Ask the Expert: question about a large peace lily
We have a large peace lily and I’m wondering about the sqiggly looking stuff (no better way to describe it) on top of the soil is necessary. Thanks Natalie
Are you a florist or floral designer who thrives on the thrill of a deadline? Do you enjoy the opportunity to challenge your creativity? If you answered yes to these questions, you may enjoy the live floral design competition at the Society of American Florists annual convention in Palm Beach. Florida florists aren’t the only participants in the fast-paced and exciting competition. Whether you are a small-town florist in Laurel, Delaware or acquired your skills as a big city florist in Redondo Beach, California, the contagious excitement is perfect for you.
The 2008 Sylvia Cup Design Competition was held on September 18th in Palm Beach but there is still plenty of time to prepare for next year’s competition. The annual Sylvia Cup Design Competition begins with 25 contestants eager to show off their skills for the judges and live audience. The contestants are given their task and materials only moments before the buzzer sounds to begin the competition. With no time to prepare, these creative floral designers create an arrangement from a variety of materials and ranging from sympathy pieces to corsages. When finished, the judges score the contestants and narrow the field of competition until only one of these florists goes home with the prize. Sound familiar? The rules are similar to the popular series “Iron Chef” on the Food Network channel but the fun of the moment, creative designs, and thrill of victory are completely original.
There is nothing quite as exciting as watching two masters battle it out except for participating. A contest like this that focuses on creativity and originality is a wonderful way for florists everywhere to enjoy their craft while sharpening their skills. Planning a floral convention for 2009? Floral design contests are excellent ways to get local florists excited about attending while showcasing the creativity of florists in your area. Want to stimulate your customers’ interest in sending flowers? The joy of floral design and a job well done is contagious. Once your customers have watched you create flower arrangements with the spirit and tenacity of a sensei, that bright spirit will catch on so that your flower shop is the first on their minds when sending flowers for a special occasion. Let the games begin!
The merry marigold (Calendula) is the birth month flower for October, my favorite month of the year. October birthdays mean a little more to me because my birthday falls in late October on the cusp of the Libra-Scorpio zodiac signs. A fall birthday can be tons of fun especially with so many wonderful holidays just a few weeks away. I don’t give myself gifts for my birthday but I have been known to post pseudo-selfless blogs entailing the wish list that I’ve been too fearful to display. This will not be one of those birthday gift idea blogs.
So I believe that I speak for every October birthday owner, especially those claiming October 23rd as their special day, when I say that unique birthday gift ideas are surprisingly easy to come by this year. Think birth month flowers for an awesomely creative birthday gift for your October friend. Whether falling under Scorpio or Libra in the zodiac signs, and I’ve been placed under both, the decorative and beautiful appearance of flowers will lighten up our smiles and put a springy little step in our feisty autumn feet.
The Calendula (Marigold) is quite the bold little flower. The bright oranges and yellows certainly draw attention. Most Calendula designs resemble daisies and give a lovely “look at me!” appearance to flower arrangements. The petals can also be layered to give the flowers a bushy or full appearance. This quality lends a lot of body and mass to flower bouquets, arrangements and gardens. Anyone that sees the marigold falls in love with this flower as a part of their fall decorations. Why not celebrate a fall birthday with it also? Contact your local florist to surprise your beloved with an arrangement of the October birth month flower—the merry marigold (Calendula).
Ask The Expert: The leaves on my lucky bamboo are really tall and spindly, can I cut them back? Lynda
At Fuqua and Sheffield Florist in Richmond, Virginia, we strive to have the best flowers, arrangements and customer service around. All of my associates are happy when they come to work, and it reflects that when they speak with customers. I try to keep a light and humorous atmosphere and let people be who they are.
Every customer has a unique story or reason for sending flowers. We need to capture that moment and emotion. My Staff and I feel privileged knowing that our customers are trusting us to send their expressions of love, sympathy, celebration and many other occasions through our shop. From the moment we answer the phone until we deliver the flower arrangement, it should be a wonderful experience for both us and the customer.
Personal selling and customer service has become a lost art. However, I believe that personal selling and customer service should be our number one priority. Trying to get new customers can be difficult, but keeping them can be so easy. Keep the focus on the customer. Remember customers are how we keep the doors are open. Be true and honest when dealing with customers, they will appreciate it!
How do we accomplish personal selling and excellent customer service? We follow these handy customer service tips:
Most of all have fun!!!! Telling “grandma approved” jokes to customers or sharing something personal about yourself with the customer can also make for a better and closer relationship. Try this one “Why didn’t God make another Yogi Bear? When he tried to make another, he made a BooBoo!”
When you work with flowers everyday you are bound to hear the phrase “my favorite flower is” at least one hundred times per month. It was what seemed like the 78th time that I heard “my favorite flower is the gerbera daisy” that inspired me to learn more about gerbera daisies. Flower meanings are quite interesting things. I learned that the flower meanings of gerbera daisies are purity and strength. These are two of the most admirable qualities in any person. To send a bouquet of gerbera daisies is not only a beautiful gesture but also expresses an appreciation for the purity and strength of the recipient. How sweet!
Women who know the flower meanings of gerbera daisies are bound to sweetly exclaim “awww” after receiving an arrangement of the popular flower. Color meanings are also very important to a lot of women. Red gerbera daisies not only speak volumes of purity and strength but also express deep and committed love. Orange gerbera daisies celebrate warmth and confidence. There is a flower color meaning for many other colors. Your sweetheart will love the extra thought that you put into this gift.
Is your sweetie unfamiliar with flower color meanings? That’s what makes card messages so great! Sending flowers to the office? Make every coworker in the room jealous with a sweet card message about how you picked the gerbera daisies arrangement and colors specifically as a way to say “I love you” to the strong, pure, beautiful person in your life. You can’t go wrong.
Pink Hydrangea Bridal Bouquet
Hydrangeas are the true definition of mass flowers. It’s easy to see why hydrangeas have received such a recent boost in popularity. These versatile blooms appear to be bursting at the stems with colorful blossoms that can appear in purple, hot pink, green, blue, white, multicolored and more.
This very full appearance makes hydrangeas the first choice of many floral designers looking to add mass and dimension but lack the time or budget to use many stems. Because of this, a single stem can easily take the place of many other focal flowers. Who doesn’t want more bang for their buck?
Tony Medlock of PJ’s Flowers and Gifts knows this design tip well. One of the talented florists in Phoenix, Arizona, Tony understands that hydrangeas are the star of the show and need little extra for a beautiful flower arrangement. Many of his creative hydrangea arrangements focus on the dynamic presence of the hydrangeas. This larger-than-life quality coupled with simple floral accessories gives the hydrangea arrangements an architectural significance matched by few other flowers.
Blue Hydrangea Blooms
Hydrangeas also are such a quality mass flower that the attention is easily diverted to the flower itself regardless of how ornate or simple the adorning decorations appear. A simple cluster of hydrangea stems can easily be carried as a beautiful wedding bouquet, used as a quick and simple table centerpiece, or accented by peonies or roses for a large, decorative flower arrangement.
Stems of hydrangeas can also be purchased from local florists for a wide variety of creative uses around the home such as decorating around a Jacuzzi tub for a romantic anniversary celebration. Whatever the use, hydrangeas offer the perfect balance of beauty and boldness for every occasion.
Jaguar Spirit Flowers
If you missed the first kickoff of the official football season, don’t worry! You can still kick off the next big game with a fun football themed party. Grab your team colors and have a blast. The one thing that you can’t forget at this party is flowers. Arrangements of chocolate cosmos or other brown flowers shaped like a football will rock everyone’s socks off as a festive centerpiece. Throw in some foods in the team colors and the party is underway.
Another great idea for the women at the party is to contact your local florist for stems of flowers in the team colors. Snip the stems just enough so that the women can decorate their hair with flowers for an even more over-the-top look.
Attending someone else’s party? Don’t forget a gift of colorful flowers decorated with the team colors and perhaps even the team’s emblem emblazoned on decorative floral accessories. It’s a creative gift that your host or hostess will love.
Have any creative ideas? Scored big with game day flowers before? Share your stories by commenting below.
It’s easy to find a beautiful flower arrangement in your team colors such as this daisy and delphinium arrangement. Decorate your football party with these colorful flowers while cheering for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nothing quite shows the ferocity of the Atlanta Falcons or the San Francisco 49ers quite as well as a contemporary flower arrangement of red roses. Whatever your team colors may be, simply ask your local florist to design an arrangement with your team in mind. Let the fun and games begin!
Though many have been tragically affected by the hurricane, florists are looking to flowers as a reminder of the power and beauty of nature. Florists are able to help their customers (and themselves) maintain a bit of normalcy by delivering flowers that would otherwise have been lost during electricity outages and other effects to victims affected by Hurricane Ike.
The kind words and good thoughts associated with receiving flowers never fades. They cannot be marred by misfortune but instead provide tender relief as nature’s band-aid. Florists across the south and even as far north as Illinois were recently given an opportunity to remember this phenomenon as Hurricane Ike struck a powerful blow in Galveston on September 13.
Many florists are showing clever resolve during these forced and difficult times in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Some florists in the affected areas are attempting to reach out to their customers in a very different way. Curfews, roadblocks, wind damage and more have left florists unable to process orders outside of funeral flowers. However, the good nature of florists is to share the beauty of their stock with others rather than letting the precious flowers go to waste. Because their customers are unable to come to the flower shop, some florists are taking the flower shop to their customers with the help of refrigerated vehicles.
When Hurricane Ike devastated locals in Galveston Texas, florists here definitely felt the impact of the Category 2 hurricane. With winds as fast as 110 mph, many people in the area were left with severe damage to their homes, forced to evacuate, or were without electricity if among the lucky few. Many Galveston florists are regrouping with valiant efforts to press forward despite current hardships.
The effects of Hurricane Ike have been felt heavily in the south but also as far north as Chicago, Illinois. Florists and flower shops here are among those suffering from heavy flood damage due to the nine inches of rain that Hurricane Ike reigned in. Delivery times during the worst of the storms being often several hours, loss of electricity, and other damages have put more than a damper on these florists affected by Hurricane Ike.
Flower Shop Network would like to extend our sympathy and support to these and other southern florists affected by the hurricanes and subsequent storms and floods. For more information about disaster relief and learn how to help hurricane survivors visit the American Red Cross or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Yes, it’s true. I’m a Libra. Well, I am on the cusp with an October 23rd birthday. Fair and balanced and not having even the slightest high opinion of myself (hardly), I find that I adhere to a lot of the personality traits of Libras. This makes purchasing gifts very difficult for myself and the literal dozens of family members and friends falling under the Libra sign. I love gifts and am not likely to complain about anything that I receive. However, not all Libras are as wonderful as I dare to be and some require a bit more charm in a birthday gift.
Libras are said to be idealistic and need a balance in everything. We are also acknowledged for going the extra mile to achieve justice, fair treatment, and reason. So far so good as far as I’m concerned. Probably the most personally relevant trait of easy-going Libras is that we seek admiration from others. Those who know me best are likely giving mixed but blunt signals of agreement. For other Libra souls like me, it is very important that our loved ones or significant others show us great affection often. Doing this repeatedly and maintaining a high level of creativity can be challenging but put your worried mind to rest. I have found the next big hit for birthdays between September 23 and October 23.
Flower arrangements consisting of pink roses, dahlias, gardenias, tea roses, orchids, tuberose, freesia, or gladiolus represent the Libra sign well while sending a beautiful and fragrant gift to your Libra beloved.
Libras are also notorious for being indecisive. We cannot make up our minds and stick with our decision so make this one for us! Visit your local florist today to create a Libra-inspired zodiac flowers arrangement for your sweetheart.
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Use gerbera daisies bouquets to tell her how you feel! 
Sweet pink roses for a sweet Libra!
Gladiolas are a wonderful gift for a special Libra!
