A Sweet Treat

Melissa Mullen Photography

Melissa Mullen Photography

A Little Extra Sweetness for Valentine’s Day Pre-Orders!


This year, we’re partnering with Dean’s Sweets to bring you Maine-made hand dipped truffles (double dark and milk) with your Valentine’s Day arrangements.

Melissa Mullen Photography

Melissa Mullen Photography

As an extra bonus, if customers order before 1/31/20 they will receive a complimentary box of truffles with their order!

Dean’s Sweets is located at  475 Fore St., in Portland, Maine.

Source: https://www.prettyflowersmaine.com/blog/20...

How to Make Your Flowers Last

farm le.png

A little care is the key to longevity.

  1. Keep your flowers away from intense cold or heat.

    In the winter months, pay special attention to your flowers when moving them from one controlled environment to another. Always cover your flowers with a plastic bag or paper if the temperature. Inside, keep your flowers away from any heat vents or wood stoves. Flowers prefer to be slightly cool but not below 40 degrees.

  2. Change the water every day and recut the end of each stem.

    Stagnant water invites bacteria. The easiest way to keep your flowers lasting long is to change the water in the vase every day with lukewarm water. Snip the bottom of each stem at an angle so the stems can absorb the maximum amount of water. Once trimmed, immediately get the stems back into water before air is trapped.

  3. Remove any greenery on the stem below the water line.

    As mentioned in #2, if greenery is floating around in your water source, bacteria will grow even quicker. Avoid this easily by stripping the stems below the water line.

  4. Keep your flowers out of the light.

    Avoid displaying your cut flowers in direct sun. The sun heats up the stem and weakens them, causing stress.

  5. Leave ‘em alone.

    By far, the best advice is to avoid over-handling flowers. Pulling the flowers out one-by-one and laying them on a counter will only bruise the delicate petals and stems. Instead, when changing the water, create a cuff with your hand and pull them out of the vase in one gentle grab. With the other hand, replace the water and recut the stems. Gently guide the flowers back inside the vase and return them to their cool spot away from direct sunlight.

Source: https://www.prettyflowersmaine.com/blog/20...

The 5 Best Flowers for a Cutting Garden

fivebestflowersforcuttinggarden

What’s better than going out your back door and cutting fresh flowers from your own garden?

We’ve compiled a list of The Five Best Flowers for a Cutting Garden.

  1. Foxglove, ‘Dalmatian Peach’

    This bi-ennial (perennial that blooms every other year) self seeds. Each plant can produce 5-7 cut flowers throughout their growing season. The more you cut, the more they bloom.

    From Floret’s website: The towering stems boast soft peachy-apricot blooms that glow from the inside out. An excellent addition to bouquets and wedding work, this salmony beauty is a must-have in any cutting garden. While most foxgloves are biennials, this new hybrid flowers the first year from an early sowing of seed and will also produce the second year if left in place.

  2. Poppy, ‘Princess Victoria Louise’

    This perennial has large crepe-paper like blooms in salmon pink with a dark center. Papavers are easy to grow, long lived and virtually care free, it is also deer and rabbit tolerant.

    After you’ve determined the correct length of the stem for your vase, sear the bottom of each stem with a flame. Searing the end of each stem will keep the sap from escaping and allow the flower to drink water. 

  3. Peony, ‘Bowl of Beauty’, ‘Krinkled White’ or ‘Sarah Bernhardt’

    There’s a reason why Peonies are loved my so many people. They’re an easy perennial to grow and they only get better with time. It’s best for the plant to cut only 1/3 of the blooms each season. For longer lasting flowers, cut the stems when the heads are still closed, but squishy to the touch.

  4. Sweet Pea, ‘Windsor’ or ‘Jacqueline Ann’

    This perennial is easy to grow and are loved by many for their large, deep purple blooms. This plant loves to climb and is an excellent choice for a trellis, wall, fence or arbor.

  5. Clematis ‘Jackmanii’

    This annual can be grown from seed and should be planted beneath a strong trellis to support their vines. For the longest vase life, cut stems that have at least 2 unopened blooms at the tip.

    From Floret’s website: Stunning in the garden, this richly hued beauty has warm chocolaty-maroon blooms that make a real statement. Blooms are quite fragrant and ride atop long strong stems, making it a fantastic variety for cutting. Every cutting garden deserves a row of fragrant, nostalgic sweet peas. A fistful of these demure little blooms are how Floret was born and they continue to spellbind us each season.

Source: https://www.prettyflowersmaine.com/blog/20...