Find Your Local Florist:Everything you want to know about flowers!
Ask The Expert: Can you tell me what kind of flowers you would send to someone who has had a tough battle with cancer and won. Pat
Pat,
Flowers of any kind are appropriate for someone who has beat the odds, especially brightly colored flowers.
Rather than a general symbol of their achievement, send flowers that convey a very special and personal message. To add personal sentiment, you could send a flower that [Read more…]
Prom is almost here. You have the date, the dress, the shoes, the hair, and the car. What’s missing? The prom flowers!! The perfect corsage or boutonnière makes the difference between a fun yet elegant statement and a shabby accessory. Here are some tips for finding the perfect floral decorations for your night!
Find a decorative, matching corsage wristband! Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but funky sequins, elegant gems, coral, and pearl with your corsage make just as beautiful a statement.Find a local florist to design your perfect corsage or boutonniere.
Create a Unique Prom with Flowers in this Flower Shop Network newsletter you’ll find a variety of ways to make your prom special.
Chocolate that tasty little mood-lifting relaxing treat seems to be the focus of everyone’s attention at the moment. In fact, the latest issue of Fine Cooking has an interesting article featuring the pairing of wine and chocolate.
The combination of wine and chocolate creates a sensuous pleasure for our taste buds. A little port wine with a piece of dark chocolate is a culinary experience that shouldn’t be missed and one of my favorites. Fine Cooking pairs different kinds of chocolates with the appropriate wine to ensure a delicious experience. But, wine isn’t the only thing you can pair with chocolate to create a sensory delight. Pleasure is multiplied when you include more than one sense. Pairing flowers with chocolate involves our sense of smell, taste and sight – a triple indulgence.
The Flower Shop Network February newsletter, The Mystique of Chocolate & Flowers, describes the allure of pairing flowers with chocolate particularly for Valentine’s Day. Guys or gals looking for Valentine’s Day gift ideas will find a multitude in this newsletter. Creating the ultimate romance with chocolates and flowers is detailed in length; all you have to do is go for it.
With all this talk of pairing chocolate with flowers and wine, it occurred to me the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift lies somewhere between the Fine Cooking article and the FSN newsletter. Flowers, wine and chocolate – what more could your sweetheart ask for? You might ask, shouldn’t the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift appeal to all of the senses? With the right combination of wine, flowers and chocolate – bells will go off and hearts will be touched. So, here are three ways to combine wine, flowers and chocolate to achieve the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift this year:
The ultimate luxury Valentine’s Day gift idea – Send a dozen red roses and a large box of milk chocolates to your sweetheart; include a note suggesting an evening sharing the milk chocolates over a bottle of Pinot Noir.
The ultimate dreamy Valentine’s Day gift idea – Send a bouquet of ‘Stargazer’ Lilies to your sweetheart; include a note suggesting an evening viewing the stars while sharing a semi-sweet chocolate mousse and a bottle of Shiraz.
The ultimate romantic Valentine’s Day gift idea – Meet your sweetheart at the door with a silver tray containing a vase of tulips, two glasses of a fine ruby port and a bowl of gourmet bittersweet truffles. Be sure to whisper, “Just a little something for the finest two lips in the world”.
With these ultimate Valentine’s Day gift ideas, amore will definitely be in the air along with the aroma of fresh flowers, the taste of chocolate and wine, the expression of love and the warmth of the heart. The possibilities are endless and I’m sure everyone has their own ultimate combination. So with Valentine’s Day just around the corner – let your imagination go wild with flowers, chocolate and wine.
Ask the Expert: Where can I find a flower related to each month? Betty
Betty,
Here are a list of birth month flowers.
There are, also, flowers associated with the astrological months. Let me know if you want a list of those as well. I have attached some picture of particular birth month flowers.
Carnations
Daffodils
Gerbera daisy
Rose
Gladiolus
Aster
Chrysanthemum
Poinsettia
Jenny’s (Oak Hill Florist in Scarborough, Maine) “Thoughts of Valentine’s Day” post on Monday was interesting. First, it proves what I always thought: Florists never rest – they are constantly trying to make the next holiday or flower arrangement better for us. Second, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and the earlier we prepare for it, the better it will be for us and our special someone.
Jenny had a good point when she said “… men – you don’t have to buy roses for Valentine’s Day.” Roses maybe the Valentine’s Day flower and considered the flower of love, but contrary to popular opinion they are not the favorite flower of every woman. I like roses; I even have some in my garden, but if you really want to excite me give me “Star Gazer” lilies, gerberas or tulips. Over the years, my husband has sent me roses, “Star Gazer” lilies, gerberas, tulips and mixed flower arrangements – I loved them all and have wonderful memories associated with each one. Flowers, in general, are always a wonderful gift for Valentine’s Day or for any other reason; you can never go wrong by sending roses. But if you really want to make an impression, find out what her favorite flower is and send it. The key to flower giving is to create a memory that will last forever.
We always refer to the act of flower giving as men sending and women receiving. Jenny brings up a good point – men love flowers too – they just have a hard time admitting it. Of course, my husband loves flowers – after all he grows bedding plants for his nursery and landscaping company – but he adores fresh cut flowers. He is the one who make sure that we have fresh flowers in our home at all times – he either cuts them from the garden or pops into the flower shop and picks up a few stems. (If you want to create your own arrangement, your local florist is a great place to pick up flowers by the stem.) I’ll be honest; I haven’t sent my husband flowers before, but this Valentine’s Day, flowers sound like the perfect gift.
Although the new year may have just begun, it is never too early to think about Valentine’s Day. So, start looking for great Valentine’s Day gift ideas now. I love to hear other people’s Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas and I’ve even copy a few over the years. Flower Shop Network has several newsletters with Valentine’s Day gift ideas:
Help someone else create a magical Valentine’s Day by sharing your ideas. Remember “Love is in the Air” enjoy it.
I constantly search the Internet, magazines, hotels, restaurants and even peoples’ homes for interesting flowers and flower arrangements. I’m somewhat of a flower stalker. Lucky, no one has taken out a restraining order yet. So, when I finally had time to read the Flower Chat blog post for the last couple of weeks, I was delight to see – Local florists offer unique flower arrangements for Christmas. I am always amazed with the creative talents of florists; their ability to enhance the beauty of an already gorgeous flower; their ability to use flowers, greenery, ribbon and other materials to create a magnificent floral sculptures. The florists who submitted photos of their floral designs for the post were no exception.
I loved the 
Glittering Christmas arrangement from Everyday Flowers, a Tustin California florist. The use of cut limes and lemons, miniature apples, lisanthus and cymbidium orchids paired with pinecones, hypericum, eucalyptus and other Christmas greens definitely put a unique and exquisite twist to their Christmas flower arrangement.
Central Square Florist, creating flower arrangements in Cambridge Massachusetts, demonstrated the artistry of creating a “floral sculpture” with their Holiday Tree Centerpiece 
. This design is a fantastic way to display a “Christmas Tree”; especially, if you lack the room for a life size one. The best part is you won’t have to decorate it.
I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Christmas flower arrangement designs submitted by all of the florists. Pictures of Christmas flower arrangements are wonderful resources for ideas and a pleasure to look at as well. Sharing design ideas is an advantage for those of us involved in the flower community. If you want to share some of your personal designs or photos of flower arrangements you have enjoyed, drop me a line.
Ask the Expert: Suggestions for flowers in Dec. for wedding
I am going to host a wedding at my home Dec 30. I plan to leaves some of my Christmas decoration out such as outside lighting, garland up the stairway, around the flowerplace on around the front door. There will be no Christmas tree and I plan to remove the red poinsettias.
The groom in military and will be wearing blue, the bridesmaids dresses are dark blue. The bride is questioning what flower would be appropriate this time of year. I wanted to steer her away from using any blue at Christmas time because she wants blue. Do you have any suggestions? The bride wants to use calla lily for herself what could be used and work with some Christmas decor still in use?
In Flower Shop Network’s December Newsletter, Beth Roberts has a wonderful take on the perfect Christmas gift for someone who has everything. I hope my husband takes a hint from Beth’s suggestions. Do you have someone on your Christmas list that is hard to buy for? What Christmas gift suggestions do you have to make the season a little easier?
Take a look at an advance preview of Beth’s “Perfect Christmas Gift” suggestions and let me know your views on the subject.
The Flower Shop Network Newsletters are emailed to subscribers once a month. This one is scheduled for Tuesday December 11th, but, I thought you’d like a sneak peak.
Everyone is familiar with the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. In my quirky holiday way, I have my own take on this song. I call my song “The 12 Flower Arrangements of Christmas”. It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but I like it. So you won’t have to go through the whole song, I am providing only the last verse but with pictures.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Twelve Ruby Reflections 
Christmas Flower Arrangements.
Eleven Berry Bedazzlings 
Christmas Flower Arrangements.
Ten Sugar Plum Dreams 
Christmas Flower Arrangements.
Nine Yuletide Baskets 
Flower arrangement for Christmas.
Eight Holly Jolly Holidays 
Christmas Arrangement.
Seven Home for the Holidays 
Flower Arrangement.
Six Peppermint Poises 
Christmas Flowers.
Five Razzle Dazzles 
Flowers.
Four Christmas Cupcakes 
Flower Arrangement.
Three Seasonal Wishes 
Flower Arrangement.
Two Radiant Poinsettias 
Plants for Christmas.
And a Peace on Earth Centerpiece 
Arrangement for Christmas.
Hope you like my version, as usual flowers are always on my mind. Just a little FYI — Number 8 and number 1 are my favorites.
Many times, we feel helpless when a friend or family member is in the hospital. Often we send flowers to the hospital letting them know we care and support them. But did you realize, that by sending flowers to the hospital you are actively helping them in the recovery process? How?
Researchers have discovered a link between flowers and life satisfaction. In fact, flowers have a huge impact on moods and emotions. An immediate impact on happiness occurs when someone receives flowers. Picture an office – everyone’s heart fluttering in anticipation as every eye follows the florists carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Not only does the person receiving the flower arrangement break out into a smile, but all those around him/her do as well.
Many stories about someone overcoming a devastating illness begin with … they had a positive and cheerful attitude. By sending a flower arrangement to the hospital, you are helping the patient achieve a positive attitude. Even if only for a little while, the hospital patient will let go of the depression, anxiousness and agitation surrounding an illness and replace it with joy, happiness and relaxation. So by encouraging a smile with flowers, you are aiding them in the recovery process.
Here an example of a cheerful flower arrangement that can be sent to someone in the hospital.
