flower blog

Today, we wanted to focus some attention on local businesses ... Read More

Did you know that Teleflora flowers are unique in the floral industry? That's because of the Teleflora difference. It's not uncommon for our competitors to ship flowers in a box and leave you to find a vase and arrange them. But every Teleflora bouquet is hand-arranged and hand-delivered in a keepsake vase so all you have to do is enjoy your bouquet.

Teleflora also makes a difference by offering top-notch support for its member florists. I recently came across florist Heidi Richards' account of why she decided to end her relationship with FTD. In her view, FTD competes with local florists and doesn't appreciate her business. To hear it in Heidi's own words, visit: http://tulipstalk.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/one-less-wire-service-to-support.

Flower Fact of the Day: Did you know that an all-rose bridal bouquet tends to be about half the cost of bouquets using most other flowers? Get the tips from a florist on planning your wedding flowers at: http://atlantaflowerbar.blogspot.com/.
 

It’s not an anniversary.

It’s not An Official Holiday.

There's no b'day cake on the table.

It’s much simpler than that. Teleflora’s Make Someone Smile Week (July 20-26) celebrates just how terrific it is to give someone flowers and see that person smile. Easy, huh?

To learn how Amber created a unique niche in the floral market, see: teleflora.com/FLOWERBLOG/post/Florist's-creativity-calls-for-a-toast!.aspx.

Flower Fact of the Day: A Chinese archeologist has published images of a flower's fossilized remains, which date back more than 145 million years. To read the full report, visit: cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20080619/102626.shtml.
 

Two Teleflora florists won major awards at the Philadelphia Flower Show, theflowershow.com, the world's largest and most prestigious indoor flower show.

Robertson's Flowers, robertsonsflowers.com, won:
• Best Use of Flowering and/or Foliage Pot Plants in the florist category;
• Best Achievement in Distinctive Floral Design; and
• Most Accomplished Display of Forced Plants and/or Cut Flowers.

And David and Robin Heller (in picture below) who jointly run Flowers by David, flowersbydavid.com, won Best Achievement in Floral Design.



Both floral businesses are in Philly.

"We're thrilled, said Robin Heller of the honor, "it's what we do."

(Robertson's creative staff weren't on site, but I'll be sharing their reaction and more about their work in an upcoming post. Their impressive display commanded attention from everyone who passed by.)

David Heller was a featured speaker at the show and he shared ideas for jazzing up flowers at home. A bud vase with a Red Intuition rose and heather got a perk-up by adding some lily grass, strung with a shiny bead or two. Very New Orleans!

Next up was filling a square vase with a chunk of damp foam surrounded by small stones, commonly found in fish tanks and easily bought at a pet-supply store. Placed in the foam: A coral-colored Movie Star rose as well as heather and wheat grass. Yep, that same wheat grass that's often an ingredient in health-food drinks.

Other ideas included using tea leaves, peacock feathers, ribbons and Spanish moss as color and texture accents in floral arrangements.

He also pointed out a little-known fact. Roses grown for retail florists have a higher petal count than roses you find at supermarkets. Good to know.  

The theme of this year's flower show is "Jazz it Up" and seeing the work of floral artists at the top of their game is every bit as exhilarating as those moments when a jazz song just swings.

I'll have more tips from David and Robin, and from Robertson's, in a future post.
 

Late last year, these celebrities looked set to tie the knot in 2008, according to instyle.com:

Ali Larter and Hayes MacArthur
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher
Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault
Sarah Chalke and Jamie Afifi
Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard
Nicole Richie and Joel Madden
Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ross McCall

Just as the eyes of the world are on celebs as they walk down the red carpet, people are curious about their jaunts down the aisle, unless, of course, they elope and have a private ceremony, far from the prying eyes of paparazzi.

Stars are trend-setters for sure – from rings and venues to dresses and flowers. (Btw, as reported on people.com, Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley chose white flowers and white candles for their Dec. 23 wedding ceremony in Park City, Utah.)

But florists say brides still want to express their own styles. Says Tim Farrell of Farrell’s Florist in Drexel Hill, PA, farrellsflorist.com: “Press coverage influences the everyday bride. After Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married [in 2006], a lot of people looked at what they did. The brides don’t tend to copy it exactly, though. They might bring in pictures of details from several different weddings and come up with their own plan.”

After all, it’s a day that should be uniquely yours.

“Weddings are very customized,” agrees Liz Seiji, AIFD and owner of Edelweiss Flower Boutique in Santa Monica, Calif., edelweissflower.com. “Most brides don’t want to copy a picture or an entire wedding.”

She cites Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones’ wedding in 2000 as one that sparked the imagination of many brides. But before you get attached to a Hollywood touch, says Seiji, be realistic. The stars typically don’t have budget constraints and you may be in for a shock when you learn how much their rose-covered canopies cost.

Seiji adds that younger brides are more likely to be influenced by celebrity weddings whereas older brides often have a clearer idea of what they want. (One of her brides this year has a very specific mandate: a St. Patrick’s theme where everything is, you guessed it, green.)

Also, Seiji says, she has seen several brides bring in ideas from magazines like thebrideandbloom.com. This mag/site was new to me and seems like a great resource for choosing your flowers.

So, any guesses re: who on the A-list will be first to the altar?

Later this week: More on wedding-flower trends from Tim Farrell.
 

Ever heard the song “Young at Heart”?

Well, Sandy Cadle of Macon, Ga., must have the lyrics hard-wired in her head. “I’m 69 years old, but I feel like I’m 39,” she says.

Since opening Unforgettable Flowers in August 2006, her high energy has been key to building a highly successful business. How successful? Revenue for November was up nearly 200% from the same month last year, and December looks set to be a stellar month as well. She also supervises a staff of eight.

The store (shown here with some of Sandy's holiday trimmings) is at 3920 Ridge Ave., 478-405-8132, unforgettableflowers.net.


“I spend on average 10 hours a day, seven days a week working,” says Cadle, with a sigh. “I’m just one of God’s children, running around, trying to do what’s right.”

Working that hard later in life might seem overwhelming, but retirement just wasn’t a good fit for Cadle.

Strong business background
A native of Lawton, Okla., and a Macon resident for 44 years, Cadle is a wife, mother and grandmother who has been both creative and career-minded her whole life. “Even in high school, for the floats, I was always the one who came up with the idea and made it happen.”

Prior to Unforgettable Flowers, she worked in healthcare, building management, real estate and banking, and had owned two other businesses. “My friends ask, ‘Why are you doing this?’ ” she says. “I tried for a year to take life easy, but I’m just one of those people who has to have a challenge.”

Drawn to flowers
Why flowers? Cadle says she loves their beauty and fragrance. Also, she’s always been intrigued by the fact that such gorgeous things grow from the ground.

And she gets to share her passion. “People use flowers for every occasion and usually for celebrations – so you’re bringing joy and pleasure to people’s lives. Flowers bring a smile to everyone’s face and I love happy people. Even if it’s a funeral, flowers provide comfort and beauty.”

Diversify to stay ahead of the curve
Still, Cadle acknowledges that selling flowers has ups and downs. Her strategy: Diversify. She also sells gifts and home accessories, and provides wedding planning and decorating services. Within six months, she plans to open a chocolate and coffee house.

Advice for starting out
If Sandy Cadle has you thinking you might hang a shingle, consider her advice:

1) Think through your plans and be ready to make a 150% commitment. “You have to be serious about what you’re getting ready to do. Don’t do this on a lark,” she says.

2) Get smart. Learn as much as you can from schools, shows and other florists. This is a sure-fire way to build confidence.

3) Ensure that you have financial resources to help you get through the first year, which might be a patchy period.

4) Be comfortable enough with accounting that you can go through the books and know what’s what.

5) It’s also important that your mate and family are supportive. Sandy’s husband never complains about getting his own dinner or enjoying a cocktail by himself while Sandy finishes her day.

And for that, we should all raise our glasses to Mr. Cadle!
 

When disaster strikes, it's good to know that family, fortitude and a love of flowers can help you cope. Just ask mother-daughter florists Pat and Lindsay Flaherty of Stoneham, MA.

At about 9 p.m. on Oct. 23, the Flahertys' Evergreen Florist went up in flames. The four-alarm fire started in an apartment in the same building and spread rapidly, ravaging the spot that had long been a fixture in the small New England square, about 12 miles from Boston.

More than 60 firefighters worked to stop the blaze that burned for about five hours, according to the Stoneham Independent. Two firefighters required hospital treatment; no one else was hurt. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, says Pat Flaherty.

The business Pat founded with her sister in 1977 – they chose the name "Evergreen" from the popular Barbra Streisand song – has suffered a setback. Pat's sister has since retired; her daughter Tracy (on the right in photo) works in the business with Pat and Lindsay. 

Can you imagine – 30 years there?" asks Pat Flaherty, adding that their Christmas merchandise as well as the holiday props her father made for them before he passed away perished in the fire. The building dates back to about 1900 and they had renovated it two years ago.

'We're all a bunch of strong women ...'
Despite their loss, Pat, Lindsay and Tracy are upbeat and hanging tough. As Lindsay puts it: "We're all a bunch of strong women and we're going to get through it. It's been devastating, but [working as florists] defines us, it's what we do and who we are. My mom's really made a name for herself."

For Lindsay, it's like losing a little chunk of her childhood. A baby when her mother and aunt opened their doors, as a toddler she'd go with her mother to Boston to buy flowers and by fourth grade she was working Saturdays in the shop. Though she has a degree in elementary education/special needs, Lindsay didn’t want to leave the flower business. "I love what I do," she says. "I don't think many people can say that."

Moving forward
After they got the news, the Flaherty women didn't waste time feeling sorry for themselves. Instead, starting at 4:00 a.m., they secured new flowers for a funeral, then gathered at home to prepare; they also had a number of upcoming weddings, including one on Halloween. Luckily, Pat had the brides' folders with her, so she called each one to offer reassurance. This prompt attention meant Evergreen didn’t miss a beat on customer care.

The next job was to relocate and they quickly found a new shop across the street (1 Central St., evergreen-florist.com) where they will lease for about a year, until their old venue is ready for them; it will likely require a tear-down and rebuild. Meanwhile, they have a cooler and their new Dove POS system. "That's paramount with us, we depend on that completely," Pat says. "If shops only knew how easy that is."

Their positive attitude, along with the support of their community (especially Bay State Farm Direct Flowers and the Boston Flower Exchange) and help from Teleflora technology sales representative Steve Capano and marketing counselor Diane Roberts, is seeing them through. Says Pat: "Some people might get knocked down and not get up. But we've already started again."