Thursday, September 30, 2010

Sprout's 10th Birthday Party!

We had an amazing party!!!!

This post will give those of you who couldn't make the party, a chance to see what you missed. We decided we really wanted to knock your socks off from the road, so we went all out on the exterior decor.


Flocked branches from the Netherlands are the framework of the design. Almost could have stopped right there, the effect was so colorful, but, well, we are a flower shop...


The lovely Kae-os weaving stems of orchids and tropical greens while I get down off the ladder and run around and take pictures.

Then I ran around and got more flowers, because in the midst of the party, we were slammed with funeral work. A party. Two funerals. Life goes on.


The finished effect. Hope you loved it as much as we did!!!





Some detail shots - love those phalaenopsis orchids! We had them in 3 colors. Few things have that beautiful arched drapey effect.


Criss cross of flocked sticks with orchids...


More party posts to come - Yeah!


Saturday, September 25, 2010

Yes, It's Our Birthday!!!

We are turning the big 1-0!

And we're celebrating - Saturday, September 25 from 9-3.

Join us for refreshments (yup, cupcakes - mmmmmm...!), cool Worcester-centric door prizes, drawing for great gifts such as a household membership to the Worcester Art Museum and a year of flowers, and amazing floral art both inside and outside the shop.

This is going to be one great day, never to be repeated like this (cuz you only turn 10 once), so you better find a couple minutes to come on down, have a cupcake, and let us thank you in person for helping Sprout reach this ripe old age!

Number 1 Way Sprout Differs Frm other Flower Shops!

Number 1:

We know our aster from our alstro!
We're passionate learners and love to share the newest varieties and latest trends in floral design with you.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From Other Flower Shops!

Number 2:

We're a small, local, independently owned business. As founding members of Worcester Local First, we believe it's imperative for the vibrancy and health of our community to support local independent businesses.


Thursday, September 23, 2010

Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From Other Flower Shops!

Number 3:

Francoise!








Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From OtherFlower Shops!

Number 4:

Kae!








Classic Wedding Flowers - Gardenias & Stephanotis

When you are planning your wedding bouquet, you may find yourself charged a premium for some of the flowers, particularly gardenias and stephanotis.

This is NOT because it's a wedding and florists are trying to rip you off. This pair of classic wedding flowers are a little bit different from most other flowers in the way we have to buy them and work with them and this will add to the cost of whatever they're used in.



This is how gardenias come packed - 3 blooms, no stems, with a foliage collar (which might be either real foliage or fake), packed in one plastic wrapped box.


This is how stephanotis comes packed - 25 blooms, on inch long stems, in a cellophane box.


We don't get any say in how many blossoms we buy - if you want gardenias you have to buy 3 flowers and 25 for the stephanotis. As a bride, you will find yourself paying for all of the flowers whether or not you use them.

So a good florist will tell you that if you want the groom's boutonniere to made out of stephanotis, that you should try to find a way to use the rest of the flowers, either in your bouquet, or perhaps in corsages. The same holds true with the gardenias.

You'll also note, that unlike almost every other flower, these two don't have stems! Or at least not enough stem to be of much use.

These flowers are always wired and taped to create a usable stem. The beauty of wire and tape (which FYI is how all bridal bouquets were made for years and years) is that you now have a stem that can be bent into any position you need.

The downside of wired and taped stems is the additional labor it takes to make a stem for each bloom. You're going to pay extra for that. It adds a lot of time to the construction of a bridal bouquet, and every step that adds time in labor, also adds to the price.

Gardenias and stephanotis are gorgeous, classic wedding flowers!

Only you can decide - are they worth the price?


Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From Other Flower Shops!

Number 5:

We love Worcester!





...and free Christmas wreaths to Worcester businesses...


...to the neighborhood crime watch -

we care about our community!


Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From Other Flower Shops!

Number 6:

We have a social media presence!

You can find us right here on our blog...


...Facebook...


...and Twitter!


Follow along with us by clicking on the links to the right... >>>>>>>>>>>>


Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From Other Flower Shops!


Number 7:

We love fresh flowers and we only sell what we love! No balloons, no teddy bears, no fake flowers.

Ever.

Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From Other Flower Shops!


Number 8:

We are wire service free! In this day and age with the internet and credit cards you can - gasp - talk directly with a florist in another part of the country, get exactly what you want, and save money by cutting out the middleman.


Trash the Dress Bouquets

A local photographer contacted me via Facebook at the last minute to see if we could contribute a couple bouquets to a Trash the Dress event he was hosting.

We said sure and quickly whipped up a couple impromptu looks out of random flowers left at the end of the week.


Here's a rustic fall inspired look with lots of fun textures such as quaking oats, Carolina blue juniper, grevillea foliage, feathers, broom corn, and eucalyptus nuts. Oh yeah, and a few flowers too! Celosia, dahlias, roses, freesia, sedum, and leucodendron.


A soft and asymmetrical look in pastel tones - cream, pale green, gray, honey yellow, and fleshy pinks.


White hydrangea, garden roses, dendrobium orchids, hypericum berries, sedum, dusty miller, and a few strands of fragrant jasmine tied with a strand of pearls loosely woven through.

So-o-o fun just whipping something up out of what you have with no thought about matching a fabric swatch or duplicating a photo!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From Other Flower Shops!


Number 9:


Everything is custom made fresh just for you. You get what you want and not some "Happy Sunshine Bouquet" that's been sitting in a cooler, quietly getting older and older waiting to be sold.

Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From Other Flower Shops!

In honor of our 10th birthday this week, we thought we'd do a David Letterman style Top 10 List countdown. I can't promise it will be as funny, or really even funny at all. OK, maybe it's not exactly David Letterman style, but it will definitely reflect the real Sprout!



Top 10 Ways Sprout Differs From Other Flower Shops


Number 10:

Fresh flowers in plain sight! All of our flowers are right out front where you can see, smell, and touch them. Stop and smell the roses!

stART on the Street 2010


Another post from the Wormtown Fleet:


The 2010 edition of stART on the Street was this weekend here in Worcester. Always a fabulous time, we were delighted and entertained with living statues...


...too many artists and crafters to count, perfect for early Christmas shopping...


...the sounds of music...


...roller derby demo...


...fishnet stockings every where you looked...


...hand crafted life size Lincoln Logs...


...and felting friends!

Worcester has it going on!!!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Yellow and Orange Summer Wedding

Here's a shot of my workbench with this sunny yellow and orange wedding in progress. I'm kind of spread out all over the place and it may look a mess, but there are check lists and highlighters and it all makes sense to me when I'm in it.


Bridal bouquet with yellow mini callas, cymbidium orchids, freesia, ornothogalum, mokara, roses in several shades of orange, and pieris buds for texture.


The maids' bouquets were similar to the bride's but with a little more orange...


...in the form of luscious summer dahlias! Also, off to the upper left in this pic you can see the zinnia I'm obsessed with...it has so many layers of petals it doesn't even resemble a zinnia any more!


The moms and grandmothers went for pin on corsages in more neutral toned callas. Yes, that is a touch of wire you see in the bows...a marriage of traditional and modern, eh?


The men's boutonnieres are classics in bright yellow and mango callas. The pieris accents in the women's bouquets is carried through here.


Citrus fresh aisle decor.


Summery sunshiney happy wedding day!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...