Mains Florist Happenings

Valentine Pricing

emains — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:10:49 +0000

Every year we have to deal with the issue of what to do about pricing at Valentine’s Day. The sad truth is that the growers and wholesalers raise the prices to the retailers for this holiday. Whether the short supplies are real or imagined, that is the excuse that is given. Consequently the retailer has to raise their prices in order to make a profit on this busy holiday. The part that is unfair in this scenario is that the public thinks that the retailer is just being greedy and raising their price simply because they “can”. I can tell you that I for one would be much happier if we did not have to raise our prices and did not have to endure this assumption by the public that we are somehow gouging. I can also tell you that we do not raise the prices in the same proportion as our regular pricing. In other words we make a larger percentage of profit on everyday orders than we do on Valentine’s Day orders. We raise the prices only enough to help defray the higher cost to us.

Thanksgiving

emains — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:30:17 +0000

Cornucopia special

When families and friends gather together to celebrate this day, don’t forget the flowers! The cornucopia, or horn of plenty, has been a Thanksgiving tradition for many years. They make a great centerpiece or accent piece for any home. If you can’t be there for the holiday, send one to let them know you are thinking about them, or send or take one with you as a hostess gift.

“What is that beautiful red flower I see in people’s yards?”

emains — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 05:12:57 +0000

This is a question that we get nearly daily this time of the year in the florist shop. The answer is Crocosmia. It is also known as Montbretia. Not only is this particular variety valued for it’s beautiful red flowers, but the stalky grass-like foliage is also makes for a beautiful garden plant. It is grown originally from a bulb. The blooms are cut and used by florists as accent or filler flowers. So the next time you come into the shop and you want to sound like you “know your

Crocosmia

stuff” ask the person that is waiting on you if we happen to have any Crocosmia. Incidentally this picture was taken on the Washington County Courthouse lawn with my iPhone 4.

Memorial Day

emains — Mon, 23 May 2011 17:42:39 +0000

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. There are many stories concerning the origin of the holiday with several states claiming ownership. It is believed that organized women’s groups in the South decorated the graves of Civil War dead. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. Today we have expanded the holiday to decorate the graves of all of our loved ones. Our stores work with the local cemeteries so that we can take care of decorating the graves of your loved ones. Our most popular item, seen in the picture here, is called a wet pack. As the name implies the flowers are arranged in a piece of wet floral foam that is placed in a container with a water reservoir. This will insure that the flowers stay fresh throughout the Memorial Day weekend, even if the temperature does get warm.

Administrative Professional’s Week

emains — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 02:25:42 +0000

This is the week that we honor and thank our administrative professional. This week was originally called National Secretary’s Week, but the name was changed several years ago to properly identify this important position. So far this year there has been quite a bit of activity this week. Hopefully that signals a warming in the economic freeze we have been locked in for too long. There is still plenty of time to remember your administrative professional and show them that you appreciate all the hard work they do for you!

The Derivation Of The Easter Lily

emains — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 02:26:17 +0000

Just where did the Easter lily tradition come from? There are several allegories that history tells us about this famous seasonal plant. Jesus mentioned the lily in “The Sermon On The Mount”. Often called the white-robed apostles of hope, Easter lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ’s agony. Tradition has it that lilies sprung up where drops of Christ’s sweat fell in his final hours of sorrow and great distress. Today churches continue this tradition on Easter by filling their alters and decorating their crosses with these beautiful blooms to represent joy and happiness. There are other stories about this plant concerning the Virgin Mary also. Whether given as a gift or enjoyed in your own home, the Easter Lily serves as a beautiful reminder that Easter is a time for rejoicing and celebrating.

St. Patrick’s Day!

emains — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 02:56:46 +0000

Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day, the day when we are all Irish! Celebrations take place everywhere with lots of beer (green or otherwise) corned beef and cabbage and general all around good times. This year don’t forget the flowers. Our St. Patrick’s Day special arrangement is just $19.95 and perfect for that special Irish person in your life, but then again we all are on St. Pat’s Day.

Another Valentine’s Day In The Books

emains — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 03:11:57 +0000

Well the big day has come and gone again. At the time it seemed like a long week. With VD being on a Monday that means no days off all last week including Saturday and Sunday and of course now we are in the next week so on it goes until the weekend. But once it is over it is kind of an empty feeling. It is good to have that pressure time behind us but there sure was a lot of excitement this year. It was good to see Valentine’s Day be like the old days. Lots of people in the store, all the orders we could handle. And people were spending money this year and ordering premium items. Maybe there is some hope for this industry and maybe things will turn around. I know that we are doing our best to make it happen and it is satisfying to see our efforts being rewarded. Meanwhile now that the holiday is over, anyone that needs a nice, cool, contemporary, inexpensive bouquet….might want to check out our Harlequin Romance Bouquet that is pictured here. This is an outstanding value for the price.

Harlequin Romance Bouquet

Early Sales

emains — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 07:27:23 +0000

Valentines Day seems to be good so far. Lots of early orders which is not usually the case for this holiday.

New Giftware Coming

emains — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 04:26:53 +0000

Having just returned from the winter gift show in Seattle, we found many new things and several new lines of jewelry to add to our already fine selection. Jewelry has become one of our best selling lines in the store. We were excited at the new lines we found and can’t wait for it to arrive in the store.