Floral Industry News - Bloomin' Blog

FSN at the 2012 Oklahoma State Florist Convention

August 7, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

Flower Shop Network had the fantastic opportunity to attend the 2012 Oklahoma State Florist Association‘s Convention July 28 – 29th! A convention filled with beautiful flowers, great workshops and top-notch competitions, including the Oklahoma Cup Competition!

Gorgeous flower arrangements in the Flower Shop Network booth. These were created by the talented Tammy Martens, designer at Generations Flowers & Gifts, Broken Arrow OK.

Here is Tammy Martens with her award from the Oklahoma State Florist Association. Way to go Tammy! (The biggest arrangement in the photo above was created specifically for the FSN booth [and we loved it!], the others were used in the competition.)

South Carolina Florist Association Convention 2012

August 2, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

We had such a blast at the South Carolina Florist Association‘s annual convention this past weekend! The show was themed “Inspiration for Innovation” and it was just that. With great presentations, competitions and opportunities for networking, this was the place to be for florists.

Check out the amazing floral design in the Flower Shop Network Booth! It was created by Bernard (pictured left) from Rosewood Florist in Columbia, SC. It was filled with lush hydrangeas, gorgeous gladiolus, bells of Ireland, roses and much more!

Here is a closer view of the FSN booth arrangement before it was put into the booth.

Big News At The Memphis Botanic Garden

July 26, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

Here on the FSN Blog, our Plant Expert answers hundreds of your plant care and identification questions. However, when we’re stumped, we often turn to the Memphis Botanic Garden for their advice. This week, they received BIG news and we thought we’d share in the excitement!

The Memphis Botanic Garden just received a huge endorsement for their tree program by being designated the first Center of Excellence for Urban Forestry in Tennessee.

As a Center of Excellence, they will sponsor educational programs, help with arboretum certification, actively promote tree health and growth, and be the arm of the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council in West Tennessee. There will be three COE’s total for the state, theirs will be the only one in West Tennessee.

In a blog from last June, we wrote about the Garden’s already-extensive tree program:

Memphis Botanic Garden offers visitors 96 acres of small gardens and trails, thousands of flowers, but also thousands of unique trees. With 152 different species of trees, the Memphis Botanic Garden is classified as a Level IV Arboretum by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council. This Level IV designation makes the Garden one of four in the state and the only one in West Tennessee. “We estimate there are at least 2000 trees in the Garden – with lots of duplicates,” says Adult Education Manager Laurie Williams. Read more about the trees at the Garden.

Patrick Haller, TUFC President, commented that “This is a definite step forward for urban forestry in Tennessee and we are excited about this program.”

Congratulations again for a well-deserved honor. If you’re in the West Tennessee area, be sure to pay them a visit!

Filed Under: Floral Industry News Tagged With: Botanical Gardens, Memphis Botanic Gardens

2012 Texas State Florist Convention: Recap & Photos

July 24, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

Over the weekend, part of the FSN Team traveled down to the Lone Star State for the Texas State Florist Association‘s Annual Convention. This year’s theme was, “Floral Paradise” which is exactly what they created. In their unusual location, The Hanger Hotel (an actual airplane hanger!) they brought paradise to life with only the flair florists can bring.

Metro retro. The old hanger definitely had a retro vibe. Love the way these creative Texas florists work it into their show. Looks like something you’d see in a old war-time postcard or something. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Floral Conventions & Flower Shows, Floral Industry News, Florists Only Tagged With: Floral Conventions, Flower Pictures, Texas State Florists Association, Texas State Florists Association Convention, Tropical Flowers

How Florists Keep Flowers Cool During The Heat

June 27, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell 2 Comments

Wooo! It’s a scorcher out there, and it’s only going to get worse! I don’t know about you, but I can barely keep my lawn alive during this heat, and flowers — forget about it! So how is it florists keep such beautiful flowers all year long, even Sun - Heating Things up for Florists on deliveries?! Here are some tips our florists shared with us yesterday.

Tips For Keeping Flowers Cool In The Heat

Make sure the A/C in your delivery vehicle is in good shape and prepared for summer.
Make sure the delivery vehicle is cooled off before loading. – via Lisa from West End Florist, Rome GA
Invest in a spare key so you can leave the car running while making other deliveries. – via Emily from The Enchanted Florist, Asheville NC
Check newly arrived flowers for improper temperatures.
Immediately prep and refrigerate newly arrived flowers.
Try not to move flowers in and out of the cooler while designing.
Make sure the temperature of your cooler is adjusted properly for your flowers.
Choose lighter colored delivery vehicles to help keep them cool.

Flowers and plants need to be kept at a certain temperature in order to breath and intake food properly. Keeping flowers at a consistent temperature is vital for reaching a it’s full vase-life potential. Low temperatures also slow down the growth of bacteria and other micro-organisms, which will extend the vase life for customers.

Before a flower arrives at your local flower shop, it has made a long journey. Starting with the growers, they are shipped in refrigerated planes or trucks to the wholesale level. Wholesalers keep these flowers in coolers until they are shipped to the florist, who also stores them inside a cooler. After all this refrigeration, you can see why flowers would get finicky once they are out of the cool. Florists do their best to maintain the right temperatures for their flowers.

Sneak Peek: The 2012 Summer Olympics Bouquet

June 21, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell 2 Comments

When it comes to the olympics, summer or winter, the entire world stops to take notice. Athletes dedicate their lives to perfection in their sport and compete to take home so much more than a medal. Their accomplishments in the olympics translate into well-deserved glory and honor in their home countries.

The London 2012 Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place in London from July 27th to August 12th. From archery to gymnastics, cycling to water polo — you can bet competition at these games will be fierce, which is why winners deserve so much respect.

In addition to the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, winners can also expect to receive a unique bouquet of flowers from the Jane Packer floral design studio. Some 4,400 floral “Victory Bouquets” will be presented to athletes along with medals during the Victory Ceremonies.

Story Behind the 2012 Olympics Bouquet

“The Victory Bouquet was designed by [Jane Packer’s] creative director, Susan Lapworth, to reflect the energy and vibrancy of the London 2012 Games. The bouquet is sectioned into boldly coloured quadrants to mirror the 2012 logo. These are separated by typical British food ingredients which also provide an eclectic fragrance.”

Florida State Florist Association’s 2012 Convention – Paradise

June 13, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

The Florida State Florist Association‘s 2012 Annual Convention was this past weekend on Hutchington Island in Florida. With a show titled, Paradise, you knew you’d be in for a treat, and our own Leslie Cox was the lucky FSN team member to attend.

Paradise is the perfect time to learn, gather in friendship, shop the venders in the tradefair, view competitions and show your overall support of the floral industry in Florida by supporting FSFA. – Steven Day, AIFD CFD & Paradise Chairperson

Floral Designs From the 2012 FSFA Annual Convention

Of course the Florida State Florist Association’s convention is going to use TROPICALS! They were definitely on everyone’s mind during this show themed Paradise. Check out these bright and cheery floral designs, perfect for kicking off summer!

Florist Scammers At It Again

March 26, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell 34 Comments

Scam Alert I didn’t have to go far to hear this scam was back; they actually sent it to MY email thinking I was a florist! I wanted to warn all florists to stay alert this spring and be aware of scammers who want to take advantage of your business.

You often hear this scam being done through hearing impaired phone service (ttd relay), but also can come via e-mail or any other messaging method. Here is the e-mail scam I received this morning:

Hello This Ben Bruce i will like to order for 8 big bouquets flowers for my UNCLE wedding and i want the price range of $200 per one Approximately 26″ W x 41″ H and the color should be in bright summer color, it will be pick up by a private courier on the 4th of April and want them arranged in vases so can i have the total cost that now so that i can pay with my card now and so can i have yr store address so i can forward it to the shipper agent and i will like you to do me a favor due to my physical disability…

Thanks
Ben

How do I know this is a scam?

1. The broken English. Many of these scams originate outside of the US and the message will be very choppy. The way they’ve typed UNCLE is like they are filling in the blank of some scamming copy template. While not all choppy messages are scams, they should be more carefully examined.

2. The shipper agent. This is the tell tale sign that it is a scam. Why are they paying an outside shipper instead of having you deliver them yourself? This is just too fishy.

If you are unsure if an email or other request is a scam, ask lots of questions! You might even reply back to this guy and explain your own delivery rates. More than likely, you’ll never hear from him again.

More scam alerts from the Flower Shop Network blog.

Please, if anyone else comes across this, or any other floral industry scams, let us know so we can warn others by emailing social@flowershopnetwork.com.

Filed Under: Floral Industry News, Florists Only Tagged With: Scams

BIG Congrats To Doug Bates, CF – MFA Designer of the Year

March 20, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell 1 Comment

We are so excited that one of our great member florists, Doug Bates, CF of Designs by Vogts in Sturgis, MI won this year’s coveted Michigan Florist Association’s Designer of the Year Award at the Great Lakes Floral Expo.

“In order to attain “MFA Designer of the Year” status, Mr. Bates had to enter all three professional division categories of the MFA Annual Design Contest. The five individuals with the highest cumulative points from all three design categories were selected as finalists to earn the chance to compete in a Spontaneous Surprise Package Competition.

Mr. Bates […] received a $300.00 cash prize, recognition plaque and the coveted title of “MFA Designer of the Year.” His designs will also appear six times over the next year in the “Design Spotlight” section of the award wining MFA publication entitled “The Professional Florist.” He will also travel to the National Alliance of Floral Association’s (NAFA) annual convention this fall and represent the MFA in the NAFA National Design Competition. ” – From the GLFE’s Newsletter

All very exciting for Mr. Bates and all of the staff at Designs by Vogts! Doug is an excellent designer and full of talent. The first photo above is a gorgeous tulip and rose design enhanced with small loops of pink circles — so creative! It takes a lot of skill and experience to win these unique competitions. Once again, big congrats!

Filed Under: Floral Conventions & Flower Shows, Floral Design, Floral Industry News Tagged With: Floral Design, Floral Design Competition, Floral Designer of the Year, Floral Industry News, Great Lakes Floral Expo

Interview with Betsy Hall

March 8, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

Over the weekend, our team headed to the 2012 Great Lakes Floral Expo in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, we met up with Betsy Hall, Hall’s Flower Shop in Stone Mountain Georgia.

FSN’s own Brock Atwill had the opportunity to interview Betsy.

Thanks so much Betsy for the interview!

Keep an eye on the Bloomin’ Blog for more from the Great Lakes Floral Expo 2012!

Filed Under: Floral Convention Videos, Floral Industry News, Florists Only Tagged With: Florist Videos, Florists For Change, Great Lakes Floral Expo

FSN at the 2012 Oklahoma State Florist Convention

South Carolina Florist Association Convention 2012

Big News At The Memphis Botanic Garden

2012 Texas State Florist Convention: Recap & Photos

How Florists Keep Flowers Cool During The Heat

Tips For Keeping Flowers Cool In The Heat

Sneak Peek: The 2012 Summer Olympics Bouquet

Story Behind the 2012 Olympics Bouquet

Florida State Florist Association’s 2012 Convention – Paradise

Floral Designs From the 2012 FSFA Annual Convention

Florist Scammers At It Again

BIG Congrats To Doug Bates, CF – MFA Designer of the Year

Interview with Betsy Hall

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