Flower gifting is commonly seen for nearly all holidays and special events. The flower is a lovely plant that has the power to brighten a mood and liven a room. This tradition has been going for over 3 centuries, and isn’t slowly down anytime soon.

In the 17th century a European brought flowers back from a far away nation and gave them as a gift. This began the tradition of giving flowers as a present and has since turned into something extremely popular around the world. The art of floral studies is called “Floriography”, which discusses the language of flowers.

Every flower that can be purchased and given has its own unique meaning. For example, Bird of Paradise flowers are typically given for a 9th wedding anniversary gift. Other flowers like roses can mean different things based on their color. Yellow roses generally symbolize friendship, while red roses symbolize love.

In Latvia there are abundant amounts of flowers and plants that flower. The environment here is perfect for plants to grow thick and full without harsh weather conditions. Latvia is a unique little nation that has a rapidly growing economy and strong tourism. Here you can find plenty of daisies as well, which are Latvia’s national flower. These are often added to arrangements too boost the meaning and significance of a specific bouquet.

The problem with food and plants these days is that they are all too expensive with the economy as it is. A garden is a good alternative, but the start up costs of getting your garden going can be too much at once for you. Following some simple tips, you can lower the costs and have it running in no time.

The first step is to design your garden. If you are completely new to the world of gardening, be prepared to take in a lot of information at once! You can get free books and audio discs regarding the subject at your library if you have a pass. Otherwise you can use the Internet to find free websites or magazines that will give you the help you need during the planning stage.

Think about where you could go to buy a plant. Odds are you thought of your local nursery or garden center. This is usually the worst place to go, since the prices are steeper than what you would pay elsewhere. The only benefit they have is that they have a large variety, and also have large discounts for products that are out of the current season.

A small amount of a third type, cassia vera, produced mainly in Java, Celebes and other neighbouring islands, is exported mainly from Makassar, the German Federal Republic being the chief importers.

Within each category, there is a further classification according to the thickness of the quills. Ceylon cinnamon quills imported into the United Kingdom are mainly used industrially in the manufacture of a wide variety of processed foods or for the production of cinnamon bark oil or cinnamon oleoresin. A small quantity is either cut up into pieces about 15 cm or ground into a fine powder or mixed with other spices by spice merchants or millers for the retail pharmaceutical and grocery trades.

Kwantung cassia has an oil content of at least 1.7 ml per 100 g, and Kwangsi 3.4 to 4.0 ml per 100 g, according to information provided in 1974 by the Native Product Corporation, Peking (via the British Embassy). This contrasts with Landes (1951), who reported that best quality Kwangsi cassia contained 2 to 2.75 per cent volatile oil and Kwantung 1.0 to 1.2 per cent.

The spices are prepared and supplied to the market in various forms, the most elaborate type of product being the compound cinnamon quills from Sri Lanka.

The National Dahlia Society also works in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society towards the better appreciation of the dahlia. The instrument here is the Joint Dahlia Committee, composed of an equal number of members from both societies. This committee is responsible for the classification of the dahlia into its differing forms and sizes, but not for the actual listing of varieties in accordance with this classification which is done by the National Dahlia Society.

Modern varieties, without doubt, are really wonderful, both in formation and in the period and length of blooming. The majority of giant varieties have originated overseas, although we have several raisers of these varieties within the confines of the British Isles, notably that doyen of the dahlia, Mr Harry Stredwick, whose giants are famous the world over.

Certain members of this committee are responsible for the compilation of the National Register of Varieties, a register which is maintained to try to eliminate confusion and duplication of naming wherever possible.

Harvesting does not usually take place until the trees are at least 10 or 12 years old, unless economic necessity compels the cultivator to harvest them at 4 or 5 years, when the bark will be of inferior quality. They may even be left until they are 20 to 30 years of age, while forest trees may be 40 or 50 years old when they are discovered.

The bark is removed from the standing tree at the time when it lifts easily, starting with the main branches and working down the trunk. A bambdo scaffolding may be erected for the purpose. Horizontal cuts are made about 40 cm apart and vertical cuts some 25-35 cm apart. The rectangles of bark are then removed with the aid of a horn or bamboo spatula. Finally, the tree is felled and the inferior bark removed from the smaller branches. A stump may he left to encourage coppicing.

In comparison to cinnamon bark oil, the production of cassia bark oils is on a relatively small scale with distillation being undertaken in the importing countries. These oils find a limited use in soaps, perfumes, some spice essences and beverages.

Cassia, also known as cassia lignea or Chinese cinnamon, is said to be one of the oldest of spices. It was known in China as long ago as 27 B.C., in Egypt in the seventeenth century B.C., and it is said to have been familiar to all the people of the Mediterranean area at an early date. These statements are open to doubt and there is probably some confusion with some other bark.

They should, however, be planted close enough to encourage the formation of a tall straight trunk with as few branches as possible. The best spacing is about 1 m between plants. The use of Tephrosia candida (Roxb.) DC. as a nurse crop has been recommended in Sumatra. This may be sown six months ahead of the cassia in rows about 1 m apart and the young cassia trees are planted in clearings about 60-70 cm in diameter made in the Tephrosia, which later can be cut back to 15 cm and spread between the rows.

Intercropping in the first year with groundnuts or other crops is sometimes practised, but care is necessary, as damage to the roots of the cassia can result in infection by canker, Phytophthora cinnamomi.

The type of soil has a pronounced effect on the quality of the bark. In Sri Lanka the best cinnamon grows around Negombo in the Colombo District of the Western Province in fine white quartz sand.

The other main cinnamon area is the Galle and Matara Districts of the Southern Province, where the lateritic gravelly soil of the low country produces more rapid growth, but the bark obtained is somewhat thicker and coarser than that of the Negombo District. Rocky and stony ground is unsuitable. Waterlogged and marshy areas should be avoided, as they give an undesirable bitter product which is much less aromatic.

Several cultivars with distinctive local names exist in Sri Lanka. The forms recognized by growers include sweet or honey cinnamon, snake cinnamon, camphor cinnamon, astringent cinnamon, mucilaginous cinnamon, wild cinnamon and bloom cinnamon. Their characteristics are not given, but of these only sweet or honey cinnamon is cultivated extensively.

It is the dominant species of the secondary vegetation of the higher and middle slopes. It also occurs and is sometimes planted in the coconut plantations and is also found in the calcareous coastal flats. Mahe is by far the largest producer, as the very steep rocky terrain of Silhouette makes exploitation difficult.

Cinnamon bark oil is a pale-yellow liquid possessing the delicate aroma of the spice and a sweet and pungent taste. Its major constituent is cinnamaldehyde, but other components present in minor or trace quantities impart the characteristic odour and flavour which distinguishes this oil from other Cinnamomum bark oils. These components include eugenol, eugenol acetate and small amounts of aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, esters and terpenes. Arctander (1960) attributes the powerful characteristic notes of good oils to the presence of methyl-namylketone together with other, aldehydes and ketones. However, detailed studies of the relationship of the oil composition to its organoleptic properties have not been reported in the literature.

The variation in the properties of the spice according to its grading have been described in the `Products and end-uses’ section, and the current standards are given in the ‘Standard specifications’ section.

Cinnamaldehyde was identified as the major constituent of Sri Lankan cinnamon bark oil by Dumas and Peligot (1834, 1835), and more detailed analyses of the oil composition were undertaken later by chemists of the Schimmel Co. (1892c) and by Walbaum and Huthig (1902).

Cinnamon is the dried bark of Cinnamomum verum (syn. C. zeylanicum). It is indigenous in Sri Lanka, which still produces the largest quantity and best quality, mainly in the form of quills. The Seychelles is the second largest producer, the exports being mainly in the form of rough bark. Small exports are made from the Malagasy Republic.

The spice is used in baking and pickling; it has also a limited use in pharmaceutical products and in incense. Like many other spices, cinnamon was regarded as having aphrodisiac properties.

The Chalais, the caste to which the peeling and preparation of cinnamon bark is now restricted in Ceylon, are said to have emigrated from India in the thirteenth century.

Cinnamon was one of the first spices to be sought after by most fifteenth- and sixteenth-century explorations. It was one of the spices which sent Columbus to the west to discover the eastern spice islands. In his diary for 4 November 1492, we read that, following a reconnaissance of the north coast of Cuba, PinzOn, captain of the Pinto, brought Columbus two pieces of bark, claiming that he had found cinnamon. They were probably Capella winterana (L.) Gaertn., which is still known in the West Indies as wild cinnamon. It was the same search for spices which led Vasco da Gama to round the Cape of Good Hope and reach the Malabar coast of India in 1498.

Incidentally, do please note that whatever form of heating is used, the heating elements should be under the bench; this concentrates the heat where it is most required and, in the case of oil stoves, will keep the pathway free from obstructions. If necessary the soil under the benches should be excavated to allow the heaters to be set into position.

On the other hand, the temperature is automatically controlled by a thermostat, so that very little attention is required, and certainly no stoking, which can be a somewhat unpleasant task on a cold night. Of all the various electrical systems available probably the most useful is that based on a water circulatory system, as there is some small reserve of heat should the current fail and, in addition, the drying effect on the air in the greenhouse is not so marked as in the normal radiant type.

As a compromise soil warming cables can be used to heat the tuber and propagating beds. Space heating will still be required as these cables do not cause any appreciable rise in the air temperature, but this need only be sufficient to maintain a minimum of say 4o to 45 F. Even if electrical space heating is used, with the thermostat set about these figures, the cost of heating will not be unduly high. Alternatively, an oil heater may be used to supply the necessary space heating.