Ten of Britain's rarest wild flowers

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  Thyme broomrape Orobanche alba
  It is always rather thrilling to find a broomrape. Like oysters and toadstools, these plants are strange, ugly and alluring, like a species that you would find on the moon. This species is parasitic on wild thyme and you will always find it in close proximity to a good colony of wild thyme on dry cliffs and grasslands in plant-rich places, such as the Lizard in Cornwall. It opens purplish red, gradually browning to brick red as it ages.

  Jonathan Buckley

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  Spring gentian Gentiana verna
  Gentians have a colour named after them as their hue is so intense. Only green alkanet comes near it (and it is not native) and the fact that spring gentian lives in such high and austere places makes it even more miraculous. The plant itself has never seemed particularly beautiful to me – it is too much like a cigarette holder with a flower stuffed in the end – but its deep blue colour, which pales as the flower ages, is the reason why it is always such a thrill to find it.

  Jonathan Buckley

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  Mountain avens Dryas octopetala
  A deliciously pretty plant, made all the more so by the contrast with the rocky, brutal places where it tends to grow. The seed heads are almost as showy as the flowers, looking like the ragged flight feathers of a slightly bedraggled duck. These look best when backlit, giving the hillsides and promontories where they grow a soft, white halo. Its leaves resemble miniature oak leaves – hence its Latin genus name, Dryas, after dryad, the nymphs of the oak tree.

  Jonathan Buckley

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  Grass-of-Parnassus Parnassia palustris
  I am not the only one to count grass-of-Parnassus among my favourite plants. It is common in damp places with high rainfall and I used to find lots of it during childhood holidays on the west coast of Scotland. It was given the name grass-of-Parnassus after it was found on Mount Parnassus in Greece.

  Jonathan Buckley

 

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  Pasqueflower Pulsatilla vulgaris
  These are the Vogue models of the wild-flower kingdom. Have a really close look at them. The golden yellow anthers at the flower’s centre are a perfect contrast to the velvet-textured purple petals. A gentle fuzz of very fine hairs covers the calyx and leaves. The feathery, anemone-like seed pods are also exquisite. These are worth travelling miles to see.

  Jonathan Buckley

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  Early spider orchid Ophrys sphegodes
  The name of this exotic-looking orchid comes from the fat, velvety lip of its flower. Furry on the outside, with a smooth, hairless, reflective patch in the centre, the two parts together suggest a fat spider. But it is bees, not spiders, which flock to this plant. The male solitary bee Andrena nigroaenea attempts to mate with it, collecting pollen on its head, which it then deposits on other flowers. This is less successful than it sounds: self-pollination is thought to be the main process by which the flowers set seed.

  Jonathan Buckley

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  Green-winged orchid Anacamptis morio
  The best time to see green-winged orchids is at first light on a clear morning when every buttercup and every grass blade is glassy with dew, and spider’s webs are highlighted and haloed around the orchids. Marden Meadow in Kent is one of the best green-winged orchid sites in Britain. The field is turned magenta for most of May and into early June, so vivid that you might notice it as you whistle past on the London train. The stripes on its hood give it the alternative name of green-veined orchid.

  Jonathan Buckley

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  Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris
  This is our most exotic flower, its chequered bells look like stained glass when the light shines through them, each pale cell outlined by a darker frame. The reason fritillaries are now so rare is that, as bulbs, they can be destroyed by just one ploughing of a site where they may have been for centuries. You can spray a meadow with herbicides when the fritillary bulbs are not in active growth and you will hardly touch them, but ploughing breaks the bulbs.

  Jonathan Buckley

   

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  Lady orchid Orchis purpurea
  Its name makes it sound like a delicate beauty, but second to lizard orchid, lady orchid is the biggest orchid we have in Britain. A good specimen is hard to trump. You can spot the best spikes from 100 yards away, each one a lighthouse of colour amid the short, chalk grassland on the half-shady edge of a wood. The plant can stand a good 45cm high, the flower section a fifth or sixth of the total height, with up to 40 ladies, each just bigger than a thumbnail, partying at the top.

  Jonathan Buckley 

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  Fly orchid Ophrys insectifera
  This is an exciting orchid to find, each flower a black and conker-brown fly. It has, in fact, evolved to resemble a small female wasp and emits pheromones to attract male wasps. As the wasp attempts to mate with the flower, its head becomes coated with pollen, which it carries from plant to plant. This is not very successful: pollination rates are low, with less than 20% of flowers setting seed.

  Jonathan Buckley

A Valentine's flower guide for helpless enviromantics

How can you reduce the environmental impact of your Valentine's bouquet – and still pick the best of the bunch?

A rose on a black background
A classic Valentine's gift – but how green is the red rose? Photograph: Getty

Greening up the most traditional of Valentine's Day gifts is harder than you'd think, since most cut flowers are imported by plane at this time of year. Fortunately a number of specialist florists mean you can reduce the environmental impact of your blooms by buying locally-grown and Fairtrade options. I've rounded up five below.
Eco concerns
• The CO2 produced from transporting and growing flowers. British-grown flowers such as red tulips are theoretically the best way to reduce the CO2 emitted from growing your stems, but local doesn't always mean low carbon: one study suggested roses grown in Holland had a carbon footprint 15 times larger than those grown in Kenya. Waitrose has a handy calendar that shows which British flowers are in season now.
• Like food crops, flowers are often grown with pesticides. Several reports have raised concern over pesticides, from the World Health Organisation highlighting toxic chemicals used on Colombian flower farms to one study finding DDT in Mexican hothouses. Sadly, organic flowers are hard to come by in the UK – Waitrose is the only supermarket to sell them, but it doesn't stock any at this time of year.
• There's also the ethical issue of low pay for the workers who grow our imported flowers. For a guarantee that a fair wage is being paid, seek out the increasing number of Fairtrade bouquets.
Top 5 green choices
1. Wiggly Wigglers: British-grown seasonal bouquets from £25.
2. Arena Flowers – a selection of flowers, including these £33 gerberas, certified by the Fair Flowers Fair Plants scheme.
3. Scilly Flowers – seasonal bouquets from £25 and up, grown on the Isles of Scilly.
4. The Organic Flower Company – despite the name, TOFC doesn't stock organic blooms at this time of year, but it does have a ban on air-freighted flowers and is selling 50 red tulips for £40.
5. Waitrose – lots of Fairtrade flowers, including sunflowers for £20 and pricier mixed bouquets for £39 and up.
A Valentine Counterclockwise from top left: Waitrose has lots of Fairtrade flowers; tulips from The Organic Flower Company; seasonal flowers from Wiggly Wigglers; Scilly flowers. Photograph: PR

What sustainable stems do you recommend? Let's hear about your favourite ecoflorists and suppliers in the comments below.

Grow Roots

Four years ago I co-founded The Camellia Network, a nonprofit organization set out to change the way youth transitioning out of foster care are viewed and supported.  What I’ve learned through that experience, and through raising my two eldest foster sons, is that what foster youth need more than anything is a community that cares about them. No matter what your personal passion, the advice I offer below is how to grow roots in your own community.
Ask people to tell their stories. Everyone has a story, full of both heartbreak and triumph, but we can’t see their story just by looking at them. Asking people to share allows you to find common ground even when all you see—externally—are differences.
Be real. We have been trained to broadcast our successes and hide our failures. But the truth is this: our failures humanize us, and they connect us to one another. Being truthful about both sides of your story will help you form more honest connections with those you love and admire.
Embrace your elders. Show love and respect to your grandparents and aging neighbors. Talk to them often. Send a letter or card. Help them with chores or errands. Or really make them smile with flowers, which have been shown by a Rutgers University study to ease depression, inspire socialization and refresh memory as we grow older.
Make yourself useful. Everyone has something to give, no matter how much (or little) time you have. Find an organization that inspires you and make a difference while also meeting people that care about the world in the same way you do.
Do what you love to do. Figure out what you love to do, and then go do it!  Take a flower arranging class at your local florist or join a local sports league. You’ll meet people that share your interests, whether they are reading, running, flowers, music and more.

Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to ask humbly, genuinely, for help when you need it. People want to help one another; sometimes we just forget to ask. Becoming vulnerable and admitting wecan’t do everything on our own is another way to deepen relationships. Say thank you with flowers, a plant, or another heartfelt expression of gratitude.

Let Us Know More About Chrysanthemums

The Chrysanthemum as such, Spain is closely associated with the feast of All Saints' Day. However, this flower is consumed throughout the year under the name of a flower margaritas happy, beautiful and economical.

Botanically, the genus Chrysanthemum belongs to the family Asteraceae and comprises one of the type of the oldest cultivated flowers, both cut flowers as a potted ornamental plant. Its main attraction is its ornamental flowers and these really are an inflorescence chapter. There are different types of sections grown commercially, but in general, this inflorescence is composed of two types of flowers: the female located in the radial area of the chapter and which correspond to the outer row on the flowers, and hermaphroditic located the concentric zone ... which obviously correspond to the plants. The floral receptacle or chapter is flat or convex shape and is surrounded by its attractive bracts surround, popularly mistaken as petals.

The chrysanthemum, is a flower full of symbolism in many countries. So, Japan is considered the national flower and is still used in ceremonies and the flower is the symbol of long life (contrary to what many people think, the sphere in the Japanese flag does not represent the rising sun but the heart of one stripped of its petals chrysanthemum), China is a symbol of wisdom, as in many others such as honesty and the United States is usually perceived as positive and meaning of good feeling.

According to documentation, the Chrysanthemum was introduced in Europe through France in the late eighteenth century and the first crop of this plant in Spain coincides with the beginning in the nineteenth century. Currently, professional florists grow complex hybrids of this plant and most species that have created modern cultivars originate in China: Chrysanthemum indicum, Chrysanthemum morifolium and Chrysanthemum x hortorum. Note that potted chrysanthemum is technically called Dedranthema.

Cut flowers are marketed both in bottles or forming only the Chrysanthemum flower arrangements with other flowers and ornamental green and in the form of potted plant, its most popular size of 11-15 cm in diameter throughout the year and 14-20 inch models are cultivated on time ahead of the feast of All Saints' Day. Cut flowers is distributed primarily by physical or online florists and instead, the form of potted plant, do it for garden centers and supermarkets.

What Is The Camellia Flower Meaning

Flowers decorate floats, weddings and funerals. We grow flowers to add beauty to our landscape and clip stems of flowers to bring their beauty indoors. Some flowers have medicinal purposes. Flowers play such an important role in our lives that back even in biblical times, flowers were giving symbolic meanings. During the reign of Queen Victorian, which was known as the Victorian Era, meanings were assigned to flowers giving them specific significance that could fall into several categories like human emotions, qualities or endeavors, or spiritual significance. Those flower meanings could be things like happiness, perfection, good luck, or faith. If a man presented a bouquet or single flower to a woman, the woman and anyone who saw the flowers would know how the man felt about her.

The camellia flower grows on the camellia shrub, which is an evergreen shrub cold hearty is U.S. Department of Agriculture planting zones 6 through 8. You can plant camellia shrubs in late fall or early spring in partial shade where they will be protected from late afternoon sun. When planting multiple shrubs, space them at least 6 to 8 feet apart to provide room for growth.

If you are giving the camellia shrub as a gift, the camellia shrub has several meanings including gratitude, perfection and admiration.

The flowers of the camellia shrub open in late winter and, in warmer zones, may bloom again in late fall. The flowers of the camellia shrub may be pink, red or white, or have varigated colors. The pink camellia flower means longing, the red flower means you are a flame in my heart, while the white camellia flower means adoration, perfection or loveliness.

Camellia flowers are best displayed in a shallow container. Cut the stem outdoors about 1 inch longer than the container is tall. Remove most of the leaves on the lower stem. When indoors, cut the stem again under water and on an angle. Place the camellia flowers in room temperature water treated with a fresh flower compound to help preserve the bloom. Place in an indirect lighting location preferably with high humidity.