Wednesday, September 11, 2013

365 Days of Floral Education - Days 306 - 310

As part of our 125th Anniversary celebration at Stein Your Florist Co. we are sharing a year of floral education, November 1, 2012 thru October 31, 2013. Each day we will post something new on our Facebook page to share our knowledge of our favorite things, flowers and plants and we'll be updating our blog every 5 days or so. No need for pencils and notebooks, just sharing some simple lessons in floristry.

Day 306 – Matthiola, commonly known at stock, is more than just pretty to look at and wonderful to smell. The flowers, leaves and seedpods are also edible. They may be eaten as a vegetable or used as a garnish, especially with sweet desserts. And when all else fails, they may be used as a famine food.

 

Day 307 – Zinnias are not only pretty, but edible too! Just rinse the flowers in cool water prior to use, check for bugs, and then remove the tasty petals. You may want to remove the seeds as well, but that’s optional. Check out this blog post with lots of fun zinnia recipes to try:  http://www.arcadia-farms.net/2012/09/01/10-ways-to-eat-zinnias/


 

Day 308 - Liatris make a great cut flower, both fresh and dried.  To dry the flowers, harvest the spikes when one-half to two-thirds of the flowers are open.  Spikes can be air-dried by hanging them upside down in a protected spot for approximately three weeks, or by using a desiccant such as silica-gel or sand (which often leads to superior color preservation).





Day 309 – Liatris is also known by the name colic root, due to its historical medicinal use as an intestinal antispasmodic (reduces muscle spasms).













 

Day 310 – The exquisite Liatris symbolizes the meanings I Will Try Again, Happiness, Bliss, Enthusiasm and Satisfaction.

No comments:

Post a Comment