Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Sale Roses in Stock today!

Beautiful Roses in stock and on sale!  Take advantage of  our assorted surprise box of colored roses!  $19.99 Dozen wrapped with greens, $39.99 Dozen arranged with greenery and filler in a vase.  Hurry and order before we run out!!! Orange, pinks, whites, green and yellows!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Crazy Tulips

DAY 1:Tulips don't always arrive standing straight up.  A lot of the time they are bent over or have curved stems.  This is not an indication that they are not good quality.  Tulips do many quirky things, especially when temperatures change and they are left out of water. 

DAY 2:  Already this tulip has started to lengthen and straighten.  I have left this tulip on my desk starting at day 1 and will continue to do so. I hope by showing these pics, our customers will understand a little more about the nature of certain flowers, and allowing these flowers to blossom and do what nature intended instead of try to keep them in one constant unbloomed state.

DAY 3: Curving and stretching of stem cells is at it's peak.  The stem cells in tulips continually elongate them selves and curve, creating crazy lines in arrangements.  Also, as a side note, every morning approx. 2" of water was gone from this vase....this is just 1 flower, imagine how much a vase full of flowers drinks!

Day 4 upward momentum


More pics to follow!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Deliveries: Why we need the Telephone Number....

You'll have to excuse my primitive sketch above, but it was the simplest way to illustrate why deliveries can be difficult.  The house in the middle, which faces B Circle, has an address of 400 B Street.  The Driveway and House number, access to the house is on A Street.  So when our delivery person is attempting delivery, they would not be able to see the house number from B Street and come to the conclusion the house number doesn't exist.  This is why we need the phone number for the intended recipient for every delivery.  We aren't trying to "spoil the surprise".  We do not reveal the sender when we call, and so the delivery remains a surprise. 
Even if you think the person receiving the flowers is home sick in bed, you'd be surprised how often they are NOT home when we try to deliver.  (Maybe out on a medicine run to the pharmacy?)
Having the ability to call first helps us to better schedule deliveries  to various areas, make sure we find the recipient at home and that they receive the flowers. 
Deliveries become even more difficult in some parts of the county with unmarked driveways, unpaved roads, unmarked houses, etc.  Today my delivery person encountered huge rocks and a stream running across a "road" in Frederick county.  If we can communicate with the recipient, they may be able to give us better directions to their home, and warnings if there is a bridge/ road closure, or possibly even an overly-friendly St. Bernard on the premises.
A cell and house phone number is preferred, especially the cell phone.  I cannot count the number of times we have called and called a home number, got the answering machine, left messages, only to have no response.  Once we get the cell number, we call and find out the person has been home all day!  No one checks their home answering machine anymore.  Pretty much everyone has a cell phone and it is with them throughout the day.
This also goes for the sender....When we ask for a phone number where you can be reached, if you are not home and are at work, please give us the work number.  If we have any questions about your order and can't get ahold of you, your order will not be processed until we can get that answer. 
And one last example of the wonderful world of rural deliveries:

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Apple Blossom Parade Tickets!!!

Once again this year we are donating the space in front of our shop to the Winchester SPCA. They are selling seats for both parades.  $5 for Fireman's parade, $7 Grand Feature parade, or $10 for both!
This is a great organization and these seats are outstanding!  We are located downtown between Amherst and Boscawen streets on Braddock, directly across from Braddock Auto Park.  Call the SPCA today to secure your tickets before they sell out!  540-662-8616

**Update as of 4/17/13 The SPCA has informed us that they have sold out of parade seating.  Thank you to everyone for supporting this great local organization!***

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

A Personal Request

**Update 4/15/13**
Hundreds showed up for this drive- which was really awesome for Emily and those other patients who desperately need to find donors.  I was unable to be there physically but received my mail swab kit and mailed it out today!  If you missed the drive for Emily, but would still like to become a donor, please visit giftoflife.org and register to become a donor!
Sincerely- Andrea
 
 
I designed the flowers for Emily's wedding 2+ years ago.  It came as a shock to find out that she is battling for her life and cannot find a match locally.  Even though I don't know Emily beyond her being a client of mine, it struck a chord in me.  She is someone's mother, wife, daughter, etc.  I have signed up to be a bone marrow donor and I am encouraging others to register to become a donor or if you wish, donate funds to help others with the costs of the donor kit.  If you have questions about the donor process or would like to help in other ways, please visit giftoflife.org