Just Because April 28, 2012

Random Acts of Flowers

This article I stumbled upon discusses the idea of using flowers as a random act of kindness. If you’ve read any of the Random Acts of Kindness book series you might find this interesting, same writer.  M.J. Ryan lists her favorite reasons to send flowers.

My favorite is the “Best Friend Boosts: Send a celebrational bunch to a best friend who lands a dream job, a sibling who receives a promotion at work, or a friend who reaches a personal milestone. Show them you care about their success.” I like alliteration, it’s so catchy!

While these are all great tips, you really don’t need a reason to send flowers. Sometimes “because I feel like it” can be the best reason of all!

What’s Your “Floral Signature”? April 21, 2012

Quiz: What’s My Floral Signature?

According to this quiz, I have an “eclectic personality” . I am “a unique individual who enjoys it all: from playing tag, walks in the woods to nights at the opera. You appreciate the beauty of flowers, simple or stylish so feel free to experiment.”

…For the record, I don’t like opera.

What’s your style?

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter’s… Here? April 7, 2012

It’s Easter already?! It snuck up so quickly! So to get everyone in an Easter state of mind I’ve compiled a short list of what I like about Easter:

1. Candy- Easter is no Christmas, but I’m on board with anything that promotes over consumption of candy, like Peeps! I love Peeps. I get excited when I see the rows and rows of brightly colored, sugar coated, lumps of marshmallow in stores in time for Easter. The best way to eat Peeps (I learned this at my grandmother’s knee) is to open the package and let them air out for a few days, 3 or 4 seems to be the appropriate length of time. Any longer and they’re ready to try out to be the next shape in Lucky Charms cereal. Stales peeps are simply the best. But apparently peeps serve as something other than delicious Easter treat: an art medium.

Click to check out alternate Peep universes!

These chickens and rabbits are stars in their own little renditions of movies. I have seen a number of Peep dioramas over the years, but this year’s batch encompasses a few of my favorite films (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Walking Dead- which isn’t a film and I’m not sure if it’s still a favorite; regardless it was still cool.) I admire these artists and their discipline to create such works of art. If I tried to make one there would be a lot of empty candy boxes and I would have sticky fingers and a multicolored tongue.

2. Spring Weather- My two favorite seasons are Spring and Fall. I like it when it’s cold enough outside to warrent long-sleeves or a jacket, but warm enough not to need to drag out the Pea Coat.

3. Togetherness- I love being able to take the day to stop and catch my breath, no work, no school… maybe some light reading after dinner, but mostly relaxing with my family. Easter is a time for family, and for Spring flowers! Easter centerpieces are great to tie any dinner, whether big or small, together.

This could be on YOUR Easter Table!

If you can’t be with your family this Easter, sending flowers is a great way to remind your loved ones even though you can’t be there in person you’re are still thinking about them. An Easter vase or basket is the perfect connection to bring smiles to your loved ones faces!

Spread the Easter Joy!

Bakanas Flowers would like to wish everyone a happy Easter!

Birthday Bouquets! March 24, 2012

On a mission for the perfect birthday present? Add a personal touch by including flowers corresponding with the birth month! (Click the links for flower meanings)

Month	Flower
January	Carnation
February	Iris, Violet
March	Daffodil
April	Daisy, Peonies
May	Lily
June	Rose
July	Delphinium
August	Dahlia, Gladiolus
September	Aster
October	Hydrangea
November	Chrysanthemum
December	Poinsettia, Holly, Paper-white Narcissus

All Things Irish March 17, 2012

“Saint Patrick was a gentleman, who through strategy and stealth
Drove all the snakes from Ireland, here’s a drink to his health!
But not too many drinks, lest we lose ourselves and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick, and see them snakes again!”
~Author Unknown

 

Unlike 30 Rock’s Liz Lemon, I love St. Patrick’s Day. It is second only to Christmas. For today, everyone is a little Irish (and I can boast with pride in my 1/8th). Lots of customers have been coming in decked out in their finest green threads, tonight people will be drinking green beer, or as I will be imbibing in just a few short hours… Jameson! As I while away the time until we close, listening to Flogging Molly and trying to come up with a post worthy of paying homage to the man who may or may not have driven snakes from Ireland, I began thinking of all the flowers that are associated with Emerald Isles. Let’s go down the list, shall we?

1. Probably the most obvious of all is the shamrock! Oxalis is the symbol of St. Patrick. This three-leaf clover is thought to have been utilized by the saintly Patrick as a tool to teach pagan druids about the Holy Trinity.

2. A new comer on the flower market this year is the “Green Trick” Dianthus, is a type of carnation sans petals. Basically, it’s a big green puffball! These furry fellows can be used in many different fun holdiay arrangements.

3. This next one, many of you are probably familiar with. Green Hypericum is a great accent to any St. Patrick’s Day arrangement. Fun fact: St. John’s Wort, which is used as a treatment for depression and can help calm nerves, is a species of Hypericum. 

4. Finally, Bells of Ireland, a fairly well known and popular flower is actually not from Ireland (poser!). Native to Turkey, this flowers get its name from the from the bell-like calyx that surrounds a teeny small white flower.

I am going to leave you all with something to ponder in honor of the occassion:

“If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he lucky?” ~Stanislaw J. Lec

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Where Babies- I Mean, Flowers Come From? Part 2: Homeward Bound February 12, 2012

Ok, so the flowers are -a- growin’, now what? How do they get all the way from Bogota to New Jersey? Well, two things are key: Speed of Transport and Temperature Control or as I’ve decided to call it, The Chain of Coolness.

In order to provide consumers with the freshest product with the longest life it is crucial that the flowers are transported correctly. Flowers shipped at 70 degrees may last three days in a vase, but flowers shipped from the farm at 42 degrees will last up to ten days once they’ve been brought home.

How does this perplexing process work, you may be wondering? It all starts in Bogota, Columbia (or Ecuador as we learned yesterday). The flowers are harvested, bunched, boxed and chill like a fine wine to around 36 degrees. They then take a ride in a cold truck to the airport, where air cargo planes chock full of blooms depart for a four-hour flight to Miami. The cargo is picked up from the airport and chilled to below 40 degrees once again and loaded into refrigerated tractor-trailers to make the twenty-four hour trip to this area. They have now arrived at a wholesaler distributor!

Wholesalers are a florist’s best friend, they are the Charlie to our Angels, never seen but always there; the voice from the box. They hook us up with the coolest product available so we can sell nothing but the best!

Where do Babies- I Mean, Flowers Come From? February 11, 2012

A long, long time ago  in a galaxy not so far, far away, flowers were grown close to home and were shipped by truck or train.  On the east coast, roses grown in Kennett Square, PA would supply Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York.

Improvements to transportation meant flowers could be grown in better conditions with a longer growing season and shipped via plane. The Swingin’ 60s supplied the East Coast market not only from the local growers of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York; but also from Florida, California, Colorado, and even Holland and Israel.

With the 70s came flower production in Colombia. The flat land high in the Andes Mountain range has a temperate climate with lots of light and is close to the equator so there is little distinction between seasons. Perfect for growing roses year round!

The 80s may not have been a great decade for clothes or hair, but it was for Colombia! The little country that could became the main exporter of flowers to the United States. Toward the end of the 80s and into the early 90s a new growing region emerged in Ecuador. The roses produced here are larger and have more vibrant colors. No one had seen a rose with such consistently high quality and size before these beauties!

Today we get our flowers from all over the map; from Canada to Costa Rica, Holland to California,but roses grown in Colombia are still considered premier, and are the only roses we carry here at Bakanas Flowers.

Next installment:  How can roses grown so far away still be fresh when they arrive in Marlton?

Happy Valentine’s… Week? February 10, 2012

Make the most out of your Valentine’s Day this weekend:

1. Why celebrate your love only one day? Send your special someone a Valentine’s Day surprise at home on Saturday February 11th so it can be enjoyed all weekend long!

2. Order Early! The earlier you order, the more options you’ll have! Our shop will be open until 5:00pm on Saturday and from 10:00am-3:00pm on Sunday for your convenience. And remember, our website never closes!

3. Send flowers to the office; make her co-workers jealous and show off what a great man you are! Start her week off right with an early Valentine’s Day surprise delivered on Monday.

4. Waited until the last minute? Our website will have selections that can be picked up at our shop, or delivered in Marlton or Mount Laurel on Valentine’s Day.

5. Looking for something out of the ordinary? How about a pair of tickets to the world famous Philadelphia Flower Show? Add it to an arrangement of tropical flowers to complete the theme of Island Paradise.

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas! December 20, 2011

All right it’s official. I smell like a Christmas tree. That means we’re getting close, right?! Christmas is coming! Everyone done their shopping? I am! Most of my wrapping is done too! So all I need to do is sit back, relax, and let Christmas creep closer. Oh, if only that were true. I’ve been wading through boxes of Christmas greens, deep in the trenches battling the traffic, valiantly transporting the precious floral cargo to your door. Monuments should be erected in my image, homage to my glory… and humility.

One of the many things I enjoy about delivery driving is being able to go about town and see everyone’s Christmas displays. So thank you to all those who have broken up the monotony of my day with your pretty lights, you have done a lovely job. Although this week is anything but monotonous, on the contrary,
it’s been quite hectic. But everyone is in high spirits, very jovial, lots of singing and laughing has been emanating from the back design room. Like Santa’s elves with green thumbs, we are.  None the less, we are all looking forward to 3:00 pm on Christmas Eve when we will close up shop and head home to spend Christmas with our loved ones. I wonder if that is how Santa will feel once Christmas is over?… Oh the things I ponder while at work.

The entire Bakanas Flowers Family wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Chanukah for those of you celebrating tonight!

Behind The Scenes: The Bakanas Flowers Edition Vol. 12 11/21/2011- Turkey Day! November 22, 2011

Wow, what a week! Busy, busy, busy! Lots going on at Bakanas Flowers, so I’ll just go down the list:

I would like to thank all those who stopped by to check out our holiday open house. It was a great success! A special congratulation goes out to Phyllis Luciani, the winner of our Holiday Centerpiece Give Away! Phyllis reminded us that we did her wedding flowers several years ago, before she moved to Minnesota.  She’s back in the area now, and we were happy to see her and her mom on Saturday.

It’s not too late to order your Thanksgiving Centerpiece.  The table isn’t set without one. Everyone here is looking forward to spending time with their loved ones on Thursday, but we’ll be back and ready for action Black Friday and “Small Business Saturday”. What is “Small Business Saturday”, you ask? Sponsored by American Express, it began in 2010, to rally support across the country to drive shoppers to local, independently owned businesses which help create jobs, boost the local economy, and preserve neighborhoods throughout the country. It was so successful last year that it has become an annual event. “Ok, that’s all well and good; but what’s in it for me?” You might be thinking. Well, consumers who pledge to “Shop Small” by registering on Facebook.com/ShopSmall and actually make a purchase at a registered business (like ours) on November 26^th will be eligible for $25 from Amex (see Facebook for details). So pledge to come out Saturday and support your favorite local business. If millions of Americans shop small, it will be huge!

On a different note, is November the unofficial wedding month? Everyone seems to be getting married this month. These past few weeks have been jammed pack with ooey-gooey, lovey-dovey, nuptially goodness. Hopefully this means the institution of marriage still has a chance. We would like to wish all the newlyweds out there many years of happiness together. Especially Kristi and Seth, it was truly a magical day!

All of us here at Bakanas Flowers would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving with lots of tasty food and good cheer! We would also like to wish one of our delivery drivers, Ray, a very Happy Birthday! Sorry you have to share the spot light with poultry this year, brother.

-Liz

P.S. I know I’ve said this before in the previous blog, but these pictures are also links! Clicking on the “Small Business Saturday” Banner at the top will take you directly to the Facebook page. Clicking on the centerpiece will take you to its page on our website! Technology… Neat-o!