Greening the Mean Streets of Worcester - Guerrilla Gardening

UPDATE!

(Cue theme from Mission Impossible)

Seed bombs are assembled and waiting to be hurled! Bombers can collect their projectiles at Sprout, Friday May 1st, between 7:30 - 8:00pm.

We'll form groups then and split up to cover more areas. We did some brainstorming about where to throw them and have a decent list that covers a variety of spots in the city.

Thanks to everyone who showed up to make seed bombs! Muddy hands make light work!

A Dead Tree of a Different Sort

OK, just a couple days ago, over at the Studio G blog, I read about painted dead trees. I never heard of this before. Never seen it. Not an inkling.

Today, while leaving Art in Bloom at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, what did I spy? Why a dead tree, nicely tricked out in pink and green paint! Don't know if that was a special treat for Art in Bloomers, or it was always there, but I have to say I love a landscape that makes me laugh!

Greening the Mean Streets of Worcester - International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day

The Guerrilla Gardening movement celebrates spring with International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day on May 1st. The sunflower idea started in Brussels last year and is now spreading!

How can we make this happen in Worcester MA?! Any one out there up for making seed bombs and greening an otherwise neglected corner of the city? I'll buy the seeds and soil! I'm thinking Chandler St. could use the boost, any where else come to mind??!!

What do people think about this?

Museum of Fine Arts Boston - Art in Bloom

My assistant, Francoise, and I are getting psyched to go to the MFA's Art in Bloom on Monday! We have tickets to see Rebecca Cole do a demo and the rest of the day to admire all the floral designer's hard work through out the galleries.

I'll be taking lots of pictures (I had only just gotten my digital camera a week before this last year and no idea how to adjust the settings - so my pictures were pretty poor. Not that you'd know that, since I didn't have the blog going then either! Much progress in the past year....) and posting next week, so keep your eyes peeled for flower love and inspiration!

Irony or Spring in New England

I think this photo sums up spring in Worcester MA - beautiful flowering branches, snow shovels, and salt for my sidewalk.

I've been wanting to put the shovels away for weeks now, but my delivery guy keeps saying, "No, we have to wait a few more weeks. It could snow. It's New England. It's happened before. You'll curse us."

I have to remind myself, that this is the land of the Red Sox, where pessimism and optimism walk hand in hand!

Prom Hair Flowers

Our friend and neighbor Mataiah dropped by yesterday and we got her to stand still long enough to model some prom hair flowers for us! First photo shows some green dendrobium orchids with a little bling.

Here are some fabulous fuchsia roses and a touch of greenery, also with some added bling.

And our other neighbor was a little shy, but here we have a pony tail with a dendrobium orchid accent.

There are so many ways to finish off your prom look with flowers!

Best Florist in Worcester 2009!

It's pat on the back time! We've been named Worcester Magazine's Best of Worcester Florist 2009. We are still surprised every time this happens, very happily surprised. :-)

This is our 6th win in the eight years we've been open and we are ever so grateful to everyone who voted. Thank you so much!

More to report after we pick up our award at the party in two weeks - see you there!

PS There's a rumor we may have won another award...but that will have to wait for "official" confirmation. Shhh....!

Fresh From the Flower Market

So sorry for getting this up a day late - it was administrative professionals day yesterday and all the orders came in last minute, and then I went to an artist's open studio last night, also very last minute, and didn't get home till late and was pooped after such a long day - whew!

Any how, some nice gerbera this week! Super bright!

Picked up these foxgloves, very old fashioned garden flowers. I would never promise a client foxgloves, as this is one of the flowers that shows up at random in the flower market so you never know if they're available, but I love to get them when I see them.

Tow types of kangaroo paws this week - I've been told by a well traveled client that the red ones on the right are more what you're apt to see in Australia.

And a nice detail of ornothagalum arabicum...they have tall, smooth stems which you can't see, and these clusters of blooms and buds at the top. They tend to come in with only a few blossoms open, but they're fun to watch develop and often look their best in about a week.

In addition, we also have this week:

hydrangeas -white, light blue, baby green
snap dragon - pink and yellow
liatris
mini callas
debrobium orchids - 3 colors
oncidium orchids
freesia - fragrant yellow
french tulips
godetia
iris - California, purple, blue, yellow
leucodendron 'Jester'
mokara orchids - orange
pin cushion protea - two types
roses - several colors
green spiders
spray roses - several colors
aralia
bells of Ireland
feather fern
tuberose - mmm....very fragrant!
boronia - get it while you can!
celosia - two colors
stock - California, white and lilac
greveillea 'Ivanhoe'
'French' lavender
lilac - Holland
red hypericum
solomon's seal
hydrangea - antique blue-green, Peru
papyrus
bird of paradise
tulips
filed daffodils
lisianthus
bearded iris - the first of the season
umbrella fern
allium 'Purple Sensation'

Ranunculus Love!

I was looking for a way to show off these red ranunculus in a rather tallish vase for their not very tall stems. I love ranunculus for their feminine swirl of petals, like some kind of sexy can-can dancer's crinoline.

I think the glossy black ti leaves and white flowering plum branches do the trick, if I say so myself!

Wedding Centerpiece Sample

A couple quick shots of a sample centerpiece we did last week for a June wedding. Yummy bright colors!

Raspberry peonies, baby green hydrangea, gerbera in orange and fuchsia, lilac stock, 'Shamrock' mums, 'Circus' and 'Shanty' roses, and ivy. For those of you pricing things out there, this one comes in at $125.

Mother's Day Spending Drop Predicted

The National Retail Federation is predicting consumer spending for Mother's Day will decline by 11% with flowers spending dropping by 5%.

Guess I'll adjust my buying accordingly...

The Cost of Wedding Flowers or Would You Bring Eggs to the Baker?

I'm not sure why it's considered acceptable, but when it comes to wedding centerpieces everyone seems to think it's OK to provide their own vases to save money.

Why is it unacceptable for florists to make a living from the products we sell? I love what I do, but love doesn't pay the bills. Is there something about florists that makes people think we're all doing this as a hobby and a profit margin (small as it is) is irrelevant?

Just because you can get a good deal on eggs at Costco or Sam's Club, would you bring eggs to the baker? Would you bring steak to the caterer and say "I want you to cook it your way, but use my steak and charge me less?" No! Of course not! So why is it OK to do that to the florists?

I'm not talking about filling a customer's vase for everyday occasions, we're more than happy to do that. And certainly for a wedding we would use a client's family heirlooms or something that was handcrafted just for them. But a glass vase? Is it unreasonable to ask that you support your local florist who is putting all their talent and creativity into your wedding as opposed to the national big box discount retailer?

Really, would you bring eggs to the baker???

Spring Green Wedding - Highfields Country Club, Grafton MA

Sweet spring green April bridal bouquet - 'Versilia' and 'Creme de la creme' roses, white hydrangea, green ranunculus, berzelia berries, star of bethlehem, lysimachia, 'Limoncello' spray roses, pale yellow freesia, and light green dendrobium orchids.

Maids all in green - like the grass that's just starting to come out here finally! 'Athos' poms, berzelia berries, dendrobium orchids, 'Shamrock' mums, hypericum berries, and ranunculus all wrapped up with variegated hala leaves.

Ceremony and reception all in the same room, so we framed the couple with simple vases of bells of Ireland.

Centerpieces were an eclectic assortment of glass vases filled with simple blossoms in shades of yellow, green, and white.

Daffodils feel really right in April!

Your Mom Rocks!

And you want all the world to know, or at least all of Worcester!

In honor of moms everywhere, we'd like to recognize your mom, whether near or far, living or not, by hanging her picture in our shop window in time for Mother's Day.

Drop off your mom's photo at Sprout and be entered to win a $50 bouquet of flowers!

What we need:

• Your mom's picture, any size up to 8"x10"
• Her name; your name, address, phone, email, so we can contact you if you win
• Photos due by April 30th 2009
• Random drawing for flowers held May 1st 2009
• Don't submit original photos - copies only - as we're unable to return them

One way to show Mom your love, and you might win free flowers in time for Mother's Day too!

The Cost of Wedding Flowers - Centerpiece

From the current Martha Stewart Weddings issue - white hydrangeas, green viburnum, and green dianthus barbatus in white ceramic rectangle container - $246.

This Martha-piece prices out lower than the others in my previous post largely because the container is extremely narrow. I took this into account as I added up the number of flowers and used a number that was reasonable for the size container.

FYI, I've laid out ribbon like this before on tables and it's an awesome look, but a major undertaking if you have to do 20 tables! It took me hours and since it was in a tent I had to contend with the wind; not something I'd care to do again. :-/

Fresh From the Flower Market

Yes! That's my beloved boronia peeking out behind the red ginger! Around for a couple more weeks...

These are oriental hybrid lilies called 'Yelloween'. People feel very strongly one way or the other about the scent of oriental lilies, but I don't find the yellow ones to be as overpowering as their pink cousins.

And finally, some yellow eremurus or foxtail lilies. Not even remotely lily-like, but definitely bearing a strong resemblance to a fox's tail!

In addition, we also have this week:

'Jade' trachellium
rose - 'Circus'
spray roses
mini callas
snapdragon - yellow, white
bells of Ireland
large white callas
dedrobium orchids - lavender, purple, white
hybrid pink oriental lily
iris - yellow, light blue
hydrangea - light blue, baby green, monster big white ones, and some bright purple blue
tulips
green spiders
'Kermit' poms
rainbow asters
orange mokara orchids
sweet william
veronica
aralia
French ranunculus
psiticorum
sunflower
ornithogalum dubium
umbrella fern
waxflower
lisianthus
novelty daffodils
bird of paradise
kangaroo paw - yellow
stock
anemone
phlox
campanula
peach branches - New Jersey
delphinium

The Cost of Wedding Flowers - Centerpieces

To give you some idea of what the flowers you see in bridal magazines really cost, I've borrowed a couple photos of centerpieces from Martha Stewart Weddings and priced them out for you.


Centerpiece #1 in purples and browns with roses, succulents, and fern curls in cast iron urn. $684.

Centerpiece #2 in orange and yellow with roses, dahlias, crab apples, and viburnum berries. $490.

Centerpiece #3 all ranunculus in shades of yellow in a ceramic urn. $822.

Now you're wondering where I got those crazy prices from! Flowers, baby, flowers! Martha loves her flowers and uses lots of them.

I'm sure the prices I gave can be disputed, but here's how the numbers work:

1. Count the number of blossoms of each type of flower. Multiply this by 2 since you can only see half of the centerpiece in the photo.
2. Multiply the total number of each type of blossom by what they cost retail per stem.
3. Add all those prices up.
4. Add in price of container and any other floral supplies.
5. Multiply this total by 50% for labor.
6. Add labor figure to total for flowers and supplies for final price.

Every florist uses a different formula for their pricing structure, but this is mine and not that unusual. Even using different formulas, a lot of florists will end up priced out about the same.

I know you're looking at that 50% for labor and thinking that's insane, but all those flowers don't arrange themselves, and depending on your florist, any where from 1/4 to 1/2 of the cost of your flower arrangements is the labor it takes to make them, with my 1/3 falling somewhere in the middle. (Yes, 50% of materials costs equals 33% of the total cost of the arrangement - $200 of materials, times 50% for labor of $100, adds up to $300, with 33% of your cost as labor. There's a lot of math when you're a florist!)

Magazine flowers are arranged to make a nice photograph, actually a more than nice photograph, and while I'm sure every photo shoot has a budget, I'm sure the retail price of the arrangement is not a major consideration.

Keep in mind, these are basic round centerpieces, nothing even very tricky construction-wise, which can add to the cost. It's mostly the sheer volume of flowers - that brown and purple piece has easily $70 of fern curls alone!

Repeat after me - flowers in abundance cost more!

Easter

Not much time for photographing Easter flowers, but had to snap this one quick before it's picked up. Customer dropped off this giant bowl with instructions that she liked yellow and had a nautical theme to the room. Hope we got what she was looking for!

Fresh From the Flower Market

Forgot to take my camera so photos to be added later!

Here we go!

Pretty lime green dendrobium orchids...

...massive pink hydrangeas...

...and mini cymbidium orchids all in a row!

This week, for all your happy holiday and non-holiday purchases, we have:

'Yelloween' lily
hydrangea - white and light blue
debrobium orchids - assorted colors
tulips - all different types
garden rose - yummy fragrant pale pink
bells of Ireland
psiticorum
freesia
iris - several colors
umbrella fern
novelty daffodils
sunflowers - two sizes
jumbo pink hydrangea - 2 shades
roses - raspberry 2 toned, and a new lavender
lisianthus
lilac - California
hybrid delphinium - blues and lavender
pincushion protea - orange
ginger - pink and red this week
gerbera - lots of colors!
boronia - you know how happy this makes me!!!
light green spiders
lysimachia
bird of paradise
campanula - purple
hypericum - red
kangaroo paw - yellow
'Ivanhoe' grevillea
ornithogalum arabicum
eremurus - Holland - yellow
stock - California, several colors
flowering peach branches - California
leucodendron
medium blue hydrangea
alstroemeria - 2 colors
asters
ornithogalum dubium
heather
pink hybrid lily
daisy poms
purple spiders
snapdragon - local
spray roses - 'Giselle Follies' and another color I can't remember
sweet william
'Jade' trachellium

The Cost of Wedding Flowers

We’ve observed that even with our wedding flower prices readily available, and even with folks being ever so much more budget aware, brides are still caught off guard by the price of their wedding flowers.

A bride called recently wanting to know if there was any wiggle room in our pricing as she had eight bridesmaids. The smart mouth me wanted to say, wasn’t it obvious that 8 maids’ flowers would cost more than say 3 maids’ flowers, but I refrained.

The truth is, there is wiggle room, but we need you to wiggle back. There are values to be found, but it usually means not committing to specific flower varieties, as that allows me to play the market and choose flowers that are the best value the week of your wedding. It means not being a flower snob – those burnt orange mini callas you so love almost triple in price the month of October. Do you still love them now? It can also mean incorporating greenery into the maids’ bouquets, and not having that flower on flower look.

Say it with me – flowers in abundance cost more.

I’ve priced out some of the centerpieces you see in bridal magazines - $200, $400, $1000+! No exaggeration. Even the simplest looks from a magazine are beyond the budgets of most.

Say it with me – flowers in abundance cost more.

If you have 200 hundred guests and you decide to seat them 8 to a table, as opposed to 10 at a table, you have just gone from 20 centerpieces to 25, an increase of 25%! Honestly, I hate to be crowded as much as the next guy at a party, but you need to take into consideration what that does to your flower budget. I sometimes think people fail to do the math – 8 maids > 3 maids or 25 centerpieces > 20 centerpieces.

Say it with me – flowers in abundance cost more.

More to come on wedding flower pricing in another post!

Prom Flower Trend

This is the trend we've noticed -

The boy doesn't order the flowers any more.
His mother does.
By phone.

No opportunity to customize or personalize the flowers. All the information we get about the girl is "the dress is pink". Nothing about her personality or style or taste. We don't know if she's Paris Hilton's BFF who would love some bling or an earthy eco-girl who wants something recycled with a small carbon footprint.

(And don't even get me going about how the mom also picks the flowers up and pays for them.)

Flower Carpet

Had to share these pictures with you all that a friend emailed me! Sorry for the lack of attribution, but I have no idea where they originated...Fwd...Fwd...Fwd...

Wouldn't it be amazing to see even a fraction of this in front of Worcester's City Hall??!!

Prom Flowers

A few examples of our prom work for you to check out.

This first set is a little tropical and trendy - think Moulin Rouge.

Ranunculus boutonniere with feather accent and silver wire wrapped stem.

Wrist corsage with ranunculus, spray roses, feather swoosh, and some added bling!

A lemon-lime set in a more classic style - very refreshing!

This wrist corsage features butter yellow lisianthus with its rose-like blossoms, and lime green dendrobium orchids.

A coordinating combo in a men's boutonniere.

And of course, the timeless bouquet or nosegay. Hot pink roses, fuchsia spray roses, plum dianthus, and purple waxflower. Would love to add some bling to this!

A few other options for the guys...!

And not to be outshone, the ladies have some other choices as well. These photos were taken at the Unique Boutik on Highland Street in Worcester. They have some amazing vintage pieces and a great eye for putting a look together, especially for the individualist.

Prices:

• Wrist corsages - $35+
• Bouquets, nosegay, or presentation bouquet - $35+
• Boutonnieres - $10+
• Bling - $10 each