• Red Ginger and red anthuriums pair wonderfully together
• Bromeliads have a sense of “cool” that is comfortable for any man to receive
• A flowering plant, such as red tulips or an azalea
• A bright and bold tropical design
• Orange and green roses
• Ivy topiary
• Herb topiary for the guy who loves to cook
• Pincushion protea in a clear glass container with stones in the bottom – men love this kind of arrangement
• Dish garden
• Orchid plant
• A large snack basket filled with his favorite flavor of energy drink, nuts, candies or chips. To top it off, add a bud vase with a single red rose on the outside decoration to add Valentine’s Day flair
• Terrariums.  The endless possibilities of unusually shaped glass containers also make great gifts for men
• Bright, bold colors (not just red) of any type of flower designed in a more architectural styling
• Any “going green” plant can be created with tremendous textural appeal with upgrades on the container and plant decor.

• Colored roses other than red are popular.  Ask Vogue Flowers for some unusual varieties that can really make an impression; there are so many fabulous choices that will impress your Valentine with your creativity: orange roses are hotter than hot, peach roses, lavendar roses and pastel roses.
• Orchids: dendrobium orchids, cymbidium orchids and vanda orchids in shades of blue and purple, stems of green cymbidiums evoke an eco-friendly feel
• Tulips are a great choice and there are great colors available
• Gerbera daisies in hot pinks and oranges paired with a citrus green foliage
• Alstroemeria
• Callas or miniature callas
• Chrysanthemums
• Carnations
• Gardenias
• Lilies
• Hydrangea
• Waxflowers

Want to do something different?

• Amaryllis stems in geometric glass conatiners weighted with river rocks
• Compact flower arrangements in heirloom containers
• Floral designs in monogrammed containers
• Tropical flowers, like protea, arranged with exotic foliage and bamboo accents
• A cactus garden
• Small peace lily plant
• Anemones
• Freesia
• Ranunculus

On a tight budget? There are lots of wonderful flower options for consumers on a budget:

• Ask Vogue’s florists for their specials in your price range and ask about the price of an earlier delivery.
• Consider sending a few stems of something wonderful like roses, tulips or lilies.  Volume isn’t everyting.  Vogue Flowers can make a few stems look romantic and lovely.
• Mixed bouquet of brightly-colored flowers
• Carnations are a great endearing flower full of texture. The bang for your buck is just great and teh vase life is quite long when cared for properly.
• Tulips are a tremendous value flower
• A bud vase with six, three or even a single rose
• Consider flowers in colors other than red, such as peach, orange, hot pink or chartreuse green
• Pompons or chrysanthemums are long lasting. Consider a bunch of green Fuji Mums or a bunch of Kermit Pompons. The chartreuse green is a huge attention getter!
• Stargazer lilies or other lilies
• Alstroemeria
• Gerbera daisies
• Blooming plants

Flowers come in so many beautiful colors.  Some POPULAR COLOR TRENDS AND COLOR COMBINATIONS this year include:

• We always think of red for Valentine’s Day, but many other combinations can say “I Love You.” Hot pink and orange for a fresh young look.  Purple is fun in either a monochromatic combination or mixed iwth red, very luscious. Chartreuse and pink is sweet yet crisp.  Orange and red is a powerful, masculine combination.
• Monobotanic design (all one type of flowers)
• Monochromatic design (flowers all in the same color family)
• Reds, burgundies and browns
• Hot pink, purples and browns
• Monochromatic reds in various textures
• Greens mixed with chocolate browns or stunning pinks
• Greens and purples
• Complementary colors cause excitement, such as lavender paired with yellow or blues coupled with oranges
• Green, lavendar and peach form an upscale color combination
• Rich purples and lavenders mixed with red

Flowers can take you places and help you relive fond, romantic memories…whether it be reminiscing about a Caribbean honeymoon, creating a relaxing spa retreat feel, or reliving a wine country getaway – here are some tips to use flowers to set the stage for a romantic evening.

Beach Honeymoon

• Tropical flowers, such as Birds of Paradise, anthurium, ginger or orchids with an accent of fresh fruit and foliages
• A simple collection of orchids in a vase
• Bells of Ireland and delphinium.  The cool greens and blues will conjure up the memories of the beautiful Caribbean.
• Recreate a Hawaiian honeymoon complete with long-lasting tropical flowers and a lei to wear.  Picture your Valentine wearing a gorgeous orchid lei when it’s sub-zero outside.

European Vacation

• Richly colored flowers in purples, reds and blues
• Hand-tied bouquet of all accent flowers and a couple of roses
• Textural hand-tied bouquets embellished with decorative beads and wires with colorful wraps
• A loose arrangement of garden-style flowers such as tulips, hydrangeas, ranunculus and roses in a clear glass vase or decorative container
• An arrangement that resembles the French countryside: Fresh herbs and wild flowers like heather, daisies, delphinium and miniature roses would be pretty and romantic.
• A French Garden of bright-hued f=blooming plants arranged in a classic wicker basket
• European garden – mixture of flowering or green plants and fresh flowers

Spa Weekend

• Aromatic flowers like freesia, stock and sweet peas to sooth the senses.
• An arrangement of relaxing blues, lavenders and greens with fresh eucalyptus and soft foliage and some select bath products
• Several small blue and green arrangements to place in the bathroom or bedroom
• All white arrangement with sea glass vases or frosted aquamarine accents
• A fragrant selection of purple freesia in a clear cylinder with pale pink petals floating in the vase.  The soft scent of freesia combined with the soothing color palette will embrace your sweetheart with a sense of calm.
• Monobotanic bouquet of blue iris in a clear glass vase with sea glass or shells clustered together in the bottom of the vase.
• A simple glass vase filled with callas or white Casablanca lilies and cool blue glass gems inside the vase

Wine Country Getaway

• A few beautiful roses or lilies arranged in an empty wine bottle shared on a past date.  She’ll love the sentimentality
• Deep reds (roses, carnations and soft greens).  Add accents of vines, mosses and a bottle of wine.
• Grapevine or wreath around the design on the base or in and around, some fruit and a bottle of wine or a gift certificate to a wine shop
• Grapes, sunflowers, grasses-outdoorsy and lots of yellow/peach/olive greens
• Burgundy flowers with fresh grapes and Brie cheese in a large basket
• Include a bottle of wine or fresh fruit and grapes with deep wine colored roses
• Bold collection of vibrant purple anemones or alstroemeria, green hydrangea, hepericum and red roses.  This strong combination of color and texture will evoke the feeling of a stroll in the vineyards.
• Rich royal-colored floral bouquet consisting of a mixture of textural materials such as purple tulips, magenta stock, green hydrangea and lavender roses tied with natural raffia.  The disgn may include clusters of grapes.

Celebrate the Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year begins on February 14 and 2010 is the year of the tiger.  Ring in the New Year by sending your valentine:

• Orange roses in a red vase
• A red vase filled iwth mokara orchids

Other Exciting Destinations

• Conjure up the charm of the South Pacific with a beautifully designed arrangement with an Asian flair.
• Orchids and other fragile blooms can remind couples of rainforest getaways.
• An assortment of flowers from the garden in a bouquet conjures the feeling of a stroll through a country garden
• Experience a trip to Japan with an Ikebana floral design of several stems of orchids or Fuji Chrusanthemums.  Ad a Japenese flower arranging kit and book along with some wonderful teas.
• Go for the gold with a bouquet of green spider chrysanthemums, green hypericum berries and green aspidistra leaves, just like the bouquets for the Winter Olympics medalists.

Special Moments

• Recreate the love you shared on your wedding day by featuring some clooms from her bridal bouquet.
• Recreate the magic of the proposal or first date with flowers
• Send a spring or summer sunshine bouquet to say you’re looking forward to spending time in warmer weather together or you’re looking forward to gardening together
• Instead of recreating a memory, why not send a bouquet that evokes the charm of a place you dream of going to some day with your loved one

Simply Sweet Staycations

• Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz” said, “There’s no place like home.” Staying at home can be the “warm and fuzzy” choice for many.  Add some lovely flowers in a favorite vase, sprinkle some rose petals and lay a single rose on the pillow.  Be creative and make staying at home fun.
• Make a flower trail throughhout your house leading to a bubble bath sprinkled with rose petals.

Here are a few simple tips that will help you prolong the life of your floral bouquets!

1. Bacteria can clog flower stems and prevent water and nutrient circulation, so be sure to use clean containers. Vases should be washed and rinsed with a mild solution of bleach after each use.

2. Help the stems of your flowers absorb water properly by cutting each stem at an angle

3. Flower stems stay open and moist in cold water, so make sure to fill your vase with 1 cup of cold water.

4. Place your arrangement near an open window where they can get some clean air…Pollutants reduce the health of fish and animals, just as they do the life of cut flowers.

5. Chill your flowers in the fridge overnight, this will preserve the petals and keep them bright. Plus it can extend their vase life up to 4 days!

6. Trim the stems every 2 days.

7. Be sure to refill the vase with cold water every day to help your flowers stay hydrated.

8. Most cut flowers live longer in a 2% sugar solution, which is about 4 tsp. sugar in 1 quart of water . Daffodils, marguerite daisies and tulips do not benefit from sugar.

9. Your florist can also supply you with floralife (plant food) that you can dissolve in the water. That helps to keep your flowers hydrated.

Try these tips on your next arrangement from Vogue Flowers and see the difference, shop here.

Enjoy your flowers!

· Autumn or Winter Rose Centerpiece
Purchase a glass bubble bowl (globe-shaped vase) and about a dozen roses, red and white roses are ideal for Christmas or another color or mixed colors for everyday. Fill the bubble bowl about half full. Cut the roses so they’re slightly taller than the bubble bowl and all approximately the same height. Always cut at an angle. Then simply arrange them in your hand and drop them into the bubble bowl. For a fuller look add a few more flowers in the center of the bowl or create a mounded look by making the center roses a little longer than the rest.

· Wreath Centerpiece
Get a holiday wreath and lay it down on a large platter or tray. Decorate the wreath with ornaments, pinecones or ribbon. Fill the inside of the wreath with festive flowers and plants, such as poinsettias, white asiatic lilies and red roses, red carnations and white chrysanthemums, etc.
For a different twist on the Wreath Centerpiece, place large pillar candles in the center of the wreath and surround the candles with seasonal flowers. If fresh cut flowers are used then some water must be available for the end of the stems to be in it.

· Basket of Holiday Cheer
For a rustic look, take an old basket or wooden box and fill it with pinecones. Then disperse pine needles and loose flowers between the pinecones…Hypericum berries, white alstroemeria lilies and white dendrobium orchids are all good choices for this centerpiece.

· Pinecone Roots Centerpiece
Use tiny pinecones to fill a glass vase about one-third of the way. Then insert a single flower (a lily is ideal), but leave the stem long enough that it appears to be growing from the pinecones. Easy yet elegant.

· Candy Cane Charisma
Perhaps the simplest idea yet…Glue candy canes around a square or rectangular vase and fill it with red and white flowers, roses, carnations or tulips will work well.

Stop by Vogue Flowers headquarters to purchase loose flowers and any other supplies you may need (such as vases or candles) to create your own centerpieces. Get directions here.

Don’t have the time? Browse our selection of holiday centerpieces and flowers, which are all available for for same day delivery if ordered before 2pm, here.

There are 3 main ways to dry your flowers…Air dry, air drying with a drying agent and combining heat with a drying agent. Here’s what to do:

Air drying-
This is the simplest, but longest way to preserve flowers. Simply gather your stems into small bunches (about 1/2 inch in diameter) and wrap them with a rubber band. Make sure your rubber band is tight, as the stems will shrink slightly while drying. Hook a paper clip through the rubber band and hang the flowers upside down in an area out of direct sunlight. The more light your flowers receive, the more they will fade. Your flowers will dry after 2-3 weeks, you’ll know they are dry when they become stiff and brittle.

Using a drying agent-
You can speed up the process by using a drying agent like silica gel. This is particularly a good idea when drying fragile flowers or flowers with a lot of moisture. Get a shallow airtight container and spread an inch of silica gel on the bottom. Then place your flower heads on the silica gel and surround the flowers with at least another inch of silica gel. Seal your container and let it sit for about 3-5 days. Silica gel can be found at just about any craft store and it is reusable.

Combining heat and a drying agent-

If you want to speed up the process even more you can add heat. Just microwave the container with flowers and silica gel for 2-3 minutes, but make sure you allow the flowers to cool completely before you open the container

Once you’ve dried your flowers try to keep them away from direct sun light, as exposure to sun will cause them to fade.

Here are some flowers that dry well, click on the flower name to view arrangements containing these flowers:

Hydrangea
Delphinium
Larkspur
Dahlias
Roses
Statice

Fall is also time to pick pumpkins. Vogue Flowers and the Flower Market grow gourmet white pumpkins for the fashion floral accent as well as tradiditonal small round pumpkins which we use as containers and accents in our fall centerpieces. The harvest is plentiful and ready to be used in creative fresh ways for weddings or any occasion.

About Vogue Flowers
Vogue Flowers is a leading Richmond Florist, supplying fresh flowers to Richmond, Virginia and the entire US. Visit us today at: http://www.vogueflowers.com today to order your flowers from this leading online florist.

Doing this ahead of time ensures that when you are ready to plant you don’t have to worry about the soil not being ready, or having to spend extra hours preparing it and then planting your flowers. A little preparation can save you a huge amount of time later.

Plant by Size

If you’re planting your flowers against a wall, make sure to plant the taller ones (like sunflowers) back against the wall, with the smaller ones further away from the wall. If you’re planting your garden in the middle of an open space, you’ll want to plant the taller ones in the center, with the smaller ones radiating out from there.

These two configurations allow for all of the plants to get enough sunlight without having to compete with each other and insures that all of your flowers will be visible to both you and anybody else that might be enjoying your garden.

Plant Plenty

To help compensate for losses to insects and birds, plant the seeds closer than recommended on the package, as well as planting more than you expect to grow. Weather, wildlife, and any variety of other causes can leave you with far fewer plants than you put into the ground, and planting extra means you don’t have to worry about a sparse garden when everything blooms.

Be Colorful!

With so many summer flowers out there – sunflowers, petunias, marigolds, and cosmos just to name a few – there’s no reason that your summer garden should be anything less than a bright spot of color for your home. Don’t limit yourself to one type of flower or one color scheme, mix and match and brighten up your garden, lawn, or backyard with bright and colorful summer flowers that are sure to be a pleasure for you and your family to enjoy all season long.

Have Fun

The most important part of planting your garden this summer season is to make sure you have fun with it. Plant lots of flowers, plant more than one garden, get your family involved, get your neighbors involved, plant in patters – whatever you want to do to make sure that your flowers are something that you enjoy from the moment you start turning the soil to when you sit back and watch them bloom.

About the Author

Steve Papoulakos is the president of Vogue Flowers, a Richmond florist that allows you to send roses and buy flowers from our stock of amazingly fresh flowers. We can be found online at: http://www.vogueflowers.com .

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.

About the Author
Steve Papoulakos is the president of Vogue Flowers and has been delivering Mother’s Day Flowers for more than 22 years. Vogue Flowers has long been the Richmond florist of choice with a large selection of quality flowers. Visit them online at http://www.vogueflowers.com .
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About Vogue
Vogue Flowers is a leading provider of flowers for those looking to buy flowers online or send roses to that special someone. Check out our selection of fresh flowers and we’re sure you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for.