March – April ‘19
Vitality
‘I’m coming home baby’ 2 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
Editorial
Vitality stands for power. The definition of power is different to different people. Power is connected to creativity, stamina. And to me, these two months are centred around two things. The power of women and the power of innovation. Cover comment: Elegant and powerful; that is how I describe this flower. That’s the reason why the pineapple flower is featured on this issue’s cover. The bunch is held by our model Joan. We have two blond models shining among the beautiful flowers this edition.
A word that I have only recently come to know is vivacious. It means to be full of life, to have a positive mindset. You live a happy life, are a lively person and that’s what makes you attractive to others. I believe that this is how I live my life and that this is the reason why the packages I create are so attractive. Do I sound arrogant now? Every item is carefully selected and allocated. Thought goes into even the smallest details which is empowering to the team, it empowers me.
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Live in the here and now… you see and hear this phrase everywhere nowadays. My generation lives a lot less lively. They do have a positive mindset or is that just on social media? I guess what I am trying to say is that there is so much beauty in the world. Look at our planet’s amazing flora and fauna, there is so much to discover. I have decided to travel more this year and to have as many little moments of joy as possible. Because, what is pure happiness and where can one find it?
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In this magazine, I am going to show you why these packages are vital and vivacious. I will tell you about the colour palette and what they do. You will also find a fun and unique DIY from an Austrian master florist. It is time to hear the birds sing and to dance in a field of flowers. Let’s just soak up every bit and enjoy!
Have fun! Love,
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Flynt @flowertales_
pinterest.com/flowertales0343 Vitality 3
The trend story of is unchanged. It has become wider however, than what I have been telling so far. You can tell from the photos. A lot of new flavours have been added to the palette. At first, Umami was both high-tech as well as down to earth, now it is high-tech and mysterious. The mystery lies in the use of colour and material. Is it natural or dyed? Or perhaps there is something hidden inside the hanging frames? Everything is possible: pots and bowls which seem to be covered in cacti leaves, bamboo frames that hide purple plants, pink bags that demand to be touched. It is a colourful collection of flavours. This also applies to the flowers and plants in this theme. The variety makes it possible to escape reality and discover all the different elements. Let it surprise you‌
4 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
Phalaenopsis Royal Graphite
This orchid has an artificial colouring. However, nowadays painting techniques are so refined that it will make you think it’s natural. The colour runs even through the smallest veins of the flower.
“Beyond
ordinary
understanding” Vitality 5
There is a Dutch nursery rhyme about a big red toadstool with white dots and a cheeky gnome, who didn’t want to listen… The Begonia Maculata looks very similar to the toadstool in this nursery rhyme. Last year, this begonia (also known as polka dot plant) was nominated the most trendy plant. This trend is here to stay for another season. The foliage is red underneath with white dots on top. The mix of real and fake in the packages makes you think that this is a dyed plant. Don’t be fooled, this houseplant is 100% natural. Note: they won’t attract real gnomes ;).
6 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
FLOWERS IN
Orange and salmon tones with a purple hue. Go for flowers and materials that are slightly different. Purple dyed Ornithogalum, furry Heliconia, brown lisianthus mixed with dried, black strelitzia leaf and peacock feathers.
Oh how I wish… I had a velvet sofa! A chair, stool or pouf even would be enough. Velvet is a popular trend in interior design. You even see it a lot in fashion. Don’t feel like buying a new sofa or static, velvet sweater? Go for a plant! Gynura is a dazzling beauty with velvety foliage. When the plant starts to flower, it will lose some of its deep purple glow. Since the flowers aren’t as nearly beautiful as the foliage, I simply take out my scissors and cut them off carefully.
Vitality 7
Pgroewener ful FLOWER OF THE MONTH In March, we think about Ornithogalum. This flower is also known as chincherinchee, even though no one knows why exactly. This purple Saundersiae is perfect for the trend of dyed flowers and plants. Are you bold enough for it?
16 World Sleep Day (INT)
Personally, I think March is the month of women. In France people celebrate Grandmother’s Day and in the UK and Ireland it is Mother’s Day at the end of the month. On top of all the special attention for our dear mothers, it is also International Women’s Day. This month is clearly the time to put every woman dear to you in the spotlight. That’s what I am going to do anyway
PLANT OF THE MONTH Spring: inside first then outside. I immediately think about hydrangeas when reading this sentence but also primroses and forget-me-nots will bring spring inside the house. As it is only March and the weather can be unexpectedly cold, we will warm ourselves with these delightful plants.
1 FleuraMetz Magazine no. 6!
The FleuraMetz Magazine is filled with sensational photos, stories, handy tips for Mother’s Day, summer, sustainability and developments inside and outside the industry. Read it online or find a hard copy of the FleuraMetz Magazine with your order!
‘Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman’
8 International Women’s Day 8 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
MORE MARCH ’19
1 World Compliments Day (INT) 11 Mother’s Day (UK, IE) 15 World Consumer Rights Day 17 St. Patrick’s Day (IE) 20 International Day of Happiness (INT)
FÊTE DES GRAND-MÈRES (FR)
A special day for the grandmothers in France and a bonus Mother’s Day to all the mothers, who are also a grandmother. The perfect occasion to let your grandmother shine and to spend some quality time with her. Be caring.
4 Fête des Grand-Mères
garden of purple is always in bloom!”
“A
r e w o l F g n i d Fa
I am not going to lie. I see a run-down shade of purple, you probably too. FlowerTales calls this Fading Flower, which sounds much more appealing than ‘rundown purple’. As this colour is a derivative of purple, I will tell you more about it. At the end of the day, it is a stunning, deep and intriguing colour.
Purple has a positive effect on body and mind, it calms you down. It is linked to spirituality and power. It stimulates the imagination and creativity. As March is centred around the power of women and around creativity and imagination in April, the choice for purple was an easy one. It connects the two topics, like dancing does on 1 April (International Dance Day). What I am curious to know is where these symbolisms came from and how they originated.
Pride Luxury
Mystery
Magic
r e w o l F g Fadin
Power
NOBLE
Creativity & Imagination WISDOM ROYAL
History Purple was once the colour of royalty. No one else was allowed to wear this colour. It also represented pain and death in some cases, mostly due to purple being an expensive colour. Only when purple became a fashion colour in the late 19th century, it became affordable to the middleclass. In the 20th century, purple became the colour for feminists and for the gay community years later. ‘The blue of men and the red of women combine to make queer purple.’ says movie director Derek Jarman. Purple is also strongly connected to spirituality. When you search for this colour on the internet, you will most likely find links to spiritual sites and articles. With so many, different symbolisms you need more names to define the different colour tones. Therefore, in addition to purple, mauve and violet there is also lilac, plum, fuchsia, aubergine, wine, lavender and magenta. Fading Flower is best described as a washed-out version of violet.
10 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
‘An
arrangement with an abundance of purple
flowers stands for effort and adoration.’
Vitality 11
Life at home becomes a sanctuary. It’s your personal space where you can find balance. will help you create The products in this feeling and find balance. The soft, downto-earth colours bring warmth without feeling suffocated. In March and April, this trend is my spiritual space. A place where you can be yourself and practice yoga. To dry herbs and use dried flowers for a change instead of fresh ones. If I were to make a ‘namaste in bed’ joke I wouldn’t be doing this package any justice. My spiritual space would look like this: a peaceful and responsible environment, light complemented with warm tones.
12 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
Dried flowers
‘Each dried flower in a book, has their own love story…’ - Ankita Ghiatkare
Dried flowers are used more often nowadays, also mixed together with fresh stems. It may take a bit of hunting for them in spring as they are generally associated with autumn. However, seek and you shall find!
Vitality 13
The Indian Water lilies This tale, which takes place in the Indian jungle, was written by Spanish-born Queen Fabiola of Belgium. ‘At night, when the moon shines on the magnificent jungle, you must watch the beautiful water lilies. These flowers used to be stars, and together with the Moon and other stars, they would dance on the water every night. One morning, some of the stars ignored the Moon goddess when she was calling them back to the sky. They danced and danced until the witch came and turned them into water lilies for their disobedience. Only at night-time, illuminated by the moonlight, the witch returns. And that’s when it happens…’ The water lilies are just as beautiful as my three lilies in this package. Only mine can’t dance… The lilies that shine so bright in this package are the Lily Genzano, Lily Longi Watch Up and Lily Snowboard. When they start to flower, you will feel the warmth of the sun on your skin…
These lilies are mixed with dried flowers but also look sensational as a single stem. These types of lilies are large headed varieties and sold when they are still tight in bud. When a lily starts to flower it will look even better in bouquets. A small tip: do not use them when they are still in bud but give them a bit more time to develop, so they can dance on the tables of your customer’s home. The lilies from this package are available in the FleuraMetz App.
14 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
FLOWERS
The pure white of the lilies and the outspoken centres of the white anemones are tied together with wheat, oats and dried grasses. Do you own a pair of wellies? Many water banks are covered with different types of dried grasses in early spring!
This dried lotus leaf suits the ambiance of the Indian Water lilies. For most designers, this is a familiar product and lovely material to work with. However, did you also know that this dried leaf is also the primal version of our current wrapping paper and cello? In the Asian kitchen, people use dried lotus leaf to cook food in, such as steamed sticky rice and chicken packages. The leaf infuses the food with a subtle flavour of tea. Try using them also as placemats as part of a beautifully decorated dinner table.
Vitality 15
had no winter, spring would not be so pleasant.’
‘If we the
-Anne Bradstreet
16 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
In March, the clock is set to go forward an hour marking the arrival of a new spring. In The Netherlands, this is also the day (21 March) when the world famous Keukenhof is opening for a new season. A stunning, large show garden where visitors can see different types of flowers. No less than 800 varieties of tulips and more to discover!
Vitality 17
DIY painted plant and flower!
You can make this design yourself very soon, keep an eye on the DIY blog from FleuraMetz.
18 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
During the photoshoot, my guest florist Doris Jobs used a technique which I have never seen before! She dipped the end of a stem in liquid wax or candle wax to lock the water inside the stem of the flower prolonging its vase-life without watering. As most of you have tealights at home, I used this in the example. Liquid paraffin or wax is also suitable of course.
MATERIALS: 1 empty cup of a used-up tea light 1 new tea light 1 placemat to mess on Flowers of Phalaenopsis Royal Graphite
1 Light the new tea light and let the majority of the candle wax become liquid
2 Pour the liquid candle wax into the empty cup
3 Dip the end of a stem in the liquid candle wax and set aside to dry
Vitality 19
With , the focus is now on harsh contrasts. It moves between soft tones and bright colours. From shiny pots to leather and zinc even. It is a mishmash of materials and exactly that makes it so captivating. For the French dish ratatouille certain ingredients are fixed. The same applies to this trend. What good is ratatouille without the onion, courgette, pepper and garlic… What is without masculine, rough materials? The core of this package is the eclectic mix of materials. This mix makes it a whole just like the veggies in ratatouille. The outcome is amazing and unexpected but oh so fine. And pretty.
20 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
Carnivorous plant mix
‘Mix and match is the rule of life’
Vitality 21
FLOWERS IN
Powerful yet soft, warm and sparkling! Passionately red Anthuriums with pastel purple Bouvardia. A surprising combination that works, in artistic as well as commercial designs. Green Hypericum adds a fresh touch to the collection.
Most striking is the addition of zinc. This material has made a serious comeback. The old-fashioned, thin buckets with handles are replaced by rustic containers. It almost makes you want to cook ratatouille in them…
Carnivorous plants lure their prey with their scent and colour only to capture and digest them when they are caught. It’s a very similar to how men seduce women…. without the digesting part obviously. The most well-known varieties are Sarracenia Hybrid, Dionaea Muscipula, Drocera Hybrid and Sarracenia Psittacina. I get caught in the names as bugs into these plants’ traps! This package also features a few outdoor containers as the time of year has come to do some gardening and re-planting. New at FlowerTales are the robust pots by Elho. Just like FleuraMetz, Elho is doing everything in its power to obtain the set goals in sustainability by 2020. More than half of the Elho collection is already produced with recycled materials. Being outside has never felt this good.
22 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
Roses are often linked with romance and love but roses can say so much more! This Urban Tane mix for example, is also very suitable to give to a best friend or to thank a kind neighbour for his help. It’s a real power mix! Want to know more about the mixed roses? You can read more about them in the new FleuraMetz Magazine.
The material and colour of this package is a real treat for the senses as it includes so many different textures and shapes! Big pots and baskets create calmness and little bud vases give the whole an edgy look. Urban Tane includes plastic, concrete, rattan, zinc, leather and clear and coloured glass. All these materials feel different so just let people go ahead and touch.
Vitality 23
Plants are always well represented. We have them in every package in many, different varieties each with their own personality and function. Plants create balance and bring a pleasant ambiance at home. Are you a real plant person with thorough knowledge about them and would you like to your thoughts with us? Email us on info@flowertales.com.
mistletoe, kiss buy plants’
‘Forget if you want a me 24 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
Vitality 25
‘Lighting candles is allowed every day. Preferably a whole bunch of them, they make me so happy’ - Zusss
New at FlowerTales. Scented candles! The packages Umami, Pure Solas and Urban Tane include heavenly scented candles. Discover the complete selection of scented candles on the FleuraMetz App.
26 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
MORE APRIL ’19
The chrioighcet
April represents creativity. In The Netherlands it is the month of King’s Day and flea markets where the Dutch come up with the craziest games to play and sell the strangest objects. We also dress up for the occasion, in royal orange. Not only in The Netherlands do we seek creativity. On international level, this month is also the week of creativity and innovation!
FLOWERS OF THE MONTH
April is not just about roses in general. Together, we tell about roses that are unique, roses in special mixes and Fairtrade roses, roses with and without thorns and roses which do not fully open but stay elegantly in shape slowly revealing their beauty.
The daily office employees are the true underdogs. They are easily taken for granted, while the quality of their work is usually the rise or fall of large and small businesses. Therefore, I think they deserve a big bunch of flowers on this day. Or a nice houseplant.
PLANTS OF THE MONTH
24 Administrative
21 Easter
Professional’s Day
(NL, FR, DE, US, UK IE)
The first sunshine are always mostly appreciated. I seek a spot tucked away from the wind and let the sun, with its rays as little magic wands, make a big smile appear on my face. It’s time for patio plants.
1 April Fool’s Day 3 World Party Day 27 King’s Day (NL) 29 International (INT)
(INT)
‘You can’t give up creativity, the more you use, the more
you have’
Dance Day (INT)
WORLD CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION WEEK
A week that is not commonly known among the public yet, which nonetheless deserves our attention. It is about you making your shop different to your competitors’, which can only be achieved with creativity and innovation. Place different forms of technology around the shop to enlarge the customer experience for example.
15 World Creativity and Innovation Week (until 21st April)
3 World Party Day (INT) Vitality 27
Lots of light colours, very playful making it experimental. It looks like a mini carnival with so many different elements: animals, moving objects such as windmills and more. This edition is mainly focused on the playful and carnival-like details of this package. At the beginning of the year, it was still very experimental (it looked more like a lab!), now it has become warmer. You can clearly tell that we are heading towards summer.
28 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
Lisianthus dyed milka
Vitality 29
FLOWERS IN
A carnival of flowers, that is the first thing that comes to mind. Waving Chasmantium grass, Scabiosa SCOOP®, dyed lisianthus and Heliconia Sexy Pink. The flowers truly bring this package to life!
Rosa Carousel Illusion. A special rose that is completely in flower when you buy it. It makes me curious to find out how this rose looks when it is still in bud. I can’t find any information on internet so I think I will just fly through an open window at the grower’s very soon. It truly is a stunning rose and perfect to give as a single stem. Did you know that in certain countries, flowers are sold in bloom? This is so the opposite from my home. I have seen them when I was visiting flower shops in Ireland and Spain. The bouquets seemed more ‘alive’ and are at their peak when you give them to the happy receiver. They are a radian gift.
30 FlowerTales March – April ‘19
Girls just wanna have fun! What better way to have fun than dancing with this Philodendron ‘Fun Bun’? The leaves of this plant is also a popular cut foliage. Its extraordinary shape demands creative outbursts and extravagant designs. The Philodendron as houseplant is a real oxygen plant. I’m glad, all this playing is making me tired!
Who looks properly will discover different varieties of SCOOP® Scabiosa in this package. This flower is amazingly colourful, versatile and just perfect to blend in with the Bright Vivid trend. The SCOOP® is even useable in its earliest stage of flowering so don’t remove those small pinheads. It are these little, quirky florets that make playful floral design.
Vitality 31
Colophon
REALISATION AND EDITORS: The FlowerTales team (Bianca Rijkenbarg, Meesterlijk Geschikt, Jojanneke Vellekoop, ManĂ´u ten Asbroek, Diana van Zwieten, Romy van Kleef and Nancy van Kleef) SPECIAL THANKS TO: Doris Jobst, the models, all our colleagues at FleuraMetz HQ Aalsmeer and Honselersdijk, the purchasing team for flowers and plants, our heroes from hard goods and decorations and all the colleagues, who translated this issue into other languages (Eric MĂŠgel, Vanessa Beysson, Hillmee Shek and Sara Hildebrandt)
Ordering or want to become a customer? Send it to info@flowertales.com or download the FleuraMetz App Reactions: info@flowertales.com