Prom Season

In Egypt, private schools have proms similar to ones held in the USA but with slight differences. The prom is held for a maximum of 3 hours, where teachers attend and enjoy some time with their students. Then there is the "after-prom", where no teachers or parents are allowed, during that time, the real party begins with all the students dancing and enjoying their time. The after prom can continue to 4 am and 5 am.

In South Africa, the equivalent of the American prom is the Matric Dance, taking place during the matriculation year of high school . It takes place towards the end of the third quarter, shortly before the spring break, after which the matriculation examinations commence. It usually takes the form of a formal dinner and dance. In most schools, the 11th grade class is responsible for arranging the event. Sometimes teachers and parents also attend.

In Hong Kong, prom culture is inherited from the western countries and is generally called ball, such as Christmas Ball. This usually takes place during Christmas and Summer Break. This is more popular in the secondary education stage rather than in universities. Schools, apart from international schools, holding proms are usually single-sex school where normally the Student Unions in the schools will cooperate each other in organizing the event. In recent years, more and more individual unions got united and formed different student unions associations so as to organize large-scale events including large joint-school proms. Except those proms within the academic field, there are also adult proms for charity yearly where celebrities and government officers always go to these functions.
In India and Nepal, the equivalent to some extent is a farewell party or farewell gathering. The outgoing students are given a warm send-off by the junior students and staff. All the seniors are felicitated with souvenirs and superlatives are given awards.

In Israel, high school graduation parties usually combine a play and a humble ceremony, followed by a dance party. In the past years, influenced by American culture, more and more graduates decide to hold a private graduation party similar to the American prom, with dress code, prom dates, limousines, and prom kings or queens, although usually not supported by the school.

In Lebanon, proms are held after the graduation ceremony at night. They are usually held at hotels with a formal dress code, prom dates, rented cars and, occasionally, prom kings and queens.

In Singapore, proms are held at the near end of a senior year for secondary schools. Proms are normally held after the final examinations of all senior students before graduating.

In Malaysia, proms are gaining in popularity, especially in the bigger cities. However, these gatherings are usually organized by students, and the school administration is not involved.

In Pakistan, the equivalent to the American prom is a farewell dinner or farewell function that takes place at the end of the college academic year. In a farewell function, one girl is appointed “Lady of the Evening”, and one boy is appointed “Gentleman of the Evening”.

The Swiss equivalent of a prom is the bal de printemps. Literally translated, this is a "Spring Ball." At some schools in the German speaking part, it is called "Maturaball." This is not always organized by the schools, but sometimes by a student's committee. It takes mostly part before the final exams.

Birds are gardeners too!

Date:

May 27, 2014

Source:

Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum

Summary:

Scientists have described the oldest known fossil of a pollinating bird. The well-preserved stomach contents contained pollen from various flowering plants. This indicates that the relationship between birds and flowers dates back at least 47 million years. The fossil comes from the well-known fossil site “Messel Pit.”

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140527214938.htm

Relationship Between Plants and Birds

Birds perform an essential service to plants by carrying seeds away from the parent plant to other locations.  Seed dispersal over a wide area is vital, because seedlings that germinate below their parent are usually doomed as a result of competition with each other and the parent for sufficient light and water.

Unlike rodents, such as squirrels and mice, which destroy seeds by chewing them with sharp teeth, birds swallow plant seeds intact.  Seed germination is improved by the scarification (scratching of the seed coat) that takes place as the seed passes through the gizzard before being deposited in nitrogenous fertilizer, far from parent and sibling plants.

Attractive Fruits

Because birds are important to plants, the plants have developed fruits that are attractive and conspicuous to birds.  For example, the fruits of bird-distributed plants typically have single, hard seed that are no more than three-fifths of an inch in diameter, the largest size that a seed-eating bird can swallow.  Most bird-distributing fruits are bright red, a color that is attractive to birds.  In contrast, orange, yellow, and green fruits generally signal unripe fruits with immature seeds.  Some plants that rely on certain birds for seed dispersal appear to disregard the red color rule by having fruits that are blue, black, or white.  Virginia creeper, poison ivy, and wild grapes all depend upon birds to distribute their blue or white fruits.  In these plants, enzymes prematurely break down the green chlorophyll in the leaves, which allows underlying yellow, red, and orange to show through.

 Flowers can also attract a greater variety of birds, especially shy species that may be unwilling to come out in the open to visit feeders. Depending on the types of flowers selected, they can continue producing seeds for years with minimal pruning or maintenance required, and even a few flowers can be beneficial to backyard birds.

Seed-Bearing Flowers That Attract Birds

There are dozens of flowers that produce seeds to tempt birds. The most popular seed-bearing flowers for backyard birds include:

• Asters
• Black-eyed Susan's
• Coneflowers
• Coreopsis
• Cornflowers
• Cosmos
• Daisies
• Evening primroses
• Goldenrods
• Hibiscus
• Marigolds
• Moss roses
• Sedum
• Sunflowers
• Violets
• Zinnias

Tips for Attracting Birds With Seed-Bearing Flowers

When choosing which flowers to use to attract seed-eating birds, consider:

• Climate: Choose flowers that can thrive in the local climate, taking into account water and sunlight levels.
• Growth Height: Opt for flowers of different mature heights for a multi-layered, thick garden that will attract many birds.
• Native Plants: Native flowers are often best because they're well adapted to local conditions and birds will recognize them as a food source more easily.
• Seeding Time: Choosing flowers that go to seed at different times will ensure an ongoing source of available seeds for birds in any season.

To attract the most birds with seed-bearing flowers, allow the blooms to grow with as little interference as possible. Avoid deadheading, since it is the dried heads that birds will pilfer for seeds. Similarly, avoid spraying the flowers with insecticides – once birds learn about the flowers, they'll happily feed on insects as well.
Flowers can be a great seed source to attract and feed birds on a beautiful budget. By choosing the best seed-bearing flowers, backyard birders can add plants to their yard that are both visually attractive and can tempt hungry birds without the need to fill feeders.

The Tulip

The vibrant tulip flowers are one of the most popular spring flowers of all time. The tulip is a plant of the large genus Tulipa which belongs to family Liliaceae. Tulip plant has been cultivated for as much as 500 years. Tulips are the third most popular flowers world-wide after that only to the Rose and Chrysanthemum. These vibrant flowers are available in an unbelievable variety of colors, heights, and flower shapes. Some Tulips are even odorous

Tulips are a part of the lily family.The tulip is native to central Asia and eventually made its way to Turkey. But it was when the flower was first cultivated in the Netherlands that it really came to prominence.

The Dutch obsession with tulips began with Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius. When he was made director of Leiden University's new Hortus Botanicus (botanical garden) in 1593 he planted some of his own tulip bulbs. As a result, 1594 is considered the official date of tulips first blooming in Holland.

Carolus Clusius was also the first person to identify "broken tulips" which is a viral infection that caused beautiful streaks in the petals. Clusius would go on to create many new color variations of tulips.
Tulips st
arted to become highly prized in Holland in the 1600s as some of Clusius unique tulip variations at Leiden became much sought after. This led to a period from 1634 to 1637 known as "Tulip mania" when enthusiasm for the new flower started an economic frenzy and one of the world's first 'speculative bubbles'. The value of tulips shot up nearly overnight, they became the most expensive flower in the world, so expensive that they were treated as a form of currency.

Types of Tulips:

Based on the time of bloom, Tulips can be divided into early, mid, and late season flowering Tulips.

• Early Flowering Tulips:-These Tulips flower head in March and early April. Early Flowering Tulips are Species Tulips, Kaufmanniana (eg., Waterlily), Fosteriana (eg., Red Emperor), Single Early (eg., Apricot Beauty ), Double Early, Greigii Tulips, etc.
• Midseason Flowering Tulips:- These Tulips flower head in April and early may. Eg., Triumph, Swan Wings Tulip, Darwin Hybrids, Parrot Tulips.
• Late Flowering Tulips:- These Tulips flower head in May. Eg., Single Late, Double Late, Viridiflora Tulips, Lily-Flowered, Fringed Tulips, Rembrandt Tulips, Multi Flowering Tulips

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Exploring the important role of flowers in cinema

Top 10 Flowers on Film Moments

To celebrate the launch of our first Modern Cultural Curators documentary, which considers Kally Ellis of McQueens Florist, we've put together a list of our top ten flowers on film moments. From the enchanted poppy fields in the Wizard of Oz to a mobster florist in The Town, and the blood-red roses in American Beauty to the delicate cherry blossom in Memoirs of a Geisha, we explore the important role of flowers in cinema in terms of their symbolism, timeless beauty and visual impact.

Plucking the Daisy sees Brigitte Bardot in one of her earliest leading roles as the provincial Agnès Dumont, whose ambition to become a novelist takes her to Paris. There, a series of unforeseen circumstances and misunderstandings lead to her partaking in a striptease contest complete with mask, pseudonym and a tantalizing barrette made from faux daisies

Broken Flowers centres on Bill Murray as Don Johnston, a man in search of an anonymous letter-writer who claims to have fathered a son by him. There are 5 ex-girlfriends in the running, and Don finds himself increasingly in despair as he ticks them, one by one, off his list. Here, prior to the fifth and final meeting, he enters a flower shop and takes solace in the kindness of the pretty young florist who dresses his wound (inflicted by "ex number 4") and creates a beautiful bunch of pink carnations and lilies. The same flowers and pink colour scheme occur throughout the film – in floral centre pieces and the clothing of the women he visits.

Ewan McGregor plays hopeless romantic Edward Bloom in Big Fish, the tale of a man who "tells his stories so many times that he becomes the stories." In one of the film's most mesmerising scenes, Bloom makes grand and surreal attempt to secure the girl of his dreams by planting an endless sea of bright yellow daffodils (her favourite flowers) outside her window.

In Tim Burton's take on the tale of Alice in Wonderland, a now 19-year-old Alice returns to Wonderland once again to fulfil her destiny as the slayer of the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like creature controlled by the vicious Red Queen. Alice remains unconvinced of her ability to do this until she meets Absolem the Caterpillar, who reminds her of her visit to Underland (which she mistakenly called Wonderland) as a child, where she painted the demanding queen's white roses red. This is one of the original story's most memorable moments, and is brilliantly recreated in Burton's reprise.


Now a much-loved classic, The Wizard of Oz stunned cinema-goers in 1939 with its pioneering use of Technicolor and special effects. Its filmmakers took great delight in creating an Oz that brimmed with bold and beautiful colours, with few scenes more striking than the one in which Dorothy falls asleep amid a vast field of deadly, scarlet poppies.

The vivid red American Beauty rose is not only the namesake of Sam Mendes' 1999 Oscar-winning drama but is also one of its most defining motifs. It plays a key role in Lester Burnham's fantasies about his teenage daughter's best friend Angela, who basks naked on a bed of crimson petals in one of the film's most iconic scenes.

Marlon Brando's monologue to Rosa, his character's dead wife, in Last Tango in Paris is considered by many to be the actor's magnum opus, and the scene is complemented perfectly by the arresting sight of Rosa in an open casket, caked in make-up and surrounded by a lavish bed of pinky-purple flowers. "I wish you could see yourself; you'd really laugh," he tells her mockingly. "You're your mother's masterpiece." As Brando's speech draws to an emotional close, he grabs petals from the flowers and desperately tries to wipe away the cosmetic mask from Rosa's face to great dramatic effect.

Flowers are also a recurring motif in Hitchcock's masterpiece Vertigo – the story of John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart), a newly retired detective employed by an acquaintance to follow his wife Madeleine (Kim Novak), whom he believes to be possessed. At the beginning of the movie, Madeleine enters a magnificent florist and buys a beautiful and delicate bunch of flowers. These are perhaps representative of the character herself – later, in a highly fragile moment, Madeliene tears the flowers to shreds. The bunch also appears in Scottie's iconic and foreboding dream sequence, directed by graphic design master Saul Bass.

Pete Postlethwait plays Boston crime lord Fergie in Ben Affleck's 2004 movie The Town. The character – who upholds a legitimate front as a Boston florist – was loosely based on Irish American mobster Dean O'Banion (1892-1924), himself a successful Chicago florist and excellent floral designer. A number of scenes depict Fergie in the flower shop arranging exuberant bouquets, in potent contrast to his otherwise violent nature.

This famous scene from the film adaptation of Arthur Golden's acclaimed novel Memoirs of a Geisha pays perfect homage to the cherry blossom, a stunning tree of great cultural significance and symbolism in Japan. Here, protagonist Sayuri goes for a walk with the enigmatic Chairman – the one man she loves but cannot be with – and stands beneath a cherry blossom tree which sprinkles its delicate pale pink petals upon them like snow.