Find Your Local Florist:Everything you want to know about flowers!
At Flower Shop Network, we’re so lucky to be able to work with many amazing local florists and we love to share their stories with you! This month, we’re highlighting Annie Lane’s Flowers, based in Royse City, TX. Owner Ashley LaBlank started Annie Lane’s two years ago. Check out what she has to say about the floral industry and advice she has for other florists.
To some, 50 years is an eternity. For others, it’s a blink of an eye. For Alvin Taylor’s Flowers, it’s a mosaic of memories and a snapshot of their journey to today. In 1971, Alvin Taylor started up the flower shop that’s now a community staple. His daughter, Judith Taylor, now runs the business in place of her father but reflects on the legacy he left behind as they reach the milestone of 50 years in business. [Read more…]
Flower Shop Network was extremely proud to be part of this year’s #PetalItForward event organized by the Society of American Florists. Seeing the smile on people’s faces as they received flowers was truly the highlight of the day. It was a beautiful reminder of how much happiness a simple rose can bring into a person’s life.
As you all may know, the #RoyalWedding was celebrated on May 19th! The world watched in awe as Prince Harry and the beautiful Meghan Markle tied the knot. Looking at the majestic floral archway at the entrance of St. George’s Chapel, got us thinking of all the floral traditions that come with the royal family. So, here are some of those traditions that have been brought to life by royal brides for centuries!
Flowers and nature are an inspiration in many ways. This inspiration is usually expressed in a visual form and the musical representation is often overlooked. Pull out your earbuds and get ready to listen to some of our favorite flower-inspired songs! [Read more…]
Growing up can be tough. Though I was blessed to have an amazing childhood, there are many emotions you cannot live without experiencing. The bittersweet hurt of a crush on a boy who does not feel the same can seem like the end of the world to a young girl. Luckily, I had a hiding place where I could really find the truth I was looking for: truth by the ole’ “he loves me; he loves me not” game.
My mom worked hard on her roses in the backyard, so to really know the truth about my 7th-grade love, I had to be sneaky. I would walk outside in my backyard. So what did I do? I would venture to my Secret Place in my own backyard, using an arbor in the back corner. It was decorated with mom’s prize roses, and sat right beside the roof. After finding a spot where my hands could get a good grip (without thorns), I could pull myself up on top of the arbor.
The best view of the sunset was just over the trees, and I was almost there. There, I would gather as many petals my hands could hold and I would begin my climb quietly onto the roof. My mother was always a stickler to my climbing routines; being caught was not an option. As I reached the peak, I could slow down. I had reached my destination.
A Whole New World
My Secret Place might have been on the rooftop of my house in small-town Lonoke, Arkansas, but from the view of the peak, I was in another world. I was Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind.” I was Elizabeth in “Pride and Prejudice.” Most importantly I was a rebel without a cause. I would spend hours on the peak watching the sun slowly make its way down the sky for the night. Those were times I did not need music. I could create it in my head, humming while rubbing rose petals between my thumb and index finger repeating “he loves me; he loves me not” until the results came out to my liking.
Before the sun fell to darkness, I would slowly make my way down the roof. Giving the rose petals one more squeeze, I would release them with all the left-over stress of middle school, and head for the door.
My Secret Place Today
Several years down the road, I was graduating, my parents were moving to Dallas, TX and my house would be put up for sale. Of all the memories I have from growing up in that house the one thing I miss the most is my mother’s prize roses, and the lessons they taught me. I should not be picking apart flowers, but receiving them instead. The wait was well worth the love I have now.
Are there flowers that remind you of home? Recreate old memories by planting them, buying them for yourself or sending to a friend. Memories can last a lifetime; it just takes someone or something to rekindle the spark.
The scent of roses at a fresh market or at the table of a nice restaurant sends me back to Valentine’s Day in third grade when I received my first bouquet of roses. Psychologists believe that specific words can evoke certain emotions in the reader. A simple word like “smile” can make one think of a sunny day in the park. I believe flowers can do the same. Red roses remind me of my first hand delivered bouquet of flowers.
The bouquet was given to me by the most important man in my life, my father. Dad was a pilot for Children’s Hospital when I was younger. His usual mornings started at 5:30am, when I was long asleep in my bed in the next room. On this particular morning I heard the blow dryer, part of my mom’s usual morning beauty routine, and the coffee maker’s sizzling drops. To my disappointment, I did not hear Dad come in and say goodbye.
Mom woke me up with her usual perky singing of the “Green Acres Theme Song.” I asked for my usual five more minutes, but that day Mom quickly flicked on the overhead light. She jumped out of the doorway to reveal my Daddy holding a bouquet of twelve beautiful roses. I can still feel my cheeks cramping from the delighted smile.
“I will always be your Valentine…”He knelt beside my bed and whispered in my ear, “I will always be your Valentine. No matter who walks into or out of your life; remember that.” After eleven years, Dad still sends me a bouquet of a dozen roses each year. The sight of a bouquet takes me back to that morning.
It’s your turn to start a new tradition in your family. Deliver your next memory with the help of your local florist.
If this tender story of love and romance doesn’t bring tears to your eyes, I don’t know what will.
“My sweet husband, John, and I were married for 46 years. Each Valentine’s Day, he’d send me the most beautiful flowers containing a note with five simple words, ‘My love for you grows.’ Four children, 46 bouquets and a lifetime of love were his legacy to me when he passed away two years ago.
“On my first Valentine’s Day alone, 10 months after I lost him, I was shocked to receive a gorgeous bouquet addressed to me… from John. Angry and heartbroken, I called the florist to say there had been a mistake. The florist replied, ‘No ma’am, it’s not a mistake. Before he passed away, your husband prepaid for many years and asked us to guarantee that you’d continue getting bouquets every Valentine’s Day.’ With my heart in my throat, I hung up the phone and read the attached card. It said, ‘My love for you is eternal.’“
What an amazing story of eternal love. This Valentine’s Day, why not start your flower traditions? Your local florist would be happy to take care of you, this year and for the many more to come.
I saw this photo being passed around the internet and had to share it with our readers. If you know what magazine (or what florist) this story came from, we would be happy to add the credit.
What’s your story? What are the biggest accomplishments in your life? You don’t have to be an astronaut to have a great story. It could be your faithful devotion to gardening, crafts or family. It could be your love of hobbies like scrapbooking, reading or climbing mountains. What story do you want to tell?
If you’re having friends over, throwing a party, or just want a little pick-me-up for yourself, why not let your florist to tell the story through flowers? Most floral designers are very creative and would love the challenge of interpreting your story through color, flowers and accessories.
These custom arrangements don’t have to be over-the-top or huge, but the subtle, creative ways flowers are arranged can tell more of a story than you might expect.
Here are some examples:
Yoga Guru – A yoga teacher wants to have a very special class with her students. She asks her florist to create something to tell the story of yoga through flowers. The florist creates something like the arrangement to the right. The bamboo-like Equisetum adds an Eastern quality to this arrangement and the way it’s standing tall and used bent reminds viewers of the flexing yoga poses.
Ask The Expert: “We are planning a memory garden, and have been looking for planets with their names or there names in them. It doesn’t matter about perennial or not. We live in Waco, TX, and it gets very hot here in the summers will into the 100s. The names are Jacob or Jake”
Flower Shop Network Expert Reply:
What a wonderful idea to choose specific flowers based on the names of those you are memorializing. Here are a few suggestions:
With thousands of flower species and cultivars available, it’s not too hard to find the names of a loved one or friend. Creating a memory garden is a very good way to remember and stay close to the memories of the departed. You might also choose flowers for your garden based on flower meanings that may be appropriate.
