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