Timing in photography is as important as the camera when shooting close-ups of flowers. By timing, I’m not necessarily referring to the time of day; but more importantly, I’m referring to when the flower is in full-bloom. Sometimes, buds make good photographs; but usually the full-bloom is considered to be the *peak* time to capture it’s beauty and visual essence. In photography, candid pictures are of premium quality when the *peak* moment occurs.

If you have the software, Photoshop, don’t be overly concerned about flawed petals or tiny bugs or specks on the flower if you know how to clone them out. If you are not to sure about taking this approach, then inspect the flower for imperfections and remove the damaged petals just prior to taking your picture.

If you have a bottle to mist the flower nearby, use it! Water droplets look awesome on flowers! Drops of dew and water drops are delightful and visually refreshing.

From experience, I have learned to take not-so-tight pictures of flowers, because the closer I get to them (with my camera), the percentage of having distortions and blurry pictures go way up. My best advice is to take six or more images of each flower (from different angles). Try some with the flash on and others with it off. If you have software to crop the image at home, that is when you can crop in much tighter on the flower. One more suggestion: try to leave a natural green frame around the flower. The greenery sets off the color just perfectly!

Debbie Jensen, Photographer, Graphic Designer, Web Designer http://www.debjensendesigns.com Come to my website to see my photography of flowers!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Debbie_Jensen

Before entering your own roses, take the time to visit a few rose shows so you can see how everything works.

If at all possible, try to get permission to enter the preparation room so you can see what experienced displayers do before the judging begins.

Get a copy of the ARS Guidelines for Judging Roses from the American Rose Society.

When you decide that you are ready to enter a show, look for one that’s close to home so you can keep your travel time and expenses to a minimum. There are plenty of exhibits that offer special judging classes for beginners, so try to find one of those.

Follow this timetable and you’ll be ready to face the judges on the day of the show:

30 days before the show

Start the process of narrowing down you choices to the rose that you will be showing. It’s easiest to start with displaying one single bloom on a stem. Be sure to select a rose with a sturdy and straight stem.

Begin preparing the rose for exhibit by cutting off all of the buds that are forming between the side of the stem and the leaf. This focuses all of the nutrients to the single bloom at the end of the stem.

Support the cane of your selected rose by staking it with a bamboo stake and some rose or twist ties. This protects the cane and helps to support the rose as it grows.

Spray fungicide when needed and promptly remove aphids and spider mites if they appear. Aphids can be removed by spritzing with soapy water. Spider mites can be lightly sprayed with plain water.

Water your roses as you normally do and apply organics and fertilizer as required.

Put together your exhibit toolkit for the day of the show. Most experienced rosarians include the following in their kits:

• Several soft cloths
• Q-Tips
• Shears
• Plastic wrap
• Small, soft artist’s paintbrush
• Return address labels
• ARS Handbook for Selecting Roses and ARS Exhibition Names

7 days before the show

Cover your selected bloom with a baggy that’s secured below the bloom with a tie at night, and remove the baggie before the sun rises in the morning. Do this every night until you leave for the show.

2 or 3 days before the show

Cut the rose following the instructions in our “Tips for cutting roses for display” article. Cut the stem a bit longer than usual because you will be re-cutting the day of the show.

Place the rose in a florist’s bucket, cover the bloom with a baggie and tie it off below the bloom. Place the bucket and rose in the refrigerator.

The morning of the show

Remove the rose from the refrigerator, place the container and rose safely in your car, grab your kit, and head for the show!

Cutting Tips

Shears: Always make sure that you cut your roses with a sharp and clean pair of shears. Dull shears will crush the rose’s stem, and dirty shears can transmit disease to your other blooms.

Timing: Roses store and process their nutrients on a schedule. Hold off cutting your roses until after 3 PM when their nutrient levels are the highest.

Which roses: It’s too late to cut a bud when it is fully open. Choose buds which have started to open, but are only 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through the process.

Cutting tips: Don’t remove all of the leaves from the cut stem. Leave at least 3 to help feed the bloom, but cut off all leaves that will be below the water level of the vase.

After Cutting

Once you have cut all the roses that you will be cutting for the day, bring them inside and start the water conditioning and hardening process.

The first threat to a cut rose’s health is the air that it sucked up when you cut the stem outdoors. This little “air pocket” which entered the cut stem works its way up to the bloom where it ultimately shortens the blooms life. That air needs to be replaced with water.

• The easiest way to do that is to fill a bowl with hot tap water, as hot as you can stand to put your hands into, but not scalding hot.
• Add whatever floral preservative you use plus a few drops of bleach.
• Now place all of the rose stems into the bowl. Do not let the buds touch the hot water.
• Use your shears and cut approximately 1/4 inch off the end of each stem and leave the roses in the bowl until the water cools to room temperature.

Into the Vase

Fill your vase with warm water, add a drop or two of bleach and a bit of preservatives, then add your roses.

This little bit of extra work, as well as the addition of a few drops of bleach, will extend the vase life of your cut roses longer than you can imagine.

Whenever the water starts to get cloudy, remove the roses, refill with hot water, add a drop or two of bleach, and return the roses to the vase at once.

When your bloom begin to show signs of wilting, re-cut about an 1/8 of an inch from the stems and place the stems into hot water for about an hour before returning them to the vase.

Roses can live for an amazingly long time in a vase if you understand what it takes to keep them alive.

What are rose hips?

Gardeners never relish watching the blooms die on their beloved rose bushes, but at least the rose hip remains behind and offers a nice touch of color during colder seasons. Rose hips are actual fruits, shaped like cherries, but some rose varieties like the Rosa Rugosa offer a better-tasting rose hip that resembles cranberries in flavor and are being used increasingly in holistic health treatments.

Rose Hips Products

Some massage therapists swear by rose hip seed oil and promote this product, that is marketed as an essential or specialty oil, in aromatherapy sessions either alone or blended with other oils. The benefits are said to range from softening the skin, to building collagen and reducing sun damage that causes fine lines and wrinkles.

Rose hip tea is thought to be a natural cold remedy that soothes coughs and flushes out toxins from the kidneys and urinary tract. Naturopaths often recommend rose hip oil for its antiseptic and anti-viral properties, and it’s also believed to aid troubling symptoms of depression. Containing small amounts of ascorbic acid, or vitamin c rose hip is often an ingredient in multi-vitamins. Depending upon the species and climate conditions for growing, rose hip c vitamins aren’t the only nutrient found in the fruit - folates are also extracted for their nutritional value. And the traces of tannins in rose hip seed oil are considered effective in the treatment of diarrhea.

Finding Rose Hips Online

Online rose hip vitamin c products are widely available, and you can easily locate a rose hip supplier in your area, and email or call for a bulk hip rose order.

You can also find many a quick and easy rose hip recipes containing rose hip powder or the actual rose hip herb. You’ll be surprised how simple it is to thinly chop the little fruits, pour boiling water over them and wait five minutes before straining the hot liquid. Then you’ll be enjoying an aromatic rose hip tea in the comfort of your home, and see for yourself if the rose hip benefit offers you the positive health effects that people rave about!

It’s hard to go wrong buying roses as gifts for Mom: a nice bouquet, a miniature rose plant, or a certificate for her favorite garden or flower shop would all be good choices. However, garden tools, bug spray, or mulch just don’t convey the right sentiments for most Moms.

Yahoo’s Gift Finder is an easy to use online service for finding customized gift ideas. Here are the steps:

1. Pick an occasion: birthday, graduation, Mother’s Day, etc.
2. Select an age range.
3. Select the relationship you have to the recipient: sister, mother, friend, or yourself.
4. Pick the lifestyle that best matches the recipient: adventurer, green thumb, technophile, traditionalist, etc.

The recommendations page shows one item from each of the categories the gift finder suggests. Click on any category to see more possibilities.

The service is stamped Beta and it clearly has a few problems. Among the recommended flowers for Mother’s Day was a standing funeral spray from FTD. Would anyone in their right mind ever think of giving Mom a funeral spray? What’s the message here?

A recent survey found that 73% of consumers plan to buy a Mother’s Day card and 50% plan to buy flowers. Flowers and cards are the staples of Mother’s Day gifts for a reason — they both convey the giver’s feelings of warmth, respect, affection, and love.

Mother’s Day is all about feeling, be sure your gift conveys the right message.