Fabulous Florals

Enjoy a guided walk around the Ramsey Heights nature reserve collecting natural materials to make your own festive wreath decoration.

£10 Wildlife Trust BCN members, £15 non-members.

Just outside Nene Park Farm Shop you’ll find the new flower and plant cart, full of fresh and dried flowers and both garden and house plants, all supplied by Emilee Rose Floristry, a family run business from Elton.

8 November at 7.30pm with Sharon Badger THE BRITISH LEGION, YAXLEY. Entry £5. Visitors welcome

Weddings Occasions Funerals Seasonal Corporate

Large Wreath – £45 Regular Wreath – £35 Memorial Wreath – £15

07821 558346 le eurboutiqueonline www.le eurboutique.co.uk

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9am-5pm BST 9am-4pm BWT Sun/BH 9am - 4pm

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Studies have concluded that flowers elicit true happiness in 100 per cent of the people who receive them. So, if you have a tricky friend or loved one to buy for, try flowers! Flowers lift the mood, making them the perfect gift, even for the person who appears to have everything. If you are dreaming of a plastic-free Christmas, flowers may seem the perfect solution, but just because they are biodegradable doesn’t mean they are a green or even ethical choice. Where possible, it’s always best to go for local, seasonal and responsibly grown products.

Arrangements

Stunning and sustainable scented festive flowers are the perfect gift for you and your loved ones this Christmas. From frosty Nordic whites to traditional ruby reds, explore wonderful arrangements to suit any colour scheme.

Amaryllis is a popular Christmas bloom. It blooms with festive bright red flowers that are the perfect match for traditional Christmas colours. Other varieties produce snowy white flowers, ideal for that winter wonderland look. The flowers are very large and trumpet shaped, making them naturally eye catching. There’s no Christmas plant more iconic than the Poinsettia. It’s the most popular houseplant in the UK at Christmas, and with its gorgeous mixture of red and green festive foliage, it’s easy to see why. Around 8 million are sold every single year. Red varieties are by far the most popular, but other colours, including white and pink, are also grown. Azaleas are part of the Rhododendron family and are popular houseplants at Christmas, perfect for staving off the winter chill. Their beautiful, full blooms are lovely for brightening up your home, with red and white the most popular colours during the festive season. These plants will be much appreciated as gifts. Originally native to Himalayan forests, Cymbidium Orchids are an unusual and elegant addition to Christmas bouquets. Due to the fact they’re usually found above cloud level, they’re only in season in the winter, so Christmas is a good time to enjoy them.

Red roses aren’t just for romantic occasions - they’re also staples of Christmas bouquets. Their vivid colour perfectly matches the traditional colours of the season, giving bouquets an instantly festive look. We especially love them paired with seasonal green berries and golden foliage, for that classic Christmas colour combination.

Add some foraged red berries, pine cones, holly and mistletoe as the final ingredients for making a bouquet look truly festive. Similarly, spruce is a beautiful addition, as it’s reminiscent of Christmas trees and winter forests. Finally, gilded leaves of plants like eucalyptus a touch of festive sparkle to any Christmas flowers. Wreaths

Christmas door wreath. Bursting with seasonal flowers and overflowing with the colours of Christmas, a real wreath will add a truly magical touch to your home.

Keeping your flowers fresh

1.Wash your vase thoroughly It’s not every day you receive beautiful fresh flowers, so it’s likely your vase may have been sat patiently at the back of the cupboard collecting dust. To enjoy your flowers as long as possible, it's important to use a clean vase. Because if you don't want to drink from it, why would your flowers? So, carefully wash your vase with hot water and eco-friendly detergent. Allow the vase to dry naturally upside down rather than using a towel.

This is the first step to ensuring no bacteria is present when water and flowers are introduced into the vase.

2.Trim stems and add to luke warm water

As soon as your flower delivery arrives, it’s important to trim the stems and place them in warm water right away. This will help your bouquet last that much longer. Allowing them to soak and rest in a cool spot for 24 hours are just what your flowers need to look their best. (Please note that flowers grown from bulbs, like tulips, are an exception and prefer cold water). 3. Add flower food

The little packets of powder that come with store-bought bouquets are usually made up of a combination of sugar, citric acid, and bleach, but they generally don’t help Sustaining sustainability

Now that you know how to make those fresh flowers last as long as possible, you can make your floral arrangements as sustainable as possible by buying your flowers from a local florist and asking for them to be wrapped in paper, not plastic. Avoid sending your flowers to landfill

When flowers are thrown away in the normal bin, they end up in landfill. As they break down there, they produce methane, which is a harmful greenhouse gas. But the good news is there’s lots you can do to stop your flowers ending up here. 1. Dry them and keep in a vase all-year round 2. Press them to pop in a photo frame or album.

3. Pop them in your compost or garden-waste bin

much and the packets they come in are just another piece of singleuse plastic. So, here are two eco-friendly flower food solutions that work, and better still, you can easily make this yourself. Orange soda is high in citric acid, which helps flowers absorb water more quickly to avoid wilting. Just add a splash of orange soda to your flower water and you’ll see a big difference in how long they last.

Another naturally effective flower food is over-the-counter aspirin. Adding half a crushed pill to your flower water lowers the Ph level of the water, making it easier for flowers to suck it up.