Thanksgiving Unity Floral Centerpiece

Every year I'm invited to an elaborate Thanksgiving party, and must greet the occasion with an air of Southern hospitality. Many people have heard the common rule, "Never arrive to a party empty-handed." It's one of those understood rules of etiquette that can be a bit hard to carry out in a unique way for yearly occasions such as Thanksgiving gatherings. However, I recently learned of a very fun and festive gift for the hostess.

Jamie and I were recently discussing our upcoming plans for Thanksgiving. Though I think my presence is gift enough, I still wanted to find a great gift for the ladies in my family that are hosting our Thanksgiving dinner this year. Jamie is wise in the ways of the world and suggested a unique fall floral centerpiece. We brainstormed for a bit about all of the ingredients in a gift like this such as miniature pumpkins, colorful foliage, fall flowers, berries and more. When we put all of these things together, I knew that I just had to share this great gift idea.

Nature's Bounty Cornucopia

Imagine how beautiful a carved pumpkin with flowers brimming over the top would look next to the turkey. Want something a little smaller? Try surrounding pillar candles with a wreath of fall flowers. These very traditional Thanksgiving centerpieces are tried-and-true gifts. For the real traditionalist, a cornucopia filled with fall flowers and festive fruits is a great way to liven up the table.

If you don't feel up to the task of creating your own fall centerpiece but are still interested in sending flowers to your host, contact your local florist whose creative fall centerpieces will soon become the life of the party!

Happy Halloween From Flower Shop Network!

Flower Shop Network employees, including myself, recently enjoyed a small Halloween celebration while we were working through the holiday. Many of us chose to come to work in our costumes, snacked on festive goodies, and enjoyed a day of jovial jabs.

From a giant Lego man to a small hillbilly woman, we had a wide range of costumed friends roaming around the halls. Being in the festive mood, I've decided to post some of the pictures in hopes that it would inspire you to equally wonderful moods this holiday season. Who knows? This may even be what sways you toward throwing that fun holiday office party for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Frightfully Good Customer Service

Clowning Around With The Indians

(Left) Anita Perkins of FGmarket.com dresses as a cute little clown; the pretty Indian maiden, Wedding and Party Network's Lacey Willie, poses alongside.

(Right) It's hard to tell who is a super villain and who is a super heroine in this photo. Samantha Reavis scares up a good time as an FSN Relay Coordinator. Brynn Jackson (me!!) tries to be inconspicuous as Super Girlfriend by night and FSN Copywriter and Brilliant Blogger by day. Not exactly Clark Kent, but it works. Kristin Evans, another FSN Relay Coordinator, is a frightful sight for sore eyes on the far right.

Thats One Giant Lego

Angel of Mercy

(Left) Kier Heyl of Technologies poses as a giant Lego™. For those of us who know Kier best, there is no doubt that this is the most perfect costume for him ever. Ever.

(Right) Gena Parrish, a wonderful Relay Coordinator for Flower Shop Network, comes as an angel of mercy. After all, it is breast cancer awareness month! Gena's recent bout with cancer herself has been an inspiration to us all. We always knew she had a halo somewhere!

Wilma-Billy

Super Girlfriend By Night

(Left) Wilma Baney of Wedding and Party Network looks like she could make a mean smoked opossum! Underneath that gruff exterior is one of the sweetest people around though. I'm suddenly tempted to buy barbecue sauce and corn cobs.

(Right) Brynn Jackson by day, Super Girlfriend by merit…er…night. Pay close attention. You never know what superpowers your friendly copywriter may possess. I stand for all that is good, romantic, and entirely devoted in the world.

Kristin As Cruella Deville

Lacey Summons Rain

(Left) Lacey Willie summons rain, or so we think, during a temporary break from pictures and fun on the phone. It's hard to type the sound that is made when someone pats their hand to their mouth and mimics an Indian so I'm going to suggest taking a moment to figure it out for yourself. *moment*

(Right) Kristin Evans, though disguised as Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmatians, secretly loves dogs. We're now all hoping that her hair naturally grays in this way. Seriously.

When spooky frights and ghastly sights have your head all in a tizzy over Halloween decorations, put your weary mind at ease with these great decorating tips!

• Quirky jack-o-lanterns become the life of the party when used as a creative vase for fresh fall flowers. This idea is also great for pumpkin decorating parties, Halloween party ideas, or for fun daytime autumn decor without hassle. Another great perk is that flowers are much safer for children than candles.

• Pumpkins, gourds, and squash come in a variety of colors making them perfect for lining along a walkway, adorning a stairway, decorating a mantlepiece, or as festive minis inside colorful fall flower centerpieces and arrangements.

• Whisper a sweet hello to candy corn! The sugary confection is always one of the first signs that fall has arrived. Small containers or glasses filled with candy corn make excellent placecard holders for Halloween parties. If sending flowers for Halloween, ask your local florist to attach a small bag of candy corn to the arrangement with orange and black ribbon. Sending a gift basket? Don't forget this unforgettable item!

• Christmas has mistletoe; Halloween has mums. Another way to decorate for your Halloween party is by carefully placing potted chrysanthemum blooming plants around the home and garden. Chrysanthemums are easily decorated with small plastic spiders and scary toys. When lining walkways or adding color to a porch, mums scream "frighteningly fun" — and isn't that what you're going for?

What's the sweetest way to show appreciation for someone? With a Sweetest Day gift, of course! Mothers are celebrated with Mother's Day gifts but one day is hardly complete compensation for the many sleepless nights that go into caring for children and nurturing their dreams. Lovers are celebrated with Valentine's Day, but so much love is poured out throughout the year that one day is almost long forgotten as the later months of fall and winter come. To show true appreciation for the people that mean the most to you, simply share a "thank you" or "you matter to me." When a gift goes the extra mile toward a meaningful holiday celebration, many look to a local florist for a Sweetest Day sweet treat.

Sweet Treats Mug Gift

Stacey's Flowers and Gifts, a creative flower shop in Manistee, Michigan, is well known for their unique stock of sweet gifts and treats. The most popular items are the candy-filled mugs that everyone can enjoy. Children who may not want flowers love the sweet treats and balloons that can be easily attached to the handle. Men are often difficult to shop for when holidays arise, but a personalized gift is always a big win-especially when the gift comes with ounces of delectable goodies.

After birthdays, Valentines Day, Christmas and the many other gift-giving holidays, many wonder why another holiday should be thrown into the mix. The simplest answer is also the best:  to carry on the noble tradition of letting the least of the least know that they are the most important to someone.

Sweetest Day is a burst of confidence and good will that began in 1922 with Herbert Birch Kingston, a candy company clerk in Cleveland. Kingston sought to show appreciation or the forgotten by delivering gifts of candy and good wishes to local orphanages, terminally ill, the disabled and others. The contagious feeling of doing a good deed quickly caught on and is now a popular holiday celebrated primarily in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin on the third Saturday of October each year. However, the holiday is now taking hold in other parts of the nation as locals to these Great Lakes regions relocate but continue to celebrate the tradition.

Say You Are The Best To Someone Special

Regardless of location, it is always an appropriate time to show appreciation to someone for their contribution to the quality of our lives. Sometimes the smallest phrases have the biggest impact. "Thank you," "I love you," "You mean so much to me," and "I'm who I am today because you cared" have significant affects on a person. Even cooing "Sweets for my sweet" while presenting a gift basket full of goodies is enough to show someone that he or she has had a significant impact.

Sweetest Day is celebrated every third Saturday in October which falls on October 18^th this year. A Sweetest Day gift may not seem like much, but for the people that mean the most to us, this is the least that we can do.

You've probably heard the expression, "It's the thought that counts." That is very much the case with Mother's Day gifts. I recently found myself scrambling among the mass of people shopping for something very unique and non-floral for my mother. However, I realized that there are many reasons why sending my mother a special flower arrangement is a unique Mother's Day gift.

My mother is as unique as a dainty snowflake. She is among the most important people in my life. Decades spent with her have woven together the threads of time into a bond between her and I that cannot be broken. Because of this I wanted to get the best gift possible for her this Mother's Day. I walked through the aisles and peered through online galleries in search of the perfect gift for her but none seemed to show how much I care. Not one had the special touch that a child or grandchild can bring. I wanted a gift that warms her heart because it brought forth a special memory. I thought back through all of the many times that my mother had received flowers from her children, my father, her own father who is now deceased, and others. I remembered the chipper little girl that seemed to shine through when she received each arrangement. I knew then that what I really wanted to give my mother was another flower memory.

My mother’s father has been gone for many years now. I’ve heard her speak often of her “pa” and the many wonderful attributes of this amazing man. I poured through the recesses of my mind and finally remembered the story that I’d heard mother relay of the first time that her father gave her flowers. I couldn’t wait to call my local flower shop and order a bouquet of daisies because it is exactly what she received from him nearly forty years ago.

No generically manufactured gift can ever elicit the same response from my mother as the daisies and accompanying card that read, "Your daddy would be proud of how wonderful a mother you've been to me." While generic gifts may conjure up some sort of general emotion, they cannot touch individual hearts with the same tenderness as a child. They rarely accomplish the feeling of awe as a child watches the wrinkles of her mother’s face melt away, replaced by the bright smile of a little girl. Though many offered ideas, few would've thought that the perfect gift with the most special touch was the one that I’d almost overlooked though all it really needed was my mommy-daughter touch.

Daisies For My Mother

– Brynn Jackson FSN –

It’s Earth Day again! Time now to celebrate the rich beauty and the fullness of this great planet that daily sustains the lives of millions of inhabitants. With such a remarkable and rewarding existence, it is no wonder that April 22 marks the yearly celebration of such a fascinating home.

My older brother and I were sitting around discussing “green” politics one day—a practice not at all unusual or uncommon. The topic of Earth Day and Arbor Day spawned such enthusiasm that a planting party idea quickly emerged. He and I sat for hours planning an elaborate gathering of ourselves, our neighbors, and our community around a group of plants ready to break ground on environmental awareness and renewal. What plans to be a great time is reserved for six o’clock this evening at our local park with a host of friends, family, flowers, and foliage.

A bit of history on this holiday is that Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22 of 1970. Senator Gaylord Nelson had for several years been very disheartened by a lack of environmental awareness in political policy. Senator Nelson had tried earlier during the presidency of John F. Kennedy to push the issue into national attention. He met with President Kennedy to plan and discuss a national conservation tour. Though the success of the tour did not produce the results Senator Nelson had desired, it did spawn an idea that would later become Earth Day.

An epiphany of sorts came to Senator Nelson during a visit to a college campus in the summer of 1969. The Vietnam War was spreading fury among young protestors who took to the streets in opposition. Senator Nelson’s view of these events sparked the idea for a national protest of the atrocities affecting the environment. Senator Nelson first spoke officially of a national grassroots demonstration for the cause at a conference in September of the same year. The following April, his vision came to life and would later become what we now know as Earth Day. More than 20,000 demonstrators including individuals, schools, and civic groups participated in the nationwide awareness movement.

With this knowledge emblazoned in our minds, Mark and I decided to keep the fiery tradition alive. While we may be just two people, we’re two humans who breathe deeply the fresh air of a new day. A swim, ride, or hike is as much a renewal to our spirits as a fresh glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. Earth Day is a celebration of waking up to a fresh landscape, a way to appreciate our surroundings, and a national moment of thought toward the natural wonders that bring so much joy into the lives of us all.

If you can plant a tree to celebrate Earth Day, send or buy a plant that improves air quality such as peace lily, Chinese evergreen, English ivy, snake plant, or heartleaf philodendron (all pictured below). To learn more about plants that improve air quality, read NASA’s Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement report.

- Brynn FSN Support Staff -

English Ivy

Chinese Evergreen

Peace Lily

Heartleaf Philodendron

Snake Plant - Mother In Law's Tongue - Sansevieria

I may not have a secretary but I’ve been one, and the simple pleasure that comes from an employer’s appreciation is worth its weight in gold. Sometimes it is hard to find the right words to show an employee how valuable their efforts really are. Administrative professional, clerical assistant, secretary—whatever title graces the placard, the right hand they provide helps ensure a smooth functioning workplace.

Sometimes the day begins cheerily with a bright smile from your assistant as you walk in the door. Other times it is the secretary who is always a step ahead during crunch times that proves of invaluable importance. This week is Secretary’s Week across America. What better time than now to show just how much you appreciate the smell of a fresh pot of coffee every morning, not having to field problem phone calls, office products in ample supply, and a workplace that feels like home every time you arrive. I would’ve loved receiving any of these popular arrangements for Secretary’s Day.

-   Brynn FSN Support Staff-

You're The Best!

Grace Under Pressure

Hip Hip Hooray!

African Violets

Hope everyone had a good St. Patrick's Day.  Tracey, Flower Shop Network receptionist, had a wonderful day yesterday.  She received these wonderful flowers.

The flowers weren't green, but St Patrick's Day was still celebrated with the green bow.  The offer still stands - send me a photo of your St. Patrick's Day flower arrangement and I'll post it on the blog.

Last night while I was eating my Reuben sandwich, I realized that St Patrick's Day was just a few days away. I love St Patrick's day. What's not to love about a holiday that promotes drinking larger quantities of green beer. Actually I don't like regular beer - so I not so sure about green beer - but the pub crawl participants seems to adore it. I love St Patrick's day because of the positive nature of the holiday. Four leaf clovers - shamrocks (good luck), the color green (money and prosperity) and corned beef and cabbage or bacon and cabbage (just good eats). This is a holiday that focuses on fun and optimism with festivals, parades and "Kiss Me I'm Irish" shirts. To celebrate the holiday many people send potted shamrocks to spread luck to friends and family members. I personally like to send and receive flower arrangements with Bells of Irleand instead - shamrocks remind me of a weed called oxalis that drives me crazy in our greenhouse. Here is an example of the kind of arrangement I send my folks on St Patrick's Day.

If you want one that works for both St Patrick's Day and Easter you could send this

After all Easter is only a fews day after St Patrick's Day this year.

Of course florists across the nation have some wonderful ideas when it comes to arranging flowers for St Patrick's Day. In fact, if any florist wants to send me a picture of their St Patrick's Day flower designs,  I'll post them on the blog. We might even get readers to vote on the best one.

You have five days till the fun and festivities of St Patrick's Day. So plan to have a good one - I plan on it.

If you have a special way of celebrating St Patrick's Day let me know. I'm always curious about how others celebrate. You never know when you'll discover something great.

Like most people in the floral industry, Valentine’s week is a busy time for the Flower Shop Network staff. We work long hours and are only passing blurs at home. Luckily, we all have wonderful families who understand and support us. Family members drop-by to check on us and there is an abundance of snacks to keep us going when exhaustion hits.

Yesterday afternoon, Loranne Atwill (Flower Shop Network owner) received a beautiful Valentine's Day flower arrangement from her nine-year-old son, Luke - I’m sure his dad probably helped. English Garden florist in Paragould Arkansas delivered the flower arrangement with Luke’s hand written message. Basically the note said, although his mom was working late every night this week, she was still his number one Valentine. This delivery, as well as some of the other Valentine's Day flowers received by other FSN staff member, reminds me of the real reason for sending flowers – to express our feelings and create memories.

After all, isn't that what Valentine's Day is all about; letting those we love know how much we love and appreciate them. Whether it is a grand gesture like Luke's or the simple gesture of purple tulips in a silver vase, sending flowers to someone on Valentine's Day is a magnificent way to express your love and create a lasting memory.

For all you florists who are exhausted, frustrated and pondering the big question "why am I in this business", remember the world needs florists to do their magic with flowers; so, we can create memories, express our affection and look like heroes to our loved ones. So, from the bottom of mine and Flower Shop Network's heart, to all of the florists and their staffs who have work so diligently to make everyone's Valentine's Day dreams comes true — THANKS.