Colours of Hydrangeas

Did you ever wonder what differentiates Hydrangeas in their colours? They range from pink to blue, including all shades of lavender to violet and purple, as well as green and white colours. In case you have grown them in your garden, you may have been surprised about the colour that ended up appearing on the bushes.

In fact, the colours of these flowers are not a result of a variety of different pigments as is the case for other flowers, such as roses or tulips. Hydrangea blooms act as a natural pH indicator for the soil in which the plant grows.

When the shrub grows in a very acidic soil, the result of the flower colour is going to be blue. The development of the red and pink colour indicates a neutral to basic soil. An interesting fact is that these flowers indicate the pH with a reverse colour of those for litmus paper.

When it comes to white Hydrangeas, unlike others, they don’t change their colours regardless of the pH of the ground. However, when they get older they can turn blue or pink at the tips. To prevent that from happening, you can use a well-balancer fertilizer that is low in phosphorous and keep the acidic levels of the ground lower.

*LITTLE TIP
Important thing to note when growing Hydrangeas is that even though they like the sunlight, they love the afternoon shade. Too much sun and high heat can dry your flowers. As a result they will start wilting and turning brown in colour.
If you are looking for a cooler place for them, try avoiding planting them under the tree. The tree will most likely absorb all the nutrients and harm your Hydrangeas.

Antique Hydrangeas

These flowers have a very specific characteristic of antiquing, that is usually compared with aging. This process starts happening at the end of August and the beginning of September.

The blossoms start changing their bright summer colours into smokey burgundy, faded green, shimmering blues and soft lavender colours, something more suitable for the beginning of the autumn season.

If you are to see these flowers for the first time, you would think that this is another variety of the plant. But note that these types of Hydrangeas are not a separated specie from fresh Hydrangea macrophylla.

In case you are harvesting them from your garden you should know that when the colours start to change, the flowers are still not ready to be cut. You should continue watering your plants and leave the flowers for a little while. If you notice that the flowers are a bit crisp when touching them – it is the time for the harvest!

Antique Hydrangeas will not wilt or die in your vase. They are perfect for those who love to keep their flowers for a longer time on the table.

This time we have decided to go with Hydrangea Sibilla Classic in combination with Gyps my Pink and boy was that a good idea! Hop over to our Instagram page to see a closer look of this Antique Hydrangea and it’s magical colours.

English David Austin roses, French Meilland Jardin & Parfum roses and Japanese Wabara roses take part in our Perfume Roses collection. From light pink, beige and white colours to coral, red and dark brown. This collection holds the whole colour palette needed for a stylish arrangement. And let’s not forget how perfect the flower heads are.

“Charming and kind but serious and very talented. That would be the best description of our new team member. She is one of the leading florists here in The Netherlands, with a long experience in very exclusive wedding and floral arrangements.

We hope that she will be a great example for all our new florists who are still eager to learn. And that you will find her work inspirational enough to apply some of the ideas to your own way of working.” – from Summer Flowers 2021.

The biggest announcement of this week – introducing Sanne! Our source of creative ideas and inspirational work that will be introduced to you on our blogs and social media. Take a moment to give her a warm welcome on our Instagram today!

For this week’s topic, we have decided to go with a few of the lovely garden roses from the collection. Rosa Garden Julietta Spray, Rosa Garden Pinky Pie! and Rosa La Garden Elaine! were used in the arrangement from the photo. For the green, we recommend using Eucalyptus or you can use Sanguisorba Arnhem.
Take a closer look at the flowers on the slider below.

When arranging this bouquet, Sanne showed us the perfect combination of the Julietta and Pinky Pie rose. While Julietta gives you that sharp pink and colourful look, Pinky Pie tones it down with its creamy and soft colours. Not to mention that Pinky Pie buds are so massive and unbelievably beautiful, that your clients will not be able to take their eyes off them. Together they smell incredible which makes them perfect for a wedding bouquet.
In case you want to diversify your arrangement a bit, you can add La Garden Elaine rose as well. It is the perfect addition without making it too colourful.

Our talented florist created another version of the arrangement with Sanguisorba Arnhem. You can see this version on our Instagram story and highlights. Deep red flowers in the shape of small bubbles were popping out of everywhere creating this dramatic and fun look. Definitely a go to flower in case you want to spice it up a little bit.

If you are the type that likes to keep it simple, putting only roses together or adding only a small bit of light coloured Eucalyptus is far good enough. These roses know how to carry themselves and take all the attention!

Caring tips and procedure:

• Process the flowers as soon as they arrive
• Carefully remove the plastic sleeves and the inner corrugated cardboard sleeve
• Cut the stems and place the flowers in the water
• Add Eucalyptus or Sanguisorba
• Add flower nutrients
• Note that it can take up to 4-5 days before the flowers are fully open (in case of a wedding or an event)

Plants take Oxygen and produce Carbon Dioxide during the night

One of the reasons why we have decided to post an article on this topic is to educate our audience, with the hope that they will forward this knowledge and therefore bust this myth forever.

For years now people have been saying that having plants in your bedroom is very dangerous and can kill you while you are asleep due to the lack of oxygen. This belief was going from generations to generations removing plants from hospital to home bedrooms. The main reason behind it was a simple misunderstanding of photosynthesis.

While it is true that a single leaf plant will produce the same amount of oxygen as carbon dioxide, plant respiration happens at a slower pace than photosynthesis, which means that for every cycle you have a tiny gain of oxygen.

The amount of oxygen that is taken by the plant in the night is far smaller than the amount taken by humans or pets for example. By taking this theory in account, you are putting yourself in a far more dangerous situation by sleeping with your cat Larry. Sounds crazy right?

But okay, you might say, one Aloe Vera on your bedroom window may not be hurtful. What about a full bedroom of different kinds of palms, cactuses, ferns and other types of plants?
The simply answer to this question is no. A full bedroom of different kinds of plants will still not be enough to take your oxygen away and put you in a dangerous situation while asleep.

The medium ratio between oxygen consumed per kilogram is 100:1 between plants and mammals. Meaning at the same weight, mammals consume 100 times more oxygen than plants. Let’s take, for example, a person that weighs 80 kg (around 176 pounds) and a plant weighing 10 kg (22 pounds). Using the ratio above it means that it will take 8 000 kg (around 17 637 pounds) of plants to take the same ration of oxygen as a person weighing 80 kilos.
This simple calculation proves their safeness in your bedroom.

There are studies that suggest plants benefiting your sleep while cleaning the air. Learn more about Air-filtering plants in the following section.

Air-filtering Plants for Your Bedroom

First plants that will be listed here come from the NASA Clean Air Study list of air-filtering plants. The ones we have included in our bedroom décor are English Ivy (Hedera helix), Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum aureum), Spathiphyllum, Aloe Vera, Ficus Benjamina and Sansevieria.

These plants are proven to purify the air by filtering pollutants like formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, toluene, and benzene. The study suggested that the efficient air cleaning is accomplished with at least one plant per 100 square feet (9.3 meter square) of space.

Air filtering is the main reason why these plants are on the top of our list. But even if we know that they filter the pollutants from our bedroom space, isn’t their massive production of carbon dioxide still dangerous to humans during the night? Find our the correct answer to this question in the next chapter!

Click here to read Nasa’s whole study on air-filtering plants.

Other Plants

Take a look at the Teeuwen Flowers cactus and succulents collection in the web shop. Here you can find some cute and small plants for on the night stands.

In case you are one of those lucky people who have enough space to fit a whole tree in the bedroom, take a look at our selection of palms. Big and spacious corners are best filled with these simple palms.

Which Plants to Avoid in Your Bedroom

After naming all the benefits of these green leafers. There are some situations in which you may avoid certain plants.

Avoid having these plants in your bedroom if you have kids or pets:

• Peace lily, Dumb cane, Devil’s ivy, Caladium, Daffodil

These plants can be very toxic if consumed. Plant like Peace lily smells really nice and might attract your pet into eating it. Daffodils have toxic bulbs and can cause dermatitis on your hands if you touch them.

Peonies are one of our most requested flowers in summer time. Due to their short availability throughout the year, the excitement of our clients rises already at the beginning of the season.

In order to make sure that every purchase goes perfect, all our flowers have to pass a quality check.

If you know Peonies, you know that they don’t hold on for a long time after they bloom. That is the reason why we deliver them closed to you.

We make sure that there is still enough time for them to arrive to you and serve their purpose in your designs before opening.

See Peonies Assortment → 

But what to do if your Peonies decide just not to bloom?

Once your flowers arrive, the best thing to do is to carefully touch the heads. If you can feel that the flowers are very hard, it might take them a few days to open.

In that case, the best thing to do is to:

• Cut the stems of the flowers at a 45 degree angle
• Pour a bit warmer water in the vase
• Add the nutrients
• Place your flowers in the vase
• Place the vase in a bright and warm place

Warm water will help the flowers to bloom faster, but make sure that it is not too hot. This can cause them to wilt. Try repeating this every 2 days and your Peonies should bloom.

Another great tips include splashing them with some water or covering them with a plastic bag for a short time. This will allow naturally emitted ethylene gas to stimulate the opening of the blooms.

In case your flowers are still closed after trying all these tips and tricks.. try giving them some help! Remove the green petals and very carefully open the flower with your fingers. Try doing this very slowly not to cause any damage.

If you can’t wait any more time for the petals to bloom and can not risk the flowers of being damaged, you can try this last tip.

Dunk your flowers in the water and start twisting them. Do this all the way until you see air bubbles and the flower starts to open.

Has your wonderful Peony bouquet bloomed too early?

Only a day earlier bloom can cause you to worry about how long will your peonies last once delivered to your client.

Luckily, with these tips you can make your flowers last longer.

• Once placing the flowers in the vase, make sure that you have removed anything that could be submerged in the water.
• Add a spoonful of regular granulated sugar. This will mimic the sugar rush that occurs during photosynthesis, helping to keep the flowers fresh. Just be sure to replace the water every two days, because mixing in sugar can encourage bacteria to grow.
• Keep them away from the direct sunlight.
• Comb your flowers! Carefully spread and move the petals from the sides.

The best idea when arranging peonies is to accompany them with long lasting flowers. This way your clients will not throw away the whole bouquet once peonies have gone bad.

Some recommendations that go great together with peonies are carnations, Limonium and Lavender. Even if your peonies have wilted, your clients will be able to have a nice bouquet of flowers still staying in the vase.

It has to be one of our favourite seasons. Sunny days, beach vibes and every possible floral colour surrounding our working space.
Every summer gets very special and joyful in the floral world. But this year we are even more excited since we get to introduce our new florist. Yes! A person who is going to share her knowledge, in form of interesting videos and descriptive designs, and take you on a long journey of floral fun!

Charming and kind but serious and very talented. That would be the best description of our new team member. She is one of the leading florists here in The Netherlands, with a long experience in very exclusive wedding and floral arrangements.
We hope that she will be a great example for all our new florists who are still eager to learn. And that you will find her work inspirational enough to apply some of the ideas to your own way of working.

Here are some of the topics you may find interesting this summer:

• All in White (Exclusive Wedding Design)
• The Minimalist Colour Palette
• Smell The Summer (Summer Flowers That Smell Great)
• DIY How to Dry Your Own Flowers
• Busting Myths | Plants for your Bedroom
• Everything you need to know about Peonies
• Summer Garden Party

Peonies, Lilies, Lathyrus, Sunflowers, Delphinium, Allium, Hydrangea, Astilbe, Agapanthus, Roses – these are only some of the flowers you can expect to see in our future blog posts. From garden parties to exclusive wedding designs – we cover it all. Many exciting ideas and projects are booked in our planners for the following months.
So stay tuned! Firstly, to meet our new florist and finally discover who she is and secondly to enjoy her experienced designs. Don’t forget to take some ideas for yourself too!