Alex & Neeka,s Wedding

Congratulations to Alex and Neeka who were married at St Mawes Castle on 5th September with the reception at the Tresanton Hotel



Neeka's Hand-tied Bouquet contained Avalanche and Amnesia Roses with Snowflake Waxflower. Ivory Spray Roses and Eucalyptus.

This theme was followed in her Bridesmaids Bouquets and to a lesser extent with her Flower Girl's Posy

The Castle Barrel Arrangements and the Ceremony Table Arrangements were of White Lily, White Roses,Spray Carnations, Gypsophilia and foliage. After the Ceremony these were transported to the Hotel Tresanton and used as the table decorations.

Our thanks to Photographer James Peat of www.thirstycards.co.uk for the supurb photos

Christmas Flowers

Our collection of Christmas Flower designs is now available to order. See them on our web site

Our expected best seller is the "Christmas Cracker" hand-tied at £29.99 (shown here) or the larger at £39.99. Chocolates, wine, champagne can also be added if required

Interflora Creative day

Pleasant day yesterday, Sunday, at the Interflora Creative Day at Taunton. 5 of us attended Allan, Jackie, Pauline, Donna and Julie. Congratulations to Donna who entered the Florist of the Year competition and won 3rd prize in the Body Adornment Class. Her design was a shoulder adornment for a Brides Mother. Not something we get asked for or even advertise on our wedding web site, but its nice to show people just what is available Her exibit won with 91 points ( The winner had 93 points) Its a competion where the ultimate winner has the most points rather than the most wins so its possible to come third in all competitions but still win it outright.

Unusual Funeral

The use of Horse drawn funeral carriages, whilst being popular in the London area, are not something we normally see around Falmouth, so the appearance of one on Wednesday 14 October for the funeral of the late W.G Angove attracted some curiosity. Mr W.G.Angove, known as Geoffrey, was the son of the original W J Angove who started the well known Funeral Directors WJ Angove. We were honoured to have been entrusted to design the family floral tributes which accompanied the carriage on its route through the town and along the seafront.

Flowers in Falmouth

Probably the largest flower event that Falmouth has ever seen will be staged in Falmouth next year (2010) Arrangements are now underway so keep watching this blog for details.

Fresh Ideas

When it comes to flower design it doesn't matter how long you have been in the business, you are never to old to learn. You should never stop experimenting with new ideas and new ways to use the material you have. However whilst some of the top end designs created by top designers are superb, they are not commercial. A really lavish design looks good in the shop window and attracts a lot of attention and comments. It shows people just what you can do but you cant sell that kind of design work. So it was refreshing to watch the talented Dutch Designer Joan Stam demonstrate his commercial designs at an evening design session put on by Metz, one of our major flower suppliers. His down to earth approach in thinking outside the box and using materials in a different way was well worth the 300 mile drive to Bexley in Kent.

Grasses

Most of us only consider grass as a chore, when we have to mow the lawn. But ornamental grasses, bred for floristry for their decorative seedheads, elegant stems or colourful stripes, make great additions to any arrangement. Delicate plumes of grass soften bouquets, and remind us of wild meadows and summer evenings.

This Setaria grass has a soft fluffy feel and appearance, rather like a squirrel’s tail. Just behind you can see the rosy pink flowers of sedum, another great autumn flower. Look out for grasses including fountain grass (frondy and very airy), China grass, typha (a long broad green blade), and even wheat.

What a week

Our normal week in the shop is just that - normal. Flowers come in, orders come in, orders are made up and delivered. All usually without fuss or any problem, all sent out to happy customers.
Not this week. The four weekend weddings went OK and the normal orders went OK

The main problem was two unhappy customers in one week. What did we do wrong? - nothing, except tell the truth! We don't like having unhappy customers, we go out of our way to try and help but sometimes it just doesn't work

Customer 1. Wanted to send someone some Red Freesia. This is a request we often get, and why not, you can find a number of adverts for sending Red Freesia on the Internet so they must be available, yes?? Well not quite. The freesia commercially available to florists may be called Red but are more orange than red. Here are a couple of photos of what is refered to as Red Freesias





We prefer that our customers are fully aware that they are not a true Red but this is not always accepted and they insist that there are Red Freesias.available So one unhappy customer. Perhaps its us, are we colour blind? Try as we may we cannot really call these red. we have over 100 years experience between us and we havent as yet seen a true Red Freesia. What do we do? go with the flow and pretend they are red or continue to try and advise our customers accordingly??

Customer 2. Wanted Blue Gerbera. She had seen them on the Internet so knew they were available. We informed her that sorry there is no such thing as a Blue Gerbera. Here is what we found on the Internet.









The first two are paintings the other is a cut flower which has been dyed blue!!

Wedding of Carly and James

Congratulations to Carly and James who were married on Saturday 29 June 2009 at Budock Church.

Carly,s bouquet, a handtied, consisted of Barbie Roses and white Hydrangea heads.
Her 5 bridesmaids also carried handtied bouquets but with Sweet Avalanche Roses.The table arrangements in glass bowls contained white Hydrangea and bear grass,the top table arrangement which extended the full length of the table continued the theme of a mixture of the Roses with white Hydrangea and foliage. Babie Roses were also used in the cake decoration









Hello Jackie,

Just wanted to say thank you so much for the amazing wedding flowers you did for us.
They truly exceded our expectations.
When we walked into the reception room after you'd put the flowers in we were both speechless, it took our breath away!
My boquet was everything I had dreamt of and my bridesmaids boquets looked stunning with their dresses.
I have attatched some picture for you to see!

Thank you so much for everything!

Carly & James.

Autumn Flowers

Autumn is with us again with all its warm colours.See our new designs on http://www.jackiephillipsflowers.com/html/autumn_flowers.html

Flowers realy do make you feel happy

This is something florists have always known and lots of our customers also comment on how we are a happy shop. No matter how down you feel working with flowers soon cheers you up.

Until now there was not any scientific reason or research to prove that flowers could actually affect your mood and make you happy. However now there is a scientific backing to the claims about the flower power. Researchers at a USA University after doing a 10-month study came to a conclusion that there is a linkage between flowers and moods.

The researchers have discovered that there is an instant effect on a person's mood when you receive flowers. You break into a smile involuntarily irrespective of your age or your temperament.

Even those who were feeling low and were in a depressed mood felt good almost immediately after receiving a gift of flowers. No wonder, we have the tradition to take flowers when we go to see someone in the hospital. Flowers have a healing touch. They make people feel more optimistic and look at the brighter side of life.

Science hasn't discovered anything new. You've always known this about flowers from personal experience. Science has only strengthened your opinion with solid proof. Flowers make us happy and remove the tension making us more creative. In return, the least you can do is take good care of them when you receive them so that they'll last a long time.

I have been on Facebook several months now and can see the benefits of it for keeping in touch with friends (its original intent). But now its driving more and more to businesses Im getting a bit lost. Ive found out how to create a page for my business but dont see how they are linked?? Have also found out how to get friends to follow this Blog. But again dont see how this will appear of Facebook. Presumably once you have +4 frieds following it something appears on Facebook which may point more floowers to the blog. But what and where??
Have also installed an RSS News Feed on my blog but how do I get the posts to appear on my Facebook - do I have to link each post??

Are there any experts reading this who can answer these three questions in a way that I can understand

New Hippeastrum Galaxy Grp Challenger

Until now the Hippeastrum Top Ten has not included a white and green cultivar. However, with the arrival of the ‘Challenger’ this could well be set to change.
A bicoloured Hippeastrum is often viewed as rather exclusive and this is true to some extent.

The Challenger has exceptionally large white flowers with their pale green centres. The flower diameter is no less than 21 cm. Other attractive features include the upright flowers, sturdy stems and the bud presentation in the box as well as a vase life of two weeks. In short, this is a quality product with stylish looks.

It is available from the Dutch auctions from October to the end of April. The term ‘Galaxy Grp’ is a collective name for all single flowered cultivars with a flower diameter of at least 16 cm.

Family
Hippeastrum is a member of the Amaryllidaceae family.

Varieties
Hippeastrum has recently been subdivided into 9 cultivar groups:

• Group 1: Galaxy Group
• Group 2: Diamond Group
• Group 3: Colibri Group
• Group 4: Double Galaxy Group
• Group 5: Double Diamond Group
• Group 6: Double Colibri Group
• Group 7: Spider Group
• Group 8: Butterfly Group
• Group 9: Trumpet Group.

Hippeastrum and Amaryllis are often mentioned in the same breath, as though they are two names for the same genus. The flower commonly referred to as Amaryllis is in actual fact the Hippeastrum. True Amaryllis is a summer bulb plant reminiscent of a lily. Amaryllis was first found in the Cape Province in South Africa and there is only a single variety, i.e. Amaryllis belladonna. Since Amaryllis belladonna flowers before the leaves appear, its English name of 'naked lady' is quite appropriate. Hippeastrum is a winter plant from the tropical regions of South America, specifically the Andes mountain regions of Chile and Peru. The group consists of more than 75 varieties and belongs to the Amaryllidaceae (= Narcissus) family. The plants of this family grow in the region of South Africa that has winter rains, where they flower in early autumn (March/April) and produce leaves in winter (June/July). Hippeastrum and Amaryllis can easily be differentiated by looking at the stems: the stem of Amaryllis is solid while the stem of Hippeastrum is hollow. A further difference is that the seeds of Hippeastrum are black while those of Amaryllis are green. Hippeastrum produces flowers several times in a year while Amaryllis only flowers once.

Care tips:

• Slant cut the stems and stand in fresh water. It is advisable to cut a small piece off the stems every two days to achieve maximum vase life.
• Moving the flowers into a different vase or replacing the water in the vase will not impair their vase life.
• Do not forget that the hollow stems of Hippeastrum are filled with water. Drain them above the vase when moving them.
• When using Hippeastrum at an angle it is advisable to push a stick into the stem to prevent it from bending. It would normally take 10 to 14 days before this occurred.
• Hippeastrum grows taller as the flower opens. Ensure there is plenty of space above the flower ( 20 cm) to accommodate this growth.
• Hippeastrum does not need cut flower food but can tolerate it.
• Remove dead blooms to maintain the ornamental value.


Top 15 Hippeastrum

1. Diamond Grp ‘Red Lion’
2. Galaxy Grp ‘Mont Blanc’
3. Galaxy Grp ‘Christmas Gift’
4. Galaxy Grp ‘Liberty’
5. Galaxy Grp ‘Ferrari’
6. Galaxy Grp ‘Rilona’
7. Galaxy Grp ‘Ambiance’
8. Galaxy Grp ‘Minerva’
9. ‘Royal Velvet’
10. Galaxy Grp ‘Hercules’
11. Galaxy Grp ‘Desire’
12. Galaxy Grp ‘Benfica’
13. Double Galaxy Grp ‘Nymph’
14. Colibri Grp ‘Pygmee’
15. Galaxy Grp ‘Apple Blossom’

New Gerbera Captiva

Fifteen Dutch flowers exporters chose ‘Captiva’ as the winner in the ‘large flowered’ category from a selection of some eighty Gerbera varieties. This is entirely understandable in view of the flower’s vivid yellow colour and refreshing looks. The uniform diameter of the flowers also creates a balanced picture. The product is easy to work with thanks to its sturdy stems and is ideal for a wide range of bouquets and arrangements. The general consensus was that this was a valuable addition to the current assortment it is also noted for its good vase life of up to a good two weeks after harvesting.

Family
Gerbera is a member of the Asteraceae family. The first Gerberas came to the United Kingdom from South Africa in 1887 and were cultivated there. Later breeding moved to the French Riviera. After 1950 the Netherlands led the way. The parents of today’s Gerbera were natives of South Africa, e.g. the Transvaal and Cape Province. Gerbera production exploded after 1975. This was due to the use of tissue culture propagation, good cross breeding and efficient pest control. Gerbera is available all year round with a peak in spring. In recent years a great deal of work, including the use of extra lighting, has gone into improving the quality of Gerberas. The benefits include a longer vase life, longer stems, larger flower diameters and more intense colours.

Varieties
The Gerbera assortment is very extensive, both in terms of depth and width. The development of varieties with a good vase life has promoted the flower’s popularity among consumers. Previously the assortment was subdivided by flower type: single flowered, double flowered and black centred types. Currently the assortment is subdivided into large and small flowered types (mini Gerberas or Germinis). If the diameter at the narrowest point is less than 9.5 cm the flower will be assigned to the mini Gerberas.

• Always use clean vases and fresh water.
• If the vase holds only Gerberas a little bleach can be added to the water (3 drops per litre of water). If they are part of a mixed bouquet it is better to use cut flower food.
• Gerberas always grow upwards. Remember this when using in a vase or arrangement.
• Gerberas only need a shallow layer of water. If the water level is too high the water can creep up the stem and cause the stem to die off at the edge of the vase.
• Add a couple of drops of bleach every two days when replacing the water in the vase.
• If the Gerberas have started to droop, take them from the vase, slant cut a piece off the stems (these must be white and not brown inside) and replace them in the vase. They can now absorb water once more and will straighten up again.
• Always use a sharp knife to cut the stems of Gerbera rather than secateurs. Gerbera has a fairly soft stem. The walls of the vascular bundles are also quite soft and are easily damaged if the stem is cut with secateurs.
• Never stand Gerberas above a radiator or in direct sunlight. Also remember to avoid draughts.
• Gerbera is sensitive to ethylene. This is released by ripening fruit and found in exhaust gases.


Top 15 Gerberas, large flowered
1. 'Optima'
2. 'Red Explosion'
3. 'Serena'
4. Classic Fabio Orange
5. 'Ruby Red'
6. Dino
7. 'Bellezza'
8. 'Heatwave'
9. Pink Fantasy
10. 'Candela'
11. 'Ecco'
12. Classic Fabio
13. Classic Fabio Gold'
14. 'Mexx'
15. 'Pinky Eye

Explanation of the name
A certain Mr. Jameson discovered the subtropical plant in Transvaal. Actually a Gerbera variety had already been discovered in 1737 by Gronovius, a botanist in Leiden who named the plant after his colleague Gerber who came from Jutland (Denmark).

Most popular colours
The flower comes in every conceivable colour. Nowadays even some dyed varieties are available. Flamed and blue Gerberas are particularly popular in England and France. These are also expected to become popular in some Southern European countries.

New Freesia Red Beauty

Red Beauty’ is the latest ‘super model’ among the Freesias. Her secrets of success are her looks, and a heady fragrance.
Freesia is the ideal flower for adding fragrance to a mixed bouquet. In the case of ‘Red Beauty’ the fragrance is strikingly heady and pleasantly sweet. The fragrance is hardly there when the flower is closed but as soon as the first buds open ‘Red Beauty’ is transformed into a merciless seductress. Naturally the fabulous sparkling red colour and well filled, double flowers also play a part. When fully open Beauty has a diameter of 5.5 to 6 cm.

Other advantages are her good vase life, her sturdy stem and the upright comb. This ‘Red Beauty’ is an absolute super model among Freesias.

Family: Freesia is a member of the Iridaceae family.

Varieties
The Dutch flower auctions differentiate between two types of Freesias: the single and double flowered varieties. The single flowered varieties account for the greatest proportion of supply to the auctions.

Top 15 Freesia (double flowered)

1. ‘Volante’
2. ‘Yvonne’
3. ‘Purple Rain’
4. ‘Honeymoon’
5. Versailles
6. ‘Marianne’
7. Cassis
8. ‘Blue Bayou’
9. Grandeur
10. Grace
11. ‘Priscilla’
12. ‘Zephyr’
13. ‘Empire’
14. Orangina
15. ‘Duet’


Tips for care

• Allow Freesias to take a good drink of fresh water, while still in their wrapper.
• Cut about 3 cm off the stems.
• Fill a vase with fresh water and add some cut flower food. If possible use cut flower food for bulb flowers. This additive stops the flowers from drooping when they continue to grow in the vase.
• Freesias are sensitive to ethylene, which accelerates the ageing process in these flowers so that fewer flowers will open. For this reason Freesias should be kept away form sources of ethylene such as ripening fruit or exhaust fumes.

Explanation of the name
Freesias were discovered in South Africa. The plant was named after German physician Fr. Freese, a fellow student of Chr. Fr. Echlon (1795-1868) who first discovered the plant. Echlon collected many plants in the Cape Colony. Freesias were sometimes called 'Cape lily of the valley'. Although this name never caught on it does indicate where the first varieties were found.

New Celosia

Celway is the name given to a new series of Celosias that has been available since April 2009.
It is a Celosia spicata with flower spikes. The unusual detail in the Celway series is it’s the first spicata to be propagated from seeds. What is more important perhaps is the fact that at its launch the series already came in seven colours. These are purple, red, terracotta, orange, salmon, lemon and white.

They can be used in both cool summer bouquets and warm autumn bouquets. The attractive, fuzzy plumes always create a party feeling. Another advantage of the Celway Celosias is their relatively small leaves, which allow the stems – generally 70 to 75 cm long – to be processed with ease. There is also nothing wrong with their vase life which is up to 10 days after harvesting. The flowers are available until October.

New Rose

Djoena™ has virtually everything that might be expected of a romantic rose: a generous bud, a soft pink colour, a traditional flower shape and delectable, long, sturdy and almost thornless stems. ‘Eye-candy’ and ‘pure passion’ both aptly describe this rose.

The name Djoena™ was not chosen randomly. Classic, pastel coloured roses are immensely popular with Russian consumers who were the target group. Of course this does not mean that other European buyers will not also fall for the charms of this rose. It is a rose that could have been created specifically for use in traditional wedding flowers and mixes fantastically with white flowers. Rosa Djoena™ is available all year round lengths of 70 to 90 cm.

The rose is a member of the Rosaceae family.

Varieties
Roses come in a number of types: large flowered varieties, small flowered varieties and floribundaor cluster flowered roses (American: sweetheart roses). A differentiation is also made based on whether roses are grown outdoors or under glass.

Top 15 large flowered roses

1. Grand Prix
2. Passion
3. Avalanche+
4. Red Naomi!
5. Aqua!
6. Akito
7. Marie-Claire!
8. Vendela
9. Belle Rose
10. Mariyo!
11. Ilios!
12. Happy Hour
13. El Toro
14. La Belle
15. Duett

Care of Roses: There are ten golden rules for cut roses. It is important to stick to the following tips to ensure you get maximum enjoyment from your bouquet of roses:
1. Ensure roses are fresh when you buy them. The stems and flower buds must be firm and upright. They should not droop.
2. If possible buy roses whose buds are just opening. Roses whose buds are completely closed run the risk of not opening.
3. Put your roses into water as soon as possible after purchase and never leave them for hours to dry out in an overheated car. It is best to buy them at the end of your shopping trip.
4. Ensure the vase is really clean and contains no residues of other bouquets.
5. Before putting the roses into the vase, slant cut five centimetres from the ends of the stems using a very sharp knife to avoid damage.
6. There is no need to remove the thorns. If you do wish to have them removed, leave the job to your florist.
7. Remove all leaves that could hang in the water. They will decay and block the stems so that the flowers will no longer be able to "drink" properly.
8. Cut flower food is available from your florist and gives the roses extra strength and energy as well as keeping the water clean longer.
9. Keep roses away from ripening fruit. This produces ethylene gas, which accelerates the ageing process of the flowers.
10. Use glass vases, these are easier to keep clean than pottery vases, as they have no pores in which bacteria can collect and breed. In addition glass vases allow you to see when the water is dirty. Bacterial contamination

RSS Feed

We have now added an RSS feed to our Blog so you can always be updated on our news, new products or other flower related news.
Never heard of an RSS feed?? don`t worry its not as bad as it sounds
just click on the link on the right to see it in action and then click on the Subscribe button to start following.

Lilies for Brides

Lilies are popular with couples who are planning to marry
Spring is the most popular season for getting married, and it is therefore marked by an increased demand for lilies.
Flowers have always played a key role at weddings. White varieties were particularly popular, as they symbolise purity and innocence. White lilies also have the advantage of a wonderful fragrance. Nowadays the flowers at weddings are more colourful. Lilies are still popular, and one reason for this is that more coloured varieties are available. Another reason is their emotional impact. The lily stands for 'the complete life'. The stylish flower is regarded both as a sort of indulgence and as a way of expressing one’s spirituality. Eminently suitable, therefore, for the 'the most beautiful day of one’s life'.

Range of colours
Florists like to work with lilies on account of the beautiful flower, the splendid range of colours and the availability of varieties with stems up to 1.5 metres in length. The fact that the dark pistils of the lily can cause stains on a wedding dress is overcome in practice by simply removing them.



Range of fragrances
Lilies are available all the year round. The Longiflorum peaks from early to late summer. The range of fragrances offers something for everyone. The Asian hybrids have little or no fragrance. Longiflorum has a sweet and not too penetrating fragrance. The oriental hybrids have the strongest fragrances, emitting a sweet, spicy odour.

Weddings

We are seeing an interesting trend in weddings this year. The number of brides "to be" who live outside Cornwall but who want to get married here is increasing. WHY ?? Arranging and designing wedding flowers by e-mail is not the best way, it can never replace face to face discussions but it can be done. It takes time and lots of correspondence with photos/graphics, The bride to be also has to trust our experience and advice on what looks best. We have successfully completed a number of these this year with more to follow.

Whats the significance of the photo ? None its a Dahlia growing in my garden, with such a vibrant colour I couldn't resist it

Busy,busy

Thursday 23 July. Early start today, had a meeting with an event organiser who is organisng a big event for one of our customers in September. September is looking like a very busy month with this event plus all of the weddings we have booked. Our staff will be busy!!

Only in America

When will these arrive in the UK ??

Toyota’s drive of planting sun-powered Wi-Fi daisies in major cities of the US, as a part of national marketing effort for the 2010 3rd-generation Prius launch, is on heat. These solar flowers are representing the Prius theme “Harmony between Man, Nature and Machine.” These 18-feet-high flower sculptures provide for a comfortable place to chill out for 10 people at a time, allowing for free access to Wi-Fi and a means for charging cellphones, laptops and other gadgets. Powered by solar panels embedded at the back of the petals and the base of the stem of the flower, the solar station models the solar roof of the 3rd-generation Prius that will be using solar power to ventilate the interior when parked in the sun. The Prius solar flowers, after revitalizing Boston, are all set to campaign across major cities in the US. These beautiful, attractive and eco-friendly statuettes have an intoxicating effect, providing all you freaks with a place to get closer to nature accompanied with your gadgets.

Visitor counter

We know from our web site statistics that we have around 200 plus visitors a day to our web site on www.jackiephillipsflowers.com. Have never thought of adding a counter to our news blog before but have now found a good free counter that works well so have added it today

Monday 20 July 2009

Whilst we maintain a large range and stock of flowers in our shop, the growers, followed by the markets, are always producing exiting new colours. We dont automatically stock these of course, the shop isnt big enough- for example there are around 700 different varieties and colours of Chrysanthmem alone, and new varieties tend to cost considerably more than the more established varieties. However its nice for our customers to see what is available , so here are a couple which have recently been launched :-

Dendrobium Polar Fire.

The white flower with its purple heart is certainly something special. Polar Fire almost appears to to have been "made up". In beauty circles the look is called the "smokey eyes effect" In addition the plant produces lots of flower buds, which naturally increases its impact. The attractive, compact format makes the plant perfect for small areas. I has an excellent life span of 6 - 8 weeks. Now available all year round. Sold in 11cm pots, the plant reaches a height of 50-65cm.

Lily Sensation Chiara

The result of crossbreeding between Longiflorums and Orientals Lilies.

The first thing that catches the eye about this Longiflorum is the size of the large pink buds, which already give the flowers visual impact. Once in full flower the Lily achieves gigantic flower diameters of 15 to 20cm and exudes a pleasantly sweet scent. Sold with at least 3 buds per stem

Winners

Congratulations to two of our staff, Diane and Donna, for winning a number of prizes in floral art at the Stithians Show. Well done

Summer at last

Our new and exiting range of Summer Flower designs is now available. Our All Year Round flower range has also been expanded to give you more choice.

Check it out on www.jackiephillipsflowers.com

Our annual night out Saturday 28 Feb. 2009

A "Bunch of Florists" on a night out

Jackie, Donna, Leigh, Pauline, Suzi

Judith, Angela, Jim, Julie, Diane

Jackie trying to get a sneaky drink when she thinks no one is watching

Leigh says never mind the glass, I'll just drink out of the bottle

Pauline on her 5th

Julie on her 6th, Jim cant watch

Are they singing or being sick?

Jim looking above for inspiration, or just wondering what am I doing here

Judith with her droopy chip. Angela wants one as well

Allan, a Rose between two thorns

More Awards

JACKIE PHILLIPS FLOWERS TO RECEIVE SPECIAL PLATINUM PROVIDER AWARDS FOR QUALITY OF THEIR WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN CORNWALL

Introduced by the Cornwall Education Business Partnership, working with RAF St Mawgan and Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, the Platinum Provider Award is designed to encourage employers in Cornwall to develop their own Work Experience Scheme to provide a high quality experience for students.

To receive a Platinum Provider Certificate the employer’s Work Experience scheme must contain a number of elements covering a range of areas, including Aims and Objectives, Planning and Briefing, Preparation and Induction, Debriefing and Evaluation and Recording and Monitoring .

“The aim of the scheme is to ensure that young people in Cornwall have access to an appropriate high quality work placement which is suited to their needs and aspirations” said Tom Hickie, from the Cornwall Education Business Partnership. “It will also give them the opportunity to learn about the selected sector and type of employment opportunities available for them”.

The Platinum Provider Award scheme was originally trialled as a pilot with a small number of firms but is now being rolled out across the whole of the county using Convergence funding.

“Jackie Phillips Flowers are one of the first five companies to receive their Platinum Provider Awards under Convergence funding “ said Tom Hickie. “We want to encourage as many employers as possible to join the scheme and will be working with them to help them achieve this Award which will benefit both their company and the students involved”.

Fund Raising for Cancer

Further to our recent Blog below, We are pleased to have raised a total of £150.00 for breast cancer care. Click on link below for full story.

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/3854786.Falmouth_florist_raises___150_for_Breast_Cancer/

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Over the last three years Interflora and its members have supported Breast Cancer Care and have raised in excess of £500,000. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month with "In the Pink" day falling on Friday 24th October. At Jackie Phillips Flowers we are proud to support this with our new window display and sale of Breast Cancer Care Pins.



We will all be "In the Pink" on Friday 24 October
so why not call in and see us, guess the name of the lady in the window, make a donation and we will donate our Rose and Lily
Handtied shown right to the person who gets the right name.
All winning tickets will be entered and one will be drawn out as the overall winner. The Bouquet will be presented by the Mayor of Falmouth on Monday 27 at 10am




Also during October 10% of the profit on two of our designs will be donated to Breast Care they are the very popular:-

Rose and Lily Hand Tied(Code 240151PI) at £34.99 shown above right






and the Rose and Lily Hand Tied Gift set with chocolates
(Code 240551WB) at £39.95 shown right









Our window display is shown below

Success in Edinburgh

Interpreting a title such as "From the ends of the earth" is not easy when you are up against 21 Districts in the UK with some of the top UK flower designers. Especially when each District and each designer interperated it differently !!

So it was with great satisfaction to find that the judges awarded us a "Commendation" for our design shown on the right.

Taking on the UK

Further to our previous Blog "More Awards" in our archives in 2007, the result of winning the first in the Area finals is that Jackie and Diane now progress to the UK finals. They will represent the South West Links Designer Club at the UK finals in Edinburgh in October and compete against the other area winners of the first prize from all other UK clubs.

Their chosen design which will be approximately 7 Foot tall is well advanced but for obvious reasons cannot be disclosed here.

It was quite a feat to win the area finals and more so to be competing at the UK finals, So two weeks to go - wish them luck !!

Sid and his Bruises

Our commiserations to Sid , husband of Diane. Now Sid is not a great fan of exteme sports, but the other day he decided to spice up his life and try Bungee Jumping. Unfortunately nobody told him he needed a Bungee. In case you dont know Sid, that is a piece of elastic rope that is supposed to stop you from hitting the deck.

Sid jumped off a flight of steps, performed a spectacular somersalt (asss over tit) and bounced a few times,before reaching the bottom step.

He wont show us his bruises but Diaane has reported that they are large.

Ouch !!

Tall Ships success

Congratulations to Matthew Nimo (left) and Ross James (right), sons of two of our Florists Leigh and Angela.

Matthew and James have been chosen to join the one of the Tall Ships sailing from Falmouth in the 2008 Tall Ships race to Portugal and then to the island of Madeira.

They will be leaving Falmouth on Saturday 15th September on board the "T.S.Pelican of London" a 45 M length, 370 Ton Deadweight Tall ship rigged as a ‘Mainmast Barquentine’ setting 11 sails on three ‘pole’ masts.

We wish them Bon Voyage and hope they have a successful and comfortable voyage

For more information on the ship go to :-

www.adventureundersail.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=29

Special note to our No.1 reader in Suva, Fiji - Debbie Khan - promised Dad I would mention you here as well even though the above ship will not be visiting your Islands this time - unless they get lost !!