​Flowers left in tribute to tram crash victims to be recycled for permanent memorial

Flowers left in memory of the Croydon tram crash victims will be recycled as compost that will become part of a permanent memorial.

Hundreds of floral tributes have been laid near the crash site in Addiscombe Road and in New Addington to remember the seven who died and those that were injured when the tram derailed on November 9.

Croydon Council announced that two permanent memorials will eventually be created, one in Sandilands and one in New Addington, once families have been spoken to about what sort of memorials they would like to see.

Signs have been placed by the temporary memorials letting residents know that staff will be "tending the flowers and will carefully and respectfully remove any that are wilting" to "preserve" them.

The signs add: "A compost made from the flowers will be added to the permanent memorial.

"Any other tributes that we remove will be kept safely by us."

The Advertiser has approached the council to find out more details about where the tributes are being stored.

A net is covering the New Addington flowers, in Central Parade, to protect them.

Over the last two weeks, the funerals have been held for the tram crash victims, with five of them being from the estate.

The Advertiser was invited to cover the send-offs for Headley Drive resident Philip Logan and Queen Elizabeth's Drive resident Philip Seary, who both left behind huge, loving families and groups of friends.

Shark Tank: Eco Flower Accepts Offer from Daymond John for $400,000

First into the tank is Meagan Bowman of Eco Flower, seeking $400,000 for 10 percent equity.

Eco Flower offers bouquets made out of wood flowers. According to their website, watching “Shark Tank” inspired the founder to chase the American Dream. “Eco Flower uses recycled and sustainable materials for flower bouquets and miscellaneous home decor. We create flowers from sola wood, birch wood, denim, pine cones, burlap, old novels, used music sheets, jewelry and many other materials that are great for our planet. Each item is handmade and made unique for you.” Their current offerings include scents like Japanese Cherry Blossom, Black Raspberry Vanilla and Strawberry Lemonade. Some bouquet offerings include “Great Gatsby,” “Southern Belle,” “Banana Pancakes” and “P.S. I Love You.” They also offer home decor, flower assortments and subscription boxes.

The sharks are immediately impressed by their beauty and scents, however, Robert Herjavec wonders if women would actually be impressed to receive faux flowers. Barbara Corcoran thinks it lacks sensitivity, and both she and Lori Greiner agree that they would prefer real flowers. Lifetime sales are $2.8 million, made through their website.

Greiner says she has a lot of competition, while Kevin O’Leary believes the wedding industry is not set up for faux flowers. She has, however, made a significant dent in the wedding industry after launching a line of bridal bouquets. One investor already has 25 percent equity in the business, while two others have 50 percent.

O’Leary and Herjavec are concerned over her lack of equity, but she hopes to eventually transfer her current technology investors out. Herjavec can’t get past her lack of ownership and goes out, followed by Corcoran. Mark Cuban commends her efforts but given that it’s not his area of expertise, goes out. Greiner believes there’s already too much competition and goes out, followed by O’Leary. Daymond John offers $400,000 for 25 percent, with the hopes of eventually buying her current investors out.

She counters 20 percent, which he accepts.

Each week on “Shark Tank,” budding entrepreneurs have the opportunity to pitch their emerging business to six multi-millionaire and billionaire investors, known as sharks: Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks; Daymond John, fashion mogul and founder of FUBU; Kevin O’Leary, self-proclaimed Mr. Wonderful and founder of O’Leary Financial Group; Barbara Corcoran, real estate maven; Lori Greiner, queen of QVC; and Robert Herjavec, technology guru and founder/CEO of the Herjavec Group. Venture capitalist Chris Sacca is also slated to appear as a guest shark this season.

“Shark Tank,” which is based on “Dragons’ Den,” is produced by Mark Burnett and first debuted in 2009. To date, the sharks have invested more than $87 million in various companies after engaging in numerous bidding wars and shark fights. A new episode airs each Friday at 9 p.m. on ABC.

How To Arrange Flowers: 3 Easy Ways To Fix Florals Like A Pro

Arranging flowers for a special occasion is a job we usually save for a professional florist, because you could never do a better job yourself, right? Wrong.

Learning how to arrange flowers (and making them look seriously high-end) isn't hard. It just takes a few flourishes, some professional tips and tricks, and in no time you'll be taking your average flower arrangement from basic to boom. Those last-minute purchase M&S blooms will look Insta-luxe.

We spoke to the team at trendy East London florists Rebel Rebel about how to arrange flowers at home, and got the lowdown on how to achieve gorgeous, professional-looking floral arrangements without having the word ‘floristry’ on your listed CV skills. Rebel Rebel have the likes of BAFTA, Selfridges, Nike, Tate and Stella McCartney on their client list, so, yep, they know their stuff.

From tying a chic bouquet for your BFF’s birthday to arranging flowers in a vase, check out our video for three easy ways to arrange flowers like a pro. Plus, here are Rebel Rebel's top tips to help you get the absolute most from your floral efforts...

1. Take your time...

'Don't cut stems short at first - you can't make them longer again! And remember foliage is just as important as flowers - it's not just a filler.’

2. Show your blooms some love...

‘Make sure they have lots of cool water and that they can drink it. Cut all stems with sharp scissors or a knife, at an oblique angle. Woody stems should also be split at the base.
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3. Think like a chef...

'Choose a good mix of sizes and shapes: spiky, round, long and slim, and a variety of foliage.  And buy the flowers like you're choosing ingredients for a great meal, so make sure the flowers are good quality, fresh and preferably seasonal.'

4. Keep things local...

'Buy your flowers from a local busy florist, or flower stall who has a good turnover so flowers are always fresh.'

5. Think vintage...

'Car boot sales and charity shops can be good for finding vases and pots for your arrangements. eBay can be great too, but be careful to check the size of the vase. You can come a cropper. We have!'

6. Think outside the box...

'There are no rules when it comes to choosing flowers. Just make sure they are fresh. And watch out for anything poisonous if you have cats or small children.'

7. Rock your own style...

'Make your own trend when arranging the blooms. Be a Rebel!'

Don't forget to stock up on brown paper and string if you're presenting your flowers as a gift (the Post Office is a safe and cheaper bet), and invest in a good quality pair of scissors to ensure your stems are cut cleanly. A bit of creativity, and you're well on your way to become a green-fingered goddess.

Gardens: Now’s The Time To Think About Spring Bulbs

When I was 18 I experienced my first UK winter. Growing up in tropical Singapore I’d had the romantic notion of a short three months of snowy Dickensian rooftops and ice skating on village ponds before the sun and warmth returned with a bang on 1 March. Boy was I wrong. I missed being able to sow seeds, harvest fruit and potter around in shorts and flip-flops whenever I wanted.

But one day, wandering home from uni along a grey road on a bleak February afternoon, I noticed a splash of colour in an abandoned front garden. In between the beer cans and plastic bags a clump of perfect crocus blooms had erupted from beneath the earth: an everyday miracle, returning year after year for the price of a bag of bulbs.

I realised that if winter is the price we pay for the wonder of spring bulbs, it’s almost worth it – and right now is the time to start ordering them. Look beyond the gaudy, DayGlo colours of some of the mass-market commercial hybrids and a world of primeval beauty awaits.

Let’s start with the species tulips. One of the very oldest in cultivation is the horned tulip, Tulipa acuminata with its elongated, wispy petals giving the blooms the weird “spider-like” shape that was so prized by the Ottoman sultans, who introduced the plant to the Dutch. Flame red at the tips fading to butter yellow, it is a real showstopper. If you are into cooler colours, the dwarf T humilis ‘Alba Coerulea Oculata’ has ice-white petals that offset a steely-blue base on blooms just 10-15cm high. Both are perfect for a well-drained spot in full sun.

If you are after something even bolder why not try the Afghan foxtail lily Eremurus? These towering beauties look like something straight out of a hotel lobby centrepiece, but given a warm spot will fire out flower spikes up to 2.5m tall in early June, coated in hundreds of tiny blooms, like giant bottle brushes. ‘Helena’ and ‘Joanna’ are excellent choices with rosettes of deep green leaves to complement their floral display.

If you don’t have the luxury of a sunny plot, the dog’s tooth violet Erythronium dens-canis forms a fairytale carpet of glossy purple-spotted leaves with blooms in pale pink and lilac. It even has a coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, to testify to the good grower that is is.

Similarly, if you have a small, shady garden (and not so small a budget) treat yourself to hardy orchids. Try Calanthes such as C sieboldii or C tricarinata, or slipper orchids like the super vigorous North American Cypripedium kentuckiense and its showier pink hybrid, ‘Kentucky Pink’. These look so exotic it is hard to believe they will shrug off sub-zero freezes to turn a dark, damp British border into a slice of Borneo each April amid the moss and ferns.

Better Value for British Flowers Following Brexit

The "silver lining" of Brexit means British flowers are becoming better value compared with overseas imports, which make up 97 per cent of the £2bn UK market - and a new app is aimed at helping UK growers show what they have available as efficiently as Dutch suppliers.

"This is a really good time to push UK product, given the current weakness in our currency," said Auction Fresh founder Nigel Lister. "Having worked for years in both retail and wholesale flowers, I know how difficult it is to source English flowers." His new app helps to answer questions on when, where, what price and in what quantity flowers are available, replicating Dutch systems supplying non-English product. "An interim idea is my AuctionFresh app," said Lister.

"I decided on the smartphone option because I wanted a grower to be able to take a photo of available product and load it onto a global platform (multiple language and currency screens are coming in further releases) instantly. Buyers can see what's available and the price, and make an offer through the app or just make contact with the grower in different ways, including an inbuilt Facebook Messenger facility.

"Ben Cross from Crosslands Nursery in Walberton, West Sussex - a third-generation alstroemeria grower - has worked with me in the process of development and he finds the functionality very easy.

"Within an industry that imports 97per cent of its cut flower consumption, I would like to see more English growers using the app so, working on a narrow budget, exposure of the idea to growers is important. If there is interest, I would like to extend the concept to plants."

Cross said the app works well, is a good idea and the potential is there. He added that imports have gone up in price by about 28 per cent and he is booked for talks on his work at flower societies, colleges and clubs until 2018, showing the amount of interest. But commercial growing in the UK, and particularly in West Sussex, is a shadow of its former self, he pointed out. Cross grows 40 Alstromeria varieties on three acres under glass but said 50 acres have gone from the area over the past 20 years.

He called for EU financing, funding to compete with Fair Trade imports, the NFU to include flowers in its Fruit & Veg Pledge, the Government to take the industry seriously and a Jamie Oliver-type spokesperson for the sector. Cross supplies artisan growers when they are short, at Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Easter peaks, when they cannot produce.

Mike Bourguignon, manager of Dutch international florist association Florint, said he believes the depreciation of the pound will cause a 20 per cent price increase and trade barriers will add another 15 per cent to that, which might reduce consumer demand.

In Spain, VAT on flowers and plants increased from eight to 21 per cent in 2013. Florists experienced a 26 per cent sales drop. The VAT rate returned to 10 per cent and sales went back up.

Gill Hodgson, founder of 300-member British cut flower grower co-operative Flowers from the Farm, said: "Brexit is a fabulous opportunity. Some florists are reporting 25 per cent more expensive orders than three weeks ago, for the same order." She suggested that this may mean more florists seek flowers from closer to home, particularly if trade barriers mean delays at ports for imports.

Hodgson called the higher prices and subsequent increase in demand for home-grown product "the silver lining of Brexit". The ongoing decline of florist shops, exacerbated by Brexit, should not concern British growers, she added. "Supermarkets are always going to come out okay and will always run flowers as a welcoming feature, even as a loss leader. Is it possible for the high street florist to struggle any more?

"Florists are now increasingly working from home or lock-ups and are becoming event florists, with social media taking the place of the shop window. Those looking for a different-looking product are sourcing British flowers, and not just sweet williams. They want varieties you can't get at the wholesaler from a grower that might only grow 200 plants and not five acres' worth to make themselves different from the supermarket."

She added: "To me, British flowers were always better value because they're fresher and have better variety and scent retention. Our growers don't want to equate with better value because they are competing at the better end of the market. British flowers are better so people have to be willing to pay more. We're not chrysanthemums, carnations, roses and lilies. We're larkspur, delphinium and sweet peas. Florists can't survive on British alone but can add more different British varieties to imported varieties."