Whether you need to deliver your gift of flowers for Christmas right here in Calgary or across Canada. Maybe you have friends and family throughout the United States or anywhere across the world, your Calgary Florists at Velda’s Grower Direct can can get your flowers delivered.

We deal with only the finest florists worldwide to make sure your Christmas flower delivery is not only beautiful but also gets to its destination on time.

Poinsettia’s are the worlds favourite Christmas Plant, in fact poinsettia’s account for 1/3rd of all potted plant sales & most are sold in a 6 week period!

For information on other Christmas flowers such as Holly or Mistletoe visit our page on Traditional Christmas Flowers.

Have a look through our extensive collection of Calgary Christmas Flowers for sale today.

Your Calgary Flower Shop would like to share some fun facts about poinsettias.  After all it is the Christmas season and nothing says Season’s Greetings like a Christmas poinsettia.  Don’t forget to contact  your Calgary Florist during the holiday season.

The flowers of a poinsettia are the small, cup-like structures called cyathia at the center of the red “petals,” not the red “petals” themselves. These are actually modified leaves called bracts.

The poinsettia goes by a number of names in different countries:

• In Spain as “Flor de Pascua”, meaning Easter Flower
• In Mexico and Guatemala as “Noche Buena”, meaning Christmas Eve.
• In both Chile and Peru, the plant is known as “Crown of the Andes”
• In Egypt it is referred to as “Bent El Consul”, “the consul’s daughter”, referring to the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett.

In the United States, December 12 is National Poinsettia Day. This official day has been observed since the mid-1800s. It honors the man and the plant he introduced. Poinsett died Dec.12, 1851.

Big Spring, Texas is known as the “lighted poinsettia capital”.When the Comanche Trail Festival of Lights began the dam at the big spring held four huge poinsettias made of construction rebar welded together in the shape of a poinsettia flower, each was made up of 5 leaves. The leaves were decorated with red Christmas lights. The four poinsettia flowers present anyone entering Big Spring from the south with an incredible sight. In succeeding years more flowers were added to the dam and inside the park until Comanche Trail Park has a total of eleven lighted flowers on the dam and countless flowers inside the park, making Comanche Trail Park the Christmas Poinsettia capital.

The Ecke family of Encinitas, California, had a virtual monopoly until the 1990′s on commercially grown poinsettias owing to a technological secret that made it difficult for others to compete. However, in the 1990s, a university researcher discovered the method and published it, opening the door for competitors to flourish. Yet even today The Paul Ecke Ranch in California grows over 80 percent of poinsettias in the United States for the wholesale market and about 90% of all the flowering poinsettias in the world originated there.

Would you believe that last year more than 65 million were sold in the United States? Poinsettias accounted for one-third of sales of all flowering potted plants. In economic terms, that’s $237 million out of a total of $781 million in sales of all flowering potted plants! An even more amazing statistic when you consider that the vast percentage of poinsettias are sold within a six (6) week period each year!

Red is still the most popular color, accounting for roughly three-quarters of all sales nationwide, followed by white and pink. Poinsettias come in a variety of colors from red, salmon, and apricot to yellow, cream, and white. There are also unusual speckled or marbled varieties like “Jingle Bells” and “Candy Cane” with several colors blended together. New varieties are introduced yearly with even more variation in height and colors.

In the wild, the poinsettia can reach heights of 12 feet with leaves measuring six to eight inches across.

Poinsettias are generally priced according to the number of blooms. The more blooms, the more expensive the plant.
According to the University of Illinois, 80% of poinsettias are purchased by women, and 75% of Americans prefer red poinsettias to white.

There over 110 varieties of poinsettia varieties to choose from.

In 1992, the poinsettia was included on the list of houseplants most helpful in removing pollutants from indoor air. So it seems they add more than just colour to a home or office at Christmas.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving in Calgary?

At Velda’s, your local Calgary flower shop we are getting ready for Thanksgiving and helping many Calgary families find new ways of saying thanks to those around them.

What is Thanksgiving?

In Canada Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Unlike our friends to the south who celebrate their Thanksgiving in November and remember the  Pilgrims settling in the New World. Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest and all the hard work that went on out in the fields to get all the crops out.   In Canada, The harvest season falls earlier compared to those in the US.

The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient and stumbled onto Canada. He never did make it to the Orient but he was successful in establishing a settlement in North America.. In 1578, Martin and the settlers held a formal ceremony, in what is now called Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey and Thanksgiving in Canada was born.  The tradition has been passed down from generation to generation. Martin Frobisher was knighted and had and Frobisher Bay in Northern Canada was named in his honour.

At the same time, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed ‘The Order of Good Cheer’ and gladly shared their food with their Indian neighbours.

Lots of history about Thanksgiving in Canada, you can learn more at http://www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/festivals/thanksgiving/canada/

Don’t forget to say Thanks and also don’t forget your flowers.

Happy Thanksgiving

Velda and the your Calgary Florist team at Velda’s Grower Direct.

The idea of Mother’s Day caught on very quickly with the public.  On May 8, 1914, United States President Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation that designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.  Mother’s Day in Canada is also always celebrated on the second Sunday in May.  This year it is May 9th, are you ready?

Mother’s Day for Calgary mothers is May 9.  Have you picked out your Mother’s Day Flowers yet?   Now is the perfect time to get your on order from your local Calgary Flower Shop.  Velda’s offers Calgary Flower delivery with all orders.  Book now, call Velda’sGrower Direct at 403.569.2023.

Easter is associated with memories of parades, family gatherings, church services, chocolate bunnies, gift baskets, egg decorating, and the famous Easter Lily. They are very popular for Easter gifts, and their unique trumpet shaped blossoms symbolize life, purity, hope, and the spiritual meaning of Easter along with the promise of Spring.

The Easter Lily was originally bought into the United States by a World War I soldier Louis Houghton and then made their way across North America. What was previously known as the Bermuda lily was first brought to the southern coast of Oregon in 1919. Houghton distributed an entire suitcase of the hybrid lily bulbs to various friends and family.

This lily proved to really thrive in the climate there. It was similar to the flower’s native Ryukyu Islands of Japan. By the year 1945, there were over a thousand growers on the west coast harvesting these bulbs to sell. There are only about two full weeks during the year when these flowers are commercially available. Easter lilies are estimated to be the fourth largest potted plant crop in the United States, following the poinsettia, mum, and azalea.

History, mythology, and art are filled with stories and images that speak of the beauty and majesty of the elegant white flowers. One of the most famous Biblical references is in the Sermon on the Mount, when Christ said, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Lilies are often called the “White-Robed Apostles of Hope”. Lilies were discovered in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ died on the cross. During the Easter season, churches line their altars and envelop their crosses with a multitude of Easter Lilies, to signify the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the hope of eternal life.

Another concept associated with the pure white lily is that of womanhood. In some early paintings, the Angel Gabriel offers pure white lilies to the Virgin Mary, and this symbolizes that she will be the mother of Jesus. Other paintings show saints bringing vases of white lilies to Mary and the divine child. According to the legend, the flowers were formed when Eve cried repentant tears upon leaving Eden, and the tears became lilies. The point of this legend is that true repentance leads to beauty.

Established through the centuries as a symbol of purity, grace, and the regal lifestyle, the white lily is a suitable reminder of the greater meaning of Easter. These flowers grace millions of homes and churches every year, embodying joy, hope, and life; whether given as a gift or displayed proudly in one’s home, the Easter lily remains a beauteous reminder of how Easter is a time for celebration and rejoicing. So when you purchase Easter baskets for your loved ones, don’t hold back with decorated eggs and chocolates, but be certain to include a few Easter lilies as well!

How do countries compare to the way we celebrate Valentine’s Day in Calgary

Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Calgary and all over the world with much glamour and glitz. All countries have different ways to celebrate it. The celebration of love finds its own way to the heart of the romantics all around the world. Let’s take a quick look at how the day is celebrated throughout the globe.

USA & Canada: Valentine’s Day is observed as a holiday in USA and Canada and is celebrated religiously. People see it as a day of love, giving flowers (from your local Calgary flower shop) and receiving gifts, organizing parties and dinning out. Children celebrate the day by organizing plays, dance performances and skits at school. Distributing cards and chocolates is an part of the celebration.

Britain: Like USA, people in Britain also celebrate Valentine’s Day with their beloved ones by exchanging wishes and promising undying love. People gift flowers and chocolates to their partners and spend the day together. Children all over the country sing and dance to valentines tune and spread the message of love. The magazines and tabloids celebrate the Valentine’s month by publishing love songs, poems and sonnets.

Italy: Valentine’s Day is synonymous to spring festival in Italy. People celebrate this day by singing and dancing under the open sky and exchanging gifts with each other. A grand celebration followed by couple dinners is what ends the day for them.

Denmark: People send pressed white flowers to their beloved in Denmark to celebrate the Valentine’s Day. Cards, gifts, chocolates and fancy dinners are the usual ways to celebrate the day. Men also send unsigned messages to their beloved to confuse them. If a woman finds out the sender, she is awarded with an Easter egg.

Japan: Japan celebrates Valentine’s Day by giving chocolates to each other. Women make chocolates at their homes to give it a personal touch. Women also gift chocolates to men who are just acquaintances. It’s said that the man has to return the favor within a month that is by the 14th of March, which is observed as a ‘White Day’ in Japan.

Germany: Germans are known to be extremely romantic and they like to celebrate Valentine’s Day with their partners. The couples like to spend some exclusive time with each other and enjoy the day by giving and receiving gifts.

India: India like any other country celebrates Valentine’s Day with glamour. Gifts, flowers and chocolates are bought and exchanged among each other. People go out for dinners and spend time with each other with promises of undying love.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jessica_J
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