Meet our supplier: Doug

We at Hummingbird love our suppliers, so we wanted to introduce them to you and show off all the amazing blooms they bring us.

Meet Doug, one of our local suppliers.

Doug with Lugene of Hummingbird Floral

Doug grows out of Prarie Garden Farm in Starbuck, Minnesota.  His farm not only features flowers, but handmade pottery and even a herd of sheep.  Some of the unique and hard to find flowers he grows during the season include:

Celosia (Cockscomb)


An eye catching shape in neon pink, including cockscomb in your arrangement will be sure to have guests asking "What kind of flower is that?"

Rose Lily


Rose lilies are truly a cut above the more common sold at most flower shops.  Several layers of petals give this flower its name, giving them even more volume than a standard lily.

Queen Anne's lace


Queen Anne's lace is a delicate flower that can be used in place of or in addition to babies breath.

Tuberose 


Tuberose have a mild, Jasmine-like scent and a small, bright white flower that's perfect for small bouquets.

Lisianthus



Lisianthus have a longer stem with round blooms to add height to your arrangement.

Zinnia



Zinnias come in several bright colors that add a pop of color to any bouquet.

We at Hummingbird love buying from local, small businesses like Doug.  It's always a pleasure to see the amazing flowers he brings to us.  If you'd like to see more of Doug and his flowers, visit his website here or come on by the store to see which of his high-quality stems we have in stock.

-Your flower-loving friends at Hummingbird Floral and Gift

Product Feature: Lifetime Candle

With summer drawing to a close (I know, too soon), it's time to think about fall.  One great fall decor item to have is a Lifetime Candle.

A row of autumn candles

"Wow, that's a candle?" is a phrase we hear a lot with Lifetime Candles.  With different shapes, sizes, and fillings, it's easy to find something that will give your home a fall touch.

Lifetime Candles are filled with paraffin oil and a variety of silk flowers, fruits, plants and more to create a breathtaking display piece.  And the name is no throwaway: these candles last years. Add the fact that you can easily refill them with paraffin oil and you'll see why they're so popular with our store.  

Larger centerpiece options

The candles are hand filled and sold with a guarantee that you'll never need to replace the wick.  You don't even need to light one to appreciate its beauty; the colors paired with unique glass shapes are more than enough to welcome fall into your home.  

A sleek harvest cylinder 

So, if you're looking to add a beautiful Lifetime Candle to your home or give it as a gift, come visit us to find the prefect fall match.

Do you have a lifetime candle?  Share a picture of it and tag us on Facebook with @HummingbirdFloral

-Your flower-loving friends at Hummingbird Floral and Gift.

Tips and tricks to keep flowers looking fresh

Everyone enjoys having a bouquet of flowers out on display, but it can be hard to keep them looking their best for as long as possible.  So here are some tips and tricks for keeping your cut flowers looking healthy and happy for days.

1. Cut stems



When you get home with your flowers, cut the stems about an inch from the bottom before immediately putting them in water.  Even a few minutes out of a vase will allow a cap to form on the stem, preventing it from taking up as much water as it can.  Cutting the stem reveals fresh, open cells that are ready to soak up moisture and keep the flower from decaying.

2. Treating water



Treat the water in your vase with a flower food powder, which gives the stems glucose to use as food, acid to keep the pH of the water ideal, and bleach to prevent the growth of bacteria that might harm your flowers.  If you don't have flower food, you can make your own with this recipe.  Putting a penny in your vase will also keep fungus or bacteria away, due to the copper (a natural fungicide).

3.  Refrigerate your flowers



There's a reason florist shops keep flowers in a large refrigerator: it slows the decay of the cells (read our previous post about the importance of keeping flowers cold)  Place your arrangement or bouquet in the fridge overnight to keep it perky during the day.  Never use the crisper drawer though, the temperature in there is too cold for flowers and will kill them.

4. Location, location, location



Never put your arrangement or bouquet in direct sun or near drafts.  Keep them somewhere cool with indirect sunlight.  Good locations are away from vents, windows, and bright lights.

5. Misting



Many cut flowers will appreciate being misted with cool water.  Hydrangeas, (pictured above) especially enjoy having their heads dunked completely underwater for a few hours to perk up if they start drooping.

So do you have any tips for keeping arrangements and bouquets fresh for days?  Let us know your tricks in a comment below.

THIS WEEKS CODE WORD IS VASE!  Mention it on your next visit for BOGO on loose roses!  Thanks for reading the blog!

-Your flower loving friends at Hummingbird Floral

Dorm room/office plants

Houseplants brighten up a room in more ways than one.  They clean and purify the air we breath, add a touch of nature to the indoors, and even teach about nurturing and caring for another living thing.  School is starting soon for many, so here are some ideas for easy to care for houseplants that will brighten a dorm room or even an office that needs some green.

For the simplest plant to keep in a dorm or office, try an air plant terrarium.

A simple air plant setup

These plants are perfect for placing in a vase or hanging bowl.  They require little sunlight and because they have no roots need only to be soaked or misted about every week to stay healthy.  Just place them with whatever decorative stones or sand matches your room for an instant conversation piece.

Another very simple houseplant is the marimo moss ball.

Use sand for an exotic look

An alternative to fish tanks that require regular time consuming maintenance and are difficult to transport during breaks, marimo terrariums are the aquatic version of a pet rock (and a little more interesting to look at!) Marimo are happiest out of direct sun in cool, shadowed areas.  Just replace the water every other week and run the moss under cold water, gently squeezing out the old water like a sponge.  That's it!  

Of course, if you want something a little more traditional, you can't go wrong with a spider plant.

Be warned: spider plants grow fast!

Spider plants are ubiquitous in office spaces, and for good reason.  They grow quickly, don't need large amounts of sun, and propagate i.e sprout miniature 'pups' that can be cut and potted separately.  Water it as you would any potted plant, and remove the pups as they grow.  

Another leafy plant that does well in dorm or office spaces is philodenron or pothos plants.  

A pothos

Similar in care to the spider plant, these leafy, vine plants do well with indirect sun and can even be kept in vases of water rather than pots.

So, what do you think?  What kind of indoor plant do you have the best success with?  Let us know in a comment below.  

SPECIAL CODE WORD: PLANTS.  MENTION THIS WORD IN THE STORE FOR BOGO ON LOOSE ROSES.  Thanks for reading the blog!

-Your flower loving friends at Hummingbird Floral and Gift

The ultimate orchid care guide

Orchids have long been known as difficult houseplants.  They've been described as delicate, picky, and require far too much work for the average houseplant owner.  But these ideas are simply not true.

In Victorian England, only the wealthy could afford to import exotic plants and flowers for their homes and greenhouses.  Importers traveled the world and brought back strange plants that fetched high prices in high societies.  Charles Darwin and other naturalists cataloged some of the 30,000 varieties of orchid and noted each of the species differences.  

Today, anybody can keep an orchid.  The most popular varieties include:

Moth Orchid

  

Cattleya Orchid

 Paphiopedilum Orchid

So how do you keep this beautiful flowering plant happy?  This care guide will focus on the moth orchid, as it is our most popular sold at Hummingbird.  Other varieties may have different care needs, let us know which orchid you want a care guide for next in a comment below and we'll help you out!

Moth Orchid care: 

Temperature : Keep your orchid away from direct sunlight or drafts.  An interior room away from doors or large windows is best.

Watering: Always feel your orchid's substrate for dampness, the dirt shouldn't be overly wet or dry and crumbling.  Water with cool water whenever your orchid feels dry.  Orchids also appreciate a misting every week or so with a fine spray.

Fertilizing: To ensure the health of your orchid plant, fertilizing is recommended.  Use a fertilizer marked for use in orchids or houseplants and follow the fertilization guidelines.

Regrowth:  When all the flowers have dropped from your orchid plant, cut the stems down, leaving 2-3" of stem above soil.  Continue watering every 10 days or whenever the soil feels dry, and the plant will begin to regrow.  If the stems droop or lean, tie them to a support branch placed in the soil so the flowers will grow outwards rather than down.

What do you think?  How have you had success with the intimidating orchid?  Let us know in a comment below.

-Your flower-loving friends at Hummingbird Floral and Gift