Plants and Flowers

Constructional systems of roofs and their three-dimensional combination with side glass cover play special role in winter gardens. The winter garden should be beautiful, transparent, light and at the same time strong enough and steady to mechanical and atmospheric impacts. The main characteristics of any winter garden is safety of its elements, protectability of an internal space from cooling and overheating, rigidity and durability of a skeleton, optimum optical transmission and high firmness to extreme atmospheric phenomena.

There are several technologies and constructive systems of winter gardens which have passed long approbation. Essentially systems are subdivided into three groups depending on a constructional material: from PVC (plastic systems), aluminium and firm wood varieties. It is necessary to consider that modern systems are combined frequently. Wood systems are sensitive to atmospheric influences, they are much more difficult to unify. Even in the developed western countries wooden winter gardens are exclusive constructions for the time being, though some known firms specialize on those very wooden elements. These piece “works of art” cost much more expensively than constructions from new modern materials.

Use of modern materials and elements has allowed to lower cost of such constructions, but has put a problem of a choice before the consumer: plastic or aluminium.

Winter gardens have found their rebirth in 80s years of the XX century. They have quickly won popularity in the West, and now in many countries of Europe, America and Canada winter gardens are widely used in construction at designing of buildings with various functional destination: inhabited, public, individual, industrial, etc.

The direct connection of a winter garden with premises serves nowadays one of determining functional signs when we speak about winter gardens. The winter garden is an intermediate zone between surroundings, whether it is a garden, a flower bed or a city building, and the inhabited space limited by four walls. It also may be said that the winter garden is one of rooms of a house or an apartment, but at the same time it is a special room: semi-house – semi-garden. And it sets apart winter garden from a greenhouse, which is not a part of living quarters and serves only for cultivation of heat-loving plants.

Human life becomes fuller, when he feels the close connection with an environment. And a winter garden is just one of such stages, which allows the person to feel himself a part of the nature, especially if he is deprived of opportunities to be outside his house.

Due to new constructions and materials, and also modern engineering and technical opportunities in the field of ventilation, heating and shading each of us can realize the dearest wish about a winter garden, having turned into it the terrace of a country house or a glazed balcony of an apartment.

It is difficult to say the exact period of appearance and construction of winter gardens and greenhouses. It is known, that already in Ancient Rome houses’ atriums were decorated with flowering plant in hanging pots, and for cultivation of vegetables and exotic plants Romans built hothouses. In northern countries of the European continent cultivation of heat-loving plants was impossible in open ground conditions. And already in the beginning of the XVII century in English country houses appeared the first prototypes of greenhouses and winter gardens - glass rooms meant for cultivation of citron plants and keeping of animals, brought from warm climatic zones.

Cultivation of exotic plants demanded special heating systems which had been widespread in Europe already at the end of the XVII century. One of such systems was the spiral flues built-in in brick walls. More simple way of greenhouses’ heating supposed presence of big holes in a floor filled with hot coal.

The system of water heating for the first time has been developed and realized at the beginning of the XIX century in Holland.

Later many of these systems were improved and adapted for cultivation of heat-loving plants in indoor conditions.

Glass roofs for catching of solar beams appeared in England in 1717 and in due course have turned to such constructions, as the “crystal” Paxton palace built in 1801.

In the XIX century in European cities appear passages with glass roofs - large trading-business centers with shops, representative offices and recreation zones, including winter gardens and flower beds.

Leaves should not be languid, tortiled or to have dried points. The plant should be foliated equally from all directions.

If this is a blossoming plant, choose that, which has more than buds, than unfurled flowers.

The choice is made, you have bought it. The plant should be packed, if it is a winter or autumn, it should also have protective packing from low temperature and wind. If you carry a plant by car, do not put it in a boot, the best place will be on a back seat. It is even better, if you place it in a spacious box.

The plant got by you should go through the certain period of acclimatization. Its duration depends on plant’s whimsicality and conditions in which it existed in a shop. In any case protect a plant from direct sun and drafts for several weeks. The temperature in a room should be moderate, and watered cautious. Some very sensitive plants shed their leaves and flowers during acclimatization. In this case a plant should be put in the most suitable place and not moved any more.

Choosing a plant in a shop, pay attention to a place where it stands. Do not get plant which stood in passageway, near to open doors or closely to a window pane. If the plant stood in a passageway, it could be touched or even damaged, plants facing doors could suffer from drafts and sharp temperature differences. The plants put closely to a window pane could receive solar burns, or be injured from contact with a cold glass. All these situations can be invisible, but for sure will adversely affect the plant in the future.

Choosing a plant, touch the soil in a pot - it should be slightly moist, but not dry and not damp (if only a plant has not watered a minute ago). There should not be water in a tray. There should not be emptiness between walls of a pot and soil. There should not be a green or white coating on a clay pot. Leaves should be fresh and green without dust or webs. Look closely not only to your plant, but also to other plants. If these conditions are not observed, do not buy plants in this shop at all, as these are signs of not professionalism and it is possible, that all plants are infected with illnesses and wreckers.

- Take an interest how often sellers they spray plants and wipe leaves.

Probably, not everyone knows that the plants bought in shop experiences the double stress. The first stress it has when delivered in shop. Indoor plants for sale, as a rule, are grown in hothouses with high humidity is constant temperature and corresponding illumination. Now the majority of shops offer flowers brought from Holland, and also from Thailand and other countries. Even if the firm has tried to deliver the plant maximum correctly and cautiously, the plant all the same will experience stress, at the same time it will look well.

So, the plant has got in a shop with certain conditions. The plant had no time to get used – and it is being bought. Even if you take care of correct transportation, you will have other conditions in your apartment. If you choose a healthy, strong, young plant which was well looked after, then, probably, you will not notice signs of stress, and it will grow well. Therefore adaptation to new conditions in your house depends on the way you choose a plant.

Try not to buy already big mature plant. Young plants bear stressful situations, adapt to change of conditions more easy and fast. The mature plant, even getting in very caring hands, will adapt painfully for a long time even if is considered unpretentious.
Certainly, if the plant is bought for office, most likely, it will be a large plant, and transportation and acclimatization can create problems. In this case show interest whether a shop makes delivery and whether it can give any guarantees. Visit some shops before purchase and choose the shop where you will be given more professional consultation and offered packing, delivery and some help in case of problems.

There are standard rules - not to give bright, bright-red flowers to elderly and married women, not to give bouquets with odd amount of flowers, to select carefully color combinations in a bouquet.

If you make a bouquet, try, that it doesn’t look as an armful of flowers. Harmonious color combinations in a bouquet are: yellow - violet, red - green (leaves), orange - blue, yellow - red, dark blue - red, yellow - dark blue, violet - orange. White flowers will be nice with any others. Bouquets from plants of one color, but different shades are always very beautiful, for example, from roses - from dark-cherry up to light pink.

Bouquet is a very fragile and short-lived gift, therefore, if we want to make the pleasure longer, we should take into account the following: some kinds of flowers cannot be united, if you do not want them to lose freshness quickly.

First we will tell about the meaning of flower’s color and color of a wrapper and packing of a bouquet.

Pink color - love,
Bright red - ardent passion,
Green - hope,
Light blue - belief,
Dark blue - fidelity,
Dark yellow – guile and envy,
Light grey - poverty,
Dark grey - despair,
Light brown - grief,
Lilac - humility,
Violet - friendship,
Orange - pride and coquetry,
Gold - dignity,
Silver - immortality.

Thus, having packed a bouquet in a bright red paper, added to flower a few green branches and having tied up a paper with a dark grey ribbon, you have told the whole phrase about huge love.

Plants also since the most ancient times have served as symbols. Myrtle and orange flowers symbolize cleanliness and innocence of the bride; laurels crown winners and art workers; the oak wreath is devoted to the person of outstanding civil merits; olive and palm branches are symbols of the peace; a weeping willow and a cypress are both symbols of sorrow and grief.

Here are meanings value of some flowers:

Acacia yellow and white - platonic love.
Acacia pink - elegance.
Anemone - feebleness or illness.
Aster - grief.
Basil - hatred, disgust.
Periwinkle - delightful memoirs.
Hawthorn - hope.
Cornflower - delicacy, grace.
Heather - loneliness.
Trailing bindweed - meekness, humility.
Dwarf glorybind - coquetry.
Red carnation - ardent love, passion.
White carnation - grief.
Yellow carnation - contempt.
Dahlia - gratitude.
Hyacinth - an entertainment, joke.
Hydrangea - coldness.
Jasmin - courtesy.
Bellflower - garrulity.
Buttercup - date.
Lavender - mistrust.
Gillyflower - haste, irascibility.
Madonna lily - youth.
Poppy - consolation.
Daisy - innocence.
Mimosa - modesty, shyness.
Mint - ardent feelings.
Daffodil - egoism.
Marigold - grief.
Peony - shame.
Snowdrop - a consolation.
White rose - a bud - the heart which has experienced love yet.
White rose - a flower - silence.
Red rose - love, suffering from love.
Rose red and white - fire of heart (connected together).
Yellow rose - infidelity.
Violet - modesty.
Dogrose - poetry.

Much can be told about magic properties of flowers and grasses. Today in the West many work above returning of green magic secrets. Time has thoroughly hidden them in its layers and has deformed up to unrecognizability.

Various religions in their own way interpreted symbolics of flowers, binding them to the gods, myths and legends. Becoming sacred, flowers got new, uncharacteristic for them properties, losing true ones.

As the human civilization separated from nature more and more, people ceased to understand its cryptography, deprived it with its independence. As a result plants and flowers started to speak about what they actually did not speak earlier during ancient times.

European peoples have rich language of flowers and colors. In Russia in the beginning of last century women widely used this language – as a symbolical language of love, pinning them dresses and hats. Then it was possible to buy everywhere a booklet with the list of flowers and their meanings.

Ficus and Dieffenbachia also have some antibacterial properties. They clear air of the rooms of toxins; therefore their place is in premises which windows face a noisy motorway or a factory. These plants like sunny places, but not direct sun beams. Dieffenbachia likes intensive watering. Ficus, on the contrary, in autumn and in winter quite often sheds the leaves because of an excessive watering. Therefore skilled flower growers advise not to water plants, but only spray leaves.

Laurel is a small evergreen undershrub, which sends off substances which kill viruses and bacteria. This plant will be useful for, suffering cardiovascular diseases and intestinal colic. It is light-requiring and grows well only in a sunny places. The plant can be easily shaped, usually it is given the spherical form.

One more group of useful plants is cactuses, especially those with long needles. These plants not only kill microbes, but also reduce harmful ionization of air, protecting us from electromagnetic radiation. The best place for these plants is near to the TV and computer monitors. For normal growth they need warm and light place.

With the help of flowers you can also increases air moisture. Flowers which need a lot of moisture, usually return it through leaves. These are violets, cyclamens and ferns.