European Bouquets
Bouquets in Europe, especially Romania, are carried home upside down with the heads pointing towards the ground.
I find that very unnerving. The first time I saw a man carrying an upside down bouquet, I thought he was a nutter. Then I saw another. I wondered if it was some Dracula festival where you kill flowers. We were near a florist's shop in Bucharest.
We were waiting for a bus. I asked a local couple and a couple of Americans about the flowers. Apparently it is common in several countries.I heard two theories about this. One was that cut flowers have sap which drips out of the stalks.
Asian Flower Sellers
In Vietnam you also see flower sellers with huge bunches of flowers on bicycles.
Asian Flower Displays
In Asia flowers are presented to the owners of new shops and restaurants and businesses and displayed on columns outside the front door.
I had a bouquet delivered to Singapore. My family in London, who wanted me to lend them money, had decided to send me a bunch of flowers. First I received a virtual flower. I had no idea this was the herald of a real flower delivery.
The bunch of flowers was very odd.
My bunch of flowers in Singapore came wrapped in a piece of brown sacking with a brown rope string. The flowers looked like teeny heathers, entwined with groups of coloured cotton wool balls in magenta and white.
Beware Of Standing Water
I had no vase, so I cut horizontally in half a plastic drinks bottle. you have to change the water every day without fail. First, water can breed mosquitos. You see signs everywhere. Vases of flowers are banned in cemeteries in Singapore. Saucers under pots also have to be emptied. If you leave a vase for a few days in the UK the water goes green. In Singapore it soon went black and foul-smelling.
I would suggest a potted plant for the balcony. Or a potted orchid which will last.
Buying On A Budget
If you are budget conscious, do not buy from big tourist places such as the Botanic Gardens or Gardens Bu The Bay until you have checked out the local shops. You may prefer the tourist places. Their flowers are lovely. If price is not object, they have everything you could want, including grow your own herbs, at vast expense. You will pay four times the price you would pay in the local supermarket or market.
I would have preferred a pot of orchids. But shop around. I once bought in Singapore for friends in the UK a tiny orchid in a pipette. It never grew. For half the price I could have bought a full size orchid.
UK Flag.
In the UK you get a set of cut flowers on stalks. Roses. Daffodils in season. Always even numbers, usually a dozen or half a dozen.
Wrapped in coloured tissue paper in pastel or vivid colours and green plastic twine and/or transparent plastic printed with a pattern of flowers and/or the planting instructions and a coloured plastic imitation ribbon bow.
I later found out I could buy orchids in Tesco supermarket in London for half the price of Orchids in Singapore. The prices in the UK came down still further in the August summer sales and the post Xmas sales.
I thought I had the most unusual bouquet. Then I saw that brides had vegetable bouquets at weddings. If you are vegan, or don't like the idea of cut flowers.
Within the UK you can send flowers from the major supermarkets. You can also pay extra for adding a glass vase, a teddy bear, chocolates, and for free next day delivery for a year.
Useful Websites
https://www.jollyflorist.com/en/send-flowers
https://theflowerfactoryusa.com/
https://www.prestigeflowers.co.uk/
https://www.interflora.co.uk
https://www.marksandspencer.com/l/flowers-and-plants/all-flowers-and-plants
For succulents in pots:
https://www.noahgardencentre.com.sg
https://www.fareastflora.com/
Phone line and leave your message at:
https://www.tohgarden.com/others/mid-autumn-2019-tropical-orchids-and-plants-promotion/
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Bouquets in Europe, especially Romania, are carried home upside down with the heads pointing towards the ground.
I find that very unnerving. The first time I saw a man carrying an upside down bouquet, I thought he was a nutter. Then I saw another. I wondered if it was some Dracula festival where you kill flowers. We were near a florist's shop in Bucharest.
We were waiting for a bus. I asked a local couple and a couple of Americans about the flowers. Apparently it is common in several countries.I heard two theories about this. One was that cut flowers have sap which drips out of the stalks.
Asian Flower Sellers
In Vietnam you also see flower sellers with huge bunches of flowers on bicycles.
Singapore Flower Display. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Asian Flower Displays
In Asia flowers are presented to the owners of new shops and restaurants and businesses and displayed on columns outside the front door.
I had a bouquet delivered to Singapore. My family in London, who wanted me to lend them money, had decided to send me a bunch of flowers. First I received a virtual flower. I had no idea this was the herald of a real flower delivery.
The bunch of flowers was very odd.
My bunch of flowers in Singapore came wrapped in a piece of brown sacking with a brown rope string. The flowers looked like teeny heathers, entwined with groups of coloured cotton wool balls in magenta and white.
Beware Of Standing Water
I had no vase, so I cut horizontally in half a plastic drinks bottle. you have to change the water every day without fail. First, water can breed mosquitos. You see signs everywhere. Vases of flowers are banned in cemeteries in Singapore. Saucers under pots also have to be emptied. If you leave a vase for a few days in the UK the water goes green. In Singapore it soon went black and foul-smelling.
I would suggest a potted plant for the balcony. Or a potted orchid which will last.
Buying On A Budget
If you are budget conscious, do not buy from big tourist places such as the Botanic Gardens or Gardens Bu The Bay until you have checked out the local shops. You may prefer the tourist places. Their flowers are lovely. If price is not object, they have everything you could want, including grow your own herbs, at vast expense. You will pay four times the price you would pay in the local supermarket or market.
I would have preferred a pot of orchids. But shop around. I once bought in Singapore for friends in the UK a tiny orchid in a pipette. It never grew. For half the price I could have bought a full size orchid.
UK Flag.
In the UK you get a set of cut flowers on stalks. Roses. Daffodils in season. Always even numbers, usually a dozen or half a dozen.
Wrapped in coloured tissue paper in pastel or vivid colours and green plastic twine and/or transparent plastic printed with a pattern of flowers and/or the planting instructions and a coloured plastic imitation ribbon bow.
I later found out I could buy orchids in Tesco supermarket in London for half the price of Orchids in Singapore. The prices in the UK came down still further in the August summer sales and the post Xmas sales.
I thought I had the most unusual bouquet. Then I saw that brides had vegetable bouquets at weddings. If you are vegan, or don't like the idea of cut flowers.
- photo in Wikipedia.
Within the UK you can send flowers from the major supermarkets. You can also pay extra for adding a glass vase, a teddy bear, chocolates, and for free next day delivery for a year.
Useful Websites
https://www.jollyflorist.com/en/send-flowers
https://theflowerfactoryusa.com/
https://www.prestigeflowers.co.uk/
https://www.interflora.co.uk
https://www.marksandspencer.com/l/flowers-and-plants/all-flowers-and-plants
For succulents in pots:
https://www.noahgardencentre.com.sg
https://www.fareastflora.com/
Phone line and leave your message at:
https://www.tohgarden.com/others/mid-autumn-2019-tropical-orchids-and-plants-promotion/
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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