To Share Our Passion and Commitment for the Education and Designing of Fresh Flowers.
 A dozen roses is a traditional Valentine’s Day gift! Valentine’s Day is a time to “impress” your love. Many looks for an extraordinary way, such as having a dozen roses delivered to a workplace. A person may look online for a florist to complete this desire. What are the options available online? I entered “Florists in Mobile,AL” in my search engine. I found an “Yelp” article “The Best 10 Florists near me in Mobile, AL”. Ten florists were listed. In the listing-one was in Mississippi, two are no longer in business, and seven are florists in Mobile. That means 30% in that sample were misleading. Does that mean they were not florists, and you would not get your order? Not necessarily. That could happen, but it probably is a wire service. The wire service may be keeping the post online because it is an older member listed that has closed the business. A wire service is an industry that was formed in the early 1900’s to give access to florists in other cities to deliver flowers. This is the way it works. The wire service enrolls florists in different cities to join their membership. When the florists join this service, their shops are listed in the cities they deliver to. When a customer wants to send to someone not in their city, the customer could call their local florist. The florist would take their order, and look in the membership listings of the wire service. The local florist would call the florist in the city of the delivery and give them the order. The delivering florist would prepare the order given by the sending florist. This is the way it was done before the internet. After the internet became so popular, many wire services offered to take the orders, online, and send it to their members. Wire services will fill an order, but they take a percentage of the price for their services. In my opinion, this is one reason why florist prices are so high online. There are a lot of hands in the orders online. In the above sample, the florist in Mississippi will call a florist in their wire service in Mobile. The delivery will come from a Mobile florist. In the Yelp Listings, there were 7 shops that are excellent florists. How do you know which one to use? Take the time to call the florists. Your order is important enough to research! It took me a few minutes to find the phone number for the shop I was reviewing. You may already know the florists listed. It will save you time, money, and reassurance for placing your order over the phone to your selected florist. Holidays are busy times for all vendors. Delivered flowers make a great impression! Make sure your delivery is to your expectations!
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Growing up in the flower shop was natural to me. I learned flower processing and arranging at an early age. As I grew older, my parents depended on me. They enticed me to work in the shop. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, or I wasn’t good at it – it was just my way of life. When Dad got sick and they decided to close Rosecliff Florist, I decided to explore other retail avenues. I began working at a big box store. It gave me a different perspective on retailing. I was on the inventory management team when the big box business decided to explore internet possibilities. It opened my mind to the opportunities that could be looked at by small florist businesses When I began looking at the current flower market in 2013, I was alarmed at the overview of the floral market as I knew it. I looked at the information that was provided on the internet. There was so much lacking. I did not see any high-end designer’s work displayed on their sites. All tutorials were for mass produced arrangements that showed no personalization of the designer. All the websites of florists that I viewed had the same designs, I could not tell a difference between shops. I did not see the floral techniques that were taught during my younger years in the florist business. Fresh flower retailing is very difficult. There is serious money to be made with fresh flowers. The fresh flower business can be overwhelming. As the consumer begins to look at options for purchasing flowers, be sure to be aware of all options. Don’t forget the local florist. As the event approaches, call the local florist to ensure the options that are desired are available. This includes the prices available.
 Join us as we wait eagerly for the release of Techniques4Flowers – Phase I! Techniques4Flowers is an educational tool for fresh flower design. It is our mission to share our passion and commitment for the education and designing of fresh flowers. I have been blogging since 2017. I have created an e-book about the posts on Techniques4Flowers. It is focused on DIY with fresh flowers obtained from grocery stores. This book shares my knowledge and ideas for fresh flowers. We hope to release it in the coming weeks! This book is to encourage the consumer to become more comfortable with fresh flowers. I look at the selection, processing, and conditioning of fresh flowers. I want the consumer to make an educated decision when purchasing fresh flowers. I can explain what to look for and actions to take when purchasing fresh flowers. I share ideas for flower arrangements for all occasions and holidays.
 I am beginning to see the results of my efforts!! I am so excited my mind is jumping!! We have the seeds planted and the colors are beginning to show! Phase I is complete and we are waiting for the last proof to be approved. We have started on Phase II – The Website! I want to release our digital book on Friday the 13th!! That is my goal. When we release the book, then I will begin talking about the website. Phase II will begin by presenting my ideas of educated information about fresh flowers. This will give individuals more information when making fresh flower decisions. This knowledge will be used to make a model of my ideas for learning about the fresh flower market. I have created four groups to assist in presenting this fresh flower model. These groups will be presented in phases and stages. These four phases are: PHASE I - DIYs PHASE II - Designers PHASE III - Shop Owners PHASE IV - Suppliers. Phase I and Stage 1 will be completed with the release of the digital book. Now, I am concentrating on Phase II - The Designer! I am putting together a list of designers from the Mobile area. I have begun talking to my friends still in the floral business. I am looking for designers I have not met. If there is a designer that needs to be highlighted in the Mobile area, please contact me by email: I will begin the website by outlining the Phases. I will present the concepts I have created to bring attention to the aspects of the fresh flower market. There are a lot of facets that many people have not considered about fresh flowers. Stage II in presenting Techniques4Flowers is the website. I have created a model to explain the points of the concepts I have built. I will present this model with the release of the website.
Stay tuned for announcements of our progress!!!  A broken stem of blooms left outside in 22-degree temperatures!! It is very important to keep fresh flowers from extreme freezing temperatures. When processing flowers for Christmas arrangements this week, I put the flowers outside with the temperature around 40 degrees. This was the temperature of our coolers in the shop. I cut the stems of flowers underwater with warm water. I then allow them to drink in a warm place for about 24 hours. After 24 hours, I place them in an area with temperatures around 40 degrees. This stem of alstroemeria broke just below the blooms and fell to the ground. The next morning, I found them covered with ice. Many people do not realize how often flowers encounter ice. Lots do not see the effect of ice on floral blooms. Flowers are delivered in refrigerated containers. The delivery may be by trucks or airplanes. I have seen flowers being delivered from areas where the refrigeration malfunctioned. While often the cargo will get hot there is also the occasion when the cargo will freeze. When the flowers begin to thaw, it may take days for the effects to become visible.  Flowers that have been properly processed and conditioned can last over a week before beginning to wilt. But flowers that have been frozen, not only will wilt but also lose all coloring and turn brown quickly. This example of the broken stem of alstroemeria took 2 days to turn brown! |
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