers are yellow green in color and are shaped like a star fish.

2. Sampaguita is a native of tropical Asia and is the Philippines’ native flower. It’s very petite and is usually made into garlands which are used to welcome dignitaries and honorary symbols. These garlands are sometimes sold in the streets of Manila to adorn vehicles. The flower also has medicinal value and is used as lactifuge, sedative, anaesthetic, and vulnerary.

3. Waling Waling is a rare orchid found in the island of Mindanao, particularly in the foothills of Mount Apo, the tallest mountain in the country. It blossoms seasonally for a two week period, most common during the months of July to December. It is regarded as the “Queen of Philippine Orchids” and is considered as the best orchid variety because of it stunning colors. Because of its captivating traits, it almost became extinct, but was prevented thanks to tissue culture.

4. Dama de Noche is famous for its unusual biorhythm which has become a subject for different myths and legends in the country. Its flowers bloom at night and emit a sweet scent. Unknown to many, Dama de Noche is a native of tropical America.

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Dealing With Rose Diseases That May Ruin Your Rose Gardening Pleasure

Many people could not resist a rose's beauty and scent. These flowers are known to be a bit complicated to grow, but anyone could start rose gardening in the comfort of his own backyard.

To make sure that your most prized roses are in the pink or even red of their health, simply follow these tips on dealing with every rose health dilemma:

1. Black Spots on Leaves

This disease is commonly known as black spot. Black spots appear as circular with fringed edges on leaves. They cause the leaves to yellow. The solution is to remove the infected foliage and pick up any fallen leaves around the rose. Artificial sprays may be used to prevent or treat this kind of rose disease.

2. Stunted or malformed young canes

Known as powdery mildew, this is a fungal disease that covers leaves, stems and buds with wind spread white powder. It makes the leaves to curl and turn purple. Spray with Funginex or Benomyl to treat this fungal disease that could ruin your rose garden.

3. Blistered underside of leaves

A disease of roses known as rust, it is characterized with orange-red blisters that turn black in fall. In spring, it attacks new sprouts. This disease can even survive winter. What you can do is to collect and discard leaves that are infected in fall. Benomyl and Funginex spraying every 7-10 days may help.

4. Malformed or stunted leaves and flowers

What could have caused this is the presence of spider mites. They are tiny yellow, red or green spiders on the underside of leaves. They also suck juices from leaves. The application of Orthene or Isotox may help in treating this infestation.

5. Weak and mottled leaves with tiny white webs under them

This might be caused by aphids. They are small soft-bodied insects that usually brown, green or red. Often clustered under leaves and flower buds, they suck plant juices from tender buds. Malathion or diazinon spray may help roses to survive these bugs.

6. Flowers that don't open or are deformed when they open.

Thrips could be the reason behind this deformation and unopened flowers. It is characterized with slender, brown-yellow bugs with fringed wings thriving in flower buds. They also suck juices from flower buds. One should cut and discard the infested flowers. Using Orthene and malathion may also treat this health problem of your roses.

This valuable information regarding the diseases your roses are prone to have will prove to be very helpful in making your rose gardening endeavor more rewarding.

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Advantages of using artificial bouquets

What’s a celebration without flowers? Flowers add a special touch of warmth, beauty and elegance to every occasion. They are a gentle reminder of the beauty and abundance of nature. So, they are a fitting tribute to the grandeur of any occasion, whether it’s a wedding or a birthday.
It’s not just for an occasion, flower bouquets are valued for their beauty too. You can brighten up any room and liven up any drab corner with the right floral display. Such is the beauty of flowers.

If you’re looking for just the right kind of flower bouquet, you have two choices: natural flower bouquets and artificial bouquets.

Many of us often go through a lot of pain to say it with natural flowers, but natural flowers may not always be the best choice. In fact, there may be occasions when natural flowers are a definite no.

So, let us look at some of the advantages of using artificial bouquets.

Artificial bouquets are available throughout the year. Unlike natural flowers, they are not seasonal. Whether you like roses or calla lilies, poinsettia or geraniums, you can get the blossom of your choice on demand. Silk, satin or velvet can really recreate the magic of real flowers.

Color is a vital part of the floral design. They infuse your bouquet with the right personality and add the necessary drama to the arrangement. While selecting a bouquet, you need to consider three things: ? The occasion and the setting ? The person you are sending the bouquet to ? Your own preferences

With natural flowers, there are too many limitations. But, artificial flowers come in just the shades you might want. You do not have to go from florist to florist, looking for the right shade and right size. If half-opened is what you want, that is what you get. If you want a particular shade of peach or a pearly white rose, they are easily available. In fact, many companies even allow you to shop by the color of the season.

Artificial bouquets are timeless. Dust them every day, wash them once in a while and they are as good as new. These days, you even get bouquets spiced up with beads and other beautiful accessories. In fact, the kind of floral arrangements in artificial bouquets is limited only by the creativity of the maker. Even if you are one of those who want the natural look, there is enough to cater to your tastes too. Some of the artificial bouquets and floral arrangements are so natural that it would be hard for you to decide on the basis of their looks alone whether the arrangement is natural or not.

Artificial flowers are less expensive though they last longer and allow you unlimited freedom. They last forever and you do not have to worry about watering them or removing dead flowers. Just buy them and keep them in the desired location. That’s all there is to it!

At 1888flowermall.com, we carry over 20,000 top quality artificial bouquets & wedding flowers including artificial plants, bushes, garlands, wreaths, fruits, vegetables, and more at discount rates.

The Beautiful Bonsai Flower

If you like the look of tiny flora on your bonsai, then wish perfect acme trees to nurture into tiny versions of their species. Here are a few of the best choices for zenith bonsai:
Mt. Fuji Serissa Mt. Fuji Serissa is prominent for its brilliant ashen colorings on the outer edges of its plants. It also blooms an only fair flower in summer.


Proper concern: likes loads of geniality and sun so place in an appropriate pustule. Wait at the soil to dry before watering and take trouble to keep away from iciness.

Okinawa Holly This ranking has tiny pink flora that develop during the pounce and summer. The leaves are glossy, cavernous green with ragged edges. It's rare, tough and simple to nursing for.

Proper anxiety: this bury is tough, but it grows best in temperatures between 60 and 85 degrees. Let the soil dry completely between waterings, but take bother not to burn as this will stress the deposit. For maintenance, spray mist everyday from spiral to drop and at slightest double daily during the frost months. Fertilize during early mechanism or mid drop double a month.

Flowering Quince This ranking comes from Asian countries like Japan, China and Korea and has a superb parade of pallid and red plants on bare twigs. One of the world's desired zenith bonsai, the peak quince has great adaptability. The leaves have faint, tiny teeth and flowers grow in stringent clusters. One of the best skin of this factory is that it produces perfumed green and blonde fruits.

Proper attention: it may be tough, but if you want the best trouble, give the flowering quince a lot of sunlight and soil that is well-drained between waterings. Don't place this plant in a clammy environment and use stuffed, well soil. Don't overwater and cut a few of the elder branches yearly to promote unkempt advance.


Lavender Star Flower This is an evergreen hierarchy that grows native to Africa and Australia. There are about 400 species of this tree all over the world. The Lavender Starred Flower is taller than most flowering bonsai and can attain 10 inches in maturity. Its flower is its best star, since the shade is a handsome purple.

Proper worried: this tree needs bags of supervise sunlight, so try to expose it during the early mornings and keep it near the screen where it can saturate up more light. Keep the soil humid but not wet. For best health, mix one part sandpaper and two parts peat moss. Use slightly acidic fertilizer about thrice a year and shake with iron supplement yearly.

Australia's Largest Flower Show

Wednesday 28th March, Sunday 1st April, 2007
Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens Melbourne Australia. The world renowned Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show is entering its 12th year and is now regarded as the largest and most successful horticultural event in the Southern Hemisphere, rated amongst the top five flower and garden shows in the world.

Francine Rizza, of online Melbourne Florist says this prestigious flower show provides a great opportunity for a florist to showcase their skill's. Francine has exhibited her talent as a leading florist at the show and has won numerous awards for her skill as a fresh flower artist.

Francine continues; I was first selected about 8 years ago to exhibit in the Melbourne International flower show. The National Flower Centre Melbourne ran a competition to which they invited florists to submit an outline of a fresh flower display they wished to exhibit. My plan was a winner. Each florist was then given a $6,000.00 sponsorship to use to build their display. The florists were excited by this prospect and were then expected to order all flowers required as well as props. The florists created amazing flower displays. It was a real chance for the florist to really showcase their skill as a florist in a very large display and venue.

My display was featuring fairies in a beautiful woodland filled with pastel flowers. Even the fairies were adorned with costumes of flowers and moss! The male fairy was dressed in guilded leaves and was dressed in a costume of fresh bush moss. He carried a wand made from an agapanthus flower head. I hired huge urns and filled them with many different types of flowers including lizianthus, delphinium, roses, Lillies and purple and lilac carnations. All of my family as well as friend, butler trainer Josephine Ive were involved in the mammoth floral creation. I'm quite sure I must have been the only Australian florist with her own International butler!

Our flower display was a real "Show Stopper"! It was difficult for the crowd to advance.

At that time our florist studio was located in Kew, Melbourne Victoria. It was called 'In Vogue Flowers'. Not only were we delighted, our customers were very excited too. I had by now gained a lot of respect from them as a skilled florist. This was a great advancement for my career as a florist and we were now being described as a leading Melbourne florist!

The following year I was once again invited, this time by management of the flower show to participate. They offered me a huge floor space of 44sq metres on the main floor, amongst all the large fresh flower growers and wholesale florists. It took me 3 days to pick myself up off the floor and tell friends and family the good news. I just couldn't believe I had been asked. I was the only retail florist in Melbourne and Australia to be given this honour. My career as a leading Melbourne florist had really begun.

This time we were given a guideline, the theme the florist had to abide by was titled "Reflections". We were instructed not to think of mirrors or water reflections, but other meanings of reflections. My great plan was blown apart and I had to come up with another idea.

Suddenly it came to me! I would create a flower display using 2 huge 8 x 12 ft [2.4 x 3.6 metres], guilt frames back to back in the centre which would represent a mirror. I then hired 2 identical mannequins and had one made up with harsh make-up, black cropped hair and long black eye lashes. I dressed her in a black sequinned dress and high heeled shoes. The other lady I dressed as a lady from the 1900's. Her make-up was soft and pastel, her hair was jet black and was placed up in an elaborate style. I hired her costume from "Malcolm's Costume Hire", Collingwood. It was an elaborate, richly coloured gown from the opera "Don Giovanni". I place them either side of the mirror reflecting their image. They were twins, born 100 years apart looking at one another with fascination.

Now for the flower display, I hired huge Grecian terracotta pots, some standing as high as 5ft, [167.6 centimetres]. The pots varied both in size and shape. All had a matching partner and were placed to reflect one another. On the modern side of the flower display they were filled with brightly coloured flowers such as gerbera, heliconia and lilliums. The display on the opposite side representing the 1900's was all in pastel, white, cream and lemon flowers. It was real class! I hired 2 beautiful mahogany arm chairs and requested the restorer upholster them both in florists foam so they could be elaborately decorated in flowers. They were displayed in a reflective manner. The deception was complete!

I really knew I had achieved, when I overheard 2 ladies having a conversation, One remarked to the other; "Oh my god, it isn't a mirror"! She had been adequately deceived!

For me as a florist, having been asked to participate in the Melbourne Flower Show has been a highlight in my career for which I shall be forever proud and grateful.

Staged, within the world heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building and surrounding south Carlton Gardens, the Melbourne International Flower Show is well established and features the best landscape and florist talent that Australia has to offer along side an extensive array of garden retail products.

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show is a celebration of Australian lifestyle and our great outdoors. Along with residents and visitors to Melbourne, florists can be inspired by the vast range of fresh flower displays and learn about the care of flowers direct from the fresh flower experts and the flower growers.

A few facts about the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show:

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) is renowned for attracting record visitor crowds many from around the world. It is an established national "Hallmark Event" with a very successful nine year history. MIFGS holds the reputation of being the biggest and best annual flower and garden show in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Show attracts quality and leading edge florist and landscape designers. The venue, the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, is unique and second to none in its ambiance, which sets the event apart from anything else in the country.

The event has the support and participation of key industry bodies including NGIV, Flowers Victoria, the LIAV and AILA, plus active participation from leading Horticultural colleges and universities throughout Victoria and Australia.

About the Author:
The Melbourne
flower shop offers a diverse range of stunning fresh flowers
to the Melbourne area including interflora.

Finding The Perfect Flowers For Mother’s Day

On Mother’s Day, sending flowers is one of the best ways to show your love to all the special mothers in your life. Sorting through the endless array of flowers to match the endless array of personalities your mothers possess makes finding the perfect flowers quite a challenge. From the multitude of colors, meanings, and smells each flower conveys, your mission to make sure your mothers get just the right arrangement can become overwhelming. Hopefully, the following guide can help you sort through the petals to find an arrangement that sends the exact meaning you want to convey this Mother’s Day.

The Messages Hidden in a Flower’s Color

As most people may know, different flowers have different meanings. Pink carnations are acknowledged as the traditional flower for Mother's Day because they symbolize sweetness, purity and endurance. Red flowers are known to represent life and love, hence red roses for Valentine’s Day. White flowers with their sweet fragrance are regarded as the flowers for those who miss their mothers either because of death, or because of distance.


The flowers that you choose for your mother should express the love and respect that you have for her. Some examples of flowers that could be given to mom on Mother’s Day are mixed or white lilies, white daisies, gerbera daisies, orchids, and roses. Roses are always very popular flowers to give. And if you decide on roses, the appropriate colors are pink, white, yellow, or orange.

Creativity in the Floral Arrangement

You always have the choice of sending something traditional or getting very creative when choosing your flowers. For example, you can choose to send mom her favorite flower, or select a beautiful array of colors that are sure to make her smile. And if you don’t know what your mother’s favorite flowers are, well now’s the time to get to know mom a little better, now isn’t it?

Look around at her décor and see what matches perfectly with other items in the room. Are there salient shades that the perfect bouquet can bring out even more? Is there a color scheme that she seems to follow? An arrangement that complements the scheme is sure to please her, and let her know that you do notice the “little” things. The delight is in the details when you use your creativity this Mother’s Day.


Choosing the perfect Mother's Day Flowers may seem like takes a lot of thought, but the simplicity of it all lies in the fact that no matter whether you send roses, carnations, or tulips, she’s going to be pleased. The look in her eyes as she leans her head in to smell the beautiful freshly cut flowers will tell you that everything you did to make the day perfect for mom was well worth it.


Flowers are always a sign of love and respect, and they have the power to bring a smile to every woman’s face. It is a gift that you can bring to mom yourself or it can be delivered by the flower shop that you purchase them from. So whether she is down the street and around the corner or at the other end of the country, you can always give flowers for Mother’s Day or any day you want her to feel extra special.

Garden Plants in Profile: Roses

What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.

This famous quote by Shakespeare from Romeo and Juliet is just one of many references to this flower that has the ability to invoke so much emotion worldwide. Widely regarded as a universal symbol of love, roses are sent as a display of affection.

The rose itself is a perennial flowering shrub that originates from the Rosaceae family. Rose bushes can be found in many guises and fall in two main types. These are climbing/trailing plants and erect shrubs. Characteristically, roses are well known for their flower shape, which typically consists of five leaves and their thorny stems.

There are well over 100 species of rose and many hybrids are in existence. The majority of original rose types originate in Asia but other species have found to be native of Europe, North America, and northwest Africa. Roses have been used throughout history for their smell and have been utilised in other forms such as rose water. It is also started that roses became popular in Europe in and around the 1800's when they first stated being imported from China.

Some roses however are better recognised than others, an example of which is the tea rose. This rose got its name because its scent was somewhat reminiscent of a newly opened sample of the choicest tea. Originating in China, the tea rose is often regarded by discerning plant lovers as having the best colour and appearance.

Another popular rose is the floribunda, which grows as rose bushes and produces multiple flowers on each stem. Fantastic for bedding displays these roses are often thought to look their best in larger quantities although still can be seen as individually beautiful too. Some people have even argued that the floribunda may even be a better variety of rose than the tea.

The rose compliments much of our product range, such as the commemorative rose. An example includes the Rememberance rose with its beautiful dark orange/red bloom.

Climbing or rambling roses are great since they can offer good coverage and again typically have hybrid tea and floribunda origin. Due to their nature of growth, these roses will give maximum effect when trained to grow horizontally as more shoots will be produced than allowing it to grow vertically. There are however some differences between climbers and ramblers such as climbing roses having five leaves whereas a rambler generally has seven. Stems from climbers are also usually more rigid.

Of course, there are a plethora of rose types and these are just some of the most popular types. When it comes to growing techniques, rose bushes tend to prefer to be placed in well-drained, fertile soil and thrive in open sunny sites. Pruning and deadheading is needed when maintaining roses and keeping a good rose garden is seen by some as an art form or labour of love.

Whichever type of rose you prefer, they can be a great addition to any garden. Rose bushes can be a beautiful focal point and look equally as good on their own as they do as part of a larger flowerbed. By simply following the instructions on how to grow and keep your flowers looking their best will ensure that your rose bushes will be an eye-catching feature for you to enjoy.



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