Each month, I get together with some of my flower friends for our Mornings with Mayesh show to discuss the world of flowers. From general flower availability and flower care to marketing for your flower business and everything in between, you don't want to miss this replay!
This month we switched things up a bit by kicking off the show with my friend, Ryan O’Neil, of StemCounter by Curate, to talk about how to go from consult to booked! Then we will move on to the rest of the show with Dave Tagge and Shelley Anders answering your flower questions.
Keep on scrolling down for the show notes that contains all of the questions, answers, and resources for your reference!
Post your questions or topics for the July's show in the comments below and don't forget to save your seat! See you on July 18th at 7 am PST / 10 am EST
SHOW NOTES
SPECIAL GUEST: RYAN O’NEIL OF STEMCOUNTER by CURATE
- Ryan discusses how to go from consult to booked
- https://curate.co
FLOWER QUESTIONS
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE WORLD OF FLOWERS?:
- This past weekend Chile had a huge snowstorm in the central region affecting their Helleborus Plantation directly and 70% of the production in one of their big Anemones Farms. The storm destroyed the farm that had most of the premium ranunculus crop as well. This was an unusual phenomenon in Chile, they have never experienced this type of crop damage due to cold weather. As information becomes available, we will update you as to what to expect moving forward with these crops.
- Kumquats have been put on the agricultural hit list again, so they will not be available for a while
- Local peonies are finished, Dutch are stored for a while now and Alaska should start soon but NOT a huge supply and they will be pricey.
- Giant Allium and eremurus have finished locally but are available as an import from Holland
- Local hydrangea and dahlias are in full swing, Dutch hydrangea are available also.
- Dutch Lilies are hot right now and worth trying, we are running specials from the top 2 growers in Holland. They are price and size comparable to Oregon lilies but with some different unique varieties
- Large local coxcomb is on strong and looking good.
- Domestic lisianthus production is down. It has been affected by the heat and some hot colors like Brown and black are almost strictly Dutch now AND a bit expensive. We will be moving towards importing these as local production decreases.
- Note: you can't trust everything you see on Instagram. Sometimes growers and wholesalers post unusual items that are in extremely short supply so ask your wholesaler before selling something that you see on Instagram, it doesn’t mean it's readily available.
FLOWER CARE & HANDLING
- Two hydrangea questions are related:
- Elaine: I have a really hard time with hydrangeas, I've tried submerging them when they arrive or at the time of arranging, I've tried Allium on the stems, watered it from the petals, you name it I've done it. Any other suggestions?
- La'Wanda Marie Hines: Hi! ,What is the best way to keep a hydrangea lasting in a bouquet? Especially in a hand-tied bouquet?
- Proper cold chain management and hydration with floral food before hand are crucial! In dry climates, it is common practice to submerge the heads in room temperature water for 20 minutes and up to an hour to firm up the heads. You can also accelerate water uptake in the stems by using a potato peeler and removing a few inches of the dermal tissue below the waterline, exposing more of the xylem. This will give you more surface for the uptake of the hydrating solution. Also, by leaving your hand tied bouquets stems longer, you can cut them just before presentation. Keep it in water as long as possible before your install. If you can, re-cut the stems and put the bouquet back in water between photo shoots, ceremony, and reception That will help add some longevity. Always have a few extra stems handy in the event you get a floral malfunction. Some florists will build a “backup” bouquet and switch it out mid event. You can also use an “eco sponge wrap” from Eco Fresh Bouquet to keep the stems hydrated.
- Kasey: Also any tips on helping keep an arrangement fresh longer I would appreciate it mine tend to die fairly quickly, I cut the leaves so that they aren't flower level.
- Lack of proper flower conditioning is the number one cause of premature flower death. Without replenishing the sugars in the cut flowers & greens they will not perform properly. Bulb flowers need additional care as they are no longer receiving hormones from their corm, bulb or tuber. Another huge factor is cold chain management. By properly conditioning and storing your cut flowers they will be set up to resist the stresses that occur during the arranging process.
- Same proper handling when you get them back to the shop...always make sure you are re-cutting the stems and allowing flowers to drink before you put them back in the cooler.
MARKETING NEWS
- Facebook:
- Facebook is rolling out ads in Messenger to everyone. So people will see ads at the top of their Messenger app. If they tap on the ad, then Facebook sends them to your desired destination, which could be a Messenger conversation or your website.
- Instagram:
- Did you know that you can also place ads in Instagram Stories? This isn’t new news as this was announced at the beginning of the year, but it is a great advertising tool especially since Instagram stories are so powerful.
- Friends & followers can now reply to Instagram Stories with photos, videos, and Boomerangs, not just text!
- Probably the most piece of social media news right now is that you can share a replay of your live videos to Stories. So once you stop broadcasting your live video, tap the share button at the bottom of the page. So easy and a great way to get more mileage out of your live videos if the content is relevant for more than the time you are live.
FLOWER BUSINESS
- July is American Grown Flowers Month:
- First, it started with American Flowers Week, and now we have American Grown Flowers Month. It is exciting to watch this campaign grow! This campaign is to celebrate the value of America's flower farming families throughout the month of July.
- http://www.americangrownflowers.org/congress-declares-july-american-grown-flower-month/
FLOWER DESIGN
- Lisa Ferguson: New fresh mechanical ideas for hanging installations.
- Newer trends including gridding your ceiling space with wire and hanging ribbons or inverting flowers like snapdragons & delphiniums to create a textured false ceiling. You could also suspend geometrical armatures intertwined with flowers to create depth.
- Funny I have been getting a lot of request for this very thing recently from my florists, specifically how to and how much to charge. I agree with Dave. Large hanging grids or ceilings of flowers are making a strong showing right now. This can be done with chicken wire attached to wooden frames or suspended styrofoam covered in moss and made into a wood frame, hung with silk (artificial flowers) mixed with real greenery to give it a fresh look. It’s a lighter weight alternative and can be made in advance.Almost all the large installs you see with what looks like wisteria or hanging with really full perfect line flowers are most likely artificial.
- Large wire hoops suspended like chandeliers are still popular as are floating and hanging spheres and cages and dripping delicate flowers.
- ZIg-zagging wires across the ceiling the draping greens across with lighting
- Also elevating very high platforms on tables ceiling height and then draping florals downward is a great look
- Denise M: What are the best pairings with white and blush colored Peonies for an outdoor, May wedding for both simple table arrangements and hand tied bouquets. Any tips or tricks in working with them?
- My favorites are garden roses, why have one great fragrance when you can blend several. Texture is everything and garden roses provide not only great fragrance but also textural interest. Make sure to plan on receiving your peonies and garden roses with plenty of time to get them fully open!
- I love garden roses also and definitely would use standards like Quicksand roses or Sahara, pale pink ranunculus, white, scabiosa and Mary Milton viburnum (when you can get it), mock orange, brown lisianthus. SO many pretties.I think nudes, and brown tone flowers bring the sweetness of the pinks down a bit.
- Eunice: What are some tips you would give first-time florists, with no education?
- The Floral Design Institute has online classes available. For more information see the accompanying link. https://www.floraldesigninstitute.com/distance-learning.html
- Find the very best quality or high-end shops in your area and ask to intern for them. Do anything! Process flowers, wash buckets, take orders, get to know your way around a flower shop or studio event florist. Everyone starts this way. Most shops will need the help and don’t have time to train so it’s a great way to get your foot in the door.Once there learn everything you can and study on your own as well.
- Also, a good way to tell if this is for you, being a florist is hard work y’all!
- Mayesh offers great instructional videos from our Present and Past design stars and there are tons of tutorials online.
- At the same time take workshops and classes and one-on-one workshops with your favorite designers. I offer a series of workshops at our Carlsbad location but not all of our locations do.
- Some other great resources: