The Flower Blog

How does the weather impact my flower order?  

As operations manager of Gillespie Florists, one of my responsibilities is to keep our 500 square foot cooler stocked daily with the freshest flowers from around the world, and with not just a few varieties or colors- literally thousands!  Importing flowers from around the world is a lot of fun, but takes planning and patience.  Many of major crops are grown in America (California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Washington State, Oregon, Indiana and more).  However, the weather in the United States is not always conducive for the growth of product throughout the year.  Therefore, we must go beyond our borders to find product that is off crop (not available) here.  South America, Canada, Holland and Italy are a few of my favorite exporters of quality product for our customers.

Not only does the seasonal change in weather affect the production of flowers, but severe or unexpected weather conditions can influence price and availability worldwide.  California's cold and rainy winter season affect the production of waxflower, stock and larkspur (just to name a few).  Florida's intense summer heat affects the production of gladiolus crops.  The severe flooding in Bogota, South America seriously contributed to the shortage and high cost of pom pons and alstroemeria during early May of this year.  A freeze in January of 2010 in Florida caused major damage to thousands of acres of fern crops, which in turn affected thousands of florists during the Valentine's Day holiday.

Typcially, poor weather conditions in one or two regions do not disturb the overall world wide production of floral crops.  It is my job to seek out product elsewhere to fill our cooler and keep our customers satisfied with the quality flowers they are used to seeing every day.  From time to time, minor substitutions may be made on popular arrangements due to seasonal or weather availability conditions.  However, you are still guaranteed a beautiful gift that will be pleasing to not only the senses, but to the heart as well.

Check out our wide selection of flowers by clicking below!

What can you find in our 500 square foot cooler? Whatch this video below to see!

We at Gillespie Florists thought it would be fun to have a Prom King & Queen Contest! Prom customers only needed to post their picture on our Facebook Fan Page wearing our flowers! We then asked our Facebook fans to "Like" their favorite picture or make a positive comment about it to determine the winner. We had several people enter but there can be only one winner! 

And the Winner is...

The Results are in! Our Prom King & Queen for 2011 is....

Leah Nurnberg & Steven Melton!

They are the couple on the right.

Leah & Steven each get a $25.00 gift card to Gillespie Florists and Leah will be crowned with a tiara!

They had a whopping 58 "Likes" and comments on their photo! Congratulations!!

  Leah wore a three-alstroemeria corsage similar to the one pictured here. Leah's was white and silver and looked great with Steven's matching alstroemeria boutonniere!

As a Thank You to everyone who entered the contest, we want to offer you a free Sunshine Bouquet! Just stop in the store any time, give us your name and we will give you your Sunshine!

Those Contestants are: 

Tyler Weir & Meredith Warbinton

Carly Lewis & Jacob Miller

Brenda Danielle & Tommy Dennis

Ryan Page & Cory Urick

Michael Brissey & Simi Bean

Thanks again to everyone who entered the contest! Until next year!

  This year we asked Prom customers to post a snap shot of them selves wearing Gillespie Florists flowers on our Facebook Fan Page to get the chance to be crowned the Gillespie Florists Prom King & Queen!

Here is what our Prom King & Queen Hopefuls had to do:

·  Take a snapshot wearing Gillespie's Flowers.

·  Post it on our Wall.

·  Tag everyone in the picture.

·  Gillespie’s adds the picture to "Prom King & Queen Contest Album".

·  Then they ask friends and family to "Like" their photo or make a positive comment on the photo.

·  One week after the end of Prom Season, we will tally up the "Likes" and Comments and whoever has the most wins!

 What do they win?

The Queen will be crowned with a tiara and both King and Queen will be awarded with $25.00 Gift Cards to Gillespie Florists!  And don't forget, Bragging Rights!

Want to help decide who wins? Click Here to go to the "Prom King & Queen Contest Album" and “Like” your favorite Now!

Winners will be announced on Facebook May 21st!

Check out our Fabulous selection of Prom Flowers!

  I just want to thank the makers of 'Glee' for having all the main characters of 'Glee' wear Prom Flowers! To me, of course, it's just not Prom with out the flowers!

'Glee' Certified

So, What kinds of flowers are good enough for our favorite 'Glee' characters? I am glad to say there were a great variety of flowers, from Carnations to Roses to Orchids. I think they did a great job showing that you don't have to get roses to look great. But it doesn't mean that the producers of 'Glee' skimped out.

Most Memorable

  The most memorable corsage was Quinn's. No one will forget the sweet scene where Rachel told Finn what type of corsage to get Quinn! Though, I have to mention, she said a Gardenia corsage not orchid. But Finn still did great! He got Quinn a Dendrobium Orchid and Rose corsage with a green ribbon. Very similar to the one pictured here! I also noticed it was on a pearl beaded keepsake wristlet.

Favorite Corsage

My Favorite Corsage was Santana's! Quinn's was a little too big for my taste but Santana's was perfect! I couldn't get a good enough look to tell if it was Carnations or Roses but what was great about it was, it matched perfectly to her red dress but didn't take away from it. It had just three flowers, a little ribbon and a few leaves! Similar to the one pictured to the right! 

The Boutonnieres

  I really like Kurt and Blaine's Boutonnieres! I loved the use of the Boutonniere holder, like the one pictured here to the left. In this picture, there is a yellow rose with blue wire, black leaves and the boutonniere holder. But Kurt and Blaine had a beautiful pink carnation. It gave it a more dressed up chic look with out looking too frilly!

The rest of the guys wore Roses or Carnation pin on boutonnieres. Finn had a great matching Rose and Dendrobium Orchid boutonniere with a green ribbon to match Quinn. It was great!

The Prom season is almost over! This weekend is the last of the Proms for Gillespie Florists. If you are a GleeK like me and want your 'Glee' prom flowers click below!

Watch this Video of Designer Favorites!

Don't Buy Flowers

I have seen more than one article online about "What to get Mom this Mother's Day Other Than Flowers". I was shocked! Flowers are the singular product out there that is widely versatile and easily budgeted.

Buy Flowers!

In these economic times, not everyone can afford a spa treatment or an ebook reader. Everyone can afford flowers. Here at Gillespie Florists, like many local retail florists, we offer take out flowers starting at just a $1.00 a stem! Step into our 500 square foot cooler and hand pick mom a beautiful bouquet for her to put into her vase at home. If you are unsure of your flower skills, pick up one of our European wrapped bouquets starting at just $3.95! Our $3.95 bouquet, is aptly named The Sunshine Bouque which includes two carnations, one stem of daisy poms, babies breath and greenery! This versatile style of gathered flowers can be easily upgraded to any amount to suite your budget!

Make it Personal

Don't worry about getting Mom an expensive singing card; with every purchase at Gillespie Florists you get a free enclosure card! Be sure to sign it with "I love you" and it will be sure to please! Though if you are looking to say a little more, grab some stationary or notebook paper from home. Tell Mom about your favorite memories with her, times she's made you laugh and times she's been there when you really needed her. This will mean so much more than any gift you could get her.

Not sure if Mom has a vase at home? No worries! We sell arrangement in vases and keepsake containers!

Make it More than Just Flowers

Home   Tea for Two is one of our New 2011 specials for Mother's Day!

This keepsake teacup and saucer is filled with delicate white daisies, green buttons, alstroemeria lilies, and lovely limonium! This is a great gift because your flowers will last at least a week and a half with proper care and Mom has a teacup to enjoy tea in time and time again!

HomePatina comes in a keepsake vase with painted flowers on it! We take soft pink alstroemeria lilies, solidago, seeded eucalyptus and bears grass and artfully design it into this spectacular keepsake vase!

This is a great vase to bring back to us to fill for you in years to come!

Vintage Kitchen is filled with yellow and white daisies, alstroemeria lilies, carnations, babies breath and greenery! Our designers create these pastel flowers into a real ceramic colander that has pretty white daisies painted on it! After Mom enjoys the beauty of your gift for well over a week, she will then use the colander again and again!

If you want something more to go with your flowers, check out our Woodwick Candles, South Bend Chocolates, Balloons, Figurines, Teddy Bears, Blooming plants, Hanging Baskets and Green Plants and More! From $1.00 to $100.00, We've got the perfect gift for Mom!

Looking for more? Click below for our entire Mother's Day Selections!

Check out our Designers Favorites Below!

  With our Prom season halfway over, we've got a pretty good idea what's hot and what's not for 2011! I wanted to share this with those of you that still have a Prom coming up this year!

Top 5 Prom Corsages

1. Three Sweet Heart Rose Wrist Corsage

With three delicate sweet hear roses, sheer hot pink ribbon, silver beads, iridescent leaves and silver glitter tulle this corsage is sure to get the party started! This corsage comes on our free wristlet but you can pick out one of our many keepsake wristlets to go with it instead to remember your perfect Prom Night!

2. Stardust Wrist Corsage

This dendrobium orchid wrist corsage includes green dendrobium orchids, white wax flower, with a simulated diamond pin centering a pin wheel design of black and silver ribbon and zebra ribbon adorned on to a black rhinestone wristlet!

3. Bauble On Wrist Corsage

This wrist corsage includes three mini carnations, fuschia lazer leaves, iridescent beads, sheer fuschia ribbon on a keepsake large iridescent beaded bracelet!

     3. Boho Wrist Corsage

This corsage has three lovely sweet heart roses in a circle design, silver and black sheer ribbon, matching red rhinestone sprays, black lazer leaves and a beaded gunmetal keepsake wristlet!

5. Three Alstroemeria Wrist Corsage

A great way to have flowers that are a little different with spending a lot of money! This wrist corsage has three alstroemeria lilies with lavender beads, purples leaves, delicate sheer purple ribbon on a white beaded wristlet!

The great thing about our prom corsages is that there are thousand of combinations! We have over 100 ribbon choices, dozens of leaf, bead and tulle choices! We of dozens of keepsake bracelets to put your corsage on and most importantly we have hundreds of flower combinations! Best of all, don't see what you need? Just ask! We would love to help you get the perfect corsage for the perfect night!

See the perfect corsage on our site and want to share it with your friends or your date? There's an easy Facebook and Twitter button on each product!

Check out our Top 5 Corsages and more! Click below!

Check out Our Designer Favorites for 2011!

  How can you make this year's Easter Special?

Seems like everywhere you look there is a Easter celebration or Easter Egg hunt to celebrate Easter! So, How can you separate  this year's Easter bash from previous years? Flowers!

It's not just flowers.

Gillespie Florists carries a wide variety of products for the Easter Holiday, from plants, to gift baskets, to flowers! Here are a few examples!

We carry green house plants year round but at spring time we carry beautiful bulb plants! Pictured here is a basket with hyacinths and tulips that will come back year after year!

Product: Happy Spring!

Item #: 10E06

Price: $59.95

Easter Baskets are a great idea if you can not get home for Easter! Just order on our website or give us a call and we will do the rest! We fill up a basket with some of your favorite Easter treats: Peeps, Chocolate bunny, M&M's and Easter Eggs filled with Candies!

Product: Happy Easter Basket

Item #: 11E01

Price: $29.95

Don't forget the flowers! We have all sorts of bouquets to fit any gathering! We have fun and festive centerpieces like this adorable basket pictured to the left. We also have stunning tributes to the rebirth of Jesus Christ.

Product: Easter Time

Item # 09E09

Price: $29.95

Check out all of our great Easter Specials!

What Flowers would a Vampire wear to Prom?

Prom season is upon us and we have been making new designs for prom this year. With recent books and movies focusing on Vampires, I couldn't help but wonder: What flowers would a Vampire wear to Prom?                    

The Countess might wear a corsage like this, elegant with a twist of mystery. Blood red roses, Contrasting ethereal black and red ribbons entwined with glitter hanging off the side, ruby red rhinestones and a timeless silver and rhinestone wristlet is sure to draw out her fangs!

Of course let's not forget about the man of the night, his sophisticated boutinniere complements the vampress's look without overshadowing it. This boutonniere has passionate blood red roses, black leaves a few red rhinestones and a jet black magnetic boutonniere holder ensures the wearer will not have to worry about pin pricks or being attacked by their date before their prom night even begins.

Vampire or not, Gillespie Florists is here to help your special evening look not be eclipsed by anyone else!

  What is an Order Gatherer?

Order Gatherer.  What is an Order Gatherer?  In the Flower Business, it is a company that is largely in the business of advertising a Product and Service that it does not actually produce.  This company is nothing more then a “middle man” that increases the cost to the consumer and reduces the level of efficiency, quality of service and therefore consumer satisfaction.  It also reduces the customer base and profit of the Local Florist.

This company could likely have no Design or Delivery Staff, no Inventory of Fresh Flowers or Live Plants, no Vases, Baskets or Pottery, no Delivery Vans, just office space.

How Does this Effect Me?

This company might charge you, the consumer a fee of $10.95 or more, just to accept your order.  That company then might use a Wire Service to forward the order to a real florist, with Design,  Delivery, Sales and Processing Staff, with Inventory,  Delivery Vans and Refrigeration and the Thousands of Dollars of investment and expenses that go with operating a flower shop, who will fill your order discounted by 27% or MORE, loosing money on each order that the florist is foolish enough to accept.

The Order gatherer on the other hand most likely collects a large Sending Rebate from the Wire Service plus a Large Percentage of the Price of the Product you purchased.

What can I do?

So take a minute next time you want to send flowers, if the flowers aren’t to be delivered in Marion or the 6 surrounding counties that we service, simply type: “florist, city, state or zip code”  and you should see Real Florists with local addresses and unfortunately most likely, the order gatherers you want to avoid.

Want to learn more about order gatherers? Check out this article from our old blog! Click Here!

 Every guy ends up in the Doghouse at one point or another in their lives and the big question is always: How do I get out of the Dog House?

Where does the phrase "in the Doghouse" come from? 

Its origin is from the old custom of banishing a bad dog outside to its doghouse. Though many believe that the phrase was coined after the story of Peter Pan. In the story, Mr. Darling treats their family dog badly by chaining her to the doghouse outside while the children fly off with Peter Pan.  Mr. Darling then feels so guilty that he lives in the doghouse until his children return home.

This phrase was also used as a railroad term in the late 1800's. The railroads had built a small windowed shelter on top of the engine tender because of union mandates. It was called a doghouse since it was so small and uncomfortable.

How do I get out of the Doghouse?

Let us help you get out of the doghouse with our easy 6-step guide! These are tried and true actions that work quickly and effectively! 

Click below to sign up for the Guide!