Spain uncovers cocaine haul beneath flower shipment

By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Madrid

Spanish police have intercepted a two-tonne shipment of cocaine, smuggled into the country from Colombia.

The drugs, which Spanish media reports say were worth 70m euros (£62.8m), were hidden beneath a consignment of thousands of cut flowers.

They were discovered by police in an operation code-named "Flower Power" at Foronda airport, in the Basque Country.

Spain's interior ministry has released pictures showing how the drugs were packed into the base of wooden pallets.

Police found more than 2,000kg of what they describe as "extremely pure" cocaine which had been flown into northern Spain from Colombia.

The seizure follows a police investigation launched last year.

A total of 13 people have been arrested so far, including airport customs officers and three suspects in Barcelona and Madrid.

It is Spain's second major drugs haul in a week.

Last Tuesday, a ship carrying 1.5 tonnes of cocaine was seized off the coast during an international police operation.

A drug smuggling network - again involving Colombia - is being investigated.

No flower show leaves people wilted

BOSTON (AP) - It might seem like spring is coming a little later this year.

For the first time in 137 years, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society has canceled its late winter tradition, the New England Spring Flower Show.

The show, held in recent years at the Bayside Expo Center, fell victim to financial problems and management turmoil at the society.

Its executive director, Bob Feige, resigned this summer after it was revealed he spent three days in jail in 2007 for failing to pay workers of a business he owned.

The society then announced it was cutting most of its 30 staff members.

In place of the show, the society and its volunteers are staging scaled-down displays in office and hotel lobbies.

It's a big step down for a show that traditionally offered a burst of color and a little hope after a long New England winter.

History in your garden: Sweet violet (Viola odorata)

By Monty Don
Last updated at 11:01 PM on 13th February 2009

Roses may be red, but violets are not really blue. More mauveish, really. However, the sweet violet, Viola odorata, is certainly deliciously scented and, in its own, much more delicate way, as lovely as any bunch of roses.
They do not just look good, either. Sweet violets can been eaten raw, distilled into perfumes, and have been used as a laxative and a cure for bronchitis for millennia.

The Romans made a sweet wine from the flowers. They were also an essential component in medieval 'strewing' herbs, scattered over the floor to sweeten the air, which, given the general levels of personal hygiene, must have been pretty rank.

Napoleon had an obsession with the flowers and died wearing a locket of violets from Josephine's grave.

The Victorians had an insatiable demand for them as posies and perfume, and the native V. odorata could not satisfy this. However, in 1874, it was reported that six tons of Parma violet flowers were being harvested in the south of France each year. If you think how small and light each flower is, collecting six tons of them is a staggering concept.

Parma violets are probably Asiatic in origin and, unlike V. odorata, are tender and winter flowering. They reached this country at the start of the 19th century and, by mid-century, were all the rage. At Windsor alone, 3,000 plants were grown each year under frames just to meet the needs of the royal family and their court.

Lotus to charm visitors flocking to Spring Flower Festival 2009

Lotus, the symbol of purity and enlightenment, will be the highlight of Ho Chi Minh City’s annual spring flower festival at Tao Dan Park 2009 Tet, according to the organization board.



Collections of tens of pink, white and purple lotuses and nenuphars (water lily) will appear everywhere from the two main gates on Truong Dinh and Cach Mang Thang Tam streets to two artificial lakes covering an area of more than 100 square meters.

The lotuses and nenuphars are decorated to rise up into the sky and depict the development of the city and the country in various fields including economy, culture and society.

The festival will use flowers brought from neighboring provinces by the Ho Chi Minh Public Parks and Greenery Company. In addition to Vietnamese lotuses, there will is also have flowers from Thailand.

More than 5,000 items, ornamental plants, bonsai, rock-gardens, dried trees, grafted stones, cacti, ornamental fish and various valuable and rare flowers from throughout the country, are to be displayed.




The festival will also include exhibitions of Vietnamese calligraphy, variety music shows, folk games, and performances of southern folk music, dragon dances and human chess.

There is also a Japanese garden designed by an overseas Vietnamese living in Japan. The garden contains several elements such as mountain, rock, water, plantings and hillside field landscapes. Japanese gardens were developed under the influence of the distinctive and stylized Chinese gardens during the Asuka period (538-710).Today Japanese gardens are not only seen in Japan, but other countries around the world.

The organizers hope that the festival, with the attendance of artisans from Chinese Taipei, will attract a great number of local and international visitors during the Tet holiday.

Bromeliad, Interesting and Beautiful

By Jos Van Hage
Saturday, January 17, 2009 03:45 AM

A beautiful and interesting looking houseplant for the home is the Bromeliad.

Many have beautiful, colorful foliage while others have beautiful, colorful bracts and flowers while others have both the colorful foliage, and bracts and flowers. All have leaves that grow in a spiral formation which looks like a rosette with the center molded into a cup. It is from this cup that some varieties have flowers and colorful bracts that emerge; it is also where you water the plant, filling the cup shape with water.

Bromeliads originate from the tropics and are epiphytes which mean that they are air plants and grow on rocks and trees and get their nutrients and moisture from particles in the air and through the rain. They can also be planted in a pot in a well drained potting soil which is how they are most often sold and grown in the home. One type of bromeliad that is sold as an air plant is the grey tillandsias and these can be attached to wood, bark etc.

Bromeliads are easy to care for, easy to grow and are not bothered by many pests are disease. Depending on the variety, most prefer a brightly lit area. Watering them is different than watering other plants because you want to keep water in the central cup of the plant if it has one. Every few weeks the cup should be flushed out with fresh water so that the water remains fresh. The soil should be watered well and then allowed to go dry between waters. If the soil is kept too moist it could cause the plant to rot and have a problem with fungus.

Bromeliads which bloom are most often sold when in bloom because they can be difficult to get into bloom. The blooms are very long lasting and can bloom for months. Most bromeliads will only bloom once and then after the flower is done the plant will produce little pups along the base of the plant. After a few months these little pups are removed along with some roots and are transplanted shallowly into a well drained compost, keeping the new plants warm. For them to bloom they need lots of warmth, sun and some skill as they are not easy to get into bloom. Sometimes placing the plant into a plastic bag with a ripe apple for a few days will help because the ethylene gas from the apple could start the plant to produce flower buds.

A well known bromeliad is the Urn Plant which has thick silver leaves and produces a stem from the center of the cup which has large pink bracts and blue flowers that last for months. There are other varieties available and they are certainly well worth growing in the home because of their beauty and long lasting blooms.