With “budget savvy” consumers on the rise, the floral industry is presented with an opportunity to benefit from the DIY (do it yourself) consumer trend. Did you know that DIY consumers is a growing niche for florists? That’s right! Here are some tips for reaching this growing niche with the same flair and flavor for which you’re known.

Get Down And Dirty With Them

DIY brides and consumers are willing to get their hands dirty. Whether it’s to save a few bucks or express creativity, DIY’ers love to be involved in the projects ahead of them. This means learning how to make their own corsages, boutonnieres, bouquets and more. Don’t get down in the dumps about this though. Get down and dirty with them! Show DIY consumers that your flower shop is still the best place to come to find the freshest, most unique flowers around. Plus, where better to go for expert advice? Even the most independent DIY’er will welcome a little of that.

Give Them What They Want

DIY brides want to have a hand in making their wedding flowers but they still need to buy fresh flowers. By offering stems and unique flowers at a reasonable price, you’ve just given them exactly what they want. This provides Do It Yourself brides with a feeling of independence and a chance to express their creativity. The next time they help plan a wedding or need flowers for their home, they’ll remember your flower shop first.

Give Them What They Need

Not many DIY’ers start off with everything they need to know to create their own flower arrangements. That’s where your flower shop comes in. When the DIY crowd comes to your flower shop for fresh flowers, offer them expert advice.

Want to really draw them in by the droves? Try these:

• Host a DIY brides bouquet day and teach them to create beautiful wedding bouquets
• Host DIY workshops for various kinds of arrangements and floral design
• Create a weekly DIY bouquet special such as X number of stems of a popular flower at a special price
• Offer DIY specials, advice, and fresh flowers as an additional service
• Offer weekly specials on unique flowers (ex: sunflower) with design tips for using them (i.e. fall flowers design featuring sunflowers)

Read the rest of this entry »

What do costumes, apples and ghouls have in common? Halloween. I know. I gave you that one. In any case, Halloween is a very festive time when even the most straight-laced folks get to let loose and enjoy the evening. It’s the only time of year when no one thinks twice about seeing Batman walk down the street beside an angel and a skeleton. Kind of creepy, yes, but Halloween is a popular holiday for a reason—the gifts! Halloween gifts range from gag gifts to Halloween flower arrangements. When boo-tiful blossoms are the gift of choice, the hard part becomes figuring out what clever lines to leave on the enclosure card. I’ll help you out again.

Local florists spend Halloween like everyone else except they get to deliver their best Halloween flower arrangements and watch how happy this type of celebration makes people. They are always coming across new and clever card messages to accompany their arrangements, so it seemed only natural to ask for some of their favorite Halloween card messages.

Top 10 Eerily Awesome Halloween Enclosure Card Messages:

1)       A happy Halloween wish just for grins!

2)       As the sky grows dark and the moon glows bright, as strange creatures and critters appear in the night, as the goblins growl and the werewolves whine, hope that Halloween sends a chill up your spine!

3)       At this special time of year when jack-o’-lanterns glow, it gives a welcome chance to send a warm “Hello!” Happy Halloween.

4)       This is no Trick just a Treat for a special someone. Happy Halloween.

5)       Time for shivers, scares, and thrills, for pumpkin grins in windowsills, for black cats in the full moon’s glow, and a happy Halloween hello!

6)       A Merry Halloween. Wishing you a Halloween filled with good old-fashioned fun.

7)       Hope your Halloween is so happy, it makes you glow inside.

Surprise! That’s only 7! Find all 10 Halloween enclosure card messages. Feel free to share this frighteningly funny list with your customers. Let us know who BOO!-hooed and who laughed hysterically. Brought to you by Flower Shop Network.

If you’re not really the green thumb but want a houseplant anyway, try Chinese Evergreen. It grows best in a tropical environment (i.e. humid) so a little extra water isn’t going to cause you a world of headaches.

Chinese Evergreen Houseplant

Chinese Evergreen plants love areas with high humidity, partial light, and moist soil. That makes Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema vittata) perfect for people who live in humid tropical climates. Even if they live in a dryer area, Chinese Evergreen is the perfect plant for a large bathroom, decorations in a spa, rainy climates like the Pacific Northwest, or someone who just tends to overwater things. These plants cannot tolerate dry air so be careful to avoid areas with a draft.

Chinese Evergreen plant care isn’t especially difficult. However, it does require some attention. This plant can be grown as a houseplant or in a shady outdoor garden. Wherever grown, the soil around the Chinese Evergreen must be kept evenly moist with a small drying time between watering to avoid fungal problems.

Chinese Evergreen thrives in areas with no frost and partial sunlight. They do not perform well in direct sunlight as moisture is more quickly removed from the environment under these conditions. Areas of the home like the kitchen or bath are perfect for Chinese Evergreen as the evenly moist climate will stimulate growth.

Need an eco-friendly gift for someone? The greenest gift of all is a houseplant like Chinese Evergreen. When you buy a Chinese Evergreen houseplant, you know that your eco-friendly friend will love the gift. It’s beautiful, easy and a constant reminder of the need for a green lifestyle.

More than just the eco-friendly niche, Chinese Evergreen houseplants are great gifts for a wide range of people. Anyone who remains in their home at length will enjoy the touch of nature that Chinese Evergreen provides. As it requires only a fair amount of attention, this will provide homebodies with something fresh to nurture and love. As a garden plant, Chinese Evergreen exists as part of a beautiful landscape for outdoor parties and garden visits. Know someone who keeps their home on the warm side and tends to overwater plants? This is the houseplant for them.

Voters have declared this week’s Flower Shop Network Facebook photo contest of the week winner. What a mouthful! The votes were numerous and close but one amazing bridal bouquet photo skirted past the others and took home the win by a single vote.

Congratulations (again) to Renee DeStefano Griswold of FloraBella Designs LLC! Your bridal bouquet photo charmed us all.

FloraBella Designs’ bridal bouquet photo displays more than a unique wedding bouquet. It also shows the hands and wedding rings of the newlyweds whose attraction and affection is obvious even without showing their faces. The colorful array of flowers designed by FloraBella Designs, a Wallingford CT flower shop, sets off the beauty of the moment even more.

Want to be the winner of this week’s FSN Facebook photo contest? Simply read the official rules then post your pictures to Flower Shop Network’s Facebook page or post them in a comment below. It’s as easy as that!

For more great information from local florists, visit www.FlowerShopNetwork.com.

Ask the Expert: Is Lucky Bamboo poisonous to cats?
Have received a Lucky Bamboo plant, need to know if it will make my cats sick—since they believe plants are there to be eaten. Dallas

Plant Expert Reply:

According to the ASPCA Dracaena sanderiana (lucky bamboo or ribbon plant) can be harmful to cats.  If ingested, it causes dilated pupils, abdominal pain, increased heart-rate and drooling.  Cats who ingest lucky bamboo will show signs of depression, no appetite, drooling, vomiting, incoordination and weakness.  If you think your cat has ingested lucky bamboo, call your veterinarian for recommendations on how to handle the toxin.

This lucky bamboo question was sponsored by local flower shops across the United States and Canada.

Passionflower - Passiflora

Ask the Expert: What kind of flower is this one found in Florida?
This flower is strange. I have never seen it before… Dereck

Plant Expert Reply:

What you have is a blue passionflower (Passiflora caerulea).  It is a twining vine that can grow 30ft in length. Passionflower is evergreen in tropical climates.  Although it will survive in areas where the winters are cool, the vine will become deciduous. They will produce a fruit that is edible.  Passionflowers are wonderful additions to butterfly gardens since they are exclusive hosts for numerous species of Heliconian butterflies.

This flower identification was brought to by real local florists across the United States and Canada.

Zinnia Bloom

Ask the Expert: What kind of flower is this?
Flower no bigger than thumb nail
Grows up to about a foot tall

Alexandra E

Plant Expert Reply:

I believe it is a type of zinnia.  Probably a Zinnia augustifolia by the look of the leaf in the picture.  Another option would be a type of Dahlia.  Both of these genus are in the Asteraceae family and have similar characteristics.    A view of the plant and the leaves would help me make a better identification.

I admit that I was a Quiz Bowl junkie in school and have always been a trivia nut. Reaching 24 years of age this month, I’m relatively fresh to the floral industry. To try to boost my own knowledge of the history of the floral industry, I’ve created this little flowers quiz. It may not get you up to Jeopardy level, but it’s a fun way to spend a few minutes. Don’t forget to log in to the Bloomin’ Blog and let us know how you fared!

The Flower Shop Network Floral Industry Trivia Quiz

(1) What does “S.A.F.” stand for?

(a)    Society for Advanced Floristry
(b)    Society of American Florists
(c)    Special American Florists
(d)    Social American Florists

(2) What is the most popular cut flower?

(a)    Carnation
(b)    Daisy
(c)    Chrysanthemum
(d)    Rose

(3) Which guest writer for FlowerShopNetwork.com wrote the famous Flower Shop Mystery series?

(a)    Kate Collins
(b)    Kate Costas
(c)    Kate Winslet
(d)    Kate Heigl

(4) Which word from the French “boschet” was introduced to English by Lady Mary Montague in 1716?

(a)    Bouvardia
(b)    Bouquet
(c)    Boutonniere
(d)    Basket

(5) What is the most commonly preserved arrangement of flowers?

(a)    Vase Arrangements
(b)    Wedding Bouquets
(c)    Groom’s Boutonniere
(d)    Prom Corsages

(6) What does “A.I.F.D.” stand for?

(a)    American Institute of Floral Design
(b)    American Insurance for Floral Designers
(c)    American Institute of Floral Designers
(d)    Accreditation In Floral Design

(7) To what nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium (N-P-K) ratio does “balanced liquid fertilizer” refer?

(a)    30-20-10
(b)    20-30-10
(c)    20-20-20
(d)    10-30-20

(8) The word “manure” is derived from which language’s expression for manual meaning “of or belonging to the hand”?

(a)    French
(b)    German
(c)    Latin
(d)    Spanish

(9) The translation of the French words “fleur de lis” literally refers to which stylized flower?

(a)    Lily
(b)    Laurel
(c)    Daisy
(d)    Lilac

(10) Which style of design was originally used by upper class members to show their opulence and wealth?

(a)    Flemish
(b)    Victorian
(c)    English Garden
(d)    American Colonial

(11) In classic literature, which novel holds a reference to the fleur de lis as a symbol used for branding criminals?

(a)    The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
(b)    Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
(c)    The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
(d)    Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Answers: 1. B      2. D     3.A     4.B     5.B     6.C     7.C     8.A     9.A     10.B     11.C

Special thanks to: The Society of American Florists, The American Institute of Floral Designers, Dictionary.com, and Kate Collins.

"Lavender Love" Anniversary Flowers

You’re in luck if you haven’t been able to think of a way to send anniversary flowers to the teacher who stole your heart. Whether in the prime of dating or in the heart of marriage, this is a great way to show your love to your favorite teacher.

Involve her students.

This can be done in several ways. All are guaranteed to steal her heart and send a blush to her cheeks (if she’s the blushing type). Plus, it will give her students a much-wanted break from the curriculum for a few minutes. That’s long enough to make them love you too. Here’s how to do it. You can do all of these, one, or a combination, but the effort will definitely pay off.

1. Have her called away to the office for something while another teacher or an aide watches her class. Then bring in the flowers that you bought from your local florist. When she returns, have the children say “Happy Anniversary” as as you present her with the flowers.
2. Put “Happy Anniversary from me and the gang in *her class number*” or a similar message on the enclosure card sent with your flowers. Your local florist will have some creative ideas if you get stuck thinking of a cute card message. (Want ideas? Try these anniversary enclosure card messages.)
3. Have an aide announce to the class that they are to say “Happy Anniversary” when the florist delivers the teacher’s flowers. Make sure she does this inconspicuously. This surprise may require calling the school for permission to have the florist deliver flowers directly to the teacher’s room. (Usually they’re taken to the office.)
4. Surprise her during lunch. Once she’s thoroughly surprised, have the children at her class’ table say “Happy Anniversary”

Don’t forget that these can be substituted for birthday as well so have fun and be creative! Don’t forget to return to the Bloomin’ Blog and let us know how your anniversary surprise turned out!

When you have a state flower like Mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum), you’re not likely to skip over celebrating one of the most crucial holidays of the year. For florists Christmas is a major holiday that always seems to bring something new each season. This year let the inspiration for your latest holiday flower arrangements come from the Oklahoma state flower. Liven up your Christmas flowers using what Oklahoma florists have found unceasing inspiration in for years.

Mistletoe photo courtesy of 50states.com

Mistletoe is a funny little flower though many wouldn’t consider it a flower. Mistletoe grows on trees during the fall and winter. You can see its dark green leaves and bright white berries during the seasons when other flowers are falling away and leaves are making their last attempt at beauty before dormancy.

Of course, there’s the Christmas party tradition surrounding mistletoe. If two people stand under the mistletoe together, they are supposed to kiss one another. It’s fun to see who happens to land under the mistletoe. Some jokers make mistletoe hats to make the best (and a small joke) of the tradition. Either way, it’s fun and mistletoe’s most notable inclusion in the holiday.

Why not change that up a bit this season? Christmas flower arrangements need foliage. Can there BE a more perfect one than mistletoe? Take a tip from Oklahoma florists. Mistletoe has been a symbol of the state since before Oklahoma was even a state! Flowers with that kind of lasting impression can only be great inspiration for florists.

As the holiday season fast approaches, remember mistletoe this year as you hum “Jingle Bells” and prep a Christmas-themed arrangement.