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Archives for February 2014

Ask the Flower Expert: Can You Tell Me the Name of This Plant?

Dear Flower Expert:

I bought this at a local grocery store around Valentine’s Day. It didn’t have a tag on it. Can you please take a look and let me know what this is?

Thanks,

Kris

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Flower Expert Reply:

On first appearance it looks like it might be a type of Scilla hyacinthoides. The genus Scilla contains around 90 different specious. These bulbous perennials are often used as a naturalizing element under trees and shrubs. In recent years, the plant has been cultivated for cut flower production or as a blooming potted pant. Hope this helps!

As with all plant identification, I welcome any input from our readers. Let us know if you think this plant is a Scilla or something different!

Thanks,

Jamie Jamison Adams

Friday Florist Recap 2/22 – 2/28: For All Those Special Occasions

We have a varied mix for you in this week’s recap. From Valentine’s Day flowers to some gorgeous arrangements used for special events, there is no dearth of talent in the hands which created these amazing florals. It is the fragile beauty that the local florist can tease out of a handful of flowers and some greenery that inspire us to buy flowers for all those special occasions. Flowers are a symbol of good things in this world, and they can always brighten our day. Enjoy this week’s selections!

Special Occasion Flowers

Amazing dried arrangement from Hobby Hill Florist in Sebring, FL

Amazing dried arrangement from Hobby Hill Florist in Sebring, FL

Forever Love from Michele's Floral & Gifts in Copperas Cove, TX

Forever Love from Michele’s Floral & Gifts in Copperas Cove, TX

“‘Show her I love her … forever …’ Yes sir, & that is exactly what we did. The added touch was her favorite color rose, preserved forever in 24k gold!” [Read more…]

FSN Baby Shower

There’s only one thing better than having a baby, and that’s having two! That’s what happened to Flower Shop Network employee Joe Teasley and his wife Kelly. They were recently blessed with two beautiful additions to their family in Brody (boy) and Kodie (girl). To celebrate, Flower Shop Network decided to host a baby shower in their honor! (I have it on good authority that no babies were actually showered at the event.)

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A cake of congratulations! You can’t see from this photo, but the cake itself was half blue and half pink. That didn’t stop it from being all scrumptious though!

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Here’s Kelly holding up a couple of adorable outfits for her little ones.

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And here are the stars of the day, themselves! Oooh, they’re so precious!

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Let me tell you, that punch was delicious.

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Look at all those presents!

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A close-up of little Brody.

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And of course one of little Kodie.

Congratulations Joe and Kelly! I know you’re so proud and you have every right to be!

Patti Jones Retirement Party

Patti Jones is retiring! I don’t know whether to congratulate her and excitedly jump up and down on her behalf or cry and bemoan the fact that we won’t get to see her shining face in the halls anymore. In reality, I’ll probably do a bit of both. Scroll down for some photos of the party and all the hugs and laughter that were shared.

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Meet Patti. She doesn’t normally stand around holding delicious cake. That’s something she’s doing for today only.

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This is Patti enjoying lunch with her family at the Flower Shop Network offices.

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The Flower Shop Network logo in delicious cake form! YUM!

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A nice, orderly line for the BBQ. It’s obvious they hadn’t tasted it yet. If they had, they would have been knocking each other over and clamoring for all they could fit on their plate … or maybe that was just me.

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And here is Patti with her FSN/FGmarket family. A sea of smiling faces.

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A little blast from the past of FGmarket hanging on the walls of FSN.

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Happy retirement, Patti! We’ll miss you!

FSN Pre-Chili Cook-off Chili Cook-off

The Mission Outreach of Northeast Arkansas is hosting a chili cook-off fundraiser on March 8th of this year. Flower Shop Network is excited to participate, but we only want to present the best possible chili to the contest. In order to find that perfect chili, we decided to hold a pre-chili cook-off chili cook-off. Of course this pre cook-off had nothing to do with a desire to eat delicious chili until we popped. It was all business. You believe that right? Okay, moving on.

The Setup

The cascade of chili. Looking delicious! And nicely laid out. I wonder how it will look after our staff gets their hands on it?

Donation Station

The donation station also doubles as a voting station. Just place your donation in the number of the chili you enjoyed most.

Cursory Deserts

A few desserts to calm the sure-to-come raging mouth flames.

Mood Killer 9000

I hope that photo is not an indicator of the meat type used. Eeesh!

Fire in the Hole

A spicy selection. The probable instigator of those previously mentioned raging mouth flames.

Everything But the Antlers

Oooh, deer chili! Venison is an excellent meat and has an excellent flavor for chili.

Mystery Meat Chili

Mystery Meat Chili? I guess they left their opossum picture at home.

Digging In 2

Bring on the taste-testers!

Yummy

Looks like they’re enjoying it …

Tray of Goodness

Quenching the raging mouth flames!

The Aftermath

A picture of the chili aftermath. Looks like this chili was demolished!

Donation Station 2

From the look of the donation station, we are going to have a tight race at the top.

The Mission Outreach of Northeast Arkansas is an organization focused on housing the homeless, feeding the hungry and caring for the sick. FSN is proud to join in their fundraising efforts, and our haul for today was $123.03! Yay donations!

Flowers and the Colors of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is coming, and celebrations will be ramping up soon. But the festivities are not merely restricted to New Orleans. People celebrate Mardi Gras with family and friends all over the country. If you’re looking for tips to see you through this Mardi Gras season, let me show you the perfect decoration for any Mardi Gras themed get-together. That’s right, I’m talking about flowers!

purple-heart-iris-vase.425A Touch of ClassLife of the Party

The Colors of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras decoration is all about the colors. Look at any picture of Mardi Gras floats and you’ll quickly see the theme. But why those colors? In 1872, the Krewe of Rex was founded. The organization was created to put on a spectacle for visiting Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia and to entice tourists to visit a post-civil war New Orleans.

The krewe designed elaborate floats and quickly became a fixture in the Mardi Gras parade. An individual is chosen annually to represent the krewe as their Rex (the latin word for king) as the self proclaimed “King of Carnival”. The first reigning Rex chose the colors and assigned them meanings. Many of its traditions, not just the colors, were adapted by other krewes and are a traditional part of the Mardi Gras celebration to this day.

The colors and their meanings are as follows:

  1. Purple – Justice
  2. Gold – Power
  3. Green – Faith

A Floral Tradition

Flowers are a long-standing tradition in Mardi Gras decoration. Almost every float has some variation of floral accent. And for those who can’t make it to New Orleans this year, flowers mark one of the easiest and most attractive ways to decorate for your party. The colors of Mardi Gras could not have been more perfectly chosen. Purples, greens and golds are prevalent in the floral world, and some of the most popular flowers come in those hues.

So don’t let Mardi Gras pass unremarked, contact your local florist and get ready for a PARTY!

Sweet Bridal Bouquets From Instragram

Instagram Inspiration Feb 25

As florists everywhere are preparing for the busy bridal season just around the corner, we wanted to share some beautiful bouquet inspiration from Instagram.

We love the variety of florals found on this popular photo-sharing site and just had to show you what talented florists from all over the world are creating for some very lucky brides.

Take a look at the delicate color and incredible attention to detail evident in every photo. We think you’ll agree – nothing is sweeter than those soft pinks and vintage whites which offer up a classic look and a timeless feel in any design.

Know that experienced florists have the skills and artistry to take your breathe away on special occasions like your wedding day!

A Creative Touch

A Creative Touch – Wayne, New Jersey

Good Seed Floral

 Good Seed Floral – Eugene, Oregon

Fache Florals

Fache Floral Design – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Every Tuesday, we share inspiring flowers and exciting trends from amazing real local florists active on Pinterest & Instagram!

Hey FSN Florists! Want your Instagram photos to be featured on our blog?
Add your Instagram info
in fsnF2F.com.
Just use ‘Edit Social Media’ under the Marketing section of the orange side bar.

Friday Florist Recap 2/15 – 2/21: Load’s of Floral Love

With Valentine’s Day in the books (and I hope yours was a successful one), we have a ton of exciting arrangements for you this week! Florists wanted to show off some of their more creative holiday pieces, and we are starting to see a trickle of wedding bouquets making their way back into the line-up! So scroll down and enjoy the load’s of floral love!

Wedding Flowers

A wedding arrangement from The Petal Patch, Ltd in McFarland, WI

A wedding arrangement from The Petal Patch, Ltd. in McFarland, WI

Wedding bouquet from The Petal Patch, Ltd. in McFarland, WI

Wedding bouquet from The Petal Patch, Ltd. in McFarland, WI [Read more…]

Blog Spotlight: Central Square Florist

February Blog Spotlight

It’s the monthly blog spotlight, and we’re back with yet another content-rich blog for you! We scour the internet every month to find a florist blog that provides both good content and valuable ideas. This week we’d like to introduce David Levine of Central Square Florist in Cambridge, MA. Here’s a very informative post to wet your whistle.

THE RUSTIC HOLIDAY TABLESCAPE DIY

Whether you are hosting a celebration or visiting as a guest this holiday season, make it beautiful with flowers. Let us help you find ideas for how to create the perfect holiday interior with our DIY Tablescape recommendations. This is the final of our four tablescapes we will be featuring this month, the Rustic Tablescape.

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To create this table, you will need:

  • A beautiful centerpiece
  • Baby’s Breath
  • Evergreen Branches
  • Willow Branches
  • Burlap fabric
  • White tulle fabric
  • Twine
  • Mini candy canes
  • Strands of mini white lights
  • Candles
  • Scissors

Bringing the snow and evergreens inside will make your house feel like a rustic cabin in the woods. We use tulle and burlap to emulate these textures and lights to create a dreamy landscape that will help your guests get into the winter spirit. If you are not setting your table this holiday, you can bring a host gifts that will fit with the decor.

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To make the table runner, we took a long piece of burlap, roughly 1.5′ wide and cut it to fit our table lengthwise. We lined the sides of the burlap with tulle and used twine scissors to create a scalloped look along the edges. We used a variety of candles to add drama and richness to the setting. Wrapping the candles in fresh evergreens helps make them pop off of the table. Down the center of the table, we placed a gorgeous centerpiece which uses a variety of fresh flowers mixed with evergreens, willow branches, and wood to compliment the tablescape perfectly.

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Using twine to tie the napkins, we placed a sprig of evergreens, a sprig of Baby’s Breath, and two mini candy canes. The evergreens add a touch of green, the Baby’s Breath compliment the tulle and add a feminine note, while the candy canes add a punch of color and whimsy.

Central Square’s Golden Holiday Centerpiece would be the perfect arrangement to accompany this rustic tablescape. Check out our selection of hand picked holiday flowers and gifts to find the perfect centerpiece for your table or a beautiful arrangement to present to the host.

Don’t forget to enter our Pin to Win Holiday Contest and follow us on Pinterest.

Also see our holiday video, which features this tablescape!

Big on DIY

What an excellent example of a DIY post! It was both informative and entertaining, and I especially enjoyed the video. But that’s not all David has to offer on his blog. He also ran a Valentine’s Day contest and posted some gift ideas for those still looking for the perfect item for their significant other.

If you’re in the Cambridge, MA area, you definitely need to see what Central Square Florist has to offer. But even if you’re not, you can still get some excellent and useful information!

Are you a florist with a blog that you’d like to see featured? Leave us your information in the comments below!

Stephanie Devine Runner-Up in Canadian Florist Inspired Design Bridal Bouquet Contest

Stephannie Devine is the newest designer at College Park Flowers. She has been working at the shop the last five years but until recently only in a part time capacity. Why was her time limited? Because when she started, she was still in high school.

Stephanie

Stephannie worked during the summer and through the year as part of a co-op placement. (For the non-Canadians among us, that’s a work program where you receive high school credit for dipping your toes into your chosen career. How cool is that?) But although her experience has been short, she was excited for the opportunity to show off her design skills in the Canadian Florist Inspired Design Bridal Bouquet Contest.

The Design Contest

Held at this year’s Canadian Florist Business Forum in Toronto, Canada, the design contest allowed contestants to bring a finished product without restricting the materials they could use. Stephannie was a bit hesitant to compete at first, but some heartfelt encouragement from shop owner Anne Cao and manager Carys Cao bolstered her confidence.

Because of the last minute decision to enter the contest, Stephannie didn’t have time to order anything special for the competition. She instead used flowers the shop had readily available. In her talented hands, it was more than enough. Stephannie designed and created her bouquet using orchids, eryngium and carnations. The resulting arrangement speaks for itself. Beautiful job, Stephannie.

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Looking Ahead

Please join us in congratulating Stephannie on her second place finish. FSN is excited for what the future holds for Stephannie and the floral industry as a whole. If this talented young designer is any indication, the next generation of florists are going to take the industry to new heights.