New Postings on Thursday!
 The mockup is finished!! After many years of talking about it, now is the time to act! This is Phase 1 of Techniques4Flowers.com! Over 4 years ago, I began blogging about different ideas for creating arrangements from flowers in the grocery stores. Then, I added techniques for looking for the freshest flowers, making flowers last longer, tools we used in our shop, and other techniques to encourage flower arranging. These weekly posts I have made into a book – Techniques4Flowers. This book will be in an eBook format. Sales will be by membership subscription. Membership is $ 4.99 a month, with an introductory offer of 6 months for the price of one month. Pre-orders will begin January 1, 2022. The store on my blog will open at midnight. We hope to have the book available by January 13, 2022. I am so excited to complete this phase of Techniques4Flowers.com!
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 Our family business from 1967 to 1992. The internet has dramatically changed consumer marketing! When my parents closed the business, 30 years ago, the internet was used by researchers. Not until the 1990’s did the internet become available to the consumer. It was linked by telephone connections, which took a long time to connect compared to the current connection time. The internet would not be utilized today if the connection time was the same as when the internet was first introduced! Plus, the noise it made trying to get to the connection! How did one operate a flower business before the internet? There were a large number of marketing avenues available to the flower shop owners. These included Trade Associations on the retail side and the wholesale side. Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association (WF&FSA) represents the perishable and non-perishable wholesaler. The florist owners has Society of American Florists and had Florist Associations at the State and Local levels. Another marketing avenue was the Wire Services. Our major marketing tool was the telephone! Most sales were phone calls. Credit cards were verified via the telephone. Wire service orders were conducted over phone calls. A major advertising tool was the Yellow pages of the local phone book. Methods of advertising were local print ads, usually promotions of local events such as programs from football games, yearbooks of local schools, pageants, and other special events. Direct mail was another avenue that was popular. Seasonal mailings were done with special promotions. But, in my opinion, the most effective method of advertising was word of mouth advertising. The best publicity of our business was the designs that were created by Rosecliff Florist. The most effective promotion was customer service! Many customers were long time consumers that became friends and told their other friends about Rosecliff Florist! This can snowball into a very productive business! The relationship between the business and customer can last long after the business dealings are complete. Small businesses add variety to merchandise options. Small businesses reflect the culture of the owners. Not every florist should be the same! The talent of the business can reflect the ethnical background of the community. This is something that can be abandoned if not used. Small businesses are an essential component of the United States economy. Support small businesses at every opportunity! I would like to wish all “Merry Christmas”!! I have exciting news to share in next week’s post. CHECK IT OUT.  Trimmings from the Christmas tree can be used to create a table centerpiece. When our children were in elementary school, I fixed the same arrangements for all their teachers. Christmas tree trimmings can be saved and cut up to be used for small centerpieces for gifts. Simple bowls, such as cereal bowls, are excellent containers for these centerpieces.  It is amazing to me the amount of greenery I can get from just a few Christmas Tree branches! The trick is to cut the limbs into smaller pieces. Look at each branch.  Look for the thickest stem of the branch. Look for small clusters of limbs. Cut close to the thick stem of the branch to create these clusters.
As I cut each piece of greenery, I cut on an angle. Cutting a stem on an angle gives a finished look. Remember, make the cuts close to the thick stem or at the base of clusters. I use a rose stripper to remove the needles and bark from the base of each cutting. This allows the greenery to drink water and simpler to place the stem into wet floral foam. I make a bow effect in the arrangement by placing loops of ribbon throughout the arrangement. Place the loops on wood picks and secure with the floral wrap tape. Place the picks in the floral foam. Add streamers to wood picks and place at the ends of the tray. I used miniature carnations as the focal flowers for this arrangement.. I used Snowflake Pom-poms as the filler flowers. Place these blooms lower than the miniature carnations. Remember to place the blooms at various heights, with no blooms touching each other. Be sure to place blooms of the pom-poms close to the floral foam. This gives the arrangement depth.  Create a “Flower Cooler” to help condition fresh cut blooms!! At Rosecliff Florist, we had a lot of customers that commented on the longtime freshness of the blooms in our arrangements. In my opinion, this was because of the steps we took to condition the flowers. We took these steps days before the flowers were used. Make your fresh cut blooms last longer by following the steps used by florists.
Let’s look at those steps: Select fresh blooms. Cut flower stems underwater. Place cut stems in warm water. Allow flowers to drink overnight. Place in cooler for 24 hours. Fill container with water and arrange flowers. Keep water in container clean by changing water frequently. Look for flowers that have bright green leaves, blooms, and some blooms that are still in the bud stage. Centers of the blooms should be firm. Outer petals should have very few blemishes. Cut the stems of the flowers underwater, in warm water conditioned with floral preservative. Place the cut flowers in a clean, filled with warm water and floral preservative. Allow the flowers to drink in a warm area at least overnight. In flower shops, after the flowers have drank overnight, the containers are placed in a cooler for about 24 hours. Temperature is about 37 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. I simulate a cooler by placing the vessels of flowers in open ice chests filled with ice. Place the ice chest of flowers in a space that is dark and well ventilated. Allow the flowers to remain in the cooling area about 24 hours. Add more ice if needed to keep the water cool. The water temperature should be the cool beer temperature! When arranging the flowers for a floral design, fill the vase with fresh, warm that has floral presentative added. These steps should also benefit flowers out of the garden!
Fresh flowers with produce or with the beer – Where do they last longer? When looking for fresh flowers in the grocery stores, placement of the selections of flowers can alter the freshness of the blooms. Much research has been done that looks at the shelf life of fresh cut flowers. When fresh flowers were introduced in the grocery stores in the 1970’s, they were placed in the produce department. That is where the grocers positioned them. Cooler units were filled with fragrance and color. No one told them. They are cutting the shelf life of the flowers in half.
Fresh cut flowers are processed and displayed in containers of cold water. This water is usually treated with a flower preservative and at a temperature of about 37 degrees Fahrenheit. The flowers get their nutrients from this water. Produce and citrus fruits give off ethylene gas. This natural gas is produced in the ripening process of the fruits and vegetables. Ethylene gas is actually a plant hormone that regulates a plant’s growth and development. This can significantly cause fresh cut flowers to mature quicker, cutting the longevity of the blooms. Citrus fruits and lettuce produce higher amounts of this gas. Recently, I visited a new grocery store. In one corner was a cooler the size of a room, filled with beer displays. All of the bottles and boxes are sealed. This would be an optimum place to display fresh flowers The air around the flowers in the produce department contain a gas, but the air in a beer cooler does not. |
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