There are several types of celosia flowers, but this article will focus on the spicata variety. Celosias are resilient and will stay fresh for a long time after they are cut. They also make beautiful dried flowers, and are a popular choice for potpourri.
Visual Notes/
Celosia blooms in vibrant, citrus colors like pink, magenta, and violet. The flower grows in an elongated cone shape, similar to a wheat head, which is where it gets one of its several nicknames: the wheatstraw. It’s also commonly referred to as the paintbrush variety of celosia because of its shape. Its vibrant pink color has earned it yet another name: flamingo feather.
Flower Facts/
As celosias grow, their flowers bloom upwards and get taller. The petals near the top of the flower have bloomed most recently, while the petals near the bottom of the flower were the first to bloom. As the flowers grow larger, the vibrant pink color spreads upwards. The brightest colored petals can be found at the top of the flower, while the petals near the stem may lose their citrus shades and take on instead a silvery sheen.
Insider Information/
The name also comes from the Greek word “kelos,” which means burning, and describes the flame-like colors of the flowers. Silvery celosia takes color very well, and can be dyed a wide range of hues. Their strong stems make them especially resilient.
Looking for flowers in New York City? Visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com.
Sometimes refereed to as Queen-of-the-vines, clematis is a member of the Ranunculaceae (buttercup) family. It can be found in most countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Clematis grows naturally as a climbing vine / lianasand has been harvested by many cultures for it’s medicinal values. But be careful! Clematis are toxic if eaten.
Visual Notes /
With over 250 cultivars grown around the world, the clematis flower is visually varied. All varieties feature a number of leafy petals clustered around the center of the flower. The colors range widely, but blue-purple, white and pink are especially popular.
History /
Because it’s found everywhere, Clematis is one of the first flowers early botanists and genetic researchers really took note of. As a result, it was widely used in early genetic experiments. Many of the British cultivars are the result of this early groundwork in understanding genetics.
Clematis
Insider Info /
– The name Clematis comes from the Greek word “klematis,” meaning vine.
– Clematis are scented, but their scent is rarely strong enough for perfume making.
– A few clematis varieties change color when between blooming. This is caused by environmental factors, like sunlight.
Looking for flowers in New York City? Visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com.
Technically an herb, Anthurium is found across Mexico, northern South America and the Caribbean. It features a tall, thin flower in the hip of a broad, flat leaf. Great for floral arrangements, anthurium will last a while.
Visual Notes /
Anthurium comes in a wide range of colors, across over 163 species. With anthurium, the sky’s the limit! Most typically, you’ll see the waxy leaves in green, white or red, with the flower usually being matching or yellow in color.
History /
In 1889, the first anthurium was brought to Hawaii from London. For over 120 years, the anthurium has been Hawaii’s most-exported decorative item – this includes beating sales of hula skirts, ukuleles and hula-ing bobble women.
Inside Info /
These are poisonous plants! Not a good call for environments with small children, pets or college kids experimenting with veganism.
Over at Starbright Floral Design, we get to work with lots of colors everyday and all of us have our favorites. But why are they our favorites and what does that say? Up this week, Marcela’s favorite :
Green is the easiest color for the eye to see and therefore considered balanced. Environments are significantly enhanced by the presence of plenty of green. On a primitive level, greenery reminds us of water and growth, and is associated by color psychologists with good-taste and a sense of security. Psysiologically, green helps balance emotions and creates a sense of calm. Consider a pair of green tinted shades – one study found that reading through a green tinted transparent sheet increased participants speed and comprehension!
For the Home
Give us a call to talk about bringing living greens into your space – we offer select seasonal varieties of . Green is a cool color and has a calming effect. Green is also a reassuring color. In the presence of greenery, people are subconsciously reminded of the presence of water – or the absence of famine.
Money Tree
For the Teacher
Starbright Floral Design’s succulent gardens are a low maintenance solution for a busy teacher. And worth your while as well! A study at The Royal College of Agriculture in Circencester, England, found that students demonstrate 70 percent greater attentiveness when they’re taught in rooms containing plants. The same study reported that classrooms with plants reported higher attendance than those without plants. This effect carried over into a study that showed that students were more likely to join and continue to participate in after school programs and activities that took place outdoors or had greenery present.
The Greenhouse
For the office
What works for students works for me. Green plants in an office space promote concentration and perspective. And why stop at plants? Starbright Floral Design also offers a number of green floral arrangements to satisfy a person’s need for green.
Take Me To The River
Looking for flowers in New York City? Visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com.
At Starbright Floral Design, we’ve recently seen a huge increase in the popularity of succulent plants and gardens.
Succulent Garden from Starbright Floral Design
Succulents are notable for their appearance; their leaves or other parts tend to be broad and fleshy so that they can absorb and store water in dry environments. Some well-known succulents include cactus and aloe, but this unique type of plant goes well beyond those household names. From colorful echeveria to hardy sedum, there is a wide range of beautiful and versatile succulent plants that are getting lots of attention from gardeners, landscape architects, and wedding planners. As Pacific Horticulture states:
Succulents are hot! Landscape professionals and home gardeners…are expanding their plant palettes to include these uniquely functional plants. Over the last couple of years, landscape architects and designers have reported…that many clients are asking specifically for a custom-designed succulent garden. This is a big moment for succulents.
Of course, Starbright has some great options to get you started with your very own urban succulent garden. This Succulent Zen Garden comes in a handsome wooden container and would look absolutely wonderful on any mantle. Meanwhile, our Succulent Glass Menagerie would make the perfect centerpiece for a living room table. Whether you choose one of these or another beautiful succulent arrangements from our site, you’ll to know how to care for your new indoor garden. Here are some tips for keeping your succulents healthy and happy.
Succulent Garden from Starbright Floral Design
Tip #1: Water only when the soil has fully dried
Because succulents are made for retaining water, you can water them less than you would other indoor plants. Wait until the soil in which they’re planted is completely dry before you add any more water. In a humid climate like New York City’s in the summer, watering once every few days should suffice. Keep an eye out for overwatering by watching out for the stems constricting and turning black.
Tip #2: Give them light—but not direct midday sun
While it can be difficult in an indoor setting, it’s important to give your succulent garden natural light. But be careful: succulents prefer indirect light to direct, so a spot in a nice, bright room away from direct rays should be perfect. Tabletops and bookshelves can often be great spots for this. Some succulents will do well on brighter windowsills, but always be sure to check them for any signs of scorching.
Tip #3: Re-pot your succulents every year
Like many plants, succulents will do better if they are re-potted occasionally—once a year should be perfect. This allows them to continue growing without sacrificing the root structure. As for how to re-pot, Uncommon Goods has some advice:
Before introducing your plants to their new home give the bottom of the existing dirts/roots a bit of a scrunch. Flare the root structure out a bit. This will help it transition better into its new/bigger/better environment. This is something good to remember when planting anything anywhere. If you don’t break up the bundle they are used to having in their temporary store shells, they might be a little too shy to branch out (pun intended) into their new world.
Tip #4: Don’t worry too much about temperature!
Many people think that it’s important to keep succulents in constantly hot temperatures, but in fact, they can withstand cool temperatures above freezing. Since their native desert environments often grow cold at night, your indoor succulent garden should be more than able to survive both during hot summers and during the winter and at evening, when your indoor temperature may drop a bit.
Succulents are a great choice for adding a fresh look to your apartment, deck, or backyard. Nothing brightes up a space like a bit of living color. Over at Starbright Floral Design will be more than happy to work with you on creating a great succulent arrangement that you can care for easily.
Looking for flowers in New York City? Visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com.
It’s cold, it’s dark, and a single digit number glows back on the alarm as ear-piercing beeps cut the silence.
A full ten percent of the population actually enjoy this experience. For the other 90 percent, a mandatory 7:00am alarm is less than desirable.
Society, work, or familial pressures keep us bouncing – very few people have the luxury of subscribing to their preferred sleeping patterns. In fact, instead of maintaining a natural sleep schedule, many people stay awake later and wake up earlier than their body would like.
What do we get for pulling extra hours? In a study of young employees, lower amounts of sleep caused an increase in tension, nervousness, and irritability. These symptoms were especially present in the morning hours and tended to naturally wear off as the day progressed.
Good news for the habitually groggy!
“The morning blahs, it turns out, is a real phenomenon, with positive moods — happiness, friendliness, and warmth for example — manifesting much later in the day,” says lead researcher Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D. Doctor Etcoff is referring to her research that confirms
The study, done at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital studied the effects of flowers on the emotions of participants. These participants noted that they generally felt least positive in the morning but reported being happier and more energetic after looking at flowers first thing in the morning.
Doctor Etcoff continues “By starting the day in a more positive mood, you are likely to transfer those happier feelings to others — it’s called a mood contagion.” We’re thinking of it as an emotional domino effect and it’s wild – check out more info on the Wikipedia page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_contagion
The best part? Flowers don’t discriminate – the positive effects work for women, men, and even children and adolescents.
Want to try it out? Our reading suggest that the effects are strongest when flowers are located in communal areas or in the immediate surroundings. Some ideas from starbrightnyc.com :
From Starbright’s table to yours
For the bedroom :
Try a posy of something sweet and aromatic. Lilies, lilacs, stock, sweet peas, and freesia are examples of scented flowers to look for.
For the kitchen :
Whether in a home or an office, families and friends tend to come together in kitchen spaces – try something bigger and brighter for this room. We also love simple and colorful. A bundle of tulips maybe?
For the desk :
Something elegant, contained, and unlikely to spill might be best. Check out these callas as an option or these orchids.
For the office :
When you’ve got a bit more space, a flowering orchid plant will help keep you company. While white orchids are always elegant, this purple Phaleonopsis orchid is a great way to include Pantone’s 2014 Color of the Year – Radiant Orchid in your space.
With Starbright’s subscription service, you can have seasonal flowers in your home or office fresh weekly. Give us a call to find out more.
Looking for flowers in New York City? Visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com.
New York is full of opportunities and possibilities. It rewards the curious, embraces the eccentric and teases the complacent. With an open mind anything is possible.
I first wandered into Starbright Floral Design back in 2007, while I was a student at the nearby Fashion Institute of Technology. That spring, I spent hours every week walking New York’s one block flower district on 28th street. I loved the sights of the bright blossoms against the cold concrete, I loved the smell of the dirt popping up in midtown, I loved the sounds of the delivery men yelling across the street while the 1 train rumbled under my feet. My New York dream was literally a concrete jungle.
After FIT, I did what one does with a fashion degree – I became a designer. I did a couple seasons at Bryant Park and Lincoln Center, and realized the people who looked the happiest were the ones in charge of the flowers. I decided to try my hand at getting into the flower biz. The thing about working in New York City is that if you can back it up you can work wherever you want. I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more than to return to the stomping grounds of my college years.
And a couple months later – here I am at a desk in the Starbright Floral Design office. Thanks to Nic Faitos, the founder and senior partner here at Starbright, I was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from the experts.
Nic has given me permission to post about all of the knowledge I’m picking up on my journey to floral fluency. A few times a week I’ll be sharing what we’re getting up to here at the shop and what I’m learning on the job.
The design table at Starbright Floral Design -look at all those beautiful fuchsia and white orchids!
Along with the blog, I’m also blowing off the dust on our Instagram – StarbrightNYC – so you all can get an in process look at what goes on here at the shop. For finished examples of our work, visit our Pinterest at StarbrightFD. And while you’re at it – ‘like’ our Starbright Floral Design page on Facebook.
Make sure to bookmark (ahem ctrl-d ahem) and add us to your feed readers. We’re looking forward to letting you in on what we do – if there’s anything special you’d like to know about, leave a comment below or email me at Claire@starflor.com (coming soon!)
The Marigold is the October birth flower. Its list of uses is as long as its rich history. However, its use in floral arrangements is not advisable. Marigolds do not survive for long when cut. Accordingly, birthday flowers for October babies play off the rich color of the flower and autumn floral arrangements are the norm.
The Marigold is native to southern Europe but do well in North America as well. Seeds planted in April take root in any type of soil in full sun or medium sun locales. Practically no care is required other than weeding and pruning. Marigolds bloom from June until the first frost kills them. However, their death is short lived reappearing with young plants in the spring.
Religious Worship:
In India, the marigold is considered a sacred flower. Hindus devote the marigold to gods and goddesses in religious ceremonies.
Medicinal Uses:
Plant pharmacological studies have indicated that Marigold extracts have anti-viral and anti-inflammatory qualities. Marigold solutions have been used topically to treat acne, reduce inflammation, control bleeding, and sooth irritated tissue. The petals are edible and can be used fresh in salads or dried or used as a replacement for saffron. Eaten in salad, Marigold petals have been shown to relieve abdominal cramping and constipation.
Demonic Evictions: Sixteen century herbalists used the marigold to remove evil spirits from one’s head while simultaneously strengthening eyesight. According to folklore, all Linda Blair and Emily Rose needed was a blossoming marigold plant placed in her bedroom (ironic that a marigold is needed in a rose bedroom). Once the girls stared at the marigold petals their demons depart and would return to the wonderful little girls they were before their demonic possessions. Coincidently, children throughout the New York area have been growing marigolds in classrooms and day care centers as classroom projects since I was a kid. The stated scholastic reason is that it teaches the kids about germination. However, many teachers have been heard branding our children as “little devils” (mine of course, can only be mistaken for angels). Perhaps there’s something else going on.
This scribe is brought to you from all of us at Starbright Floral Design. We are big supporters of all things to eradicate Leukemia. We hope that you will join us in contributing to this fight.
If you would like to read more about Starbright, who we are and the scope of the work that we do, please visit our website.
If you would like to place an order for flowers (worldwide delivery), please visit our e-commerce portal.
Exciting times at Starbright Floral Design! We have been honored to be a part of the Finovate Conference at Pier 92 on Wednesday the 21st of September. Our Senior Partner (Nic Faitos) will be available to the press during the conference. We are excited to be a part of this program and to be involved in new and creative ways to bring our services in front of millions of loyal customers across a variety of platforms. Read on for some thoughts and ideas of what lies ahead!
We’re excited to announce that Starbright will be featured in a live demonstration in front of nearly 1,000 top banking executives at a conference called Finovate (meaning innovation in financial services). Why would a florist be shown in a demonstration to bankers? Because we just began a new marketing program designed to reward our best customers with offers linked to the debit or credit cards from their banks or card issuers. It’s called a card-linked offer. The company we partner with to create card-linked offers is Cartera Commerce, who is demonstrating its solution at Finovate, and asked Starbright to participate.
So what exactly is a card-linked offer? Well, it’s very similar to another type of offer most consumers are familiar with: the Daily Deal. Every day, many of us get emails from companies like Groupon or Living Social with discounts on products and services from local merchants. While Daily Deals can help a local merchant get a lot of publicity and drive one-time sales, they aren’t very good at helping merchants reward their best, most loyal customers for their patronage. That’s where card-linked offers come in.
As a business that focuses on building lasting relationships with our customers, Starbright sees value in programs that “thank” our loyal customers for shopping with us. Card-linked offers are the latest and most innovative way to do that. Why? Because the offers are linked to the cards consumers already have and value. So instead of having to pay up front for a Daily Deal and print out a voucher that may expire, card-linked offers reward our customers after they buy flowers in a currency they value – whether it’s cash back, points or frequent flier miles – right back on the card they used!
For example, American Airlines customers can now register a credit card, use it when they purchase flowers from Starbright, and earn frequent flier miles. Imagine that – buying flowers to fly! Our offer is also available to Priority Club™ rewards cardholders from Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), who can register a credit card, use it with Starbright, and earn bonus rewards points to use for free stays at a Holiday Inn or Crown Plaza Hotel.
Starbright Floral Design is located in the heart of New York City’s Historic Flower District. We are in a second floor loft space from where our customer’s orders get dispatched. To learn more about our organization and the work that we do, we would like to invite you to visit our website at www.starflor.com or you may call us at 800.520.8999. Either way, we will be thrilled to hear from you and to be of service.
Starbright delivers flowers in Manhattan (our home city) as well as world-wide. In addition to flowers, plants, fruit and gourmet baskets, balloons and the like we are also a go-to florist for events both corporate and personal. Flowers, Festivals & Celebrations…. It is what we do!
Wishing you a wonderful day!
Starbright Floral Design
The Official Florist of the City that Never Sleeps.
The September flower is the Aster which in the language of flowers means love, faith and wisdom. However, since 1918 the Aster worn on your lapel signifies something entirely different and could lead to unforeseen consequences. An Aster on the lapel signifies your unity and membership in the insurrection. Its revolutionary symbolism originated from the Hungarian revolution of 1918 dubbed the “Aster Revolution”.
Revolutionaries in Hungary wore it as sign of solidarity with the rebels of the revolution. The revolution was short lived but the Aster’s symbolism has lived on. Rumor has it, an Aster worn on your lapel today will generate and FBI probe and possibly a trip to Guantanamo (note to those with no sense of humor: this is a joke!) The Aster is known as a hardy flower but surely does not do well under water boarding conditions.
Certain varieties of the flower have been used medicinally for their pain relieving qualities. According to ancient lore the burning of the Aster leaves protects against snake attacks. Perhaps the use of the Aster by revolutionaries was not a random act but a calculated survival tool.
Regardless of its meaning, Aster flowers provide a beautiful addition to a fall flower garden. When so many other flowers are at the end of their growing season, the hardy asters continue to thrive. Their brilliant colors and scent brighten up any landscape or floral arrangement.
Starbright Floral Design is located in the heart of New York City’s Historic Flower District. We are in a second floor loft space from where our customer’s orders get dispatched. To learn more about our organization and the work that we do, we would like to invite you to visit our website at www.starflor.com or you may call us at 800.520.8999. Either way, we will be thrilled to hear from you and to be of service.
Starbright delivers flowers in Manhattan (our home city) as well as world-wide. In addition to flowers, plants, fruit and gourmet baskets, balloons and the like we are also a go-to florist for events both corporate and personal. Flowers, Festivals & Celebrations…. It is what we do!
Wishing you a wonderful day!
Starbright Floral Design
The Official Florist of the City that Never Sleeps.
Blooming Thoughts 