Roses

Every year you see the same thing happen. Men and women leaving love to chance. You see them struggling home on the train or bus, or bouncing their bouquet in the back seat of a stuffy car-ride home. Or worse still, impatiently “on-hold” with a far-away florist too busy to take their phone order because that florist is facing a store full of last-minute orders from people who are stressed out too!

All for what? To get flowers delivered on Valentine’s Day. It’s a bit obvious don’t you think? It’s also the very worst time to place a last minute order simply because there are so many people doing the very same thing. It pretty much ensures a stressful experience all round…

That’s not very romantic - is it?

Might I suggest an alternative outcome for this Valentine’s Day? Picture this. You place your order today or tomorrow and request a delivery before the end of the week. Flowers from a reputable florist will always be beautiful for at least a week so your special someone will have them for the special day as well.

If you place your order beforehand you can be assured the greatest selection too, and be confident in the knowledge that you’ve avoided the Valentine rush. And while you’re thinking about this, add an alternate address so the delivery person has a backup location to bring your thoughtful Valentine’s Day gift.

Now that’s smart (and romantic) thinking.

On Friday 13th, don’t gamble on love. Place your order early and rest easy knowing you’re in good hands this Valentine’s Day.

Call, click or order online @ http://BrantFlorist.com

Sincerely,

Ken Bolt
Brant Florist
phone: +1.905.639.7001

This year, Valentines Day is Saturday, Feb 14, 2009.  Time to think about Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for your loved one and for those you admire.  Given the economy and the fact that it is Saturday, think about spending the day and evening at home. Saves a  lot money compared to going out for an expensive Valentines Day dinner or going away for the weekend to a hotel or resort, which is even more expensive. To make your stay at home Valentines vacation, plan on candles, music, wine, order in food and of course flowers.

Valentines Day Flowers include a whole range of choices. Red is the most popular color and roses are the most popular flower.  So the florist will receive more orders for red roses than any other flower or color. But that is traditional and one that most men dare not stray from.  But truth be known, most women prefer pastel colors and they certainly do not consider roses to be the only romantic flower! In fact, most will gush over any gift of flowers and the man that sent them.  So men, try a flower gift that might use  pinks, mauve’s, purples, creams and whites…..not all of those of course but some pleasing combination,  There are many beautiful flower varieties including alstroemeria, lilies, freesia, orchids, snap dragons, iris, daisies, birds of paradise, anthuriums, gerbera, calla lilies, tulips and lisianthus.

Best idea is to order early and ask your florist to make a bouquet with your loved one’s favorite color and favorite flowers.  Hopefully, you know at least one of those, either the color or the flower. But if not, do not despair or worry too much. Your florist will know just what to make for Valentines Day! Flower delivery is also available of course.  Remember that this year Friday, Feb 13th will be the busiest day of the year for the florists. Most office orders will be delivered that day and those have severe time limits.  If you order Valentines Flowers early you will be able to send your Valentine’s Flowers with no problem.

To the lassies, we say, men do love receiving flowers and floral gifts. Any man will be wowed if his lady sends him, Valentine Gifts Men even flowers!  But there are other floral gifts that will carry your Valentine message too.  Plants are very useful and will be very long lasting.  Fruit baskets, Gourmet Baskets and Chocolate baskets will work too………the way to a man’s heart is throigh his tummy!  All of these Valentine gifts can be trimmed for Valentine’s Day.

It is best to have your gift delivered Feb 11 or Feb 12th. Avoid that last minute frantic crunch on Feb 13 and 14th when the florists are rushed off their feet.  And you will be an even bigger hero because the first delivery to any office is highly prized.  You can be the first to show your love to the envy of everyone else in that office. Talk about Brownie Points!

Here is an office flower order gatherer/broker that normally charges a service fee of  $13.99.  For 3 days, they will not charge that and they call it a free service fee. Whoopee!

Why does the public consent to pay this service fee?  Why do they think it is worth $13.99 to order flowers via an office web site that has no flowers, no designers, and no delivery vehicles?  A web site and call center that passes every order to a REAL local florist to actually hand create the design and then deliver it. And they also retain about 30% of the dollars on the order!!  

Why does the public support this scam?  A recent post stated that another similar company had 60 million email addresses on file. Yet they have no flowers, no gifts, no creative staff, and no delivery vans. They simply collect or gather orders via their office web site and call centers to pass on to third party REAL florists who actually fill the order! Their service charge is usually $14.95.  In addition, they also retain about 30% of the order value.

On a typical $50 order, that 30% amounts to $15…….leaving $35 for the REAL florist to make and deliver the order.  With their service fees of $14 or $15, the office order gatherer/broker pockets about $30.

Let’s see…………the florist gets $35 and the office web site gets $30!!   Not hard to do the math. But isthere not something seriously wrong with that?

The public has never figured it out………….they think flowers are expensive. No wonder!! Does the public think these office web sites deserve $30 to find a REAL florist to fill the order?  They seem to……..the 3 biggest order gathering office web sites sucked in well over 15 million orders last year.

That amounts to over $45 million dollars customers wasted on office order gatherers.  Did they get any extra value for all that money?  No, all they can do is brag I ordered a big brand name and paid them lots of money I really did not have to put in their pockets.

The solution?   So simple So easy ……………just Goggle Search “Florist City State”  Place your order directly with the REAL florist who will fill your order anyways! Try that and see which route gives you more flowers and more value for your hard earned dollars.

My favorite Thanksgiving Flowers are arranged in a centerpiece for the dining room table.  This design is made with fall flowers and candles.  Orange gerbera, orange asiatic lilies, bronze mums and roses are the feature flowers with fillers and greens. Great to send as a gift or to buy for yourself.  May be ordered without candles if that is more suitable. Also, may be used for any occasion or to decorate many locations.

This design has been named The Bright Autumn Centerpiece and it is easy to see why. The colors are bright and so typical of a fall day created by nature.

This beautiful fall arrangement need not be limited to Thanksgiving.  It would be much appreciated as a birthday gift or for the office foyer. Flowers are at home almost anywhere that is free of drafts and wide temperature swings. Water daily to ensure the flowers have enough to drink. Do not place on delicate surfaces without some protection such as a plate to catch excess water.  Placing the arrangement in a cool place at night will help to prolong the life of the flowers.

Decorating your front door with a Christmas wreath is an old tradition and dates back hundreds of years. The practice of hanging wreaths dates back even further because in the 7th Century, tree branches were used to crown Olympic winners and the winners hung their wreaths for all to see.

It is unclear when the wreath moved from the wall to the door, but it’s a common well-liked practice today. Unlike the tree branches of old, today’s Christmas wreaths are typically made from fir tree garlands (often balsam fir) and then wound or wrapped into the familiar wreath shape. Decorated with pine cones, flowers, ribbons and other festive items, the Christmas wreath can also be used as a table top center piece.

The Christmas wreath is an iconic fixture at this time of year and many families ensure there is a wreath hanging on their front door before they even trim the tree and hang the lights. The Christmas wreath is such a familiar icon of the festive season that homes and offices don’t seem festive without this favorite decoration.

For families with young children, creating a Christmas wreath is a great family project and requires only patients and a little imagination. Of course the professional great Christmas wreath is very different at your local florist can provide you with many choices from different shapes, different decorations, and even different kinds of garlands or swags.

The Christmas Poinsettia has become Christmas’ most famous plant. In fact, the Christmas poinsettia plant (and in particular the red poinsettia) has become a symbol for Christmas the world over. Discovered fairly recently (by traditional standards) the poinsettia is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, who imported it from Mexico in 1828.

The legend of the Christmas poinsettia tells of a poor village boy in Mexico who wanted to give the Holy Child a gift, but had no money. In desperation, he picked some weeds on his way to church to leave as his gift. He prayed to God to help him show his love and God answered by turning the weeds into a beautiful star-shaped flower with bright red leaves. The poinsettia has been a Christmas symbol ever since.

Poinsettia plants can last weeks beyond the holidays when placed in indirect sunlight at least six hours a day. Keep it away from cold drafts and excessive heat and water your poinsettia when it feels dry. Remember at Christmas the air is dry or so you might need to water it more. After the blooming season is over, use an all-purpose fertilizer once a month for best results.

It was once believed poinsettias were poisonous, this is untrue - they are safe. However, avoid allowing your pets to eat the leaves as they will likely get diarrhea or experience vomiting. For humans though, scientific evidence of the poinsettia’s safety is ample and well documented, in fact poinsettias are actually helpful in removing pollutants from indoor air.

The history of the poinsettia plant is quite interesting. The plant is native to Mexico and came from a region near the present-day Taxco. In 1825, Joel Robert Poinsett was appointed the first US Ambassador to Mexico and discovered these plants blooming in December. A botanist himself, Poinsett sent some of the plants to his plantation in Greenville, South Carolina, where they flourished in his greenhouse. These brilliant red plants quickly became a favourite during the cold dark months of December and with over 70 million poinsettia sold nationwide each year, the poinsettia is now the number one flowering potted plant sold in north America.

Christmas gift baskets are an ideal gift to send at Christmas. Whether you are choosing a gift for one person, a family or even your fellow co-workers, a Christmas gift basket is an excellent choice. Christmas gift baskets come in all shapes and sizes, and some aren’t really “baskets” at all, and are more like wonderful surprise packages!

Christmas gift baskets are also available to suit every budget which is one of the reasons why they are so popular this time of year. In truth, there’s little distinction between a Christmas gift basket and a gift hamper although your local florist is more likely to offer the gift baskets. Christmas hampers tend to contain meats, cheeses, crackers and other food goods.

Christmas gift baskets on the other hand, tend to be themed around flowers or Christmas plants and may include candies, cards are even plush toys. Again, remember that the florist who took to order for your Christmas gift baskets, may not be the florist who fulfills your order. This means you need to check for local and seasonal variations. For example, you may order a Christmas gift basket for your Grandma who lives in a country where Christmas flowers are hard to come by. Your local florist will advise you and explain how best to address such eventualities.

For most of us though, when we order a Christmas gift basket or someone orders one for us, we don’t need to worry about the particulars. Imagine hearing a knock on the door, or having a courier arrive at work and hand deliver a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift basket complete with flowers, chocolates, fruit, plush toys, and other decoration - it’s sure to be a special treat. In fact, with changes in the work place, and the advent of the Internet, giving your fellow workers - or even your boss - a Christmas gift basket is not unusual and does wonders for team building and morale.

With todays highly trained and skilled floral designers, choosing a suitable Christmas gift basket is as easy as picking up the phone or visiting a website. Whether online, in-person or on the phone, explaining your budget, your basic ideas and a few other design option choices is really all you need to do, and the professionals take care of the rest.

Remember, the best florists always guarantee your delivery and choosing a Christmas gift basket is easy, simply pick up the phone and call your local florist - they’ll have many gift baskets for you to choose from.

Christmas flowers are unique to the holiday season, and apart from the Christmas tree they are one of the few organic items that indicate the holidays are here once more. Christmas flowers bring the soft gentle fragrance of the holiday season into your home. There are many varieties to choose from and each Christmas flower has its own story to tell.

The poinsettia’s Mexican origins tell of a little boy who wanted to take a special flower to church, and all he could find were weeds by the road. The European history of ivy and mistletoe is equally enchanting. Holly is said to bring luck, mistletoe love and good fortune, the poinsettia is said to represent belief, and the yule log (not strictly a flower by any stretch of the imagination) was supposed to ward off evil spirits.

Christmas is a special time of year and Christmas flowers simply make the season more memorable. Some Christmas flowers last longer than others, and choosing them for beauty or longevity (or both) requires some knowledge, as well as the ability to care properly for them during the holiday season.

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