Saturday, February 06, 2010

Floriculture vs Horticulture

    I thought for my first entry I would take the time to explain the differences between Floriculture & Horticulture. I find this to be important because many people use the two words interchangeably and they are not and also for my 4 years of college I had to constantly explain what I was going to school for.


    So here it goes, with a floriculture degree you get the knowledge that prepares you to operate and manage commercial and contract florist enterprises, supply and delivery services, and flower catering services. Includes the hands on instruction in the principles of plant science; purchasing, storage, and delivery systems; floral design and arranging; and principles of business management. Basically you get to learn how to run a floral shop both in design and business aspects.

    Now for horticulture it is defined as a program that focuses on the scientific principles related to the cultivation of garden and ornamental plants, including fruits, vegetables, flowers, and landscape and nursery crops. Includes instruction in specific types of plants, such as citrus; breeding horticultural varieties; physiology of horticultural species; and the scientific management of horticultural plant development and production through the life cycle.

    As you can see the difference is clear once you know what each are one is a floral designer the other grows the plants with no design being taught. I hope I have helped some college kid out there who has to explain that they are studying floral designs not floors and no they can't diagnose what’s wrong with your ficus but if you need a beautiful arrangement we are there for you :)

PS: I have to say that this post was purely informational and many many a great floral designers just have it they were self taught and in all fairness I believe that most of us designers have that innate ability to design and to use color to help soothe and bring happiness.

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