flowers

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Roses Are Red ... and Now Kind of Blue

Genetically modified blue rose coming to US

(Newser) - OK, it's not exactly the bluest of blues, but a Japanese company plans to put what it hails as the world's first blue rose on sale in the US in early November. The flower is genetically modified, necessary in this case because roses lack the ability to synthesize...

Snake-Free Hawaii Fears Slithery Invasion

Authorities see more illegal pets, worry about ecosystem

(Newser) - Leave it to a snake to ruin paradise. Hawaiian officials are worried that a steady increase in illegal snake ownership—a 9-foot boa and a 7-foot python were captured this month after escaping—will threaten the islands' fragile ecosystem and kill off birds and flowers, reports the Associated Press . Environmental...

Peonies: The New Saving Grace for Chemo Patients?

Together with licorice, peonies ease nausea, cramps

(Newser) - A new drug could help ease the suffering of chemo patients, and it’s made up of some pretty humble ingredients: Peony flowers, licorice, and the extracts of dates and skullcap plants. If that sounds more like a home remedy than a drug, that’s because it is. Researchers at...

Giant 'Corpse Flower' Ready to Bloom

What stinks? The titan arum at Western Illinois University

(Newser) - A huge flower that recalls the age of the dinosaurs and stinks to the high heavens will bloom this week at Western Illinois University. The titum arum, one of only a small number of such plants blooming in cultivation, grew 4 inches in 24 hours in preparation. It's expected to...

Kim Jong Il Hints at Successor with Flower

Birthday begonia likely means son Kim Jong-Un has been chosen

(Newser) - North Korea will use tens of thousands of flowers to celebrate Kim Jong Il’s birthday today, including one that’s got everyone talking: a new breed of begonia that could symbolize a coming passing of power. It was delivered on the Jan. 8 birthday of his youngest son, Kim...

Unexpected People With Roses Named After Them

Dolly Parton, say hello to George Burns and Abe Lincoln

(Newser) - Valentine's Day makes people think of roses. And when you think of roses, you think of ... George Burns, naturally. Maybe not, but the late comedian does have a variety of rose named after him. Mental Floss tracks down nine—actually, eight—more celebrities who've lent their names to the flower:...

1-800-Flowers First Retailer Inside Facebook

(Newser) - 1-800-Flowers.com continues its record of early technology adoption, Robin Wauters writes in TechCrunch, opening a storefront within Facebook. The company hit the Internet at the surprisingly early date of 1992, and was the first retailer on AOL two years later. It claims it’s the first retailer operating on...

France Bloomin' Mad Over Brukozy's Daily $1K Fleur Tab

(Newser) - French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy just loves her fleurs and she's often photographed arranging blooms in the Elysée Palace. Problem is, the flowers are costing French taxpayers $1,100 a day, and they want the spending nipped in the bud. The blooming bills were revealed in the first state...

Flower Shows Wilt Under Recession

Hard times, changing tastes killing off lavish displays

(Newser) - The economic downturn and changing demographics are killing off flower shows across America, the New York Times reports. Sponsorship money is drooping and greenhouses are becoming costlier to heat. One of the most famous, the New England Flower Show, canceled this year’s event after 137 years of bringing an...

Alcatraz Garden Blooms Despite Years of Neglect

Once cared for by prisoners, plants still thrive on 'The Rock'

(Newser) - The hardened inmates on San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island had tough neighbors who endure to this day: sun-kissed geraniums, snapdragons, gazanias, and roses. Thanks to an ambitious restoration project, “The Rock” is blooming, the Sacramento Bee reports. After work began 5 years ago, gardeners discovered 145 plant varieties that...

Season Springs Forward as Climate Warms Up

Bees are buzzing, trees are flowering, and biologists are worrying

(Newser) - Today is officially the first day of spring, but spring has been gradually shifting into winter, the AP reports. Signs of spring—trees flowering, animals coming out of hibernation—are coming earlier every year. The shifting season has biologists seriously worried. "The alarm clock that all the plants and...

Kenya's Quiet Casualty: Flowers
Kenya's Quiet Casualty: Flowers
Feb 9, 2008 6:25 AM CST

Kenya's Quiet Casualty: Flowers

Violence threatens nation's 3rd-largest industry

(Newser) - The violence in Kenya has come at the worst possible time for an industry quietly flourishing in the warmth of the nation's long, sunny days—flowers. Kenya supplies 25% of Europe's cut flowers, making it the third-largest industry behind tourism and tea, the Economist reports. Roses are the main crop,...

Online Buyers Want Blenders, Not Diamonds

Luxury takes a backseat to the practical this season

(Newser) - With a shaky economy causing consumers angst this holiday season, online e-tailers say shoppers are opting for functional over frivolous. E-sales of furniture and appliances have spiked more than 70%, while sales of jewelry, watches, and flowers have dropped, reports the New York Times. “It’s certainly counter to...

$16K on Flowers Accents Pelosi's Spending Spree

New speaker's $3M outlay doubles her GOP predecessor's

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi spent 63% more in her first nine months as House speaker than Dennis Hastert did over the same period last year—including $16,000 on flowers, the Hill reports. Republicans said the $3 million figure gave the lie to Democrats’ promises of fiscal responsibility; Pelosi aides say the...

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