Showing posts with label plant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plant. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

365 Days of Floral Education - Days 186 - 190

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 186 - Ranunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of plants in the Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus include the buttercups, spearworts, water crowfoots and the lesser celandine. All Ranunculus species are poisonous when eaten fresh by cattle, horses, and other livestock, but their acrid taste and the blistering of the mouth caused by their poison means they are usually left uneaten. Poisoning can occur where buttercups are abundant in overgrazed fields where little other edible plant growth is left, and the animals eat them out of desperation. When Ranunculus plants are handled, naturally occurring ranunculin is broken down to form protoanemonin, which is known to cause contact dermatitis in humans and care should therefore be exercised in extensive handling of the plants.
Day 187 - Today, carnations can be found in a wide range of colors, and while in general they express love, fascination and distinction, virtually every color carries a unique and rich association. White carnations suggest pure love and good luck, light red symbolizes admiration, while dark red represents deep love and affection. Purple carnations imply capriciousness, and pink carnations carry the greatest significance, beginning with the belief that they first appeared on earth from the Virgin Mary’s tears – making them the symbol of a mother's undying love.
Day 188 - The Prayer plant is really a quite amazing plant. Its foliage is mainly a dark green with red variations of veins running through them. The amazing part of the Prayer plant is that at night, the leaves fold up. Just like it's praying! This plant is available in many varieties including Herringbone and Rabbits Tracks. The main foliage colors vary depending on the variety. This plant is a nice small, compact houseplant, perfect for windowsills! It adapts very well to indoor temperatures, making it a great addition to your room.
Day 189 - Prayer plants prefer moderate to low indirect light levels. If the leaves on your plant begin to curl and turn brown, your plant is receiving too much light. Providing this plant with too much direct sunlight can burn the foliage. Prayer plants require moist but not soggy soil. This houseplant also is one of the few houseplants that does not like its soil to dry out between watering, so try to keep the soil consistently moist at all times. The biggest need for this houseplant is humidity. It requires high humidity levels to flourish, so a daily misting will go far. If the tips of the foliage begin to brown your plant may not be getting the humidity it needs. By providing high humidity levels, you help in ensuring beautiful flowers bloom. This plant is also very temperamental when it comes to temperature changes. It prefers a range of 65 to 80 degrees, however it does not like fluctuations in temperature. Do keep it away from drafts.
Day 190 - Croton plants are known for their bright tropical foliage, which is multi-colored and exotic in appearance. The foliage contains stiff leaves pointing upward and has a wax-like feel to them. The Croton plant requires moderate to bright light, so keep the plant within 3 - 5 feet of a window receiving sunlight. Croton plant varieties require heavy watering as well as high humidity. Misting the plant once or twice a week appears to be sufficient for accommodating the Croton's humidity needs if you live in an area with low humidity levels. Keep the plants soil moist at all times. If leaves begin to fall off or slope downward, you are probably not providing the plant with enough water. If the leaves edges become wilted, this may be an indication that you are over watering the plant. Try cutting down on how often you water and see if that improves the leaves appearance. The Croton also prefers warm temperatures up to 80 degrees F.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Shopping Green

Upcycled handmade notepads made
from vintage Monopoly game
pieces by Stein Your Florist Co. 
“Our planet, our home is being neglected. Climate change continues unabated. It seems there's a new ecological disaster happening almost daily. This Earth Day it's time to mobilize the planet from the ground up to send a message that the Earth won't wait!”

This powerful statement is from the Earth Day Network, which is committed to diversifying and mobilizing the modern environmental movement. At Stein Your Florist Co. we love the Earth, it gives us the wonderful gift of flowers! This Earth Day, and everyday,  we want to share a few simple shopping tips that are sure to make the Earth happy :)




Complete the loop, buy recycled!

Handmade upcycled greeting card gift boxes
by Stein Your Florist Co.

Recycling is a 3-step process. That’s why the recycling symbol has 3 arrows that complete a loop. The 1st step is collection – that’s when you put your recyclables into your curbside recycling bin or take them to the drop-off center. The 2nd step is manufacturing – that’s when they’re processed into raw materials to make new products. The 3rd step is buying recycled – that’s when you complete the recycling loop. Even better is to buy upcycled products.


Handmade upcycled gift bows made from
magazine pages by Stein Your Florist Co.
Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. Upcycling tends to avoid manufacturing processes that can be environmentally detrimental and you always get a wonderful product and interesting conversation piece.




Go Green and Buy Handmade!

Upcycled and handmade shirt pillows, reusable
cloth napkins and hand towels, and fair trade journals
covered  in sari cloth scraps by Stien Your Florist Co.
The accumulating environmental effects of mass production are a major cause of global warming and the poisoning of our air, water and soil. Every item you make or purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production. We love handmade products… we’ve been hand making beautiful flower arrangements for 125 years! Wonder if Abraham and Bertha Stein realized way back in 1887 that they were part of a green movement when they opened Steins…


Handmade flower arrangement in a
recycled glass vase designed with
organic flowers by Stein Your Florist Co.
Go green and buy organic!
Keep chemicals out of the air, water, soil and our bodies. Have a healthier happier life and a more diverse, healthier, greener planet! We love when we get in organically grown flowers and shop for them whenever we can.












Buy air purifying plants!

Handmade terrarium planted with air
purifying plants in a vintage pickle jar
by Stein Your Florist Co.
Indoor air contamination is more wide spread then most people realize! The good news is that NASA studies found that common houseplants were able to remove up to 87% of air toxins in 24 hrs! The recommendation? Use 15 to 18 "good-sized" house plants in 6” to 8” diameter containers for a 1,800 sq ft house.









Shop antiques, collectables, and vintage items!
Vintage pottery at Stein Your Florist Co.
It reduces the impact of big industry’s creation of new items and reuses or repurposes these wonderful treasures, giving them a second life, and keeping them out of landfills. When we cleaed out a location we used to have on Front Street in Philadelphia we found thousands of vintage ceramics and collectibles that Steins bought in the 40's, 50's and 60's. We are now sharing these treasures... woderful pieces from McCoy, Roseville, and Occupied Japan pieces.





Buying fair trade is socially & ecologically responsible!

Fair trade recycled wrapper purse and fair trade
gourd maracas at Stein Your Florist Co.
Purchasing fair trade products helps producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions & promote sustainability. It advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as high social and environmental standards.

Fair trade telephone wire bangles at
Stein Your Florist Co.






We love carrying an array of unique handmade fair trade products from around the world, including Africa, India, Mexico and parts of Asia. We also make every effort to purchase fair trade flowers whenever we can... it's just the right thing to do and the quality is always perfect!




Handmade all natural soy Wickie
Candles at Stein Your Florist Co.
All the products you see in this post can be found at Stein Your Florist Co. and Steins at Sunset Florist. Stop in one of our stores today to see all our awesome eco-treasures!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Go Green for Oxygen

Ivy plants for oxygen.
Succulents for oxygen.

Oxygen. It is an element with the atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O on the periodic table. In its most stable and useful form two oxygen molecules join together to form dioxygen, O2. Uptake of dioxygen (which we all just commonly refer to as oxygen) from the air is essential to our respiration, to living! We like oxygen. We need oxygen. Let’s fill our homes and offices with awesome life giving oxygen. Let’s go green for oxygen!

Spider plants are very effective at
removing carbon monoxide from
the air.
We recently learned that the universal color for oxygen is green and, being florists totally in love with plants, we find it no coincidence that most plants are green too. We all remember learning about photosynthesis in school… plants take in carbon dioxide and water and turn it into sugars and oxygen. It’s perfect! We exhale carbon dioxide and breathe in oxygen, plants do the opposite. It’s a wonderful symbiotic relationship that we have, so it only makes sense that we surround ourselves with these wonderful creatures. Houseplants do more than just brighten up a room with color and living energy; along with being pleasing to the eye, they bring real health benefits to our bodies.
Spathiphyllums, commonly
known as peace lilies, are
great for removing carbon
monoxide.

Ficus tree, great for
removing formaldehyde.
Some houseplants, such as spider plants and spathiphyllums (peace lilies), are effective for removing carbon monoxide from indoor air. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that when inhaled may result in seizures, coma, or even death. Spathiphyllums are also the most popular house plant in the US. They give off more oxygen then any other houseplant, a winner in our book!
Other plants, like ficus and aloe vera are effective at removing formaldehyde often found in adhesives and furnishings from the air. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen… it causes cancer. Cancer sucks.
Aloe vera plant, removes
formaldehyde from the air.
Cattleya orchid for oxygen.

Not only do houseplants purify air, but complaints about headaches, stress, heart/circulation-symptoms and colds decrease when indoor plants are present, according to Dr. Leona Rogler. Not feeling so hot? Get a plant! Bring a touch of the outdoors in with beautiful verdant houseplants. They only require a small amount of care and can really liven up the home or workplace. Leafy or blooming, whichever plant you choose it will add a bright touch to any room and trade your unneeded carbon dioxide and toxins for wonderful oxygen. Take a deep breath and enjoy.

Go green for oxygen!