“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.”
― Maud Hart Lovelace, author
Indeed, June is National Rose Month, which coincides conveniently with the fact that roses are abundant this time of year.
That abundance explains why Connells Maple Lee has its rose sale every June.
As everyone knows, roses, especially red ones, are in great demand at Valentine’s Day. Hence, prices go up for florists and customers alike. Even then, however, the law of supply and demand comes into play.
There’s considerably less demand for yellow and orange and white roses, which become more affordable for us and, in turn, for our customers. This Valentine’s Day, we offered a “rainbow” mixed-rose (colors other than red) arrangement with babies breath, valued at $59.99, for $39.99.
A rose farm typically harvests its crop every six to eight weeks. Conveniently after the Valentine’s Day harvest comes the one for Mother’s Day. But while there’s another big crop of roses in late spring, there is not a corresponding holiday to absorb all of those flowers.
So we created our annual rose sale, which this year started May 17 and runs through June 22. We discount rose arrangements by $10 for one dozen and by $20 for two dozen, among other offers.
Yes, in June the world smells of roses.
There’s also the whiff of our annual rose sale in the air.
We’ll walk down the aisle with you on your wedding day
Talk about a night at the museum. Instead of historical figures coming to life, this is a story about a would-be florist providing flowers for a wedding at a museum.
She left the flowers overnight in the museum’s old refrigerator – and they were frozen solid the morning of the wedding.
Not only are we familiar with this story, we lived it. At least the part where the woman came to us in a panic, and we made all-new bouquets, corsages and boutonnières in time for the nuptials.
It certainly wasn’t the first time we repaired or made new bouquets on short notice for a bride who bought her flowers elsewhere and was disappointed. Nor is it the only way that we can help to make a wedding day a little more special.
Wedding packages
We’ve been fortunate to provide flowers to many big weddings, but the typical expenditure for wedding flowers is between $400 and $1,000. We also offer affordable wedding packages.
Typically, we deliver two hours before a wedding to make sure that everything is where it should be.
Wedding service
We also offer a wedding service – for a fee, in some cases – that arrives an hour prior to the exchange of vows and stays until the bride has walked through the door and down the aisle.
A trained wedding consultant helps everyone with their flowers – and brings along a toolbox to help with just about any other need that might arise:
• Such as the time that the flower girl gave an enthusiastic hug to the bride, who was left with a nice bright lipstick stain in the middle of the gown. No problem. Our consultant pulled out her stain stick and removed the blemish.
• Or the time that the bride’s gown zipper ripped just before the wedding. Our consultant reached for her needle and thread.
• And the icing on the cake with all of this? It was the time that our consultant helped to ice the wedding cake moments before the reception.
Annual plants add beauty: 3 simple tips for taking care of them
Colorful flowering annual baskets and pots provide an easy and inexpensive way to increase the beauty and enjoyment of outside living areas.
Annual plants are available in a wide range of colors and varieties, offering something for everyone.
Care is simple. Just keep these things in mind:
• Choose plants suited to the light levels they’re growing in:
- Sunny spots require plants that thrive in the sun, such as geraniums, petunias, marigolds, salvia, ageratum, alyssum and portulaca.
- Plants that do better with partial shade are begonias, impatiens, fuchsia and coleus.
• Container plants drink lots of water. Check them daily.
• To keep the blooms coming all season, add a water-soluble fertilizer a couple of times each week when watering. Plants also can be encouraged to bloom and stay “bushy” by pinching off the spent blooms.
Don’t let ‘DOGs’ take a bite out of your Mother’s Day order
Our Google search for “flowers, columbus, ohio” returned a couple of sponsored links from what appear to be local florists.
On one website, there’s this message: “Columbus, Ohio Flower Delivery by our local florist to Columbus TODAY!”
What might not be clear is that the owner of that website is in Michigan.
‘Deceptive order gatherer’
The company is what is known in the floral industry as an “order gatherer,” or sometimes derided as a “deceptive order gatherer,” or DOG, as described in a recent story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
They take orders and then broker them to local florists or even ship the flowers (unarranged, of course) via UPS or FedEx. These DOGs, which operate year-round, are hunting for your Mother’s Day order. And if they get it, they’ll likely take a bite out of your wallet that will exceed what you would have paid by working with your local florist to place the order.
An order gatherer will entice you with deals that look great but, upon closer inspection, probably aren’t.
In almost all cases, order gatherers present their flowers at discounted prices. A tulip bouquet valued at $81.99 is shown as marked down to $44.99, for instance. They also tend to upsell, so that when you select a standard or regular arrangement it defaults to a “deluxe” (read: more expensive) version.
Costly commissions and fees
On one order gather’s website, the home page featured a “best seller” arrangement of lilies, roses and alstroemeria valued at $34.99 but discounted to $27.99. When we clicked on it, our selection instead chose the deluxe version: valued at $44.99 but with a “Google discount” of $9 that put the total at $35.99.
At checkout, there was a $2.99 charge for same-day delivery – and a service/handling fee of $14.99. Our total was $53.97 even with the so-called Google discount.
Order gatherers typically deduct a 20 percent commission and other fees from orders, according to the Inquirer article. So if a flower order is valued at $44.99, that leaves less than $36 for the local florist, who then must deduct his delivery fee. Pretty soon, that $44.99 worth of flowers is maybe only a $28 value or less to the customer.
“It’s a no-win situation,” the Inquirer noted of this practice. The florist “can either fill the full order and lose money, or substitute a cheaper arrangement and risk consumer outrage.”
Let your local florist help
Either way, it might not be a risk worth taking when it comes to the impression you wish to make on the recipient. If you have a strong and trusting relationship with your local florist, then why not let them help you with an out-of-town flower delivery?
Reputable florists will make sure you get the value and quality that you deserve on your long-distance orders. After all, they want to be treated fairly when they are on the receiving end of orders.
The deceptive order gatherers, on the other hand, extract high service and delivery fees – only to hand off the order to someone else.
Another one of the order gatherers we examined offered same-day delivery of a gerbera arrangement valued at $49.99 but discounted to $29.99. Then another offer appeared, lowering the price to $9.99. But a service charge of $19.99 and a handling charge of $10.50 brought the total to $40.48.
The order gatherer won’t earn those fees, and you won’t get what you paid for.
When it comes to flowers, these DOGs aren’t man’s best friend.
Big Time Rush’s Maslow turns to Connells Maple Lee for ‘promposal’ bouquet
Hannah Wackernagle has a big-time crush on Big Time Rush’s James Maslow, so much so that the Grove City high school student asked Maslow to her prom on April 25.
Her “promposal” came in the form of a YouTube video that her mother, Hollie, helped her with.
Maslow, who was busy competing on ABC-TV’s “Dancing With the Stars,” could not attend. However, he invited Hannah, her mother and her sister to visit him in Los Angeles. Hannah also got to walk the red carpet and go to Disneyland.
What’s more, Maslow’s publicist worked with Connells Maple Lee’s Grove City store to send a beautiful mixed bouquet to Hannah at Central Crossing High School.
Nicole Judd of Connells Maple Lee designed the arrangement, which included gerbera daisies, roses, hydrangea, dendrobium orchids, alstroemeria, lilies. She complemented the flowers with a large butterfly and ting ting.
“[Maslow] went all out for her,” said Crystal Wells, Grove City store manager.
She and Judd delivered the arrangement to Hannah at school on the day of her prom. It was so big that it took both of them to carry it.
Hannah Wackernagle with her arrangement.
A selfish reason for giving flowers or plants on Secretary’s Day: boost productivity
Flowers aren’t just a nice thing to do for your administrative assistant on Secretary’s Day, also known as Administrative Professionals Day.
Research conducted at Texas A&M University found that flowers can help boost workplace productivity.
“Our research shows that a change as simple as adding flowers and plants can be important in the most meaningful way to businesses in the modern economy,” said Roger Ulrich, lead researcher on the project. The increased productivity – in the form of innovation and creative problem-solving – “could mean the difference between mild and great business success.”
The Society of American Florists worked with the researchers, lending expertise in flowers and plants.
In an eight-month study, both women and men demonstrated more innovative thinking, generating more ideas and original solutions to problems in the office environment that included flowers and plants. Men generated more ideas, while women generated more creative, flexible solutions to problems.
So bosses can give their administrative assistants flowers or plants out of respect and self-interest.
How the lily became a symbol of Easter and other floral facts about the holiday
Numerous accounts identify her as Mrs. Thomas Sargent, a resident of Philadelphia who visited Bermuda in the 1880s. Smitten by the lilies she saw there, she brought lily bulbs home with her.
She gave some of them to a local nurseryman named William Harris, “who began growing them, forcing them into spring bloom, and selling to other florists,” writes Leonard Perry, an extension professor at the University of Vermont. “Many began buying this flower for Easter, as they do today, with it symbolizing the Resurrection.”
“Forcing” bulbs – as we described in this post about hyacinths – is the means by which light and temperature can be manipulated in order to control the rate at which a plant grows. In most parts of the United States, lilies naturally would bloom in the summer – weeks after Easter.
Some other facts about Easter lilies:
- Flowering and green houseplants (46 percent) account for the biggest chunk of Easter/Passover floral sales. Lilies (52 percent) account for most flowering houseplant sales. (aboutflowers.com)
- Lilies are considered highly toxic to cats. The Society of American Florists recommends keeping lilies out of the reach of cats as ingesting even small amounts of the plant can cause kidney failure. Lilies do not pose a problem for other pets or humans. (aboutflowers.com)
- In the home, Easter lilies prefer moderately cool temperatures (recommended 60 to 65 degrees during the day, slightly cooler at night). They thrive near a window in bright, indirect natural daylight. (Texas A&M Agrilife Extension)
- Ohio is among the states that produce the most potted Easter lilies. (Texas A&M Agrilife Extension)
Flowers help stem the morning blahs: Harvard study
Maybe it’s the long winter or the still-cold mornings, or just too much work and not enough sleep. There are any number of reasons why it can be tough to get at ’em in the morning.
When it comes to a pick-me-up, caffeine isn’t for all tastes. But everyone can start their days with flowers — and with good reason.
People are happier and more energetic after looking at flowers first thing in the morning, according to a behavioral study conducted by researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital.
“The morning blahs, it turns out, is a real phenomenon, with positive moods — happiness, friendliness and warmth, for example — manifesting much later in the day,” said lead researcher Dr. Nancy Etcoff. “Interestingly, when we placed a small bouquet of flowers into their morning routines, people perked up.”
The final study results demonstrated that flowers affect people emotionally at home, causing them to feel less anxious and more compassionate. They even reported a boost of energy that lasted all day.
“What I find interesting is that by starting the day in a more positive mood, you are likely to transfer those happier feelings to others — it’s what is called mood contagion,” Etcoff said. “And, the kitchen is the place where families tend to gather in the morning — imagine how big a difference a better morning mood can make.”
To learn more about this study and ways to incorporate flowers into your kitchen, click here.
Irish eyes smile at St. Patrick’s Day kids club event
Bexley
Bexley
Bexley
A tip o’ the cap to everyone who joined us on March 15 for our St. Patrick’s Day-themed Connells Maple Lee Kids Club event.
Each child who participated had an opportunity to decorate a white carnation by giving it a smiling face. They carnations were dropped in bud vases filled with water that was dyed green to mark the holiday. Eventually, the dye will work its way up the stem to change the color of the flower.
There’s even more fun planned as the kids club has three more events in 2014. The dates and themes:
June 21: Stems Hunger food drive
Aug. 23: Back to school
Nov. 1: Bouquets for Books book drive
Six easy ways to get a jump on spring
Hyacinth
Tulips
Violets
Cyclamen
The days are getting longer, the sun is getting brighter, and everyone is looking to shake off cabin fever. Spring is almost here, but you can get a jump on the season by bringing bright color and natural beauty into your home.
Here are some easy and cost-effective ideas to get you started:
1. Blooms: Nothing says spring quite like flowering plants. Violets, begonia, kalanchoe, cyclamen and Phaleonopsis orchids are all easy care and just need a home near a bright window for cheerful blooms over an extended period.
Bulb plants such as hyacinths, daffodils and tulips offer an added bonus. In the fall, you can plant the bulbs outside so that they deliver a splash of color next spring.
2. Think green: Green foliage plants add oxygen and humidity back into the air that we breathe and remove some impurities. Rejuvenate and dust off your houseplants. Better yet, pick up a new plant to replace one or two that are tired or to fill a bare corner or tabletop. Add a new basket or ceramic pot cover to add color and enhance your décor.
3. Common scents: Candles aren’t just for the fall and winter holiday seasons any more. Vanilla and lavender are two of the most popular scents, but you’ll find plenty of fresh, clean fragrances and styles of candles that have increased in popularity and are perfect for year-round use. Try a fresh linen or spring floral scent.
4. Bring the outdoors in: Trees and shrubs are just starting to bud. Trim a few branches and bring the outdoors inside to force open the blooms in a vase. Some good choices are forsythia, pussy willow and flowering cherry or crabapple stems, each of which produces colorful blooms.
Becoming more popular are curly willow and red twig dogwood branches. Although these branches do not have visible flowers, they look great in a vase and give texture when you add a few fresh-cut flowers. When you’re at the florist, be sure to pick up floral preservative to add to the water.
5. Front and center: Don’t forget about the front door and porch. Hang branches or a nice door piece for instant spring. Bulb plants, pansies and primrose all do well on a porch or patio. You may have to cover them or bring them inside overnight in case of frost or low temperatures. A cheerful front door will put a smile on your face and on those of your neighbors.
6. Treat yourself: Studies show that flowers are a great weapon against the morning blahs, boost energy and workplace productivity, and improve emotional health. So pick up a mixed handful, a weekly special or even just a few loose stems of your favorites.