Flower of the week from California

Lily of the Valley

In the Victorian classic, The Language of Flowers, the Lily of the Valley is said to symbolize the return of happiness. Named for its native habitat (the Latin word "convallis" means enclosed valley), our Lily of the Valley is harvested along the beautiful coastline of Santa Barbara, California. Though this old-fashioned favorite bears dozens of blossoms, it can only last for less than a week. With bell-shaped flowers that infuse the air with fragrance throughout the day, it is commonly used in wedding bouquets, perfumes and is a perfect addition to your bedside table or bathroom counter.


Convallaria majalis, commonly known as the Lily of the Valley, is the only species in the genus Convallaria in the flowering plant family Ruscaceae, formerly placed in the lily family Liliaceae or in its own family called Convallariaceae. Other names include May Lily, May Bells, Lily Constancy, Ladder-to-Heaven, Male Lily and Muguet.

This was a very popular flower for all wedding at Heroman's Florist during the early and middle 1900's. It's popularity diminished during the late 90's because of the availability of so many other flowers due to the advances in shipping of flowers in a cold chain. The flower however because of it's simplistic beauty is making a comeback in wedding popularity and bride sentimentality.

Flower of the Week - From South America

- CELOSIA -

Genus name comes from a Greek word meaning “burning” in probable reference to flower head appearance.


Celosia argentea is comprised of two groups. Plumed celosia belongs to the Plumosa group, which bears fluffy, feathery heads composed of hundreds of tiny flowers.
The Cristata group, best known today as crested celosia or cockscomb, is suggestive of a highly colored brain. Some varieties are wider than others; the narrow ones definitely are reminiscent of a rooster’s comb. The "crenellations" of Bombay mix (3 to 4 feet tall with 18-inch flower heads in 5 colors: purple, deep red, wine red, gold, and yellow gold) are very narrow and look like folds of elegant French ribbon - darker on the outside, lighter colored inside.

Celosia spicata, spiked cockscomb, is also known as wheat celosia for its narrow, spiky flower heads, reminiscent of heads of wheat.
The Argentea is cultivated for its tall, showy heads of dainty, plumed flowers, while the Cristata, (the true 'cockscomb"), is a lower growing plant, and produces distinctive heads of stiff, compact, densely packed blooms.

This fun flower can be available seasonally at "Original" Heroman's Florist, your baton rouge florist for all of your delivering of flowers.

Flower of the week from California

Rice Flower

Rice flower has become a popular flower over the past 10 years. When in bud the flowers look like large rice grains, hence the name. The small flowers occur in clusters of up to 100 at the ends of the branches. The leaves are small and linear in shape. Rice flower is used as a floral filler, in much the same way as Gypsophila, it is long lasting in the vase and complements other, more flamboyant flowers.
Rice Flower aka Ozothamnus is from the Greek word "ozo", to smell and "thamnos", a shrub, referring to the smelly foliage and the species diosmifolius refers to having leaves like the genus Diosma.
Other common names for this species include White Dogwood, Pill Flower and Sago Bush

This is a nice filler for this time of year. Check our availability on this flower, but very popular and always available for weddings in the spring.

Flower of the Week - From South America

- BIRDS OF PARADISE –
Strelitzia reginae

Some maintain that the flower's brilliant orange and blue blossom resembles a bird in flight and that’s why is named after the bird of paradise. However, since this flower is also known as the strelitzia, some believe that it was named after England's Queen Charlotte, who was born Charlotte Mecklenber-Strelitz. We also can say that this flower is one the scientific name means queenly strelitzia and is said to have originated in South Africa and evolved in Madagascar, an island off the east coast of Africa.

Birds of paradise may have difficulty emerging from the green sheaths that surround the blossoms. To fix this situation, just cut a small slit in the top of each flower and gently open the sheath to release the bloom.

Care and Handling
- Unpack flowers from shipping box as soon as possible.
- Re-cut stems under water 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 inch.
- This species is chill sensitive. Place in storage at 55 to 70°F. They can be left at room temperature to allow for proper storage.
- Watch for emerging spathes and remove flowers manually from the spathes.
- Vase life: 7 to 14 days.
- Packing: 40 stems in a quarter box.

We recieve Fresh Bird of Paridise every Monday from Costa Rica.

Story about "Original" Heroman's in Baton Rouge Buisness Report

This was a story covering business in Baton Rouge for over 100 years.

http://www.businessreport.com/news/2009/mar/09/golden-oldies-gnit1/?general-interest

Also as a side note, the story of Rabenhorst Funeral Homes is also our family. My grandmother on my father's side was a Rabenhorst. The gene pool runs deep with the Heromans and successful businesses in Baton Rouge.

Flower of the week

LA Lilies

LA Lilies were introduced in 1992 and the LA is not for the city of Los Angeles, but for the way they were created. The LA Lilies were created by crossing Longiflorums (L) with Asiatics (A).
These lilies have larger buds than Asians and can be recognized by their dense clusters. New and improved colors are always coming onto the flower markets. LA lilies generally do not have any fragrance. The longiflorum traits produce more of a trumpet shape and provide a longer vase life. The Asiatic traits are responsible for the warmer flower colors and the upright calyx, which causes the flower heads to face upward.
Our LA Lilies are grown in Costa Rica and they are available in red, orange, yellow, violet and pink colors with the following features:
- Height: Minimum 54 inches and maximum 68 inches.
- Width: Minimum 12 inches and maximum 68 inches.
- 65 – 70 cm tall. 3-4 blooms per stem and 60 stems per quarter box.
Care and Handling:
It is always better to buy lilies with buds that are just about to open. Even if you buy stems with a few flowers already open, you're okay, as lilies have lots of flowers per stem.
Cut at least one inch of your stems before put them in water.
Strip the lower leaves from the stems so that no foliage will be under water in the arrangement.
Remove spent flowers and leaves as they wither and fade. Keep the flowers away from heat sources, including the TV, and change the water if it gets cloudy.
Keep always fresh water in the vase for keeping the fresh fragrance of the flowers.

Call to see availability or close substitutes of Oriental Lilies or Enchantment Lilies.

Join Our facebook Group

For those that are Facebook fanatics, please join our Facebook group and become a fan of the "Original" Heroman's Florist. We will have specials, events, and discounts just for being a fan of our shop.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1088989573&ref=profile#/pages/Original-Heromans-Florist/64196657628

See you there.

David Heroman