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.