Truth be told, i used to consider the Chrysanthemum somewhat of an old fashioned flower. I don't know what that notion was based on, but the flower never really appealed to me.
That started to change when i accidentally mistook one for a Dahlia when i was at the florist a few weeks ago (not that uncommon, apparently).
Another large bright yellow flower head ended up going home with me. 
And lo and behold: three weeks later, it's still standing!
Add that to it being the official fall flower, and i decided to dive a little deeper into the Chrysanthemums origins, meaning and care advice.

The Chrysanthemum is a herb, and cultivation has been recorded in ancient China as far back as the 15th century BC.
The Chrysanthemum, or 'Pinyin' (菊花) was grown for the healing qualities of all parts of the plant, from the roots to the young sprouts, the petals and the leaves (more about the healing qualities of Chrysanthemum <here>).
It became part of the 'four gentlemen', representing the four seasons: blossoming plum for winter, orchid for spring, bamboo for summer, and the chrysanthemum for autumn.
​Hundreds of poems are written about the flower and on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month each year, the Chrysanthemum plays a big part in the Chinese double ninth festival.

In some European countries (France and Belgium for example)  chrysanthemum have been used as funeral flowers for years, symbolizing a respect for the death. 
At the same time the colorful flowers are considered positive and cheerful in the US (except in New Orleans).
In Victorian floriography (the language of flowers) the red chrysanthemum stood for love, whereas the yellow chrysanthemum symbolized a love taken-for-granted and the white variety is used to communicate truth, loyalty and honesty.

Looking into the many available cultivars made me realize why i wasn't really into Chrysanthemum. The multi-headed small-bloomed variety that is often used as a bouquet filler is not a love of mine.

I am however a fan of the larger single-headed cultivars. And there are plenty to choose from! Focusing on the cultivars with one flower-head only, there are 6 main categories: Pompon, Double, Incurve, Mop Head, Single and Spider. 
I prefer the types where the full inner floret is hidden by petals, and especially the ones that are made of two colors.
For some online inspiration, i found this list of gorgeous cultivars at Love 'n fresh flowers.​

We often used to see Chrysanthemums packed close together into an air-less bouquet, which i think is just a shame of the beautiful heads.
Botanical science agrees with me here: As with many cut flowers, the Chrysanthemum will stay fresh much longer when their stems get room to breathe.
With flowers this large and expressive there's really no need to cram a lot of them together anyway. A few will do just nicely. 

So... once you found yourself some nice blooms, here's what you do:

Chrysanthemum can be bought year-round, but are in season in September, October and November, so best get them then.

In the Netherlands, the flowers are usually grown in glass houses, and more and more sustainable practices are surrounding the cultivation.
Many growers have turned to using insects instead of pesticides, and ever more businesses use LED lighting in combination with self-generated green energy.   

It is also quite possible to grow Chrysanthemum in your own garden.
They come in both perennial as well as annual varieties and, as mentioned above, a galore of shapes, colors and sizes.
That said: the varieties that are most sold in garden centres are usually that of the smaller bushy multi-headed kinds.
The longer stemmed one-headed chrysanthemum sold as cut-flowers at florists can be slightly more tricky to grow.

It being such a tough flower means a bouquet can be enjoyed for up to three weeks, making chrysanthemum both a great sustainable and economical choice.

Added bonus: if you were to use the petals in some kind of tea, it would be an even more low-waste deal.

Stylist Annelijne from Gojungle.nl loves plants and can help you surround yourself with as much lush greenery as you like in either your home or your business. 
Not such a great plant carer yourself? She even offers maintenance contracts and will make sure the right plants are at the right spot.

Always on the look-out for green inspired products, Annelijne came across our Waterworks-set and really wanted to try it out.
So we sent Annelijne a set and she made a purrfect unboxing video of it. Check out the video on her Instagram and make sure to follow het account @gojungle.nl for a regular dose of green inspiration.

Thank you for making and sharing this lovely video Annelijne!

Waterworks is the first official House of Thol product, and pretty much what got us started. 
After a successful Crowdfunding campaign on Dutch Design Starter, we launched the product back in 2014, and ever since, the design kept spreading, up to the point where it's sold in shops all over the world.

And now we're about to take the next step: we made two changes to the design in order to re-launch it ready for true world domination.
An added bonus: the system will be easier to hack, and the set costs less than it did!
Read on to learn about the changes we made.

Probably the most eye-catching difference: no more cork.
We added it back in the first design to make it easier to clean the glass bulb, but we noticed two things:
1. the reservoir is easy to clean with a bottle cleaning brush with or without the hole.
2. it was difficult to explain the hole was not designed to fill the reservoir. In fact it needs to be shut air tight at all times to keep the vacuum in place and avoid the reservoir draining too fast.

We thought long and hard about it, but decided to skip the hole and the cork, which is better for the function of the system all together.
Added bonus: since we're using fewer materials, we can lower the price of a Waterworks set to €27,50 incl VAT.

Waterworks is a stylish solution to keep your plants happy and watered all the time. But when you have a lot of plants to care for, it can take quite a budget to buy full Waterworks-sets for all of them.
That's why we slightly altered the diameter of the terra-cotta cones. The cones now fit most smaller bottles, meaning you can use any bottle on top of your cone to keep your plants happy.
And if, after a while, you want to add the stylish reservoir, that's possible too: the reservoir is now also available in the webshop separately. 

The new Waterworks-sets are now available in our webshop.
Please note: the official new Waterworks-boxes are scheduled to arrive in mid-March, but we still have the old Waterworks boxes that we don't want to go to waste.

That's why the first series of new Waterworks-sets will be packaged in the -slightly altered- original boxes, and only be available directly via us.
Meaning: by ordering online in our webshop, or buying a set at Object Rotterdam (click) 

Super happy and proud to have our new Helios Constellation featured in the Holiday gift guide of Volkskrant Magazine last Weekend.

It's only a tiny mention, but judging by the extra webshop orders, people are definitely noticing :-)
Also, we're joined by a pretty decent collection of other great-to-gift goodies, so if you can use some inspiration, make sure to check out the full gift guide in November 23rd Volkskrant Magazine!

Find more about the Helios Constellation here
or
Order Helios in our webshop

May we have your attention please!
....drumroll...
Here it is, the new official packaging of our Helios Constellation: Ready to gift!

Because our growth Constellation Helios is a special in the Flower Constellations family, we went in a different direction with the packaging.
The Helios might be smaller than its Flower Constellations cousins, the brass calls for packaging that does the semi-precious metal justice.

The Helios comes in a deluxe eco-cardboard giftbox, which makes for a nice chique gift, while still being flat enough to fit in an envelope and to be sent your way via regular mail. 

Each Helios box has a black foam inlay keeping the brass in great condition, and a minimalist manual that shows you step-by-step how to best use your Helios and how to prepare (avocado-)pits to grow into a water-rooted plant.

Ready to start gifting the Helios to you friends and loved ones? We have news coming up about special wrapping paper soon!

First of all, eating an avocado is really good for you! They're packed with vitamines and healthy fats and contain even more potassium than bananas.
​
In our household we're a big fan of a salmon & avocado poké-bowl, and there are many more great recipes to be found online.  
Can't be bothered to go recipe-hunting: simply go for the avocado-on-toast for an easy snack.

Please note: avocado are imported and use a lot of water, so they come with a footprint. Bought from Kenya, Peru, Mexico and Spain, they're labeled an alright choice by Milieucentraal (environmental label B).
​
Whatever you do, eat your avocado when it's ripe: check the stem to be certain (here's how this works). 
Here's a little help to store your avocado in the best possible way.

Gently remove the pit from the avocado without damaging it and clean off all residue. 
Leave the pit in a jar of clean water for 24-48 hours.
​
If you want to, you can carefully peel off the outer layer of the pit, exposing the pale wood-like seed. 
Some say this can speed up the germination process, or do it because they simply prefer the look.

Wrap your clean pit in a moist paper towel and put in a plastic bag. Store the bag somewhere dark at room temperature  (in a cabinet is perfect)​
​Check the bag every three days to see if the towel is still moist and/or if the first sprouts are showing yet (can take up to two months). 
​Once the first roots have grown about 2 centimeters we're ready for the next step. 

Get out your Helios constellation and customize the size of the star-shaped opening by folding the perforated lines.

Find a glass vessel (D5,5-8cm) and fill with water. Either go for a used jar or a nice vase: ideally something that's easy to clean and you'll want to look at for a while.

Lay the Helios disk centered on top of the jar/vase and push the inner brass circle downward to fit.

Carefully place your sprouted pit in the disk, making sure the roots are under water and the leaves leaves have room to grow up towards the sun.

Change the water every few days to keep the growing plant happy and the developing root system visible.

When the stem reaches 20 cm, cut back to about half to force the creation of more roots.

​If you want to, you can occasionally add nutrients to the water for stronger growth.

We've had avocado plants on water thrive for years, with an ever growing root system to enjoy under water.
​
If you're serious about growing an avocado tree make sure to move the plant to soil and keep in a warm and light environment.
(if you can use a little help watering your potted avocado plant, we've got you covered).

Enjoy your homegrown greenery!

Father's Day is around the corner! 
And although it might seem all fathers need new Americana accessories for their BBQ, we know for a fact many dads love to let things grow.

That's why we busted our behinds to get the Helios out there in time: the new durable tool to help you grow your pits, bulbs and cuttings on water.
Read all about our Helios Constellation here.

Is your dad more of a houseplant fan?
Why not gift him a Waterworks-set to help keep his indoor greenery happy and healthy.

But that's not actually what this post is about: As a little something extra, we added a few new Father/Family-themed Growing Cards to our collection.

With these cards, you're not only sending your dad a sweet message, you'll also give him something to grow.

The cards have been printed on Growing paper that contains wildflower seeds.
To germinate the seeds, lay the paper in moist soil, place in a sunny spot, cover with a thin layer of earth and keep moist. 
Depending on the kind of seed in the paper, you'll see the first tiny green leaves pop out of the earth after about ten days.

This Helios Constellation might be the latest addition to the Flower Constellation family, its idea is actually what started it all.

Years ago we designed a pit-frame that would fit a variaty of jars and glassware, and would make it easy to sprout pits and bulbs.
​Out of our hands, the idea got shelved by the large Dutch Gardencentre company that took to it at first. 

Helios lets you stylishly grow your cuttings and pits into a water-rooted leafy plant and gives you the opportunity to enjoy the plant in full: both the sprouting leaves leaning towards the sun as well as roots branching out to soak up water and nutrients.  

Read all about Helios here.

Don't forget: order one for that special dad this week and get a free Growing Card with our Fathers' Day special - read all about it here.

Just a quick reminder that we'll be in Den Bosch these coming days.

We're not only bringing our Flower Constellations and Waterworks-sets, we'll also be trying out our very own line of plantable postcards and giftlabels as well as new seed-package labels.
I've had a lot of fun designing these, so i hope they'll be well-received. Fingers' crossed!

And that's not even all of it: Visitors to the fair will get a very first sneak peak pf the new Flower Constellations Helios (for pits and bulbs) and Ophiuchus (for larger vases and bigger stems)

After moving to our rural home in Overasselt two years ago, we (or i) immediately started fantasizing about our garden. 

I actually bought a permaculture book (bible) months before moving and started with big plans to turn our land into a lush and fertile eating forest.  
​With no prior gardening experience to speak of, you can guess how that went down the first year...

You guessed correctly: although we did have a decent strawberry and pumpkin harvest, our garden is not so much a fruit and veggie heaven yet.

However i have hopes that with a lot of time, practice and soily hands, we will get there eventually.
We made great strides last fall planting 16 fruit trees in the meadow. It will take them a couple of years to bear fruit, and i guess so do my gardening skills.  

However, gardening did become a new love of mine. 
And i'm definitely planning on freeing up more time this season to tend to my greenery. 

The TuinIdee ('garden Idea') fair in Den Bosch in late February is a brilliant place to start the season. 
And we'll actually be at the TuinIdee with our designs!

​Participating in the fair is kind of an experiment, and we have no idea how this will turn out. 

But even if our designs aren't a match with the visitors and we don't sell a thing, at least i'll be getting my fair share of gardening inspiration.

We'd love to see you there!

21-24 February
10:00-18:00 daily
Brabanthallen Den Bosch
free shuttle-service from the train station

<Get your tickets online with a discount>

Fleur Magazine is the Belgian professional florists journal and is packed with great advice for anyone running a florist shop as well as pages filled with inspiration, new designs and background information about plants and flowers.

Personally i was pretty impressed with the overall look of the magazine and the articles, that are fun and interesting to read, even for non-florist me.
​
I love how the magazine provides the floral entrepreneurs with hooks and stories that can help sell more flowers and plants.

We are over the moon to be featured in this lovely publication with not only one, but two products. Check it out!
When clicked, the images should enlarge in a lightbox so you can read the actual (Dutch) text. 

In Dutch we have the saying: 'that's a one-cent whistle', or, more accurately 'that's a wistle of a cent', for something that's really easy.

In English you'd say something is a 'piece of cake', which if literally translated to Dutch doesn't really mean something.

Anyway, we're happy with this Kekmama publication of our Waterworks-set, which states keeping your plants alive with Waterworks is a whistle of a cent.

Thank you for sharing Kekmama!

These last months have been all about getting the Flower Constellations ready in time for them to be shipped to our backers by the end of August. 

Well, the Flower Constellations are packed and will be sent to all early adapters this week.
Time for the next step: spreading the word.

Best place to start and nationally debut the Flower Constellations to stores, press, bloggers and other design loving professionals is undoubtedly ShowUP: trade show for home and gift.

So we're packing up our goodies and will be at the Expo Haarlemmermeer this coming Sunday and Monday (2+3 September).
​
Will we see you there?  

ShowUP
Trade fair for home and gift

Expo Haarlemmermeer
Stelling 1
2141 SB Vijfhuizen

Sunday September 2 2018, 10:00 - 18:00
Monday September 3 2018, 10:00 - 18:00

Only accessible for professionals
​Free entrance after registration

<Click here for more information about the fair>

The World Packaging Design Society runs an influential packaging design blog featuring contemporary packaging designs from around the world.

We're very happy we made it onto their feed with our Waterworks box! 
​
Definitely worth checking out on Instagram.

We're very happy to be featured in one of the Netherlands' biggest magazines: Libelle.

The Libelle Tuinspecial is definitely worth a read, and i'm not just saying that because Waterworks is in there: i'm in love with the relaxed gardening style and lush green gardens the magazine showcases.

​Anyway, here's a close-up of the publication: 

A -rough- translation of the text:
​
"Forgot to water your house plants again? This funny Water reservoir solves the problem (and your feeling of guilt). It's called Waterworks and does what it's made for: gradually distributing water and preventing the soil from drying out." 

​Click here for a pdf of the publication