In lieu of flowers ...

Lots of well meaning people every day use this term in obituaries for their loved ones. While they may not want to be overwhelmed with flowers that they then have to take home or distribute, they obviously don't think about the very real, and very opposite, possibility that using this term can create.
I received a call from a business associate yesterday, telling me that she needed to send flowers to her friend, whose husband had passed away. She had been at this person's viewing the night before and was appalled to find almost no flowers there. "It was so sad" she said, and wanted to make sure that her friend knew that she cared by sending flowers the next day.
This is just a reminder, both to those who opt to use this term and to those who act on it. Even when you read "in lieu of flowers" in an obituary, it doesn't mean you can't send flowers, especially if you are partial to giving flowers to express your sympathy. Remember, that a viewing or visitation for a loved one completely devoid of flowers is a very somber one.

The Dance Academy Production 2013

Every year, I tell myself I'm going to get better at blogging, but always fall short. Pretty obvious, since this is  my first post this year.
So perhaps I should take a few lines to update you on what's been going on here at the shop.
The year started out quietly enough, given the non-winter we had here in the mid-Atlantic. We had an absolutely fabulous Valentine's Day - best ever. Eventually, we got to prom the week before Mother's Day and have been crazy busy up to last weekend, at the annual Dance Production we sell flowers at.
Here's where things got really crazy. We thought the show started at 7:00, so when we arrived at 5:00 and saw how packed the parking lot was, we were in for a surprise. Apparently, the show was starting at 5:30 and all the dance moms and others who had pre-booked flowers were waiting to collect them from us. Good thing we were otherwise super organized. Got the vans unpacked in record time, and everyone sorted out with their flowers before the show started. And even managed to take enough new orders to keep us busy until intermission. Whew!
Next year, we'll make sure to double-check, and triple-check the start time, so it won't be so stressful.


So here are a couple of pics of flowers for the show. The first are the crazy dyed daisies we use in all the mixed bouquets. And the second is a pic of the princess wands we sold - glitter everywhere! And the girls love it!

Birthstone Flower Arrangements

Make someone's next birthday extra special with the gift of flowers designed around the color of their month's birthstone. August is Peridot, a kiwi/limey green color gem. Each month we will design a new flower arrangement with that month's birthstone in mind.

We hope you like this month's flowers and can help us name it. For now, it's called August Birthstone Arrangement. However, if you submit the name we choose, we will send this arrangement to you or anyone locally. Just let us know.

Every one needs a Valentine

For whatever reason, some of us may find ourselves with no Valentine one year. Divorce, separation, death, war, all these things can separate us from those we love, leaving us with no one to celebrate Valentine's Day with. There was a point in my life when I had no Valentine, and I don't like to see that happening to anyone.

So, every year, since we have been a florist, we try to remember those who may find themselves in this or a similar situation, and make sure that they receive some flowers on this day of Love.

Do you know someone who could use the gift of flowers this Valentine's Day? Give us a call, send us an email, let us know a little bit about them, and we'll send flowers to the first 10 people who respond. Because we think everyone needs a Valentine.

Read on if you want to hear more about why we started this practice.

It was 1999, widowed and alone, I found solace in poetry in those quiet times. Around Valentine's Day I received the attention of a long time friend. It was then that I wrote the following poem.

Last year I had no valentine,

But a gracious man stepped up,

Suggesting he could play the role,

If I were so inclined.

The broken heart I had then

Was ready for a mend

And so I told this kindly gent

"My valentine's a friend."

Since then the friendship's grown

With some direction from above

For now this man is more than friend

He's someone that I love.

Trash to Treasure

OK, as a florist, we use a lot of water and generate a lot of trash. I’m used to living in the country with a well and septic system where we could put out all the trash we wanted.
Our shop is now downtown, and we have to pay per gallon of water and sewer used, and we’re only allowed 6 bags of trash twice a week. Well, a busy florist can easily generate more than what they allow us. So, we either “stuff” the bags til they’re too heavy to lift, or we have to hold some until next trash day. That is, until now.
A neighboring family recently started to compost, and they’ve asked if they could take our fresh trash for use in the compost heap. (I confess to knowing very little about how this all works for them, but apparently one needs certain percentages of dried, fresh materials, etc. to make the perfect compost.) But, we were ecstatic because we had someone to haul away some of our trash.

How cool! They even agreed to separate it.  But, as the one who does most of the designing, I’ve found that it’s really easy and efficient for me to do the separating as I go about my day. One big barrel gets all the fresh waste - leaves, stems, thorns, guard petals, broken blooms,etc, and the regular trash bins get everything else. Our neighbors take a couple of barrels on our big processing days, and the girls love processing the flowers this way, as it makes for much easier clean-up for them.

I can’t begin to tell you how well this has worked out, both for us and for them. We now no longer exceed our number of trash bags per pick-up, and I can go a whole week without having to change the regular trash bags at the work table.

The Traveling Bouquet

The dog days of summer have arrived. In an effort to keep our marketing skills honed, and spread a little kindness at the same time, we are launching a Traveling Bouquet program. Every week we will deliver a bouquet to a business, nursing home, senior center, police station, fire department or the like, wherever there is a mix of people. Attached to the bouquet is a note that says: "This is a Traveling Kindness Bouquet. Please enjoy these flowers for the day, then pass them on to someone else who could use a little joy, along with this note. See how spreading a little sunshine improves their day, and yours!" The idea is that everyone can use a little pick-me-up now and then, especially during these long, hot summer days, when they can't get outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Our first bouquet was delivered today to Accolades, a local nursing home, where two ladies are going to share the arrangement for the first two days. After that, who knows? It could get passed to another resident, to one of the nurses or go home with someone's relative. The good thing is that some cheer is being spread around. And it makes us feel good to know that we had something to do with it. Here is a picture of Lois and Treva at Accolades. It was hard getting them to smile. ; -)

Cemeteries aren't so scary ... or sad

When flowers are lovingly left at grave sites and tombstones, cemeteries can really be quite lovely.
A recent thread in a forum I belong to was boohooing the fact of less-than-robust sales of flowers at cemeteries particularly over Memorial Day. And, how sad it was to see empty tombstones and bare (devoid of flowers) cemeteries.
So I wanted to share with you how pretty a cemetery can look when decorated, in this case, with fresh flowers.

Mr. Robinson became our customer after his wife passed away and commissioned us to provide flowers for his wife's grave, a new arrangement every season (in silk). This year, he passed away too, and his daughter asked us to provide fresh arrangements for each of her close relatives, as they were all buried in close proximity. The cemetery looked so pretty at his graveside service. I hope you agree. Now she will be taking up her father's charge of providing flowers seasonally at their tombstone. What a good daughter!
So, as a reminder, next holiday, birthday, anniversary of your loved one, please remember them by placing some flowers on or next to their grave site. Note to self, Momma's birthday is July 9th - and high time to get some new flowers on her grave.