State of the Floral Industry Today, January 6th 2021

 We all have high hopes that 2021 will bring some normalcy to our lives.   However, the impacts of 2020 are still rippling through most retail industries.  For example, most retailers base purchasing off of the same time frame from the prior year.   2020 was a total cluster--- to put it bluntly.   It provides no baseline AT ALL for retailers to make any kind of predictions or clear decisions about what to buy, how much, and when to get it in (if it gets shipped on time)  

Flower farms were literally throwing away product last year around April and May because nothing could be shipped out of South America, and no one was buying due to shutdowns.   Many farms plowed under their crops to cut their losses.  Then they(the growers) needed to plant flowers in May and June that would mature and be ready for harvest in January.  This January.  With limited personnel due to either Covid Restrictions or the Illness itself, the number of flower crops that were planted was drastically reduced.  

This week alone I have not been able to order in basic flowers such as Snapdragons, Larkspur, some Delphiniums, and Tulips.  Limited supplies mean anything that was available Monday is now bought up and new shipments won't be coming until the weekend.  

Where am I going with this?   

I had a customer who was quite irritated when I had to call them about the order they placed on our website for a specific arrangement.  I could not fulfill as pictured because I did not have - and could not get- the flowers in that arrangement. I hate making any customer unhappy but what flowers are available this week are completely out of my control.  COVID is STILL making things difficult for retailers to maintain inventory and keep everyone happy with the selections available.   

Please== be patient.   We are not psychic, we do not know what will sell, how many, and when it will sell.  We are doing the best we can to maintain flower inventory based on day to day sales.   These flowers need to be shipped from South America and Europe, we do not have greenhouses with these flowers "out back" somewhere that we can harvest from.   

Valentines day is right around the corner and I fully anticipate product that order not arriving on time, not being available at the time of shipment, and the possibility that we may disappoint some customers. 

Contrary to popular belief, florists don't "get rich" off of Valentines day with the prices we charge.  OUR prices triple so basic economics suggests the customers' price triple as well.   Do I like it- No.    Valentines day is no different profit wise than any other day- we're just doing ten times the volume we would do on a normal day.   I would much prefer a steady flow of orders the entire month then the craziness that is Valentines week.   

My hope for 2021 is this; that the vaccines become widely available, we all stay healthy, and no one gets shut down again. 

COVID-19 & Flowers

Running a small business this year is hard.  Running a small business that relies on imported fresh product is even harder.  90% of the fresh flowers we sell are imported from other countries, mostly in South America.

In countries that export, a sharp sudden decline in demand for flowers meant millions of stems of flowers being thrown away. Why ? Because the flower industry is a global economy and is balanced by a constant flow of demand and supply. 

For example:

Imagine throwing a weekly dinner party for say, 100 people.  You're supplying all of the food and beverages.   One week everyone cancels.  You already have the food. The next week they cancel again.....now you have two weeks worth of food that you are throwing away because you cannot possibly consume the quantity of food you now have on hand.  Plus it's perishable and maybe the bananas look okay but that salmon was toast after 3 days. Flowers are the same situation.

We do have some local resources for flowers but when the first restrictions were put in place in March, that meant many of the US farms had to shut down- for good.  Fresh flowers need to be harvested off the plants to promote new growth.  If no one is there to harvest, package and ship, eventually the business has to plow under the plants and call it a loss. 

Now that we've been open for a little over a month I can tell you things are never going to be the same for our industry.

Flights with cargo containing flowers may get bumped or canceled.  Airports might become completely shutdown due to sudden spike in Covid19 cases.   Yes the US is starting to reopen, but South America is just now riding the Covid19 wave.   This could mean serious implications on what flowers are available in the coming months.    Ecuador is one of the largest producers of roses worldwide.  Imagine ordering roses and not being able to get them until a week later instead of the next day.  That is a very real possibility. 

I have already struggled to get product in on a regular basis.  It's frustrating and there is really nothing I can do about it.  There is nothing my suppliers can do either.   Many of the sales and delivery personnel for the wholesale sector were laid off in March and were not called back by May.   Everyone in small business is trying to cut costs any way they can.  Labor is one of the biggest overhead cost in a small business like flower shops.  It is also the hardest one to scale back because we NEED people to run a business. 

Every week that I am open, I am grateful.   This is definitely a daily struggle to cover costs and make any sort of a profit.  There is a large misconception that small business owners are paying themselves really well and are taking all the profits for their own pockets.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Many small business owners draw a salary that is less per hour than minimum wage pays in some states.  Some even take less of a salary than what they will pay their most valuable employees.   Why?  Because we want our business to be successful, to have that pride in what you have accomplished and built.  If we wanted to be rich we would go work for a big corporation that can offer sick pay, health insurance and 401k benefits.

Message Inspiration: Love and Romance

For Romance, new or established:

Thinking of you

I can't get you off my mind

I can't wait to see you

Hoping this brightens your day

Hoping this brightens your day as much as you brighten mine

You mean the world to me

You are so important to me

I love you so much

You have filled me with happiness

I am so blessed to have you in my life

I look forward to all of the years ahead of us


          Quotes from literature/poets/authors:

"Life is the flower for which love is the honey" Victor Hugo

"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides" David Viscott

"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love"  Mother Theresa

"If I know what love is, it is because of you" Hermann Hesse

"A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea" Honore de Balzac

"Love is friendship that has caught fire" Ann Landers

Need more inspiration?  Check out planet of success or brainy quote

Catching up on January-June 2018

It has been a long time since my last blog post.  2018 has been a crazy year and staying on top of social media posting has been a the bottom of the priority list.  So today is about catching up. 

January was filled with Valentine's day prep, worries about snow storms during said Valentine's week, ordering in chocolates, balloons, bears and flowers.

Jan:

Then came February.  The hours were longer and much more anxiety ridden with prepping for the big V-Day.  

also the various strains of the Flu were going around like the plague in the 14th century.  You could really not be overly cautious when making deliveries, especially to the hospital. 

 We had some ice and snow also.  

Then my world stopped for a week.  For the entire week of Valentines day I was not in the shop.  A first in my 20 years in the business.  I was at the hospital ICU all week.  My husband of 6 years passed from complications from bacterial meningitis.   

I cannot begin to adequately thank those people who stepped in to help out at the flower shop that week, helped me with my kids, and just plain stepped up to be there for me and our families.  

It is a very surreal situation.  One situation I would never want anyone else to have to experience.  

The remainder of February I was in the shop and simultaneously dealing with my personal life.  

March brought...Snow?!! 

and the annual flower show at one of the largest DC distributors/wholesalers, Potomac Floral Wholesale.  Jamie and I went and Ooo'd and ahhh'd over all the gorgeous flower varieties from around the world: 

Pineapple protea

 a banana variety

anemones

 Jamie and I at the show

 a protea variety

 Sweet Peas!! 

 Inside the flower cooler 

April was Prom and Administrative Assistant's Day, Easter and just about every holiday you can cram into one month. 

Prom Corsage of white roses, pink wax flower and ribbon to coordinate with the dress. 

one of the many beautiful orchid varieties from our local orchid grower, Orchids For Everyone. 

May brought rain, rain and more rain.  Mother's Day and Apple Blossom festival.  And Rain.  Did I mention how much it stinkin' rained?!!  

an entire box of mixed tulips 

Mother's Day Flower delivery:

June has been much quieter with kids out of school, family vacations etc.  Our busiest times actually fall within the Aug- May range.   June and July are usually the time to go through paperwork, plan for the upcoming holidays and of course, catch up on social media postings.  

There are exciting things coming up the first week of July that I can't wait to share- mainly the AIFD symposium which is happening here, in DC.  Follow me on Facebook and Instagram so you don't miss out on all the gorgeous flowers and fabulous designs from around the world!   

No Sun for Me!

Fresh Flowers that have been cut no longer need sunlight! In fact, sunlight can wilt those precious blooms if left out in the sunshine too long!  Flowers really only need sunshine during growth on the plant itself.  And the sunshine is absorbed by the flower leaves, not the bloom itself.

For an excellent detailed summary of the science of cut flowers, Check out the page on University of Minnesota's Extension :

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/flowers/keeping-cut-flowers-and-flowering-plants/index.html

Quick Tipsfor Fresh cut flowers :

Cool temps (36 degrees and up),
Fresh water daily!,
Recut stems often to encourage water intake.
Keep away from heat, sun and electronics

A bouquet divided

One of my weddings this past weekend had a unique request concerning the bridal bouquet-

The bride wanted to carry the bouquet down the aisle, but upon reaching the altar wanted to split it in half so each of the junior bridesmaids would hold it during the ceremony.

This is actually trickier than it sounds as I design the bouquet in my hand, european style, so each stem is rotated around the center.  Normally, this style will allow the bouquet to stand perfectly upright if  placed on a solid surface, only balancing on the stem ends:

I was able to design two seperate bouquets and combine them with a mostly seamless appearance.   I would not suggest this for every wedding due to the level of difficulty in making two bouquets appear as one.  Not all combinations of flowers will allow this "blending" of two bouquets.  This instance I was very pleased with the result: 

 Finished bouquet underside

Side one

 Side Two

Whole Bouquet : 

Ordering Flowers for a Funeral

If it is your first time ordering flowers for a funeral you are not alone.  Most people have not ordered flowers for a sad occasion until about their mid 30's- 40's, or later.    Here is a quick breakdown :

To order flowers for a funeral visitation (also called "family night" or viewing)
You have 2 main choices:
1. Traditional sympathy arrangement:

These can be an designed in any color combination and is appropriate for the viewing and to also go to the church for any services afterwards, and also to the graveside for those services as well.  On the left is called a Traditional Funeral basket, aka mache.  On the right is a Standing Spray aka Easel arrangement.

2. Home Sympathy arrangement or plant :

 

Both of the choices above are appropriate to go home with a family member after the visitation or service if they choose to do so.  If you would like a particular person to take the flowers home, this should be noted on the back of the card.  If you feel that it would be more convenient, you may also send either one of these options directly to the family's home.

Colors of Flowers:
Traditionally for a man's service, bolder primary colors are used (red, yellow, white, blue) and for a woman's service pastel colors (lavenders, pinks, whites, yellows)
If a company or group is sending the flowers, often the arrangement will coordinate with that group's colors.  (Ex. Local high school colors red and white are used for a faculty member's services)
If the person had a particular flower or color they loved you can most certainly ask to see if it can be incorporated or not.

Types of Flowers:
There are no "funeral flowers".  We hear this over and over, but all flowers in the commercially available universe have been used at one time or another in arrangements going to a funeral.  Some flower varieties have been more popular than others.  Everyone has a different opinion on what they consider "funeral looking flowers" As florists, we do not have this opinion.   If there is a flower you would rather us not use, please let us know.

Card Messages:
We always suggest simple is best.  If it is more than one sentence or two, you should really send a private card to the home address directly.   The enclosure cards we use are 2" x 2" and not suited for more words than that.  Suggestions for wording on cards:
In Deepest Sympathy,  In Loving Memory,  Our thoughts are with you,  Our thoughts and prayers are with you,  With Love.

I would not suggest using " during this difficult time" or "during this time of loss"  
It's redundant and generally overused.  "Thinking of you and Your family" however is most appropriate to use.

Card Message Signatures:
When signing the card message, brief and to the point is preferred. When signing for a large group of people shorten to "HR Dept of Blank Company" or "Everyone at Blank Company"
When it is a list of family members, brief and concise.  "The John and Jane Doe Family"
Every person does not need to be named.  Again, the card is 2"x2" and is simply to acknowledge the sender and a brief note.   Any passages, poems or lengthy phrases should be sent afterwards directly to the home on a note card.