I wear “a lot of hats” in the flower business, but one of the most important aspects of my job is to maintain a high standard of quality in the fresh cut flower products that we offer. To that end, I test fresh cut flowers from different vendors, under different conditions, throughout the year to make sure that Gillespie Florists offers the best products year round.
How do I test fresh cut flowers? Several ways, actually! It seems like a pretty cut and dry (no pun intended) subject, but there can be complex situations in which our flowers are placed.
The most common placement of fresh cut flowers are in a clear glass vase with water and flower food (FloraLife or Aqua Plus are our two favorites). Several times throughout the year, I test the vase life of our most popular varieties of flowers (roses, carnations, gerbera, pom pons and lilies) with different brands of flower food and even common household items that can be used to prolong vase life (i.e. sugar, sprite, aspirin, alum, etc.). It is interesting to experiment with the flower food in various conditions (heat, sunlight, cold, dim lighting, indoors, outdoors, etc.) to see if the vase life is effected. I have even changed up the type of water I have used to test the cut flowers (tap water versus bottled water; clean water versus water with sediment in it).
Another way that I test flowers is to design sample arrangements for events ahead of time to see how the flowers will behave in a particular environment. For example, we recently had a wedding featuring composite style rose bouquets. Several weeks before the wedding, we designed samples and tested them over a course of a week. I specifically was interested in the longevity of the bouquets since they would be completely out of water (and designed using petals, so there was no stem either)! It was really interesting to see how well the bouquets held up, both in and out of refrigeration. And surprisingly, the samples held up for a much longer period of time than I would have guessed!
I have a wedding coming up soon that features hydrangeas, lilies and calla lilies for centerpieces. Because of the particular design, we have created some unique ways to provide a water source for these flowers in a small amount of space. As you can see from this photo, one of our test designs did not work out very well!
The good news is that the other did work out, so we are armed with the knowledge of how to prepare the centerpieces and NOT experience failure at the most critical time: the day of the event!!!
Additional experiments that I have conducted compare varieties and grades of flowers against one another. For example, the vase life of a Freedom rose versus a Forever Young rose. Both roses are a rich red color, but it can be surprising that they open (bloom) differently and have different vase lives. I test fancy grade versus select grade carnations or alstroemeria frequently. I also test identical products from different vendors to see if a particular flower has a better vase life. For example, I have studied gerbera from Rosa Flora versus Maximum.
Fresh flowers are much more predictable in their longevity as compared to 25 years ago. Advancements in science have contributed greatly to the quality of the fresh cut flower products available today. I believe it is important, however, to test our flowers year round to have peace of mind, knowing that our product is the freshest and most beautiful in the Indianapolis area.
Check out our selection of well tested bouquets by clicking below!
I wrote a blog recently that we had starting carrying a new line of Windchimes! I also said at that time we would soon be offering these new windchimes on our website. Well the wait is over! We have a great selection of windchimes on our website that I would love to introduce to you!
As with any trend, the more mainstream it becomes, the more products are developed to meet the demand of the trend. Lucky for florists and consumers alike, growers at the farm-level developed some wonderful options in flesh tones to accompany the nude fashion trend!
Pale peach has been around for quite a while. One of my favorite pale peach roses is the aromatic Osiana rose. One of my favorite Gerbera is Pacific, pictured here in a bridesmaid’s bouquet.
Peak season for the local peonies this year is now (late May). Last year, the peak season was in April! This is because in March, we had steady temperatures in the mid 80’s. This year, our weather remained cooler than normal for April and even the beginning of May. Generally speaking, the peak of our local peony season is around Mother’s Day. Last year, the peak occurred early and this year the peak occurred late. Therefore, another problem with peonies is trying to include them in an event (such as a wedding), not knowing if they will be available at the time of the event. 
And the Winner is...
Since Stefan and Damon are over a hundred years old, it’s not surprising they take part in the time-honored tradition in bringing their prom date flowers (even though they are taking the same girl). Stefan gives Elena a hand tied bouquet (a.k.a. nosegay) of gerbera daisies and green roses. Even though her emotions are turned off, she does accept the bouquet. I think that is very telling of Elena true feelings toward Stefan because when Damon tries to give Elena a white rose with pink ribbon corsage; she tries to refuse it and not wear it. Of course if you know Damon, he won’t take “No” for an answer and with his super Vampire skills; he grabs Elena’s wrist and straps that corsage on her like her life depends on it! Elena does show up to prom with Damon’s corsage on and doesn’t have Stefan’s bouquet so, we could say that is very telling as well. But I’m on team Stefan so I am choosing to read more into Elena accepting the flowers from Stefan.
I love the centerpieces for the tables! They were fresh flowers with a lighted lamp in the center. I like how they combined two things people like to have in the center of the table and combined it instead of choosing one or the other. The bouquets included white lilies, purple stock, burgundy carnations, white buttons and accent flowers. A lot of schools choose not to have fresh flower centerpieces at their proms but we have a local high school that still does it and the kids love it! They keep the cost down by bring us their own containers and many times bring in items for us to include. This year they brought us party masks to include in the bouquet.
Caroline, vampire and friend to Elena, left the Prom early because she was upset that she couldn’t spend her senior prom with her werewolf/vampire hybrid boyfriend, Tyler. She came home to set up for a party she was having later that night and there was Tyler waiting for her with a hand tied bouquet of flowers. This bouquet included lavender daisies, cushion pompons, alstroemeria lilies and solidego. It was very pretty and very sweet of him to bring.
