Green Burials

While discussing burial options isn't a topic for casual conversation, there is worthwhile news in the funeral industry for those who would prefer to be environmentally conscientious even in their final resting place. Green-burial providers adopt practices that are non-toxic and energy conserving, including burial with non-toxic, biodegradable burial containers, preparation of the body without the use of formaldehyde-based embalming chemicals, and grave-site landscape derived from and compatible with regional ecosystems. Coffins and cremation urns for green burials are made using only environmentally sustainable material, such as Bamboo; Pandanus – an environmentally friendly alternative to sea grass; Willow – cut from bushes known as crowns which remain viable for about 40 years before they need to be replanted; and Banana sheaves that come from the trunk of the plant and peel off naturally each year. The body is not dressed in traditional clothing which may contain man-made materials, but is wrapped in a cotton shroud. Home wakes, public visitations, church funerals and graveside services are options that may be arranged within the limited time frame green burial allows.

There's even a Green Burial Council (founded in 2005), a nonprofit organization that advocates sustainable, economically viable burials and the restoration and stewardship of natural areas. GBC certifies funeral-service providers and cemeteries as green-burial providers to address a “new ethic in death-care.” Schoedinger Funeral & Cremation Service was certified by the GBC, and is the only certified service in the Columbus area.

So far, the only certified cemetery available to the public locally is the Foxfield Preserve in Wilmot, Ohio. This is obviously the limiting factor, unless a private, home-burial site is available. Until more cemeteries adopt a green philosophy, green burials will be limited in central Ohio. Requests from the public will speed the process along.

Cut flowers are an obvious choice for green burials. Arrangements can be tied with raffia and displayed in traditional containers to stay fresh for visitation hours, and can then be removed as a unit from the container for placement in or on the casket, or by the grave marker.

If a complete green burial is not possible, consider a partial green burial. For example, if a green cemetery is not available, use a shroud and a green burial container to minimize the environmental impact. Be sure to let us know if you prefer “green” flower treatment, even at a traditional burial. We will work with your funeral director to comply with your wishes.

More information is available at http://www.greenburialcouncil.org.

Blumen Garten Florist - 614.451.1299

Why Flowers?

What other gift can you give to someone, or do for someone, without them feeling they need to return the favor, that they "owe you one"?

· Being in the presence of flowers has been shown, scientifically, to alleviate depression in the elderly! (Texas A&M; Rutgers University; control gifts used in the research/study included gifts of candles, food gifts, etc)

· Being in the presence of flowers increase social interaction, and feelings of well-being. (Harvard study; and these studies show that the effects linger, even AFTER the flowers have died)

· Flowers not only relieve depression, these same studies show that in the presence of flowers and/or plants, work-place productivity is increased, and creativity is increased - Measurable results!

Europeans use flowers in their daily living – flowers, plants, even bouquets of grasses, berries and braches are commonplace in the home. (and maybe, are they a little more “balanced” or less stressed, shall we say, as opposed to Americans?)

Also, a recent study shows that people who give flowers are perceived as being sophisticated and thoughtful:

• 92% of women remember the last time they received flowers.
• 97% of survey respondents remember the last time they gave a floral gift.
• 88% of survey respondents say a gift of flowers changes their mood for the better.
• 86% say receiving flowers makes them feel special.
• 99% say that a person who gives flowers is thoughtful.
• 89% believe the giver is sophisticated.

A study at Harvard uncovered three main findings:

• Flowers feed compassion.
  
  Study participants who lived with fresh cut flowers for less than a week felt an increase in feelings of compassion and kindness for others.
• Flowers chase away anxieties, worries and the blues at home.
• Overall, people in the study simply felt less negative after being around flowers at home for just a few days.
• Living with flowers can provide a boost of energy, happiness and enthusiasm at work.
  
  Having flowers at home can have a positive carry-over impact on our mood at work, too. The study found that people were more likely to feel happier and have more enthusiasm and energy at work when flowers were in their home living environments.

72% percent of Americans are just waiting to be converted to flower lovers!

A passion of mine is to show people the correlation of our emotional and social well-being and the beauty of flowers in our everyday lives. Just a flower, not a huge bouquet.

Vase Recycling

Here at Blumen Garten Florist, we're going green, and we're asking for your help in saving the environment by recycling glass vases.

If you've accumulated a lot of vases, good for you! You have family and friends who send you flowers. Sometimes these extra vases are taking up valuable storage space or are left on a dusty shelf, unused. If this is the case, you can bring your clean, used vases to our shop and we'll put them to use again. Or, if they really don't meet our quality standards, we will take them to the recycling center.

Here's How It Works
Bring your vases to our shop when you're in the neighborhood. Our shop is located at 4687 Reed Road and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and on Saturdays from 9:00 until 3:00 PM. If you come by when we're closed, simply place your vases (or box of vases) on our porch and we'll get them in the morning. We offer a FREE rose for every pair of usable vases we receive. If you plan to be a frequent recycler, you can "bank" your free flowers toward an arrangement in the future. Anyway, you look at it, those unused vases add up to value for you and us.
Why We Are Recycling Vases

No, there isn't a sudden vase shortage. And no, it won't really save us any money on vases. We just want to play a small part in helping the planet. And reusing and recycling is a great start!

Studies Confirm Flowers Improve Quality of Life

According to the Ukiah Daily Journal in Ukiah, California, scientists are finding a link between flower's ability to improve moods and increased quality of life. Scientists performed three studies, published in the April 2005 edition of Evolutionary Psychology, that demonstrated flowers' ability to positively impact mood. In the first study 147 women reported elevated moods for three days after being presented with a single flower.

In another study, 122 men and women were handed either a flower, pen, or nothing while riding on an elevator. Those who received a flower spoke more, stood closer to others, and smiled more often during the ride. The last study involved delivering bouquets to 113 men and women in a retirement community. The recipients reported positive moods and increased memory function.

It's no secret that flowers can perk up a mood. However, as scientists learn more about how to harness their positive power, we could potentially see them being used in a clinic setting to improve healing and quality of life.

Mother's Day Flower Experience

Well, the big Holiday has come & gone. I'd like to know what your Mother's Day Flower experience was - good, bad or indifferent. Let me know how you and Mom liked the flowers you received, if you got good or bad value for your money, good or bad service, and whatever else you can think of. Even if we messed up your order, I want to hear about it so we can do better next time. So cut loose!

Floral Humor

A new business was opening and one of the owner''s friends wanted to send flowers for the occasion. They arrived at the new business site and the owner read the card; it said "Rest in Peace".

The owner was angry and called the florist to complain. After he had told the florist of the obvious mistake and how angry he was, the florist said:

"Sir, I''m really sorry for the mistake, but rather than getting angry you should imagine this: somewhere there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying ''Congratulations on your new location''."

Flower Show

July 10-13, 2010: The annual Ohio Florists Association Short Course will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus Ohio. Florists who are members as well as non-members will enjoy the OFA Short Course.

You don't have to be a florist to enjoy this show. Click on the link above for details.

Shopping for an out-of-town florist

What do you do? A relative from 2 states away is in the hospital, or worse. She's a favorite aunt and you want her to know you're thinking about her. How in the dickens to you get flowers delivered to her? Your first impulse might be to use one of the big floral wire services or order gathers, like 1-800Flowers, FTD, ProFlowers, Just Flowers or Teleflora. That may turn out not to be the best choice.

Wire services advertise a lot, and try to convince you that their services and flowers are the best, bar none. But it's what they don't tell you that makes all the difference. Like the huge service fees, like the non-florist taking your order, like the fact that they will try to find a local florist to fill your order at a huge discount. You have to ask yourself, do I want to order from a person who just takes orders or do I want someone who knows flowers and can give me options, do I want a florist who's only going to get 73% of the price filling my order? How motivated would you be to do a good job if you were only getting 73% of your salary? There are alternatives.

If you have a local florist you deal with regularly, chances are he has a network of friendly florists out-of-state on which he can call to get your order delivered. Some florists (like Blumen Garten Florists) will give you the phone number of a florist in your delivery area so you can call and place the order directly, and maybe save a few bucks in the process. If you're worried about the quality of the flowers with an unknown florist, do a search on the web, and read their reviews. On Google, you can search on "flowers in mytown, state", and get a list of local brick & mortar florists close to your delivery destination. But, again, be careful not to pick the first number that pops up - it might be a wire service. Look for a street address and ZIP code. If there's only an 800 number published, it's probably a wire service.

You can always call us for referrals. We're glad to help.

Make your fresh floral arrangement last longer

Every thought "I wish these flowers would last longer"? Well there are a few things you can do to get the maximum life from your arrangement.

#1 - Recut the stems and change the water. By cutting about 1/2 inch off the stems and changing the water in the vase every three days, you can add days to the life of your arrangement. Bacteria are the problem. They clog the stems so water and nutrients can't get to the flower. Adding a few drops of household bleach to the water helps a great deal. Not too much - just a few drops. You don't want to bleach the color out of the flowers.

#2 - Use the flower food the florist gives you. It contains sugar and other compounds which cut flowers can use. Dissolve the packet in a quart of water, and use that solution when you change the water. Use the food in vased arrangements, and those done in design containers. This kind of flower food won't help a potted flower - it won't hurt them either - so I recommend good ole Miracle Grow for potted plants.

#3 - Water arrangements done in floral foam daily. Floral foam serves 2 purposes: it supports the flower stems helping the arrangement keep its shape, and it moves water to the end of the stem where it can be absorbed by the flower. Most cut floral arrangements done in foam will need 4 - 6 fl oz of water daily.

#4 - Avoid heat sources. Direct prolonged sunlight, space heaters, dishwashers, refrigerators, car heaters - essentially anything that gives off heat - will toast your arrangement. Be careful on the ride home during cold months not to set the arrangement in the path of your car heater. Rooms which might store heat, such as closed sunrooms, will sap the strength from your arrangement and cause premature wilting.

Hello!

Hey. Well it's 1:00am and I can't sleep, so I thought "why not start a blog". So here goes.

I'm Dan Hamilton, and my wife and I own Blumen Garten Florist located in Upper Arlington, OH. We've been in the flower business since 2001, first as a hobby, then as a full-fledged business. Like most businesses, we're looking for better ways to keep our customers informed about all things floral. So stay tuned and see what you can learn about floral arrangements. We're also interested in learning from you. Be sure to tell us what you like about flowers, what you hate, and anything else that's on your mind. We'll give you our best information, or if we don't know, we'll find out for you.

I'd also like to tell you we have a facebook page. Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Columbus-OH/Blumen-Garten-Florists/107479339292318?ref=ts Be sure to check in every so often for specials and coupons available only online.

Well, it's not a bad start. Here's hoping we will get a bunch of readers and contributors. Will you be the first?

Thanks for stopping by.