shop hours during Passover & Easter

Just a reminder that the hours i fiori will be open this week are a little different. If you are thinking of picking up flowers or plants, I will be open friday and saturday. If you want something in particular, please give me a call or email me so that I can have it ready for you!

sunday 1 / monday 2: closed as usual

tuesday april 3: open from 11 to 6pm
wednesday april 4: open from 11 to 6pm
thursday april 5: open from 11 to 1:30 & 4:30 to 7pm
friday april 6: open from 11am to 5pm
saturday april 7: open from 10am to 5pm

sunday 8 / monday 9 / tuesday 10: i fiori will be closed

the lavender is here

The first lavender is in, and I have 4 varieties to choose from:



jagged or fern-leaf lavender

• compact foliage with tall graceful stems
• subtle fragrance
• plant outdoors if you like, this is a tender perennial and will have to be protected in winter - or brought inside in the fall



english lavender 'munstead'

• the lavender you think about when you think about lavender(!)
• traditional, intense fragrance
• the flowers are edible. Like most herbs, use them fresh for a sweet subtle taste, or dried for a more intense flavour
• plant outdoors if you like, this is a hardy perennial 



 

fragrant butterfly lavender

• this is truly the fancy cousin from the big city
• traditional, intense fragrance, with a very showy flower
• plant outdoors in the summer, this is a tender perennial and will have to be protected in winter or brought inside in the fall

 

lavender 'grosso'

• tall and fragrant French lavender
• excellent for pot pourris, and also used for jams, jellies and baking
• plant outdoors in the summer, but this is a tender perennial and will have to be protected through our winters or brought back inside in the fall



This week sees the arrival of new vases and containers for flowers - flowers from your garden, your neighbour's garden, or maybe from your favourite flower shop!
Small and stylish, they look great in a grouping or simply elegant on their own.
Check back for the photos later this week...

Slavery, snakes, shamrocks and Van Morrison

Think about shamrocks and ivy for a little spring pick-me-up, or simply a nod to Saint Patrick.

Patrick was born to a British family in the early part of the 5th century. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He spent six years as a slave in Ireland, before escaping and eventually returning to his home in England.
Some time later Patrick returned to Ireland with the intention of converting the Irish to Christianity (hmmm, getting back at them for that slavery-thing?) He was not the first missionary to preach there, but he was extraordinarily successful.
Now there was some notoriety regarding him ridding Ireland of snakes... but that was probably just to sex-up the story. There was no history or evidence of snakes on the island.

So this week - enjoy some shamrocks (or oxalis!), sip a bit of Guinness or Jamesons, put some Van Morrison on the turn-table, and celebrate this wonderful burst of spring and St.Patrick's Day.

Pssst - rumour also has it that St.Patrick was crazy for mini orchids. Who knew?



Mini orchids, ideal for little gifts, desktop or bookshelves,
$15 everyday



Hello March!

Well, the first of March is here and we have not had enough winter to grumble about.

i fiori is getting back to normal - fresh Ontario freesia, ranunculas, parrot tulips and spray roses fill the fridge. There is a rainbow of gerbera daisies in the shop, and I picked up a carload of orchids and primulas yesterday... which seem to be selling rather quickly(!)

I want to thank many of you for your kind words and random hugs this past week after the death of my mom. I look around the store as it is beginning to burst with plants that will do double-duty in your home or outside on your balconies, terrasses and decks, and I think that mom would have loved this shop.

And it is all about the plants this week.  I have lovely oxalis (commonly referred to as shamrock plants - a mis-identification, but let's not take ourselves so seriously) in green, burgundy and the bi-colour 'iron cross'. They are happy little houseplants who do very well on patios and balconies when the weather gets warmer. The plant blooms more or less continually - the delicate flowers are pretty and small. Oxalis will get bushy as opposed to trailing.


iron cross oxalis :: burgundy & green