139 330
FLOWERS
139
January14
W
hen I lived in England, I
wouldn’t have dreamt of
turning up at a friend’s
house without a bunch
of flowers. In Singapore, I come armed
with a bottle of wine instead. No flowers
(they don’t last long enough) and no
chocolates (everyone’s on a diet). And
so we drink and are merry and we
appreciate the Zen of the tall glass vase,
full of expensive twigs.
That was until I met Christine Scholtz
of Christine’s Corner, who has made it
entirely possible and, more importantly,
economical, to buy flowers (with foliage)
as gif ts, in the
knowledge that they
will still look good
weeks, and even
months, later.
Wh e n I wa l k
into Christine’s
lovely old Chinese
house in Changi,
the smell of fresh
flowers permeates
9107 6335 |
christinescorner.sgthe room. I notice a vase of beautiful red
roses on the table.
“They’re 15 months old,” Christine
tells me. “Although I tell my customers
that they’ll last for six months, if you care
for them properly they can easily last up
to a year.”
Imported fromSouth Africa, Christine’s
own country of origin, her roses are
painstakingly preserved by hand, using
an eco-friendly, non-harmful chemical.
When I say “preserved”, I don’t mean
dried brown stalks with brittle petals; I
mean naturally green leaves and still-soft
petals – real flowers, but ones that will last
hundreds of times longer than fresh ones.
I admit I’m surprised and impressed at
how this effect has been attained, and in
my mind I start chalking up friends who
might like some as a birthday offering.
Wouldn’t your wife be impressed to
receive a dozen of these on Valentine’s
Day and find them alive and blooming
months later?
These natural alternatives to artificial
flowers not only have a long lifespan,
but are also practically maintenance-
free. Whatever you do, don’t water them.
They just need to be in a moderate
environment – not too hot and not
too cold – and treated with love: no
squeezing or excessive touching. In
short, if you leave them alone they will
be happy.
Having been in Singapore for six-and-
a-half years with her husband and two
young boys (aged eight and 11), Christine
brought some of the preserved roses
home from South Africa after a visit with
her family, to see how they fared in our
humid climate.
“Eight months later, the flowers still
looked beautiful. I have so much fun
seeing people’s reactions to them.
They’re not what you expect, are they?”
Christine’s naturally preserved roses
come with medium or large heads,
long or short stems and in a variety of
colours.
Wake up and Smel l the Roses!
By Jade McLean
Giving flowers in Singapore? What’s the point?