Flowers For A Year - The Gift That Keeps On Giving

One gift that is often overlooked for special occasions like Birthdays, Anniversaries, Mother's Day, and Administrative Professionals' Day is the gift of Flowers For A Year. This is a present that can remind a person they are special throughout the upcoming months.

Flowers are valued for their delicate beauty; however, some may be discouraged by their perishable nature. As florists, we try to encourage our customers to extend the life of their gift by customizing a Flowers for a Year package. Whether sending a beautiful bouquet each month, or a beautiful blooming plant every third month - one can design this gift on most budgets.

There are many benefits of the Flowers for a Year program that many people do not realize. First, it is a reasonable expectation that your florist will take on the responsibility of coordinating the various deliveries with the recipient, after the initial gift. Also, your florist should give you the most 'bang for your buck' by selecting the most seasonable blooms or plants. Furthermore, by ordering a Flowers for a Year, you are in a sense "pre-ordering" which for our customers, entitles them to a discount of 10% off each months order. Lastly, the payment types can be customized. Whether it is more convenient to pay upfront for the Flowers for a Year or place a credit card on file with your florist that will be charged at the time of each month's delivery. This really is a convenient gift to give!

Be sure to customize your gift for your recipients. You can send seasonal arrangements, a mix of bouquets, green plants, blooming plants, outdoor plants, pie & flowers, balloon bouquets or much much more!

Enjoy the ease of giving flowers that will bring a smile to the recipient's face throughout the year!

Stop and Smell the......

"Flowers are the sweetest thing God ever made and forgot to put a soul into"
--Henry Ward Beecher

There is little argument that part of the timeless appeal and fondness for fresh flowers is due in no small part to fragrance; whether it be subtle and sweet, to heady or spicy. It is a common request that a designer include blooms that have this undeniable attribute. And no wonder! The sense of smell is connected to our emotions and memory more so than any other....we remember the gentle breeze though grandma's lilacs, or the anticipation which greeted us with our prom corsage, or the rich aroma of dad at the grill.

Of course most people are familiar with choices like oriental lilies and gardenias. Spring and early summer is an excellent season for those who love the smell of flowers: hyacinths, sweet peas, peonies, freesia, lilacs, lily of the valley sweetening the air. Once the season is past, all is not lost however; look for inexpensive and varied colored stock with it's spicy, chai tea like smell, or the humble carnation with a mild clove scent. Many herbs can enhance the fragrance of your design as well; mint, scented geranium, rosemary, lavender, and even eucalyptus can create a bountiful bouquet for the nose!

Certain rose varieties also still retain this ephemeral and enchanting quality, ask for varieties like attache or ohara. English garden roses often have more fragrance than their common relatives and are a great substitute for peonies in style and size.

There are many surprises to be had; most orchids lack scent, but some are wonderfully aromatic; chocolate cosmos smells like--you guessed it--bittersweet chocolate, and alliums like onions. Even snapdragons have a light, fresh scent like pea pods in the garden.

I encourage you to explore flowers not only with your eyes, but with all your senses and enjoy the natural aromatherapy of having them on your desk or in your home--your nose will thank you!

Are flowers worth the money?

Lately so many people have approached me and asked why they should spend money on flowers?
My response is, why spend money on dining out? On going for drink after Softball or for Girls' Night Out? Or on new shoes or a round of golf? My response is, the experience. Your meal, your drink or the golf will not last forever - like flowers - but the value is in the occasion. It does not last forever, but does anything? Especially during an economic downturn it is so important to treat those around you, and yourself, to a smile, at less than the price of a new car, a vacation or diamonds. When I receive flowers as a surprise - it completely transforms my day - isn't that our goal? To enjoy the now, and help others do the same.

Valentine's Day Made Easy

The Locker's team was sitting around brainstorming on ways to make Valentine's Day a more convenient holiday and we came up with one idea that we thought could really help...a drive-thru! Starbucks did it, why can't we? Especially in the middle of February in Wisconsin. No need to search for a parking spot, turn off the heat in your car, wait in line for a dozen roses in a crowded shop, and figure out how to carefully seatbelt a large vase in securely without crushing any of those longstem roses. You should be able to buy the perfect, romantic gift on the go!

So, we are going to give it a try. Just one location this year, starting small to see if we are really giving the people what they want. WI State Fair grounds seemed like the perfect site. Right off I-94; easy on, easy off!

Then, we went one step further. We know that every girl wants flowers, but doesn't she want chocolates too? So we partnered with Ultimate Confections (might as well get the best with the best ;) so now we can provide more than just the perfect bunch a blooms, but chocolate-covered strawberries too!

Hah, at this rate, you will never need to get out of your car to run errands again!

And so it came to be, www.drivethruvalentine.com .