Tulips, daisies create slice of sunshine

This Easter add a little sunshine to your home with this bright and refreshing arrangement.

To make your own jar floral sunshine, place a large bunch of yellow tulips in a clean jar. Next, add the yellow Gerbera daisies to create a nice focal point for the arrangement and frame the flowers with branches of lemon leaves

You don't have to worry too much about the placement of your flowers, this bouquet is very forgiving. Tulips have a mind of their own and arrange themselves beautifully.

Colorful flowers in recycled containers like old bottles and jars add a charming, cheerful feel to any room of the house.

Where to shop

Grocery stores now have a wide variety of fresh flowers to choose from for very little cost.

A little something extra

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One Stop Flower Shop opens in Thurmont

THURMONT -- A former assistant manager of a flower shop in Emmitsburg has opened One Stop Flower Shop in Cozy Village.

Bobbie Jo Mohler Moore offers full service for flowers for weddings, funerals, churches, special events or whatever the customer needs.

"We also have a gift shop," said Moore. "We deliver within 25-miles."

Located in the purple building at 104 Frederick Road, the shop is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The shop is closed Monday, but will open on Sundays beginning in April, Moore said.

She runs the shop with her father, Robert Mohler.

For information visit at www.onestopflowershop.net or call 301-271-2234.

A love that's sustainable

Flowers, chocolates and diamonds will top many people's shopping lists as Valentine's Day approaches. Unfortunately, the items most associated with romance are also marred by environmental and social justice concerns.

As the green movement gains momentum, and support from Hollywood heavy hitters such as Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio, consumers are becoming increasingly aware that the items they purchase might be obtained in ways harmful to the Earth and its inhabitants, according to experts in the diamond and flower industries. Frontline workers in Latin American countries, key suppliers of chocolate and flowers, and Africa, where the majority of diamonds originate, are most affected, dealing with hazardous working conditions and unlivable wages.

With diamonds, demand for conflict-free stones spiked after the 2006 movie "Blood Diamond," which addressed the link between diamonds and political unrest and violence in Sierra Leone.

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Keep memories blooming

Live flowers are pretty, we use them to decorate and honor people close to us. But, once the flowers start to wither and die, they lose their beauty.

Now there is a way to preserve them to enjoy in the future.

“Memories in Bloom is a new business, part of Innovative Industries in Creston,” said Lana Bearden, Innovative Industries employment services manager. “It’s a nonprofit organization assisting people with disabilities to identify, develop and achieve their individual life goals by providing vocational and community services.”

Keepsakes

Each arrangement is hand-made.

“We dry flowers from life’s celebrations whether it be a funeral, wedding, anniversary, birth of a child or any other event,” said Bearden. “Once they are dried, wreaths or other arrangements are made. We have a selection of items to choose from to give a lifetime memory for that special event.”

Innovative Industries is able to provide two important aspects to its clients working in Memories in Bloom said Bearden.

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