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One Can’t-Miss Flower Sending Tip For November

November is a beautiful month. The weather changes from the cool first days of fall to the brisk chill that fills the air until December’s snowy cold. As fun as this weather can be for hayrides or bonfires, the chilly weather is terrible for maintaining beautiful fresh flowers. Arrangements should be carefully placed to maintain an optimal shelf life whether to be used as fall flower decorations, centerpieces, fall wedding bouquets, or the many other excellent uses for flowers this month.

Sending flowers to a friend or loved one through with the help of a local florist? He or she is probably very aware of the dangers of leaving flowers unattended in the cold. Providing the florist with the correct contact information is very helpful. When sending flowers to your loved ones, remember to provide the florist delivering your gift of flowers with this information:

  • Recipient’s name — this may seem silly or obvious but not always. If the recipient goes by one name to friends and another at work, providing the correct name may make the difference between an accepted delivery and a rejected delivery. It also saves the deliverer time and effort in sorting out the misunderstanding.
  • Full and proper address — many large cities and even some small towns have more than one street with the same name. To avoid any confusion, include all relevant information such as the street’s direction (North, East, et al), apartment number, the road’s proper indication (street, drive, avenue, et al), and any other helpful tidbits.
  • Best time to contact — Does the recipient attend school during the day? Have a night class? Work late on Thursdays? Take junior to soccer practice on Fridays? It is often helpful to include a designation for delivery such as “after 5,” “at work before 3p,” or “during the daytime.”
  • Correct phone number — Most people these days have house phones, cellular phones or both. Including a house number, cell number, work number, or combination of these may prevent the delivering florist from making several trips or arriving at an inconvenient time.

Your gift is very important and should be kept at peak quality as long as possible. Help your gift of flowers maintain its exquisite beauty as long as possible by providing proper information to avoid these flowers being left in the cold.

Need A Flower Decorating Tip For Halloween?

When spooky frights and ghastly sights have your head all in a tizzy over Halloween decorations, put your weary mind at ease with these great decorating tips!

  • Quirky jack-o-lanterns become the life of the party when used as a creative vase for fresh fall flowers. This idea is also great for pumpkin decorating parties, Halloween party ideas, or for fun daytime autumn decor without hassle. Another great perk is that flowers are much safer for children than candles.
  • Pumpkins, gourds, and squash come in a variety of colors making them perfect for lining along a walkway, adorning a stairway, decorating a mantlepiece, or as festive minis inside colorful fall flower centerpieces and arrangements.
  • Whisper a sweet hello to candy corn! The sugary confection is always one of the first signs that fall has arrived. Small containers or glasses filled with candy corn make excellent placecard holders for Halloween parties. If sending flowers for Halloween, ask your local florist to attach a small bag of candy corn to the arrangement with orange and black ribbon. Sending a gift basket? Don’t forget this unforgettable item!
  • Christmas has mistletoe; Halloween has mums. Another way to decorate for your Halloween party is by carefully placing potted chrysanthemum blooming plants around the home and garden. Chrysanthemums are easily decorated with small plastic spiders and scary toys. When lining walkways or adding color to a porch, mums scream “frighteningly fun” — and isn’t that what you’re going for?

Removing English Ivy From Exterior Of House

Ask the Expert: removing English Ivy from inside walls?
My 5-year old English Ivy plant died (I drowned it!), and I removed it’s vines from my walls. It had grown up, and along 2 interior walls, around some windows, and across some shutters. As I was removing the vines, some of the “feet” (mini-roots) stayed behind. How do I get these off the painted walls and the painted wooden shutters without ruining the paint? Jean

Kick Off The Party With Game-Day Football Flowers

Jaguar Spirit Flowers

Jaguar Spirit Flowers

If you missed the first kickoff of the official football season, don’t worry! You can still kick off the next big game with a fun football themed party. Grab your team colors and have a blast. The one thing that you can’t forget at this party is flowers. Arrangements of chocolate cosmos or other brown flowers shaped like a football will rock everyone’s socks off as a festive centerpiece. Throw in some foods in the team colors and the party is underway.

Another great idea for the women at the party is to contact your local florist for stems of flowers in the team colors. Snip the stems just enough so that the women can decorate their hair with flowers for an even more over-the-top look.

Attending someone else’s party? Don’t forget a gift of colorful flowers decorated with the team colors and perhaps even the team’s emblem emblazoned on decorative floral accessories. It’s a creative gift that your host or hostess will love.

Have any creative ideas? Scored big with game day flowers before? Share your stories by commenting below.

It’s easy to find a beautiful flower arrangement in your team colors such as this daisy and delphinium arrangement. Decorate your football party with these colorful flowers while cheering for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nothing quite shows the ferocity of the Atlanta Falcons or the San Francisco 49ers quite as well as a contemporary flower arrangement of red roses. Whatever your team colors may be, simply ask your local florist to design an arrangement with your team in mind. Let the fun and games begin!

Make Sending Flowers An Exciting Adventure!

It’s already time for another anniversary with your sweetheart? Congratulations! Whether interested in sending flowers from your local florist or delivering an anniversary arrangement in person under some clever guise, giving flowers warms the heart. It’s a fail safe way to say “I love you” this year and every year. However, sometimes you simply have to spice up the gift ideas so that your honey will feel special each time. Flower Shop Network has gone further than just delivering romantic anniversary flowers. To make your husband or wife feel special, we’re giving you another great gift idea for your anniversary this year!

Surprise your sweetie by presenting him or her with a romantic anniversary bouquet. This time instead of a traditional card or greeting card, fold up a treasure map that leads to a more special surprise. Try your hand at an authentic treasure map by drawing a dashed line from your starting point to a big “X” where the present will be. Be creative with the rest of the map by drawing pictures, lightly burning the edges of the paper or soaking it in tea, coffee, or soda for an aged finish that can still be read after drying.

The adventurous side in all of us comes out the moment we see a treasure map. Watch your love’s eyes light up as they spring to life in search of the prize at the end. The treasure can be something as simple as a sweetly decorated bathtub where a romantic bubble bath has been drawn next to a shimmering sparkle of candlelight and softly scented bath supplies. Hide smaller gifts in a drawer, cabinet, or place in a focal point in the room. Jewelry in small boxes are great for nestling among the flowers of an arrangement sitting on a simple table in the room. Another great way to hide a jewelry surprise is to fold an oversized piece of paper in half, draw an “X” on one side, then stand on the table so that it cleverly hides the ring or necklace box. My brother proposed to his wife this way so obviously this gift idea goes over well!

There are many more wonderful ways to tell your partner that you’re glad to have shared another year (or even months) with him or her. For the adventurous spirit, X marks the spot for a great anniversary! Love this idea? Used it before? Don’t forget to stop by and tell us how it worked for you.

Celebrate The Day Anniversary ArrangementCelebrate The Day with adventurous anniversary flowers!

Important Tips for Arranging Flowers at Home

Start with a clean vase:

One of the first mistakes people make when they arrange their flowers at home is to start the process with a dirty vase. If you haven’t cleaned the vase from the last time there were flowers in it, there could be bacteria or fungi in the vase that will cause your flowers to go down early.

A clean vase from your cupboard could also be a source of house dust. We all know that house dust contains all things that could be harmful to you, which are also potentially harmful to your flowers.

Be sure to start with a freshly washed vase every time and your flowers will last a lot longer!

Use lukewarm water and flower food:

Once you have a sparkling clean vase, the next step is to add water and flower food. Dragonfly Flowers On McPhillps should provides customers with one or two small packages of flower food with their bouquet purchase. When the flower was cut, it lost it’s source of water and nutrients. The flower food provided by your local florist replaces these carbohydrates and sugars typically used by the flowers and stabilizes and lowers the pH of the water. Some contain microorganism inhibitors to stop fungi and bacteria from growing on the stems and some formulas even contain un-blockers for the stems.

Simply pour the flower food into the container and add water. Swirl the container to mix it up a bit and you are done!

Your flowers are hopefully still fresh and perky when you get them, but they have certainly been through the mill. Most flowers have traveled thousands of miles, been tossed around during shipping, handled 5-10 times and cut 2 or 3 times before they even get to you. You don’t want to shock them even more with cold water when you get them, they have been through enough. Your flowers have likely been out of water for 30 minutes to a couple of hours by this time as well. Using warmer water allows them to drink much more efficiently as it slowly cools to room temperature. During this time, they are also sucking up valuable nutrients from your flower food.

Re-cut the stems – again:

You florist likely gave your flowers a fresh cut before they sent them to you, which allows them to drink more readily. Even though your flowers have been cut from their roots, where they typically get their nourishment and water, they still have the ability to draw water up the stems, which will keep their heads moist and nourished. It’s always a good idea to re-cut your flowers when you get them home to make sure that the tubes in the stems are free and clear to draw as much water as possible.

You have probably heard that you should cut the flowers on an angle. This cutting the stems on an angle provides a greater area of the stem to contact the water, and allows it to drink more freely.

Try not to use scissors to cut the stems. Cutting the stems with scissors typically compresses the stem to some extent and in doing so, will limit it’s ability to drink efficiently. A good sharp knife, like your florist uses, will do the trick!

Remove excess greens:

Your florist may or may not have removed the excess greens or leaves from the stems of your flowers. It’s a good idea to strip away these greens and make sure they are not below the water line. The flowers don’t drink through the leaves, and the large surface area of the greens provides ample space for bacteria and fungi to hitch a ride into the water and subsequently into the stems.

Display in the right area:

In order to keep your flowers looking their best for the longest period of time there are a few rules to follow for where you display them. The main points are, keep them away from excessive heat and in areas with little air movement. Heat and air movement both speed the evaporation of water from the flowers and make it more difficult for them to survive for longer periods of time.

Flower Display rules:

  • Keep flowers away from drafts
  • Don’t display arrangements on the TV (Or any other warm place, such as close to a register)
  • – Don’t display fresh flowers in direct sunlight.
  • – Don’t display flower arrangements on top of the fridge or microwave.

These few simple tips can significantly lengthen the life of your arrangement and keep your flowers looking lovely for several weeks.

Need Ideas For Decorating With Fresh Flowers?

Throwing a dinner party for a “girl’s night out” treat? Why not spice up the decorations around the dinner table with some fresh flowers from your local florist. There are always tons of flowers from which to choose. Besides, what girl doesn’t like to stop and smell the freshly cut bouquet of roses in the antique vase from your great grandmother? (I’m pretty sure the standard cliche phrase was adapted from that sentence. Really.)

There are many ways that a florist can help you throw a party in style whether it’s a formal affair or a pajama party. For example, a girl’s only bridal shower is perfectly decorated when the bride is given a special corsage. With her pretty flowers on, everyone in the room (even the entertainers) will know who the lady of the hour is. It’s a great way to make her feel special!

Throwing a pajama party? Grab a few loose stems and create a fun centerpiece for your snack table. After guys and food, it’ll be a great conversation piece!  Better still, set a colorful flower arrangement in the middle of the room where you’ll be entertaining. Crank up the tunes! Many say it’s good for the plants. Don’t forget to watch out for vase arrangements during the pillow fights though.

For your time with the girls, stop in and ask your local florist for more great flower ideas.

Friendly Sunflowers Arrangement Friendly Sunflowers arrangements are great for house parties!

Happy Anniversary To You!

Congratulations on another milestone year! Stuck on what to give your sweetie this year? It may seem cliche but it’s never wrong to send flowers on your anniversary. There are many clever ways to surprise your lovely lady or dashing beau when your anniversary rolls around again. Just to help you out, here is one sure-fire surprise that is bound to be a hit.

If your beloved’s workplace allows visitors or deliveries, send a romantic flower arrangement to your honey at work! Your lady will be the object of envy around the office for the rest of the day. She’ll have a chance to brag about how sweet you are and how much you care. You’ll earn brownie points for remembering the day without being told. You don’t have to go far to find beautiful anniversary arrangements. Flower Shop Network has a great selection of anniversary flowers that you and your sweetheart will love!

To spice up the traditional, throw in a special gift such as a teddy bear or candy. If you really want to hit a home run, include that new cd that she’s been eyeing. If she’s a dog lover but poodles are her prize, send her a bouquet of pretty flowers lovingly arranged in the arms of a stuffed poodle. Your local florist has probably seen every idea out there so don’t be afraid to ask him or her for more great ideas.

Speaking of great gift ideas, we have many more ideas for sending flowers on your anniversary so remember to visit the Bloomin’ Blog again. Did you try this gift idea and love it? Let us know!

Rainbow of Blooms ArrangementSurprise your sweetheart at work with colorful flowers!

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