Handmade greeting cards

Nita Joy Craft Design has been working hard this year to broaden our range of gifts for our flower photography.

After many requests and enquiries, I am pleased to announce our first collection of handbags.

Geranium Handbag

I have had wonderful comments from customers who have said how they have had many people stop and ask them where they have bought their handbag.

Here is a recent comment  -

‘Hi Anita, I just wanted to let you know that on a recent holiday trip, I was stopped and asked 8 times where I had bought my bag!

It’s so lovely and unusual, it makes a real statement that adds a little extra  touch to any outfit.

Many thanks.’

Another popular item in our gift range is our tote bags, which are very useful for shopping trips and my new collection of handbags is being received just as well.

The handbag collection has 7 designs which include glorious shades of pink, lilac, greens, yellow and blues. These colours will suit a number of outfits and suitable for special occasions or for every day use.

Here is our collection -

Our handbags are available through our online shop – Floral Gifts – Handbags

Please allow up to 14 working days for delivery as these handbags are made to order.

I am a big fan of the National Garden Scheme also known as the NGS!

I love visiting gardens such as the large RHS Gardens, but I also love visiting smaller / personal gardens, loving created by people who love to share their pride and  joy with visitors, whilst raising money for charity.

Over the years I have tried to get to as many gardens operating under the NGS as I can, but there are still many on the list in my area that I am eager to visit.

As I regularly write blog posts about particular flowers, I often recommend particular gardens in the NGS to visit, as not only will it be a great day out, but  it is also good to support our local neighbourhood gardeners. You can learn so much by visiting these gardens, admiring their planting schemes and asking the owners questions.

If you are looking to redesign your garden, or add to your garden and are looking for inspiration, these gardens are ideal! As often we can be a little intimidated by the larger grander gardens that are looked after by teams of gardeners. If you want to know which plants would be suitable in your area, visiting local gardens gives you a great opportunity to see which plants work for your soil conditions.

Last weekend I had the privilege of visiting the Cerne Abbas Open Gardens in Dorset. I had been a few years ago and was looking forward to a return visit.

The weather was perfect which always makes a visit to a garden extra special. The Cerne Abbas Village is stunning.

If you want to visit a typical traditional English village, then this is a must visit.

25 gardens took part in the weekend. If you love investigating every crook and cranny of old walls and pathways, you will enjoy visiting this village as there is always some thing interesting to see.

Tickets to this event was £5 for adults and free for children, which was extremely good value. You also receive a small map to help you find the gardens around the village.

The photo on the right was taken as I was looking over an old wall admiring the view. The rose and rose bud was beautiful and I thought it would make a nice photo for this blog post.

We didn’t make it around all of the gardens, but really enjoyed the ones we ‘discovered’ as we walked around the village. As I walked around the streets, down various paths and small alley ways, I was reminded of one of my favourite childhood stories – The Secret Garden. As you looked for the yellow posters and open gates, you were never sure what you would find. The gardens fitted each other like a perfectly made jigsaw puzzle, and if you had a peek over the walls you would get a brief view of the next door garden’s delights.

The flowers that were in abundance throughout the gardens was the stunning rose, in gorgeous colours and tones such as white, pink and red. Astrantia was also a popular plant in these gardens and to be honest I can see why. I have a fondness for this lovely flower, the colours and detail complement so many other plants, and when the sun catches their petals they just look stunning!

Not only were the plants beautiful to look at, but also the scent made the whole presentation even better. You could tell that the bees were enjoying their dinner, but I was also mesmerised by the varying scents of the tea roses and honeysuckle. WOW!! If I had a chair and a mug of tea in hand, I wouldn’t have been able to move for hours!

Some of the gardens also had small ponds and fountains, and on a day like we visited with the hot sun fully out, the trickling sound of the water made a welcome addition to the setting.

No garden visit would be complete without a cup of tea of cold drink. We enjoyed an ice cream and an elderflower presse at Abbots Brasserie and Tea Garden. There are a couple of tea rooms and pubs in Cerne Abbas, so plenty of places for a drink and something to eat.

If you would like to visit the Cerne Abbas Open Garden weekend, then they will be holding the next event next year on the 18th- 19th June 2011, so make sure you add it to your diary, as you are sure to have a lovely time.

If you would like to visit a local NGS garden near to you, you can select the county that you live on the NGS website and a detailed list with photographs will be shown. You can also pick up little yellow NGS booklets at various tourist information points, for more information.

Roses always come at the top of the list in literature and various gardening shows. The sheer abundance of varieties, colour and smell makes it a truly inspiring plant. Whatever garden you have, there will be a rose variety to suit whether you have a balcony, small patio or city or county garden, you can enjoy this flower.

One of the best times to truly appreciate the scent of roses, is just as the sun comes down on a warm summers evening, is absolutely heavenly.

Roses are always popular with weddings, anniversaries and valentines.

Every survey that asks the nation – what our favourite flower is, the answer is always the same – the rose.

The english country garden is not complete without one or two of these delightful flowers.

Last year, there was a survey to find out the worlds favourite rose, impossible you would think! Well the results showed that it is indeed the David Austin rosa ‘Graham Thomas’ do you agree?

In the language of flowers the rose stands for –

- Love

- The Yellow rose can mean  – jealousy

The rose is a perennial flower and has over 100 different species within the family Rosaceae. Every year the collection grows, with new varieties being introduced all the time.

David Austin has over 800 varieties!

The huge variety of roses means that if you want to grow a rose, there will be a variety for you; from the shrub, floribunda, tea, climbing, patio etc…

The RHS have provided a guide to how to plant roses

To ensure greater success with growing your chosen rose, the advice is that bare root roses are the best to buy, from a reputable grower. As roses are available everywhere, including the local petrol station and high street DIY store, you can never be sure of where the roses have come from, and how long they have been there.  Buying quality roses can be costly, but this is where cutting corners doesn’t usually save in the long run.

The problems associated with roses are – rust, rose black spot and powder mildew, greenfly / aphids and ants that seem to be attracted to container roses.

Greenfly can often be got rid of by using a water spray with water and a bit of washing up liquid, sprayed directly on the leaves. You could also ladybirds into your garden to munch them up – purchase a ladybird breeding kit.

In reference to ladybirds there is currently running a UK ladybird survey, you can help them by recording any sightings.

Roses will bloom with a good feed such as a general feed or specialised rose feed, mulching, and careful watering.

It’s also best not to plant a new rose where other roses have been, particularly if they were diseased

If you love roses, then a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show is an absolute must! Hampton Court Flower show is also a great show to see this beauty.

Last year I had the opportunity to visit the Hampton Court Flower show, and their special Tudor Rose Marquee was breath taking. The crowds were horrendous and trying to get close to the displays was hard, but the display of toses were gorgeous. I wouldn’t have missed it! To see a 3D video presentation of the marquee take a look at the RHS video – Tudor Rose Festival.

Not sure which rose to choose?

David Austin has helpfully provided a guide to help you choose the perfect rose for you!

Some of the best roses for cut flowers are –

William Shakespeare 2000

Graham Thomas

Winchester Cathedral

Gertrude Jekyll

Evelyn

I also love the Albert Bell, with stunning yellow flowers and lovely scent.

Want to learn how to make a beautiful display of flowers?

Sarah Raven has an excellent website and also provides flower arranging courses

Sarah did a wonderful programme on supporting UK cut flower growers, if we can support our local growers, not only will have gorgeous flowers, but also help specialist nurseries stay in business.

More information about the beloved rose -

• The World Federation of rose societies

Where to buy roses –

Apuldram Roses

Country roses

David Austin

Peter Beales

The Country Garden Plant Centre

The Real Flower Company

Gardens to admire roses –

Each of the RHS Gardens – Rosemoor, Harlow Car, Hyde Hall, and Wisley have wonderful display of roses. Wisley are currently developing a new rose garden. If I had to pick one for roses then it would be Hyde Hall in Essex! One word – AMAZING! You will overdose on this beauty, if it’s possible to.

From the 19th -20th June RHS Rosemoor are holding a special weekend in honour of the beautiful rose -Scents of Summer

National Trust gardens tend to have a great show of the wonderful rose

Mottisfont house and gardens in Hampshire, have special events when the rose is in bloom, Check if there is a garden near you that has similar events.

Garden of the Rose in Hertfordshire

Coughton Court Gardens in Warwickshire

Castle Howard in Yorkshire

Any cottage gardens will have a host of wonderful roses added to their design. Check with your local National Garden Scheme , support a charity and see wonderful gardens!

We have a collection of rose cards  and gifts suitable for all occasions, including -

Engagements, Weddings, Valentine’s Day or just simply because you or the intended recipient of the card loves roses!

Add your special message for a truly special card!

www.sendaflowercard.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Best roses for the garden (telegraph.co.uk)
• Gardening week ahead: Semi-evergreen roses (telegraph.co.uk)

Aka Teaching the girls how to garden

The last month the house of Arrow has been even dirtier than usual.

My daughters aged 4 and 5 have been planting. Cue lots of soil, lots of seeds and even more soil. Have I mentioned there was some soil involved in this gardening project? And mud. No garden is complete without mud it would seem.

We went to Asda to chose our seeds. Jasmine (aged 4) chose tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, runner beans and corn on the cob. Kira (aged 5) chose Strawberries, cress and Lobelia. We also bought some propagating trays and several bags of soil. Kira declared she wanted sunflowers so we added those to the trolley as well.

The journey home was quite fraught, driving and trying to explain that they couldn’t plant them in the car, that the dirt should stay in the bag and that sunflowers are also planting as well as eating and we had got the planting variety and not the eating variety! Is there a difference? I have no idea but they were not going to eat them before we got home.

It was all a bit much for poor old mum (me), who only has green fingers when she paints her nails…

So dad took over and soon the dining table was unrecognisable, soil, plants and seeds where everywhere and then Jasmine proudly plonked down a propagating tray on the window sill, with such a gentle touch that half the house shuddered. They’ll never grow I thought. Never in a million years as I watched her use the equivalent of the Hanningfield reservoir to water them.

But they did.

The Tomatoes shot up! followed by the runner beans and cress. I don’t think the sweetcorn has made it or the sunflowers – but Jasmine doesn’t care. The strawberries were lovingly transplanted by Kira into hanging baskets and then water very heavily by Jasmine. They are also growing like wildfire.

We made egg and cress sandwiches, Jasmine was not impressed. Kira turned her nose up as well and no amount of persuading would convince her to eat the cress she had grown! Jasmine has declared she is going to grow things when she grows up. I believe her. She says she is waiting for her ‘martos to grow and she checks them every day, she is a very determined young lady and heaven help them ‘martoes if they don’t grow!

Next year I will be more prepared. I shall go out for the day and leave Kev and the girls to it

Sarah

……………………

Anita would like to thank Sarah Arrow for her guest post!

Please follow sarah on twitter -  http://www.twitter.com/SarahArrow

Well, have you been enjoying the wonderful Chelsea flower show? I have! I look forward to this time every year, when we see the best in garden design and displays that can tempt and enthuse us to get into our gardens.

Unfortunately I am unable to go to the show this year, so I have been enjoying the coverage on the television. The BBC coverage is very useful, and  because the crowds are so large at this highly popular flower show, you can often miss the detail, so watching the BBC shows on BBC1 and BBC2 and their red button programmes, can help enormously. I love learning from the amazing Carol Klein whose plant knowledge is just amazing!

The colour schemes at this years show are so fresh and calming. With the weather that we have been having over the last week, the cool planting schemes of the M&G garden designed by Roger Platts and The Children’s Society Garden designed by Mark Gregory provides a restful scene.

I love the detail of The Victorian Aviary Garden designed by Phillipa Pearson and Jonathan Denby, with the wonderful Peacock mosaic path! (I want one of those LOL)

My favourite areas have always been the floral pavillion and the small courtyard gardens, and I always make a beeline for them when I go. I do admit that I spend most of my time admiring the stunning floral displays in the pavilion. So if you are going, please make sure you don’t miss these areas as you won’t be disappointed!

The key planting schemes that I have noticed this year, are the pretty aquilegia, the varied foxgloves, scented lavenders, the delicate grasses and of course beautiful roses.

Gardens with a message

In the Show Gardens category - The Stephen Hawking Garden for Motor Neurone Disease is a very thoughtful garden. I love the fact that not only can you design a wonderful garden for sight, smell and touch, but also by including a meaning into the design – it can be the best kind of advert there can be! I do hope that the visitors will take on the message behind this garden, understanding the wonderful work that the MND Association do.

In the Small Urban Gardens category there is the garden called Dyslexia – A Barrier to Education? Designed by Tim Fowler, which also seeks to provide a message in the design of the garden, looking at how the brain analyses various information.

In the Small Courtyard Gardens -  Green & Blacks Rainforest Garden designed by Jane Owen and Ann-Marie Powell, is thoughtlfully detailed to make us think about the Cameroon Rainforest and the people who live there.

Admiration

I have enormous admiration for the designers and growers who have had such a hard time this year getting their plants ready for the show, as the weather has really tested them. I am also amazed at how plants that have been brought over from various countries have survived the long journeys that they have travelled to be included in the designs, and with the ash cloud situation, it has been even more difficult for them this year.

I think that all the people who have been / are involved in the show should be awarded a medal, for their talent, patience, hard work etc… in bringing us an extraordinary, wonderful flower show for us to admire.

Language of flowers

Today the lunchtime show looked briefly at the interesting subject of Floriography – The Language of Flowers. The BBC website has further information on the significance of flowers, but if you would like to know more, please visit my website, where I look at the history of floriography and give examples of popular flowers. I have also used this as a basis to look at particular businesses by choosing flowers that best describe their business.

Going to Chelsea?

If you are going to the Chelsea Flower show this year, I hope you have a wonderful time. If you write a blog post about your visit, please share the link to your post in the comments section for others to read and enjoy!

Don’t Miss

The Real Flower Company who specialise in the most wonderful English rose bouquets, have just been awarded an RHS Certificate of Merit for outstanding presentation. We send our congratulations to them! You can find them at stand MW5. They are also running a very special competition to win 6 months of English scented roses more details can be found on their website.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Chelsea Flower Show 2010: Andy Sturgeon on why the tree had to go (telegraph.co.uk)
• Chelsea Flower Show: winners in full (telegraph.co.uk)
• Chelsea Flower Show 2010 pictures: all the best images from RHS Chelsea (telegraph.co.uk)

Angela  Boothroyd from Online English Lessons, has kindly written a guest post for me, looking at the global language of gardening. I hope you enjoy reading it. Please click through to her website for fantastic, helpful information, about the English Language.

……………………………..

The English language is full of words and phrases acquired from other languages over centuries of use. The language we use daily has vocabulary derived from many languages, including: French, German, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic and Hebrew. Much of this vocabulary has become so familiar to native English speakers that we rarely stop to consider the origins of the words we use.

As gardeners we are surrounded by Latin plant names, of course, but have you ever wondered where some of the other words we might use while gardening have come from?

Here are a few words you might happen across in an average afternoon’s gardening:

It’s a beautiful day outside so you’ve decided to do a little gardening. You put on your dungarees and gardening gloves, dig a few holes with your trowel, and plant some romaine lettuce, broccoli, pimiento and canteloupe. You follow this with a little light pruning with your secateurs.

All this hard work has tired you out so it’s time to have a rest and dine alfresco on a fresh baguette. You pour yourself a drink from a carafe of wine or water, admire the flora and fauna of your garden, and the trompe l’oiel your sister very kindly painted on your garden wall, and, finally, as a reward for all your hard work, you settle back in your chair and have a siesta!

• dungarees – from 17C. Hindi dungri
• trowel – from Old French truele and medieval Latin truella
• romaine lettuce – early 20C. French, feminine of romain (Roman). The name may have been given because the cos lettuce reached Western Europe through Rome.
• broccoli – 17C. Italian broccolo cabbage sprout
• pimiento – 17C. Spanish, from the Latin pigmentum meaning paint or pigment.
• cantaloupe – 18C. French, from Cantaluppi, a papal estate near Rome, where it was first grown when introduced from Armenia
• prune – from the Old French proignier
• secatuers – 19C. French, plural of secateur, from the Latin secare to cut
• alfresco – 18C. Italian al fresco, in the fresh
• baguette – 18C. French, from the Italian bacchetto, from the Latin baculum
• carafe – 18C. French, from Italian caraffa, probably from Arabic garafa, to draw water
• flora – 16C. Latin, from Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and gardens
• fauna – 18C. from Fauna an ancient Italian rural goddess
• trompe l’oiel – 19C. French, from tromper to deceive, and l’oeil the eye
• siesta – 17C. Spanish, from the Latin sexta (hora), sixth (hour) of the day, i.e. midday

That’s just a few examples of the origins of some of the many words from around the world we use while gardening.

Do you have any other examples or suggestions? I’d love to hear about them

Guest post from Angela Boothroyd – Online English Lessons for speakers of other languages.

Reference:

Cassell’s Foreign Words & Phrases (2000)

Recently we had the privilege of visiting Apple Court garden again.

When you visit, you feel as though it’s a secret garden, but I want to share this secret with you.

I suggest you ask for the garden leaflet for information about the garden, to get the most out of your visit.

This beautiful garden is situated in lymington Hampshire, near to the coast and the majestic New Forest; it ticks all the boxes for me.

The owners and gardeners are Angela and Charles Meads. They took over the garden in 2003, and in a relatively short space of time in gardening terms, they have a garden they can be proud of!

On both occasions we were fortunate to see the garden in lovely spring weather, you feel so at home in the garden that you could quite easily sit and have a cuppa watching the world go by.

They also had some amazing chickens with an enormous black velvet rooster, I don’t know the name of these chickens but I had to take a photo to show you how magnificent they are. They are great for pest control, very eco-friendly and a gardeners friend.

Often gardens specialise in particular plants and flowers.

Apple Court Garden’s specialities are – hostas, day lilies, and ferns.

On our visit last year in May, we had a lovely surprise, a beautiful wisteria was found over a lovely little seat at the beginning of the rope walk that I mention on my video below. We will be returning to admire this lovely scented flower again very soon. Angela was sure that the wisteria would be in flower very soon, and you could certainly see the buds about to burst into life.   

The planting scheme is planned very well as it looks natural, but you know that a lot of work has gone into the design. As I mention in the video it’s a restful garden, a garden to visit to let your stresses melt away and feel refreshed once more.

I particularly enjoyed the lovely spring, salmon and peach borders for the spring bulbs, the lovely camellias and magnolias and the hellebores.

If you like gardens with many rooms and little paths to discover new areas, then this is a garden for you.

It’s definitely a garden to see through the spring to the autumn seasons.

The garden is open under the National Garden Scheme (NGS)

Here is the video to give you a little taster of what you can expect from this lovely garden.

When is Apple Court Garden open?

It’s open from the beginning of March to the end of October.

Opening hours - 10-5 pm

Opening Days -  Friday – Sunday and Bank Holidays

Price £4.00. There is a season ticket available for £10.00 well worth it if you are planning to visit a few times in the opening season.

Shop There is a nursery area with a large array of plants available to purchase, to add to your garden. They also have an online shop

Refreshments there is a little area for drinks.

If you want something more substantial we can recommend Braxton Gardens that is about 5-10 mins drive away. Braxton Gardens is definitely worth a visit, especially when the roses are out as they have a rose garden, as well as a tea room.

Mobility if walking is hard for you; there are little sitting areas to admire the garden from. The paths are small, so using a wheelchair may be difficult, as it doesn’t have paved paths. I would suggest contacting the garden before you visit, to see if it is accessible for you.

I hope you enjoyed the video and find the information useful.

We hope that you will add this garden to your list to visit, as you won’t be disappointed.

For more details Apple Court Gardens website is – www.applecourt.com

It’s bluebell time!!!!

Can you tell I’m excited! Well I am, because I look forward to seeing this stunning flower every year!

In a mini series we looked at various businesses to see what flower would best describe them.

We looked at -  A flower for Arrow light Haulage

In order to choose an appropriate flower for a business we need to look at the business objectives.

Arrow Light Haulage -

• Is a professional Essex Same Day Courier and Van Delivery company.
• Their objective is to collect and deliver time critical goods and deliver them anywhere in the UK.
• Their drivers are polite and well trained; they know that your reputation is in their hands.
• They do the job right the first time, – a professional courier.

I have chosen the beautiful bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) to describe Arrow Light Haulage.

In the language of flowers the bluebell stands for 3 key aims and objectives for their business.

• Constancy
• Reliability
• Dependability

The bluebell is a favourite of mine, as soon as the New Year begins I look for snowdrops, then I count the days until bluebell season. I have a favourite wood near by that I simply must visit every year.

Bluebells grow and grow searching for any dappled sunlight, as the leaf coverage on trees are not at their full capacity. When the trees finally catch up, bluebells finally begin to drift off back to sleep to regain their strength for another year.

In Britain we have three types –

• Native (which can also include the white bluebell)
• Spanish
• Hybrid ( a mix of the above 2)

Bluebells flower from April – June.

The English bluebell is a delight to see, but due to the spread of the Spanish bluebell, true English bluebells are becoming quite rare.

If you would like to learn how to identify a native bluebell, the Natural History museum has provided a description and drawings to help you – identifying bluebells.

For some recommended places to see this beauty –

• Milton Abbas and Delcombe woods and surrounding area in Dorset
• Badbury rings and Kinsgston Lacey in Dorset
• Emmets Garden (National Trust) Kent
• Royal Botanic gardens Kew London
• Royal Botanic Gardens Wakehurst Place Sussex
• Arlington Bluebell walk and farm trail East Sussex
• Coton Manor Gardens in Northamptonshire
• Trevarno gardens in Cornwall

Do you have a favourite place to see bluebells?

Please share with us so that our blog readers know the best places to visit.

I am sure there are many other wonderful gardens to see the magnificent bluebell, check the RHS or the National Trust to see some suggestions in your area.

The Good gifts catalogue has a great gift available for someone who loves bluebells. You can help protect a bluebell wood for £50 through the Tree council.

If you want to fill your garden with bluebells, the process from seed can take a couple of years to flower; here is a video by Gardener’s World on how to grow bluebells from seed. Bulbs are available through most garden centres. Please make sure that you buy native bluebells, and that they haven’t been taken from woodland as they are a protected species.

So plan a trip to your local bluebell woods and enjoy the stunning colour and smell of the gorgeous bluebell.

Enjoy!

Note: if you would like us to look at a flower for your business please contact us, we can provide a package of choosing a flower that best describes your business and a framed print of your flower that you can display in your office.

Please contact us for further information and we will let you know our package prices.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Bluebells to be three weeks late this year (telegraph.co.uk)
• a five mile walk in sussex: etchingham station to pashley manor gardens to the bull inn (gorgeoux.com)
• Elspeth Thompson: extracts (telegraph.co.uk)

We have some more exciting news to share with you.

A previous blog post we talked about a new floral splashback we designed for the high quality kitchen fittings and accessories shop – My Kitchen Store.

We have been asked if we could provide a  bespoke, floral collection, for kitchen splashbacks.

We loved designing the oriental poppy and jumped at the chance to provide a special collection.

There are many ways that we can bring a touch of nature into our living spaces, such as house plants, vases filled with bouquets of flowers, floral greeting cards,  framed and canvas prints, as well as kitchen and bathroom splashbacks.

Working with My Kitchen Store, we are delighted to announce our brand new flower collection for kitchen splashbacks. I am sure that they could also be added in your bathroom if you wish.

Our collection has been designed baring in mind various styles and colour schemes, as well as providing a complementing floral framed and canvas prints to carry your chosen design into your sitting room or dining room.

We hope you like our collection -

For further information about this collection please visit my website – Bespoke Kitchen Splashbacks

They are made from 6 mm toughened glass and conforms to the BS 62606 and PREN 12000 standards.

If you would like any of the above designs on an eco friendly tote bag, please let us know.

Any enquires about kitchen splashbacks  and other fittings and accessories please contact My Kitchen Store

All images © Nita Joy Craft Design

Related articles by Zemanta

• Floral Accessories to Brighten Up the Kitchen (thekitchn.com)
• Working Traditional Florals Into Modern Spaces (apartmenttherapy.com)

Today we are looking at the lovely tulip.

Words to describe tulips could be –

• Cheerful
• Elegant
• Showy
• Colourful

What words would you use to describe this flower?

In the language of flowers, the tulip means –

• Beautiful eyes
• Fame
• Love

Interesting facts:

• There are over 109 species, with approximately 3,000 different varieties in the tulip family the Liliaceae.

• If you buy tulips as cut flowers, they will continue to grow in a vase.

• The first tulips originated as a wildflower in Central Asia. It was in the 17^th century that tulips was introduced to Europe. Tulips were so popular in Holland that some special varieties became very expensive to buy; it could quite easily cost the same as buying a house!

• The Flower Design Institute have provided a useful video on how to care and arrange tulips. Please visit their website for further tips and hints for arranging beautiful displays of flowers.

There are 3 flowering times –

• Early flowering – March – April
• Mid season flowering – April -May
• Late flowering – May

• There are 12 viruses that can affect tulips, causing problems with the flowers and leaves, as well as problems with growth. The RHS provide a useful information page to help you notice symptoms and give advice on how you can help improve the health of your tulips – Tulips Viruses

• This bulbous plant is lovely to see in spring, with its amazing range of colours and patterns at various heights from the tall and elegant, to the striking compact variety.

• Tulips can often be seen in our local parks and roundabout displays as well as a garden favourite.

I have been very fortunate to see the wonderful tulip farms and gardens  in Holland when I was a child. It is something I would like to return to and see again, as it left me speechless, admiring the fields of rich colour.

Above 3 images of Tulips and daffodils from Holland, are taken by my Dad from one of our trips.

I have been enjoying various gardens in Dorset and Hampshire admiring this beauty. There are so many different varieties it’s hard to choose a favourite, do you have a favourite?

Tulips can be grown successfully in containers and spring borders. They often provide a sense of structure to a garden border, and mixes well with other plants. I have particularly enjoyed gardens that have concentrated on a green and white colour scheme, with white tulips, daffodils and snowflakes dotted around green foliage. This provides a cool restful scene. An example of this can be seen at Apple Court Gardens in Hampshire, which we will be writing a blog post about our visit very soon.

If you would like to visit a garden to admire this lovely varied flower, the following is a small selection of gardens and farms recommended to see tulips.

• Keukenhof in Holland has some 32 acres of Tulips!

• Skagit Valley Tulip Festival near Seattle in the US

• Woodburn Tulip Festival Oregon US

• Springfield Festival Gardens in Spalding UK

• Pashley Manor Gardens in Sussex have a tulips festival, running from the 23^rd April –  3^rd May. They have some 23,000 tulips to admire!

• Kew Gardens in Surrey

• The NGS (National Garden Scheme) has a very helpful website detailing gardens under this scheme throughout the UK who grow tulips. To find gardens in your area please visit – Tiptoe through the Tulips

Where to buy Tulips

All garden centres sell tulips, but if you are looking for a specialist grower –

• Blom Bulbs have won 59 gold medals at the prestigious Chelsea flower show.
• Avon Bulbs who have also been awarded 21 gold medals at Chelsea Flower Show.
• Rose Cottage Plants for detailed information on the 80 tulip varieties that they offer, please visit their website

At Nita Joy Craft Design we have some special personalised tulip cards for a variety of occasions, or add your personal message.

We will also have some tulip designs available for kitchen splashbacks through My Kitchen Store, which we will be announcing soon!

Wherever you live, there is sure to be a garden near you where you can enjoy the beautiful tulip.

Enjoy!

We would love to hear your recommended places to see Tulips so we can share them with our blog readers.