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The Creative Process Of Local Florist – Blossom Shop

Blossom Shop, Strasburg COTake a peek inside the creative mind of a florist as they design something truly unique for a special someone. This is a story shared with us by Blossom Shop in Strasburg CO.

I got a wire order over the phone from another flower shop. I was pleasantly surprised to get a very good budget for a sympathy arrangement and no specifics other than they would like a nice fall arrangement if you can do that otherwise…

So I got to thinking, I wanted to do several matching pieces, something really large in a basket. I just knew I wanted it to be creative, but not something they might dislike being too interesting.

Getting Inspiration

Squre wreath example from Blossom ShopSo I took a tour of my shop a few times, front and back, to see what sizes and different containers that I might want to use.  Some of my best-liked arrangements come from me finding something I can’t seem to get rid of (container wise) and making it beautiful with flowers. So I found these square wreath forms that I’ve yet to sell; one, because they have structure in the middle for placing a picture or something of the like, and two, they are a big size. I have yet to convince anyone to let me customize the center or pay enough so I could do something “interesting”.

So I grabbed one on those bad boys and got the wheels spinning. I used the leaf-looking ribbon to cover the back. To make that interesting I wove 10 lengths of that ribbon and covered all that maché and the center structure. After soaking it I laid it flat to start my designing.

Bringing It All Together

I covered the center structure with fall-colored, preserved leaves. Then I did the four corners, each with a different type of green to add interest, and then filled in with beautiful fall flowers. [Read more…]

Thanksgiving Is Just Around The Corner…

If you haven’t decided what you’re bringing to the family or friends get-together… your local florist still has you covered!

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Click to see more ideas for Thanksgiving centerpieces, arrangements, and cornucopias.

Thanksgiving is the time of year for making family memories. What do you remember from early Thanksgivings with family? Grandma’s dressing and desserts, or was it the hustle and bustle of family coming together to laugh and love with each other? Probably a good mixture of both. These memories we make during Thanksgiving last for a lifetime. Make sure your extended family takes away special memories of food, family and the beauty of the fall harvest.

Whether this Thanksgiving is at your home, or at a family or friends, you can help share the beauty of fall through flowers – always tasteful. Flowers make a wonderful hostess gift to bring.

Your fall decor is a tradition from long ago when our ancestors where still closely connected with the changing of seasons and a bountiful Thanksgiving meant security for the upcoming winter. Celebrate what you have to be thankful for; all of the bounty in your life.

Just remember, show your thanks to your community by shopping local this holiday.

 

Florist Friday Recap 11/10 – 11/16: Floral Romance

Fall romance is in the air this week as most of our florists’ contributions this week are of their beautiful wedding design work. For those of you who don’t follow our blog, every Friday we do a recap of all the beautiful flower arrangement photos shared with us on our Facebook page by local florists all across the US & Canada. Without further adieu, let’s get on with the pictures!

Wedding & Event Flower Pictures

Libby's Flowers & Gifts, Elberton GA

Wedding arch by Libby's Flowers & Gifts, Elberton GA

Outdoor wedding flowers by Libby’s Flowers & Gifts, Elberton GA

“Overhead Swag for wedding at Lake Lanier Islands.”

Wedding bouquet by Alma Blooms, Alma WI

Wedding bouquet by Alma Blooms, Alma WI

“Close up of a bridesmaid bouquet.”

[Read more…]

FSN Thanksgiving 2012

Mouth watering yet?

Today we had a feast at FSN! It was Thanksgiving and everyone brought their own delicious contribution to fill all of our buffet tables to the brim. Ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes… you name it, we probably ate it today!

That doesn’t mean we aren’t doing our part to help those that need it. Since school started back, we’ve donated hundreds of items to our local food bank’s School Backpack Program to help students who may not get all that they need at home. Because it’s an ongoing competition between our departments, we have given a ton!

Here are more pictures from today’s Thanksgiving feast!

[Read more…]

What Is Causing My Plant To Drip Sap?

Ask the Plant Expert:

I am finding odd brown colored fluid dripping on the sides of my outdoor potted plant. What is causing it, and how can I get rid of it? I can’t see anywhere on the leaves where it could be coming from. Thank you. – Lisa

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:

It looks like you might have damage from borers. Did you happen to see any ants climbing up the trees? Ants aren’t a problem, but they often indicate that borers are in your tree. Borers are a problem. Borers are a larvea, usually placed by a type of beetle into the trunk of trees and plants. The borers cause damage from the inside out, often creating a hole in which the sap of the tree is released. What kind of plant/tree is it?

Your local garden center nursery will have the right chemical to kill the borers.

All-Flower Floats In This Parade Will Blow Your Mind!

Bloemencorso Zundert Flower Float

I just saw photos from the 2012 Bloemencorso Zundert flower parade in Zundert Netherlands. To say the least.. mind blown!

Bloemencorso Zundert is the largest flower parade in the world entirely made by volunteers. The parade takes place on the first Sunday of September. Foats are large artworks made of steel wire, cardboard, papier-mâché and flowers.

In the Bloemencorso Zundert, only dahlias are used to decorate the objects, and it takes thousands of them just to cover one float.  The huge floats are made by twenty different hamlets and each of them consists of hundreds of builders, aged 1 to 100, who are all equally crazy about the bloemencorso.

Bloemencorso Zundert Flower Float

The older members of the hamlet are often responsible for planting and growing the dahlias, while the younger ones build the float in large temporary tents that are built exclusively for the event.  The bloemencorso is also a competition. A professional and independent jury decides which float is the most beautiful and which hamlet will be crowned the winner of that year.

[Read more…]

Plant Expert Needs Help With Queensland Plant

Ask the Expert:

Could you please identify this plant. We live in Queensland Australia. It is a soft stemmed plant with a long tap root that is purple in colour. – Errol

Queensland Plant Queensland Plant Flower Buds

Plant Expert Reply:
Errol,

Sorry to be so tardy in with my identification, but I am having a difficult time. My initial thought was that it was a type of Datura or Brugmansia. However, the blooms of these plants are large and appear at the end of the stalk rather than on the stems. The bloom look like they belong to Phytolacca Americana. So I am not really sure.

Hopefully one of the blog reader will have an idea of what this plant is. READERS PLEASE HELP IDENTIFY THIS PLANT.

Thanksgiving Flowers – Always Tasteful!

Thanksgiving Day FlowersWith Thanksgiving on the horizon, most everyone’s thoughts this November are on the tasty, tasty food we will enjoy on the 22nd. No matter if it’s a extravagant get-together with extended family, or just a small gathering of friends, Thanksgiving is a very special time of closeness.

Skip the Casserole, Bring Flowers

If you’re attending a Thanksgiving party, you can’t arrive empty handed. Sure, you can bring another green bean casserole.. but why not something always tasteful — fall flowers!? They are a great way to say ‘Thanks!” to your hostess for all of her hard work. You’ll never have to worry about bringing the same dish as someone else..

Remember To Buy Local!

Just remember, before you head over to Grandma’s, stop by your local flower shop and pick up a beautiful fall bouquet as your dish to pass. Fall flowers – always tasteful for Thanksgiving dinner.

Florist Friday Recap 11/3 – 11/9: Autumn Hues

Time for this week’s Friday Recap! The response this week was almost overwhelming. We’ve got so many great flower arrangement photos in today’s lineup. You don’t want to miss this post! You can definitely tell we are well into fall from all of the beautiful colors of autumn — the reds, browns, yellows.. You’ll see all our favorite autumn hues in today’s post… now onto the pictures!

Fall Flower Arrangements

Fall flowers by Ann's Balloons & Flowers, Birmingham AL

Fall flowers by Ann’s Balloons & Flowers, Birmingham AL

“Fall Arrangement”

Sunflower arrangement by Bev's Floral & Gifts, Parowan UT

[Read more…]

Wedding Day Flower Ideas

While I was looking through the FSN archives, I noticed two really amazing wedding flower articles that really should not be missed for anyone planning their wedding flowers.

Wedding flowers by Botanica Creations, Klamath Falls ORWedding Flower Details

This post is filled with great ideas to add those finishing touches to your wedding day flowers. From personal flowers for your wedding party, to new ideas for the ring bearer, definitely worth the read! Not only is there ideas for where to put flowers, it also gives great flower and accessory suggestions to make sure your wedding decorations won’t soon be forgotten. Click to read more about Wedding Flower Details.

Wedding Ceremony & Reception Flower Ideas

This oldie-but-goodie post has even more great ideas that even I had never thought of (and I’ve been writing about flowers for almost 4 years now; our archives are so massive!). Great tips for aisle flowers, reception ideas, guestbook flowers, centerpieces and even more that you won’t expect! If you need wedding flower ideas, click here!

Although these blog posts were written way back in 2002, they’re chock full of GREAT ideas and deserve a little spotlight. So, go check them out!

Image credit: Wedding flowers by Botanica Creations, Klamath Falls OR