New Domain Name

Don't miss out on future blogs, join us at our new address:

www.theflowerpotblog.com

See you there!!

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our entire world would change. ~Author Unknown.

"No body puts Baby in a corner." ~ Johnny Castle, Dirty Dancing

Today was a fabulous day for a wedding. A fabulous day to be transported back to 1963, listen to The Drifters while learning the Twist and the Mashed Potato. Mountain Lake, located in Pembroke, VA is a perfect setting for a fun filled day of romance and dancing the night away. Add the perfection of flowers by The Flower Pot and you are ready to celebrate!

Down at the gazebo Easton "helped" me by running around with my floral tape, he also went up and down and up and down the asile. Our Daily Bread made a BEAUTIFUL cake and it turned out so lovely with all of the flowers in place. Gorgeous floating gerberas finished off the table decorations. It is easy when you have brides with such great taste to make beautiful bouquets....and they were totally GORGEOUS!

I love doing events at Mt. Lake and hope to do one there again soon. A special thanks to Anita who makes the events at the hotel run like a fine oiled machine.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our entire world would change. ~Author Unknown.

June's Birth Flower

June's birth flower is the rose which is rich in symbolism and myth.

The first rose of record is said to be in ancient Greece. The Gods had a tendency to find beauty in tragedy. It was one of these tragic moments that created the rose. Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, created the rose when her tears mixed with the blood of Adonis, her lover.

It seems the Romans created their own legend of the rose’s creation. Roman legend claims there was an incredibly beautiful maiden named Rhodanthe. She was relentlessly pursued by suitors. Exhausted by their pursuit, Rhodanthe sought refuge in the temple of Diana. Diana was jealous of Rhodanthe and when the suitors broke down her temple gates to get near Rhodanthe, she became furious. Diana’s rage led her to turn Rhodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns.

The Persian legend explains the creation of the red rose as well as the origin of the nightingale’s beautiful voice. According to legend all roses were originally white and nightingales were ordinary birds who could only chirp. One day the nightingale met a beautiful white rose and fell in love. The nightingale’s love was so intense and his need to express his love so great that he was inspired to sing for the first time. When the nightingale made his moves on the rose and pressed himself up against it the thorns pierced his heart, coloring the rose red.

In England the rose was first looked upon as a symbol of war. A civil war lasting from 1455-1487 between the House of York and the House of Lancaster where The House of York adopted a white rose, the House of Lancaster was represented by a red rose. The war has been dubbed “The War of the Roses”.

Roses have always been used to communicate specific messages and emotions, especially in Victorian times when it was forbidden to speak to others about your feelings. The following are some traditional meanings of rose colors:

Red: Romantic love
Pink: Admiration and grace
Dark Pink: Gratitude and appreciation
Light Pink: Sweetness and innocence
White: Purity, friendship and reverence
Yellow: Friendship and caring
Yellow with red tips: Falling in love
Orange: Passion
Burgundy: Beauty
Black: Death and farewell

Tip of the Day:

Re-cut roses at a 45 degree angle to create the largest surface area for the rose to intake water. Change the water every day. Keep your roses in a cool area of your home. Place them in warm water if you want the buds to open.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our entire world would change. ~Author Unknown.

The information above was found at the following websites:
http://bit.ly/kZIi6Z
http://bit.ly/jYveIl
http://bit.ly/lDAeZQ

May 2011

May 2011 was amazing for us here at The Flower Pot. After a great Easter we started May off at full speed with Mother's Day. We had MANY, MANY proms in May which is always fun, the dresses, the jewelry... its fun! Our Child Identification and Safety Day was a HUGE success! New York Life fingerprinted over 50 children while their families enjoyed treats and coupons from Sonic & a clown who made balloon sculptures. Magnifico Photography was here taking awesome photos for FREE! The Radford Police Department was here installing and checking child safety seats. The Radford Fire Department was here with a fire engine for the kids to check out, climb on, and even sit in the cab. We were also excited to have Sparky with us for the morning. The Motor Mile Speedway was here with the pace truck and gave out free race tickets. Kerri Taylor from 100.7 The Mix did a live remote out front which was amazing. We couldn't be happier with the turn out for such a great and important community event.

I want to thank the Radford School Board Office, all the schools and preschools who sent flyers home with kids with information for the parents and to Karen Cook from New York life who recorded the PSA that was played on the Cumulus Radio stations.

We feel that it is so important when you are a part of a community to be apart of the community. If you have any suggestions for events in the future please email us at theflowerpot@verizon.net.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our entire world would change. ~Author Unknown.

The Motor Mile Speedway Florist

The Flower Pot became the official florist of the Motor Mile Speedway and Dragway in 2011. The speedway located at 6749 Lee Highway in Fairlawn Virginia has changed over the years and if you haven't been lately, you should go. We are very excited about our new relationship with the speedway and hope to see many of our clients out at the races.

We will have tickets for each race and give them away at various times in various ways.

For more information about the speedway visit www.motormilespeedway.com.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. ~Author Unknown

Where did April go?

Here it is...Mother's Day again. Soon it will be Christmas. It is strange living your life one holiday at a time, which really means, for us, several holidays ahead; one at a time. It is almost Mother's Day (have you placed your order yet? www.theflowerpotva.com or call 540.639.1500) and I am thinking about Christmas in July...its a good thing I am a planner.

We had a great Easter! Some of the nicest Easter lilies we have ever had. If you bouqht or received one, plant it as soon as the leaves turn yellow and it will bloom again in June. The Easter lilies you receive at Easter are forced in a green house.

We have so many beautiful choices for Mother's Day. Be sure to order your Mother an orchid corsage, only $9.50. We have fresh arrangements, plants, balloons, silks, cemetery pieces & much more. Call us and we will make your arrangement to order.

Summer is going to be busy. SO MANY WEDDINGS! Its great! It seems everyone decided to get engaged recently, which we LOVE! If you are planning a wedding give us a call. We are great working with a budget and very creative. We have many cost effective ideas we will share with you!

We hope to see you soon....that means this week of course! You know, not everyone has a sweetheart at Valentine's Day...but everyone has a Mother. Let us help you honor or remember her this Mother's Day.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. ~Author Unknown

Happy 8th Anniversary TFP

It's hard to believe that 8 years ago today we opened The Flower Pot,an idea we had that came to fruition. With so much help and support from our family and friends, our idea of The Flower Pot started to take form. Located at 1608 West Main Street in Radford, we opened our doors on April 1, 2003. As our client list got larger and larger,we began carrying different lines and enjoyed all the parts of growing our business like going to the Atlanta Gift Mart to look for new items to carry, networking with other businesses, helping the community for special events, and so much more.

As the years started to pass and we learned about our clients and their families, we found out what they liked and what they are looking for. The Flower Pot has been evolving the entire time and will continue to change to be what our clients need. We love sharing the events in their lives that make lasting memories.

We opened at our new location May 1, 2010. 125 West Main Street in Radford, we love it here. The space is amazing, double the previous location. The original hardwood floors and the 14 foot ceilings are what I felt The Flower Pot was supposed to look like all along. Of course we painted the new shop the same "Flower Pot" yellow (friendly yellow at Sherwin Williams), with the same crisp white trim. If you haven't had a chance to stop by and visit us, you should.

Sunday April 10, 2011 would be a great day! The Easter Bunny will be here from 10am-2pm. Magnifico Photography will also be here taking FREE photographs of your kids with The Easter Bunny. We are asking for donations to The Women's Resource Center in Radford. For more information on what The Resource Center is in need of visit our website www.theflowerpotva.com or our Facebook page, (The Flower Pot).

We have made so many friends thru out the floral community. Some might believe that florists are super competitive, when in reality we all support each other. If one of us is out something we trade back and forth, offer each other support and advice, and go to floral functions together.

We have also met so many wonderful vendors such of photographers, bakers, bridal shops, caterers, DJ's, and Church staffs that we work closely with for a weddings. The staffs at all of the wonderful funeral homes in the New River Valley are so great and caring, a true pleasure to work with. There are so many great business here in the New River Valley, to many to mention in this blog, and it is great networking with them and creating relationships that are long lasting. We all MUST support each other to survive in todays economy.

Of course The Flower Pot would not be what it is today with out every member of our fabulous staff that has joined our team. We have some of the most talented designers and wonderfully friendly and helpful employees a shop owner could ask for. They each have a different background in the floral industry and bring so much to the table.

Thank you for making The Flower Pot what it is today and for making our phones ring day after day!

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. ~Author Unknown

In Lieu Of Flowers....??

In Lieu of Flowers.... what does that really mean?

The "in lieu of flowers" phrase started in the 1950's but has become more prominent in the last couple of decades with the rise of charitable organizations actively seeking memorial donations.

Florists applaud this intention but generally believe it can be expressed without the negative reference towards flowers. A family who honors a loved one by designating a favorite charity rarely wants a service devoid of flowers. Also friends deserve to express their feelings of sorrow with a variety of caring gestures including sending floral arrangements.

The one sympathy tradition that has been a part of nearly every culture throughout history is flowers. Research shows that flowers increase feelings of compassion and happiness, and people feel less depressed and anxious around flowers. Grieving families and funeral experts alike would agree that a wide variety of heartfelt expressions, including flowers, can all help soften the sorrow.

Flowers help to warm a funeral service or visitation, it would be hard to imagine a service with no flowers at all. In fact, families sometimes regret having too few flowers at the funeral. Normally the phrase, "In lieu of flowers ..." is NOT meant to restrict friends and loved ones from sending flowers if they wish. One of the following phrases would be a better alternative to express the family's wishes, that donations to a particular charity are welcome and appreciated without limiting other forms of heartfelt support.

Flowers and contributions to ____________ are both welcome.
Memorial contributions may be made to ...
As an expression of sympathy, donations may be mailed to ...
For memorial contributions, the family has designated ...

There is a wide variety of floral tributes for every budget. Fresh flower designs in a glass vase or wicker basket, and plants are becoming increasingly popular as they can be easily transported home after the funeral to serve as additional comfort to the family.

According to a study conducted by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, after family, friends, and eulogy, flowers rank first among those who have lost a family member or friend as the most meaningful aspect of funerals.

The majority surveyed agreed strongly that flowers and plants are a critical component of funerals, providing a nescessary diversion, they are something to talk about and brighten the environment at such a somber time. Also, looking at the cards to see who sent flowers is a great comfort.

So if you see "In lieu of flowers...." in an obituary remember that families, more than likely, don't mean to insinuate that flowers are not welcome.

Tip of the Day: Daily maintenance is key to ensure a long life for cut roses. Check the flowers daily to make sure there is enough water in the container. The best place to display roses is in a cool area out of direct sunlight and drafts. If the water becomes cloudy, change the water, re-cut and washing the stems and the container.


If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. ~Author Unknown

How does the color green make you feel?

Do you feel differently when you are surrounded by certain colors? Psychologists believe that the color green increases relaxation by helping us breath deeper and slower which relaxes our muscles. Green is a very pleasing color that creates feelings of balance, stablility, peace, comfort, calmness, and even laziness. It will help us balance and soothe our emotions. Some attribute this to the connection we make between green and nature.

Several flowers actually come in green and this is a great week for them.
Roses, Bells of Ireland, Carnations, and Buttons. This is also a great week to buy Shamrock plants. The Shamrock plant is very easy to grow. They like cool air, moist soil, and bright light or indirect sun.

Shamrocks are tender plants best grown in pots. They have a delicate look with leaves that grow together in groups of three. The plant will produce a very small flower. Each individual leaf is either heart-shaped or triangular. These delicate, clover-like leaves are light sensitive and close on cloudy days and at night.

Tip of the day:
Shamrocks plants display nyctinastic movements, which are a plants movements in response to the daily cycle of light and dark. The movements of each plant species occurs at a specific time of day when the light is right for the plant. SO, be sure that your Shamrock plant will recieve the full spectrum of a days light.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. ~Author Unknown

Brick and Mortar Part 2

Yesterday a woman called the shop, looking for her flowers. Someone sent her flowers that she never received so she was trying to track them down. This happens more than you would think. Senders that use order gathers such as 1800Flowers, justflowers.com, fromyouflowers.com, etc. really have no idea where their order will end up. They don't know even what town the shop will be in that the order is filled from. The intended recipient yesterday lived in Radford and seem so surprised when I suggested she check with shops in Blacksburg & Christiansburg.

Who knows how much time the recipient spent tracking down her flowers yesterday or if she even found them...

Tip of the day: If you receive or grow tulips this spring and they are floppy an not wanting to stand up straight in your vase. Drop a few pennies in the bottom of the vase, they will straighten up for you. This works best if you can do this before they have completely taken the shape of their new container.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. ~Author Unknown

Getting to know you...

One of the cool things about being a florist is that people share their lifes with you. They may use you once as a reommendation from a friend, funeral home, or by chance. They like what you do so they come back for their Mom's birthday, then a baby arangement for a friend. Next may be when they are planning their wedding.

I like getting to know our customers and their families, its nice to know something about everyone who comes in the door.

Yesterday one of our customers wanted to send an arrangement to their parents from their soon to be grandchild. They were so excited to find out the baby's sex and wanted flowers delivered right away! They called the day before to set all of this up and then called us from the Doctor's office yesterday.

The flowers were from their Grandson.


If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. ~Author Unknown

Brick and Mortar Florists

To be a savvy flower buyer, its important to know who you are dealing with and where they are located. Do you really want to give your credit card information to someone in India or China who works for an order gatherer that claims they are a local florist, when in reality they will use their wire services (FTD, Teleflora, 1-800-Flowers, etc.) to send your order to a locally owned shop in wherever USA.

Did you know that all wire services are all members of each others services. These not-so-local-florists will charge you extra fees... service/relay/handling/shipping/convenience fees ranging from $7.95 to $25.00 on top of your order and delivery fee. I often wonder when we receive an order from an order gatherer such as, justflowers.com or fromyouflowers.com for $49.99....how much did the sender actually pay???

Here are two videos on YouTube you might like to see.

http://bit.ly/eq4Os6

C http://bit.ly/eR92NO

Of course I am sure there are many deliveries that had better results than these....but I still think you should call your local florist.

I know it might seem easy to order flowers online this way, but so many brick and mortar shops as websites where you can order flowers 24/7 and the order prints out directly at their shop, such as ours @ www.theflowerpotva.com.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. Author Unknown

Do you have The Flower Pot on speed dial?...

If we aren't included in your speed dial numbers...does that mean you know our phone number by heart?!!!..... Six three nine....fifteen hundred!

If you stop and think about it, building a relationship with your local florist could be as handy as knowing a good mechanic. There are lots of reasons to have a need for a florist, and for most orders, within a couple of hours, we will be able to deliver it.

Here are 5 reasons you should buy fresh flowers:

1. Flowers are attractive. Who can resist the beauty of nature, flowers are vibrant, colorful, eye-catching, and peaceful.

2. Flowers keep on giving, unlike dinner and a movie. Many flower varieties last a very long time when cared for properly. Some flowers will even continue to bloom. Flowering plants can spruce up a kitchen table or office desk for weeks.

3. Flowers can be cost-effective. You may not want to give a bouquet of long-stem roses every week, but a beautiful bouquet of long lasting flowers that comes in many colors such as, daisies, alstromerias, mini carnations, and liatris, can easily fit in to a conserative budget.

4. Flowers spread joy and have a positive effect on people. A Harvard study in 2006 showed that people feel less stressed and more compassionate towards others when they spend time in a floral environment. (If you would like to read an article about this study here is a link; http://bit.ly/hDBBTz) Flowers will cheer up patients at the hospital, create a romantic setting at home, make someone feel better about themselves, instigate forgiveness, and trigger an abundance of other positive emotions.

5. Flowers are versatile. Unlike other types of gifts, a basket full of blossoms can be used for all occasions, no matter where you live in the world!

These are just a few reasons you should call The Flower Pot (540.639.1500)today! We look forward to hearing from you soon!

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. ~Author Unknown