Bunches.co.uk

You may have wondered where we get our lovely flowers from here at Bunches..? Well, we buy the majority from the Aalsmeer flower auction in Amsterdam, which is the biggest trade centre of flowers in the world, selling 21 million flowers and plants every day. This is where blooms from across the globe are bid for in a huge auction room before they arrive here at Bunches HQ in Newstead, Nottinghamshire.

The Flora Holland Centre which is home to the auction room and hi-tech flower storage facility is incredibly the size of Monaco and is the world's second largest complex of buildings after the Pentagon in Washington. Members of staff even have bikes so they can get from one end of the building to the other!

Quality is the number one priority at Bunches from the instant the flowers are bought in Amsterdam to the moment we pack and send them out to our customers. Each bloom is checked at least four times before it leaves our factory (which is rather more modest in size!) to ensure every bouquet we send arrives in perfect condition!

Here are a couple of photos of the auction...

Love is in the air here at Bunches HQ on the run up to the most romantic day of the year - Valentine's Day! (That's 14th February for all you men who have somehow managed to escape it so far!) Things have been getting pretty busy in our sales office and factory, with all staff ensuring the thousands of orders we receive are carefully packed and sent to loved ones throughout the UK. The personal messages to accompany bouquets at this time of year send us all a bit gooey, and we have even had a few marriage proposals in previous years!

So, what is the meaning behind the flowers you receive this Valentine's Day? Is the man in your life declaring his undying love or does he just wants to be good friends..?

Roses are a Valentine's classic, and generally a winner in the romance stakes with red representing love, pink for admiration, yellow for joy, white for devotion and orange for desire. Orchids make a great long-lasting Valentine's gift which symbolise refined beauty and Tulips are the perfect Valentine's alternative, with red expressing passion and white for purity.

However, be warned if you receive a bouquet of yellow Tulips or bronze coloured Chrysanthemums which could sadly mean your love is unrequited... but on the positive side, it could spark the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

Happy Valentine's Day!

There have been a few news reports this week which question how ethical the sourcing and transportation of Roses is by many retailers this Valentine's Day.

Here at Bunches we want to do our bit to provide beautiful flowers and plants without compromising the environment or the wellbeing of the people who grow our blooms. We source our Roses from Kenya and only work with producers that are part of the 'Fair Flowers Fair Plants' (FFP) Initiative. The FFP is an internationally recognised label which monitors ethical standards throughout the flower production cycle, reducing the impact on the environment and providing good working conditions and pay.

Recent research by agricultural experts at Cranfield University has also shown that transporting Roses by air freight from Africa produces 17% as much carbon-dioxide as growing them in heated glasshouses in Holland, making it a much more environmentally sustainable option.To read more about our ethics and environmental policy, visit our ethics page.

With Valentine's Day now a distant memory, the focus at Bunches HQ is now Mother's Day! For all early birds who like to get things organised, you can now pre-order one of our gorgeous Mother's Day bouquets in time for Mothering Sunday on 14th March. Bunches has the perfect floral gift to suit every Mum from traditional Carnations, to contemporary arrangements such as the striking 'Blackcurrant Bliss'.

My favourite Mother's Day bouquet has got to be the 'Magenta Magic' which includes hot pink Carnations, cerise Alstromeria , Chrysanthemums and my favourite bloom -mini Gerberas (Germini). Sadly often ranked behind Roses, Tulips and Lilies in the popularity stakes; it is a member of the Sunflower family, has over 200 varieties and comes in pretty much any colour you can imagine. I love Gerbera daisies because of their unique character and simple striking appearance. They are also commonly known as 'happy flowers' and represent cheerfulness - a great way to brighten Mum's Day!

Bunches is celebrating a birthday milestone this week - we're turning 21! According to tradition, this means we've reached maturity and receive the key to the door, so can come and go as we please. (We're not exactly sure which door this saying refers to, but here's hoping it's the key to George Clooney's dressing room!)

To celebrate our coming of age we will be surprising 21 of our most loyal customers by sending them one of our luxury Platinum bouquets to say thanks for their ongoing support and contributing to Bunches longevity. We've also had local press visit Bunches HQ to take a few photos of our birthday celebrations.

It's funny how organisations are proud of another year passing; however humans aren't so pleased to be shouting about their age. I reach the ripe old age of 26 this week and have decided that as the big 3-0 is fast approaching, if anyone asks I'm staying 25 for the next 4 years... at least!