The rose is often called The Queen of Flowers. Whether you're buying them for a wedding or a funeral, for a birthday or just because - everyone always appreciates roses. It's no wonder that the rose is the most popular cut flower in the world. And each year, even more new beautiful species are introduced.

Roses grow in any region with mild temperatures, which explains why they thrive in British vases. Many people and florists prefer Dutch roses because they always open so beautifully.

These days you often see cut roses with extremely large blossoms. These grow in mountainous regions, in higher altitudes where the air pressure is lower, which in turn encourages the flower to grow larger, but they do not always open.

Many species of lilies originate in Japan, China and Korea. The lilies we find at the florist today are a hybrid of many different species. Lilies are often white, but they also come in all kinds of lovely pastels & reds.

In Christianity, the lily stands for pure love and innocence. The Virgin Mary's parents are often shown holding a lily because they were childless for 20 years, until Mary was born. But nowadays, you often see lilies in trendy bouquets.

Some lily species have a very strong scent. While they do smell lovely, it's best to keep them away from your dining room table, because the scent can influence the flavour of your food.

We don't know a lot about the origins of the chrysanthemum, but we do know that the 'mum' has been adored for centuries in China and Japan, so much so that it is Japan's national symbol. In southern Europe, more 'mums' are sold for All Saint's Day than any other flower.

In the 17th century, European sailors and explorers returned home from Japan with chrysanthemums. Now they are the most widely grown cut flower in the world. They offer such a variety of colour and shape, there's no end to the different types of bouquets and flower arrangements you can make with them. They are available all year round and last a really long time.

Colour is the magic behind the gerbera's power. Thanks to their fresh, bright appearance and amazing colours, gerbera's fit right in with practically any interior and almost every occasion.

The history of the gerbera begins in exotic lands, including South Africa, Asia, South America and Tasmania. One day the Dutch botanist, Gronivius, discovered the colourful flower and named it for his colleague, Traugott Gerber, who collected plants in Russia. Today the gerbera can be found in some 600 different colours, shapes and sizes.

The Peruvian Lily, commonly known as the alstroemeria, stands out because of its unique shape. The elongated leaves twist along the long stem, with each stem topped by several flower stems and blossoms in beautiful, bright colours with fascinating patterns. These sensational flowers turn most bouquets and occasions into something truly unique.

The alstroemeria originates in the cool climes of the Andes Mountains in Brazil, Peru and Chile. While travelling there, the Swedish lawyer, Clas Alstroemer, eagerly collected flowers and plants for Linnaeus, the founder of the nomenclature for flowers and plants. To show his gratitude to Alstroemer's dedication to botany, Linnaeus named one of the most beautiful flowers after him.

The freesia is making a comeback. It's popularity seemed doomed to end with the previous generation of flower lovers, but lately it has begun starring in trendy bouquets. Perhaps It'sbecause there are now other new freesia colours besides the traditional white, yellow and blue.

The freesia was "discovered" in South Africa. It's also known as the "Cape lily of the valley". Freesias were named around 1830 by the South African botanist, Ecklon, who named the flowers for his friend, F. Freese, a German doctor.

You probably know this flower as the calla lily, but its official name is the arum lily. Calla is an old name. This elegant white flower was often used in funeral wreaths, a tradition from the time when white was the colour of mourning.

Its origins are less aesthetic - this lily grows best in marshes. It comes from an area ranging from South Africa to Malawi, where it grows in areas that are swampy at times, and dry at other times. So the arum lily isn't just beautiful, it's also strong.

People love the lisianthus (which is technically called Eustoma) for its genuine, natural blooms and its spread of colours. The Eustoma is also a long-lasting cut flower and you often see if in all kinds of floral decorations - from wedding arrangements to funeral wreaths. But Eustoma also looks fantastic in every day bouquets.

This charming beauty originates in North America where Eustoma grows in desert and prairie riverbeds. In the states of Texas, Nebraska, Nevada and Colorado, it's called the "prairie gentian". It's known as a real American beauty even though its popularity really began to blossom in Japan, where in the 1930's the growers created the prairie gentian hybrids in the 1930's that became today's Eustoma.

It seems as though someone dipped this intensely coloured flower in varnish to create the Anthurium. And by the way, the blossom of the oilcloth flower is not the brightly coloured bract - it's the spike that sticks out from the bract.

Today, the oilcloth flower is available in all kinds of trendy colours, shapes and sizes, which means you can that you see it a lot in different bouquets and decorations. Most important of all the flowers last a long time - in fact, the longest of all cut.

With a flower that can grow to 25 centimetres in diameter, the hydrangea is an incredible eye-catcher! It's the gradual shift in colours that makes the hydrangea so unusual. During its growing season, the flowers take on a green tint in combination with their original colours. Hydrangeas that are cut at that moment stay fresh longer.

The name, hortensia, is the plant's old name. Officially, it is known as Hydrangea. The plant was called hortensia after Hortense de Beauharnais, the first person to plant it in Europe, after she had it delivered to her from Japan on a Dutch East India Company ship.