Viola, WI Florists

Viola Flower Shop News

Food flowers - Illinois Times

Pansies and violas can be used similarly to wild violets. Nasturtium leaves and blossoms have a peppery flavor, perfect for salads or used to make spicy nasturtium-red pepper jelly, delicious alongside some fresh goat cheese garnished with purple chive blossoms. Sky blue borage flowers have a slight cucumber flavor and are much loved by bees, and chrysanthemum leaves and flowers are widely used in Japanese cuisine. Gladiolus flowers do not have a notable flavor, but they are perfectly safe to eat and look charming on platters or used as small vessels for dip. Marigold petals have an intense, citrusy flavor and work well in salads or as a garnish (the leaves are not good to eat). Velvety, aromatic rose petals are a natural compliment to anything with strawberries, their botanical cousin. Petals from summer wildflowers like the common orange daylily, cornflowers (also known as bachelor buttons), and red clover have as sweet flavor and are a lovely accent to any summer spread. All parts of the sunflower are edible. The seeds can be sprouted and used as delicious microgreens, the young stalk can be peeled and sautéed or eaten like celery, the roots can be peeled and roasted or fried, and the petals can be used in salads or as a decorative garnish.It is critical to note that not all flowers are edible. Some, like true lily morning glories, hydrangeas, lily of the valley and foxgloves are extremely toxic. Do not eat any plant if you’re not totally sure what it is, and ask an expert like the folks at University of Illinois Extension Service if you have any questions. Some flowers, like daylily (which are in a different plant family than the toxic true lilies) can act as a diuretic and should be eaten in moderation. Make sure that the flowers you eat or cook with have not been sprayed or treated, and never eat roadside flowers or those purchased from a florist. Flower jelly 2-3 cups loosely packed flower petals, such as violet, rose, sunflower, dandelion or nasturtium. (Be sure to pinch off only the petals and discard the base of the flower, as it can give the jelly a bitter taste.) Juice of one lemon2 ½ cups boiling water 1 package of Sure-Jell pectin (you can certainly use a different kind of pectin, but you may need to adjust the recipe method according t... https://illinoistimes.com/article-21169-food-flowers.html

Clarence Thomas Breaks a Three-Year Silence at Supreme Court - The New York Times

TON — For the first 55 minutes of a Supreme Court argument on Wednesday about racial discrimination in jury selection, the justices seemed united in their view that a white Mississippi prosecutor had violated the Constitution in his determined efforts to exclude black jurors from the six trials of Curtis Flowers, who was convicted of murdering four people in a furniture store.As Mr. Flowers’s lawyer concluded her argument, Justice Clarence Thomas asked his first questions from the bench since 2016. He wanted to know whether the defense lawyer in the sixth trial had excluded any jurors. The lawyer said yes.“And what was the race of the jurors struck there?” Justice Thomas asked.White, said the lawyer, Sheri Lynn Johnson.Justice Thomas holds the modern record for silence on the bench. Before his questions in 2016, he had gone a decade without asking one. His explanations have varied, but he has said lately that the other justices asked so many questions that they were rude to the lawyers before them.The balance of the argument went well for Mr. Flowers, whose case has attracted widespread attention. Justices across the ideological spectrum said the track record of the prosecutor, Doug Evans,... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/us/politics/clarence-thomas-speaks-supreme-court.html

'The Fire Within': 9 years of honoring Great Falls women in business - Great Falls Tribune

Deb Evans, CEO of Embark Credit Union said. Meet the 2019 Winners: Kari Lane Johnson and Susan Crocker. Kari Lane Johnson of My Viola Floral Studio Johnson is the 2019 Inspire Award winner and the first ever double honoree in the program. She was the 2012 Aspire Award recipient. She's been the owner of My Viola Floral Studio for nine years, but started in the floral business when she was 19 years old. "It was a surprise...I wasn't expecting that," she said. "I find it as an honor that they thought I stood out among the other nominees...to me a little surprising, but it's wonderful." She started at Riverview Floral in Fort Benton where her boss pointed out her eye for color. From there it was five years of delivering at Sally's Flowers, Electric City Conservatory for seven years and finally her own store in 2010. "She has hired staff with no floral experience and turned them into designers," Evans said. "Kari offers flower design classes throughout the year...as she shared her knowledge and skills with others," Evans said. Johnson said she has fun being a part of local events, but one of her biggest passions is being a part of weddings and teaching her flower classes. "I like to be able to help the brides and help them select what flowers they want to make them look beautiful," she said. "...the flower classes that I teach, those are always exciting, because I get to share my knowledge with the ladies." My Viola had outgrown its first building within four years and now resides at 716 Central Ave., where she said she's able to offer more classes and have more employees. In the future, Johnson sees herself and her employees continuing to serve the comm... https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2019/04/01/the-fire-within-9-years-honoring-great-falls-women-business/3314905002/

The humble spade flower moonlights as the love shrub - Phys.Org

A hidden talentViolets are familiar objects, from the showy native Viola banksii or the scent of European sweet violets. What is not common knowledge is that members of the Violaceae family produce some very curious molecules called peptides. People – and many other organisms – use peptides as signals that enable communication between cells and tissues. An example of a peptide messenger from humans with an important function is oxytocin, also known as the "love hormone". Oxytocin regulates social bonding and other key aspects of our biology and sociality. In contrast, plants sometimes use peptides for a different purpose, as toxins to protect themselves from insects and other pests. Credit: The Conversation But unlike most peptides, those produced by Violaceae are circular instead of linear. Because of this circular shape, they are highly stable in conditions that would degrade other peptides. This special class of peptides are called "cyclotides" and are only found in relatively few plant species. This is why we have been searching all across northern Australia, from the Kimberley region in Western Australia to the Queensland coast, for samples of native Australian Violaceae. The first cyclotide to grab the attention of scientists comes from an African plant called kalata-kalata, traditionally used in teas to hasten childbirth. In 2013, it was shown that a specific cyclotide from kalata-kalata acts on smooth muscle to cause contraction of muscle tissue. But easing childbirth might not be the only effect cyclotides have. Initial experiments with spade flower extracts demonstrate a significant effect on the mating behaviour of rats. Rats treated with peptide-laden extracts from spade flower exhibit, uh, increased copulation frequency.In us humans, the receptors that detect peptides control libido, sleep, and othe... https://phys.org/news/2019-02-humble-spade-moonlights-shrub.html

NW florist-gay wedding case before top court - Oregon Faith Report

Barronelle serves all customers; she simply declines to celebrate or participate in sacred events that violate her deeply held beliefs,” said ADF Senior Vice President of U.S. Legal Division Kristen Waggoner, who argued on Stutzman’s behalf before the Washington Supreme Court in 2016. Waggoner also argued for Phillips before the U.S. Supreme Court.“Despite that, the state of Washington has been openly hostile toward Barronelle’s religious beliefs about marriage,” Waggoner explained. “It not only went after her business but also sued her in her personal capacity —putting all her personal assets, including her life savings, at risk. Rather than respecting her right to peacefully live out her faith, the government has targeted her because of her beliefs. Meanwhile, the state has applied its laws unevenly, choosing not to sue a coffeehouse owner who profanely berated and expelled customers for their Christian beliefs. In Masterpiece, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that government hostility toward people of faith has no place in our society. We are asking the Washington Supreme Court to affirm that in this case.”ADF claims that while Ferguson failed to prosecute the coffeehouse, Seattle’s Bedlam Coffee, he has steadfastly — and on his own initiative —pursued unprecedented measures to punish 74-year-old Stutzman.The ADF brief explains that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling condemned what the ADF termed “one-sided applications of the law against people of faith.” After Ferguson obtained a trial court order allowing him to collect on Stutzman’s personal assets, he publicized a letter offering to settle the case for $2,001. In exchange, he demanded that Stutzman give up her religious and artistic freedom.Stutzman responded, “It’s about freedom, not money. I certainly don’t relish the idea of losing my business, my home and everything else that your lawsuit threatens to take from my family, but my free... http://oregonfaithreport.com/2018/12/nw-florist-gay-wedding-case-before-top-court/

Make sure your Mothers Day flowers are what you paid for - WSAU News

CDU) party congress in Hamburg, Germany, December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch MADISON, WI (Wisconsin Radio Network-WSAU) Mother's Day is Sunday. If you're looking to find a flower arrangement for Mom, make sure you're getting what you're paying for.State consumer protection director Michelle Reinen says one option you might have, if your mom lives here in the state, is to get a local florist to put together something with a Wisconsin touch. "If you are asking these questions and really looking, you may be able to get something special that's unique to our state, and give that as your gift as well."Reinen says ask about pricing and if a vase is included, and when possible work with a florist directly in your mom's area, rather than a floral service.Reinen said, "Other questions are what flowers are fresh and season in that specific area. In Wisconsin we're going to have different seasonal flowers right now than somebody in Hawai'i or Florida."= ... https://wsau.com/news/articles/2019/may/06/make-sure-your-mothers-day-flowers-are-what-you-paid-for/

Susan In The Sky with Spring Flowers - Ricochet.com

Madison Wisconsin, Spring 1975She was house sitting, that week, as memory serves. The teacher’s home had an adobe-style wall fencing in a plethora of dogwoods and cherry, plum and almond with an occasional Japanese maple thrown in. There were hydrangeas and rhubarb, the stalks of irises, and some jonquils so newly yellow peeking out from behind some type of vegetation.“I love it here, don’t you?” she asked. We, two young women, sat swinging on the porch couch, sipping our coffee and enjoying our lives. The sky above us yawned so that the silvery grey clouds revealed a slumbering sun. From the way things felt around us, it was hard to know if it would be sunny or rainy, chilly or warm. Being Wisconsin, it could be all of those things, in just ten or twelve hours!“We could bike over to the lumber yard, if you want.” She could tell I was battling simmering emotions. Friends always know these things.“Are you sure Dar hasn’t forgotten?” I asked, feeling nervous. The deal was, today was crib day. W... https://ricochet.com/623926/susan-in-the-sky-with-spring-flowers/

Capital - Why are flowers so expensive? - BBC News

Jeanie McKewan, who has been growing flowers for 13 years in the US states of Illinois and Wisconsin, points to insect damage as a big challenge, saying there’s a “zero tolerance” policy: “It is through constant vigilance and the use of integrated pest management that we keep the little buggers from getting the best of our crops,” she says.Then the flowers have to bloom on schedule. In the case of Mother’s Day tulips planted in January or February, they have to bloom by early May in time to be picked and shipped.Labour costs are already high – according to the 2012 US Agricultural Census, contract and hired labour accounted for 10% of total agricultural operating expenses in the US, but that number soared to 40% for greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production because of a tighter farm labour market and rising wages. Then you add extra costs for peaks.McKewan hires extra hands during peak periods but says cutting flowers “requires experience and cannot be done by just any part-time employee”. Chris Drummond, a Philadelphia-based florist, says wages average around $13.25 (£10.16) per hour in the US. “In order to ramp up production to meet holiday demand, growers are required to pay far above that average,” he says.In developed countries like the Netherlands or Germany, Stewart says that there are greenhouses with automated technology like sophisticated watering machines or robot transplanters and harvesters, where fewer workers are needed. But in poorer nations with cheaper labour, there’s less use of technology.  Then it’s time for shipping. While flowers are waiting on the runway or in the back of a lorry, temperatures can’t be too cold (for Valentine’s Day) or too hot (for Mother’s Day). When they arrive at the wholesaler, they must look perfect. That means no bug bites, no missing petals, no dead buds. Otherwise, they get thrown away. “It has to be flawless,” Stewart says.Complicated logisticsChris Drummond, the florist, estimates that the holiday volume “is usually nearly 20 times the everyday volume”. He says many farmers nurture flowers all year long to ensure enough blooms for the handful of holidays. During the other months on the farm, he says, flowers are sold at cost, below cost or discarded and turned into mulch.“So, of course farm price increases as demand increases,” he says. “Consumers are paying a premium to make sure that grower is compensated for their expense and effort to maintain the plants year-round, thus ensuring the wide variety of flowers is available at each holiday.”He highlights costs across the supply chain, saying industry participants must “rent temporary space, pay fuel surcharges, find space on airlines, hire independent drivers, find more refrigerated trucks, pay overtime to staff” and more. Roses flown from Bogota to Miami are hit with a 15-cent (£0.12) importer’s fee to clear customs and inspection. Domestic refrigerated shipping can vary, but that’s another eight cents (£0.06) per rose.It also depends on what kind of flower you’re shipping – Drummond says 300 carnations can fit into the same box as 150 roses, so the transport price per stem is halved. Transit time from field to florist can be up to a week (though it can wildly vary depending on where the flowers are coming from), and the blooms must be carefully handled every step of the way.Hans Larsen is a cut flower grower in the US state of Wisconsin and has ... http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190507-why-are-flowers-so-expensive

Flowers Done Green - local flower shop keeps it unexpected - Volume One

Valley.“We don’t have to always go looking to the exotic to find something exceptionally beautiful. We’re celebrating what’s beautiful about Wisconsin.” – Sarah Lambert, Hive & Hollow“What I’m trying to do that’s different is having all of my flowers sourced as locally as possible,” Sarah said.  In the spring and summer that means using supplies from her own greenhouse and garden and supporting local flower growers.  When the winter months restrict local options to willow branches, pine cones, and evergreens, rather than ordering carnations and roses from Central American farms, she brings out the best of the seasonal options, accentuating them with plants from a Minnesota greenhouse.“We don’t have to always go looking to the exotic to find something exceptionally beautiful,” Sarah said.  “We’re celebrating what’s beautiful about Wisconsin.”Sarah is also celebrating sustainability through her choices in product.  She recalls a conversation with a fellow florist from ten years ago, when her coworker expressed concern the effect of floral industry chemicals on fertility.  Before then, she hadn’t realized the proliferation of carcinogenic chemicals in pesticides and plastics associated with flower arranging.  Sarah aims to carry as many organic, recycled, and locally grown products as possible to avoid negative environmental impact.Many of Sarah’s arrangements are presented in thrifted tins, glassware, and pots.  On a recent Friday, she placed a bridal bouqu... https://volumeone.org/articles/2018/11/28/27005_flowers_done_green