Flowers
Top Ten Reason to Order from a Local Florist
29/07/07 07:33 PM
Chances are, you know where the flower
shop is located in your neighborhood. Perhaps there are several
nearby florists for you to choose from. In fact, there are flower
shops in practically every city, town, village, and parish, and
it's nice to be able to walk in or call and select just the right
flowers, plants, or other gifts to send to your friends and loved
ones.
What if you want to send flowers to a place where you don't know the local florist? You might open the telephone book to find one that can fill your order. Or you may look on-line and see ads for some of the big names in sending flowers nationally or the so-called "wire services". Easy enough.
But let the buyer beware... these may not be your best options.
Quite often, the largest ad in the phone book isn't even from a real local florist! Instead, the ad may belong to an "order gatherer". Order gatherers masquerade as real florists, making their money by collecting floral orders from consumers, charging hefty service fees, and then sending the orders out to real florists for fulfillment. When you call an order gatherer, you may wind up speaking to a person who has never even been inside a flower shop; a person who surely does not know what the delivering florist has in stock that day, or what looks most fresh and appealing. The same is true of the big "1-800" companies and national wire services, who will charge the sending customer a service fee and then collect a sales commission from the delivering florist at the other end.
You can usually tell whether a florist is truly local if their address appears in their phone book ad. If it doesn't, they are probably an order gatherer operating from somewhere far away, even if they have a local phone number. If you're not sure, and you choose to call them anyway, ask the person who answers the phone where they are located. Incidentally, several states have passed laws which prohibit order gathering through misleading advertising, and others have legislation pending.
So what's the best way to send flowers to someone out of town? Visit or call www.FlowerShopNetwork.com where you will be directed to a florist that's local to the area. With a credit or debit card handy, you can easily search online for a local florist by city, state or zip/postal code. Then, either phone the florist (the majority have toll-free numbers) to place your order during business hours, or, if online ordering is available, enter your order directly on the florist's website, 24 hours a day.
Top Ten Reasons to Order from a "Real" Local Florist
1. Ensure Maximum Value
* Save on extra service fees by cutting out the middleman.
2. Speak Directly To The Charlotte Florist Who Is Filling Your Order
* Find out what flowers and plants are in stock, what looks particularly good, or whether any blooming plants may be planted outdoors later.
* Have a custom design created to your specifications.
3. Communicate Special Requests Directly
* Does the recipient have any favorite flowers? Any dislikes?
* Should the recipient be called prior to Charlotte delivery?
* Is the recipient hard of hearing, or slow answering the door?
* Is one entrance better than another?
4. Select Additional Gift Items
* Many flower shops also carry unique gift lines, such as candy, potpourri, figurines, plush animals or candles, which can be added to your order or sent independently.
5. Get Same-Day Delivery - If Possible
* By phoning the local florist directly, find out if same-day delivery is possible. Calling early improves the chances.
6. Pay Accurate and Appropriate Charlotte Delivery Charges - No More, No Less
* Pay the right local delivery fee without having it deducted from the value of your order.
* A delivery to a location close to the shop may not cost as much as one farther away. Only the local florist knows.
* Some locations, such as gated communities or certain businesses may require an additional charge.
7. Familiarity With Local Charlotte Delivery Regulations
* Hospitals, funeral homes, schools and businesses may have delivery cut-off times or size limitations.
* Hospitals in particular often limit the size, quantity, or types of balloons that can be delivered.
8. Familiarity With Local Charlotte Funeral Customs
* In some areas a standing spray of flowers is customary, while in others a basket of flowers is most appropriate.
* In smaller towns, a local florist may know what has already been ordered or sent to the funeral, and can then help you choose something different.
9. Establish A Relationship With Studio Flowers For Future Orders
* Join a mailing list for email newsletters or seasonal offers.
* Many shops offer a reminder service for sending flowers at special occasions.
Only nine reasons, you ask? The tenth is simple and universal:
10. Everyone Loves To Receive Flowers!
Research conducted by Rutgers University and the Society of American Florists indicates that flowers have an immediate impact on the happiness of the recipient, have a long-term positive effect on people's moods, and increase the connections among family and friends. Not only that, but a study by researchers at Texas A & M University shows that flowers and plants improve productivity, innovation, and creativity in the workplace.
What if you want to send flowers to a place where you don't know the local florist? You might open the telephone book to find one that can fill your order. Or you may look on-line and see ads for some of the big names in sending flowers nationally or the so-called "wire services". Easy enough.
But let the buyer beware... these may not be your best options.
Quite often, the largest ad in the phone book isn't even from a real local florist! Instead, the ad may belong to an "order gatherer". Order gatherers masquerade as real florists, making their money by collecting floral orders from consumers, charging hefty service fees, and then sending the orders out to real florists for fulfillment. When you call an order gatherer, you may wind up speaking to a person who has never even been inside a flower shop; a person who surely does not know what the delivering florist has in stock that day, or what looks most fresh and appealing. The same is true of the big "1-800" companies and national wire services, who will charge the sending customer a service fee and then collect a sales commission from the delivering florist at the other end.
You can usually tell whether a florist is truly local if their address appears in their phone book ad. If it doesn't, they are probably an order gatherer operating from somewhere far away, even if they have a local phone number. If you're not sure, and you choose to call them anyway, ask the person who answers the phone where they are located. Incidentally, several states have passed laws which prohibit order gathering through misleading advertising, and others have legislation pending.
So what's the best way to send flowers to someone out of town? Visit or call www.FlowerShopNetwork.com where you will be directed to a florist that's local to the area. With a credit or debit card handy, you can easily search online for a local florist by city, state or zip/postal code. Then, either phone the florist (the majority have toll-free numbers) to place your order during business hours, or, if online ordering is available, enter your order directly on the florist's website, 24 hours a day.
Top Ten Reasons to Order from a "Real" Local Florist
1. Ensure Maximum Value
* Save on extra service fees by cutting out the middleman.
2. Speak Directly To The Charlotte Florist Who Is Filling Your Order
* Find out what flowers and plants are in stock, what looks particularly good, or whether any blooming plants may be planted outdoors later.
* Have a custom design created to your specifications.
3. Communicate Special Requests Directly
* Does the recipient have any favorite flowers? Any dislikes?
* Should the recipient be called prior to Charlotte delivery?
* Is the recipient hard of hearing, or slow answering the door?
* Is one entrance better than another?
4. Select Additional Gift Items
* Many flower shops also carry unique gift lines, such as candy, potpourri, figurines, plush animals or candles, which can be added to your order or sent independently.
5. Get Same-Day Delivery - If Possible
* By phoning the local florist directly, find out if same-day delivery is possible. Calling early improves the chances.
6. Pay Accurate and Appropriate Charlotte Delivery Charges - No More, No Less
* Pay the right local delivery fee without having it deducted from the value of your order.
* A delivery to a location close to the shop may not cost as much as one farther away. Only the local florist knows.
* Some locations, such as gated communities or certain businesses may require an additional charge.
7. Familiarity With Local Charlotte Delivery Regulations
* Hospitals, funeral homes, schools and businesses may have delivery cut-off times or size limitations.
* Hospitals in particular often limit the size, quantity, or types of balloons that can be delivered.
8. Familiarity With Local Charlotte Funeral Customs
* In some areas a standing spray of flowers is customary, while in others a basket of flowers is most appropriate.
* In smaller towns, a local florist may know what has already been ordered or sent to the funeral, and can then help you choose something different.
9. Establish A Relationship With Studio Flowers For Future Orders
* Join a mailing list for email newsletters or seasonal offers.
* Many shops offer a reminder service for sending flowers at special occasions.
Only nine reasons, you ask? The tenth is simple and universal:
10. Everyone Loves To Receive Flowers!
Research conducted by Rutgers University and the Society of American Florists indicates that flowers have an immediate impact on the happiness of the recipient, have a long-term positive effect on people's moods, and increase the connections among family and friends. Not only that, but a study by researchers at Texas A & M University shows that flowers and plants improve productivity, innovation, and creativity in the workplace.
The Language of Flowers
29/07/07 06:58 PM
"Belladona: A flower. In Italian, a beautiful
lady; in English, a deadly poison". Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s
Dictionary
During a question/answer session in a speech I gave to a college media class last month, a student asked why I’d chosen a flower shop as a backdrop for my mystery series. My quick response was that I liked flowers and I loved flower shops -- the colors, the textures, and ah, those heavenly fragrances... But still, mixing murder with something as vibrant and alive as a flower? Isn’t that as unlikely as chocolate sauce on an omelet? (Yumm . . . Chocolate.) Okay, maybe that was a bad example.
Being the argumentative type, (a genetic trait common to most women) I had to come up with a good rebuttal. So basically it’s this: Who can think of a black orchid without visualizing intrigue -- or the book or movie, The Black Dahlia, without thinking of murder? Who can picture a Venus fly trap without recalling Audrey II, that voracious man-eating plant in the cult favorite, The Little Shop of Horrors? And we haven’t even started to list the poisons that come from various plants, the castor bean plant being one.
Bouquet of Red Roses
Red Roses
Flower Meaning
LOVE
But that got me to thinking about the other side of the coin. Who doesn’t associate red roses with love? Or white flowers of any kind with purity? A google search on the meaning of flowers produced a plethora of pages (5,270,000 to be exact) dedicated to that subject, which got me to wondering where this custom of equating feelings with flowers originated.
According to my research, floriography, or the language of flowers, was an important part of Victorian life, (roughly 1870-1901) allowing expressions of sentiment that could not be otherwise vocalized due to the rigid moral standards of the day. (They must be turning in their graves now.) Flowers were used to adorn hair, clothing, men’s suit coats, home décor and stationery, to name a few.
A young man’s gifts of flowers could either please or displease a lady depending on his choice of blossom. Flowers conveyed love or dislike depending upon the type, size, how they were held, or even how they were grouped. Even the way in which flowers were delivered had a special meaning. A flower in an upright position represented a "positive thought; one presented in the opposite direction had a negative meaning. A flower offered by the right hand could signify a "yes" and one offered by the left hand a "no."
Single Yellow Rose
A Yellow Rose
Choose the Meaning
One can understand why the wily Victorians referred to books such as flower dictionaries and herbals that recorded the virtues of plants as well as their myth and lore, in order to choose just the right blossom. Consider the language of roses alone:
Blue: mystery
Burgundy: beauty
Dark Pink: gratitude
Light Pink: admiration, sympathy
Orange: passion
Pink: grace
Red: love
Yellow: dying love or platonic love or infidelity
Going back even further, literary annuals were being published as early as 1765, in France, and 1770, in Germany, and reached their peak of popularity in Europe and America from about 1820 through mid-century. But, as I discovered, there is much debate about the exact origins of the flower-sentiment associations.
Floriography appears to be based on ancient symbolic correlations taken from Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Greek, and Roman cultures, mythologies, and religions; possibly based on the actual physical description of the plants themselves -- a distinguishing characteristic of the root, stem, leaf, bloom, or seed. One of the most frequently mentioned sources is the Turkish, Oriental, or Persian language of flowers or objects, referred to as the selam, which was in fact a system of memorization. Brent Elliott, Librarian to the Royal Horticultural Society, writes that the Turkish system was "not a language of meanings, but a mnemonic system - the names of the objects rhyme with standard lines of poetry, and are an aid by which the lines can be recalled."
Reprinted by permission Flower Shop Network
During a question/answer session in a speech I gave to a college media class last month, a student asked why I’d chosen a flower shop as a backdrop for my mystery series. My quick response was that I liked flowers and I loved flower shops -- the colors, the textures, and ah, those heavenly fragrances... But still, mixing murder with something as vibrant and alive as a flower? Isn’t that as unlikely as chocolate sauce on an omelet? (Yumm . . . Chocolate.) Okay, maybe that was a bad example.
Being the argumentative type, (a genetic trait common to most women) I had to come up with a good rebuttal. So basically it’s this: Who can think of a black orchid without visualizing intrigue -- or the book or movie, The Black Dahlia, without thinking of murder? Who can picture a Venus fly trap without recalling Audrey II, that voracious man-eating plant in the cult favorite, The Little Shop of Horrors? And we haven’t even started to list the poisons that come from various plants, the castor bean plant being one.
Bouquet of Red Roses
Red Roses
Flower Meaning
LOVE
But that got me to thinking about the other side of the coin. Who doesn’t associate red roses with love? Or white flowers of any kind with purity? A google search on the meaning of flowers produced a plethora of pages (5,270,000 to be exact) dedicated to that subject, which got me to wondering where this custom of equating feelings with flowers originated.
According to my research, floriography, or the language of flowers, was an important part of Victorian life, (roughly 1870-1901) allowing expressions of sentiment that could not be otherwise vocalized due to the rigid moral standards of the day. (They must be turning in their graves now.) Flowers were used to adorn hair, clothing, men’s suit coats, home décor and stationery, to name a few.
A young man’s gifts of flowers could either please or displease a lady depending on his choice of blossom. Flowers conveyed love or dislike depending upon the type, size, how they were held, or even how they were grouped. Even the way in which flowers were delivered had a special meaning. A flower in an upright position represented a "positive thought; one presented in the opposite direction had a negative meaning. A flower offered by the right hand could signify a "yes" and one offered by the left hand a "no."
Single Yellow Rose
A Yellow Rose
Choose the Meaning
One can understand why the wily Victorians referred to books such as flower dictionaries and herbals that recorded the virtues of plants as well as their myth and lore, in order to choose just the right blossom. Consider the language of roses alone:
Blue: mystery
Burgundy: beauty
Dark Pink: gratitude
Light Pink: admiration, sympathy
Orange: passion
Pink: grace
Red: love
Yellow: dying love or platonic love or infidelity
Going back even further, literary annuals were being published as early as 1765, in France, and 1770, in Germany, and reached their peak of popularity in Europe and America from about 1820 through mid-century. But, as I discovered, there is much debate about the exact origins of the flower-sentiment associations.
Floriography appears to be based on ancient symbolic correlations taken from Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Greek, and Roman cultures, mythologies, and religions; possibly based on the actual physical description of the plants themselves -- a distinguishing characteristic of the root, stem, leaf, bloom, or seed. One of the most frequently mentioned sources is the Turkish, Oriental, or Persian language of flowers or objects, referred to as the selam, which was in fact a system of memorization. Brent Elliott, Librarian to the Royal Horticultural Society, writes that the Turkish system was "not a language of meanings, but a mnemonic system - the names of the objects rhyme with standard lines of poetry, and are an aid by which the lines can be recalled."
Reprinted by permission Flower Shop Network