The Flower Blog

Have you ever wondered about where or how florists obtain the variety of fresh cut pine and greenery offered in seasonal/winter arrangements?

First, let’s explore some of our most popular varieties of fresh cut pine and seasonal greenery that we offer throughout the winter months in our shop. Our favorites include: Port Orford, boxwood, flat cedar, incense cedar, silver pine tips and boughs, white pine, mistletoe, noble, balsam and holly. Occasionally, we stock the following as well: Juniper, Douglas, Spruce, Scotch, Red Pine, Hemlock, Frazier and Pepperberry.

Why do we stock so many varieties of seasonal/winter greenery? Generally, we design our seasonal/winter arrangements with at least 2-3 types of greenery to add texture and interest to the design. Since the shape and/or density of each greenery can vary, certain types of greenery are appropriate for specific design styles. For example, we use cedar for a lacey, cascading effect. Each greenery also has a distinct fragrance which also adds another dimension to each arrangement.

Now that we have explored some specific types of seasonal/winter greenery, let’s look at where we can obtain the product. Most of our product comes from out West, in Oregon, Colorado and Washington State. We do obtain product from Florida, Michigan and right here in Indiana, too! One of our designers, Duane, harvests boxwood from his own Indiana garden for our seasonal/winter arrangements. Harvesting at the correct time, especially in Indiana, can be a tricky task! Duane watches the weather closely in October to determine when the first hard freeze will arrive. The harvesting must occur BEFORE the first hard freeze because of the effect that the cold weather has on the color and quality of the boxwood. The boxwood can be stored at cool temperatures, in water for several weeks. The greenery that we purchase from companies out of state are harvesting and packaging their products in 20-50 pound boxes throughout October and November for shipping in November and December. One company, located in Colorado, dedicates over 50% of their cold storage to seasonal/winter greenery every fall for the busy winter shipping season. Since the demand is high for a short period of time, these companies must harvest early and store their product until their customers are ready to receive shipment. 

The weather and wildfires can play a significant role in the price and availability of seasonal/winter greenery. Several years ago, Western wildfires blazed through thousands and thousands of acres of farmland where greenery was to be harvested. Since there was less farmland from which to harvest, and the demand was steady, availability was limited and the price increased significantly that year. Last year, Indiana experienced a summer drought which affected the availability of local product, thereby affecting availability and driving the price up.

 Our seasonal/winter greenery arrives to us via refrigerated truck just before Thanksgiving. Shipping methods vary from florist to florist, depending on the quantity and shipping costs. Because of the weight of seasonal/winter greenery, I would guess that most florists prefer a ground (truck) method of shipment versus air (plane).

Check out some of our bouquets that include fresh cut pine! Click below! 

In honor of Small Business Saturday this weekend we will be celebrating with some great specials and freebies as well, including the opportunity to get a free re-usable bag (quantities are limited, so be sure to stop by early on Saturday!).  I love reusable bags...perfect for groceries, toting books and activities for kids on road trips, carrying shoes on rainy days, disguising a recent purchase of chocolate...mmmm...anyway..you get the idea.

All Christmas 30% Off

Fall Product 40% Off

Everyday 40% Off

Candles 40% Off

Webkinz 40% Off

Don’t forget to ask about our Fresh Flower take out specials!

Sale Excludes: 

Any Fresh Flowers, Any Plants, Any Serviced Product Sale items cannot be delivered. Restrictions may apply.

All Sales Are Final. Sale Ends on Monday, December 2nd, 2013

Questions? Call 317.273.1100

Miss our sale? Print this coupon for 20% off in store for the entire month of December! 

"Beep beep beep, bomp bomp boop, beep bo bip BEEEP"

"Hello…Welcome to the automated customer service center. We will now give you 5 options to choose from to get to the next level of service, please select now…."

"BEEP"

"Thank you for choosing, now please state what service you need using 1 word clearly spoken"

"Representative"

"Sorry..I didn't get that. Please repeat"

"Service"

"That is not an option, Please try again"

"A live person"

"...Could you repeat please?"

"Operator"

"I'm sorry, if you would like to speak to a customer service representative, please press 0 now"

"THWOMP"….that was my head…on my desk.

There are usually 2 outcomes from a customer service experience such as this one. I rejoice in having the patience to survive the time-sucking gauntlet of robot-lady voices to the final goal of reaching a live person, OR, I'm mad as a hatter for having to explain my question once reaching a live person after selecting 20 options to get to the one who should KNOW why i am calling in the first place!    

Technology is a wonderful thing which can streamline daily processes; it is also the root all of evil for people who just want to talk to somebody! Consider this interaction after picking up the phone and dialing another 10 numbers...

"Beep beep" "beep beep"

"Gillespie Florists this is Sarah, how may I help you?"

(oh you had me at hello, you're human right off the bat)

Speaking to someone directly makes things better immediately. You are not waiting 10 minutes to reach an individual, you pick up the phone and tadah! There they are!  Granted you might have to listen to some interlude music but you're 1 person from your destination instead of playing 20 questions with the robot lady.  I don't know about you but given the choice, I choose a human. Now why would this be important?  To me, that's part of great customer service, which is one of many advantages of working with small businesses and shopping local.  

Customer service is important to the survival of small companies because lets face it, given the choice if you have a bad experience  with a company, do you want to return with your business? Give them your hard earned money to feel like another drop in the bucket, an expendable customer? Um...not me and hopefully not you either!   How does a business keep you coming back but through quality, price, and great customer service? I want to go where everyone knows my name (well...that's a long shot) but where I can walk in the door and am greeted with a friendly hello, perhaps see a friend, and start shopping, or getting seated for a meal. 

My little family doesn't do a great deal of shopping, however we do have 1 meal out a week on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. There are about 6 restaurants on our rotation and they are all local, small restaurants.  Sure we will hit up a food chain once in a blue moon but the majority of the time, I like the little places for a number of reasons.

1. Great food 

2. Good price for the great food

3. Longest wait time is usually 10 minutes ( in kid time, that's 2 hours)

4. Friendly staff   

5. Great service

We have been going to these restaurants for years.  I love the fact we can go in and see familiar faces. We can sit down and the guy who preps the table and pours the water automatically gives us an empty styrofoam cup for our youngest because he remembers our routine. Another favorite place, we don't need to say "booth seating with a high chair please". We walk in the door, they smile and wave us on back with a high chair in tow. It's the little things which make a big difference. Scratch that, it's the PEOPLE who make the difference, and they are the reason why we return to those places and spend the time and money that we do there.  

Something to think about as Small Business Saturday approaches towards the end of November every year. What stands out in your shopping experience?  Is the the percentage off price tag or the person making friendly small talk as your purchases are rang up.  The waiter who smiles and asks a follow up question to your 6 year old when he blurts out what he learned about pilgrims yesterday?

Or maybe you just happen to visit your local florist, perhaps Gillespie Florists, having no clue what you need but by golly, you have GOT to get something for your mothers holiday dinner tomorrow.  

Walk in the door and be greeted with a smile and friendly staff looking forward to helping you out, or pick up the phone and chat with someone who can help find the perfect bouquet. Little things make a big difference. And a little less time conversing with robot-lady doesn't hurt either.  

Click here or come on by our location off 10th & Raceway to see what we have to offer in celebration of Small Business Saturday! We are proud and ready to serve you!

Like what we do? Leave us a Review on one or more of these places below!

I love fonts! Lots and lots of fonts! Big fonts, little fonts, decorative font, distressed fonts, gothic ones, basic ones, script! name the category and I am betting I will love at least 100 sets of these fabulous characters in it!  Whew! That is a lot of excitement for something we see on daily basis isn't it?

What is the big fuss about fonts anyway? As a graphic designer, they serve an important role in my work. My job is to express information, ideas, and feelings through images, color, and font. Many times the information must be conveyed without using image at all. What do we have left but color and font? Sometimes not even full color but just black and white! Sounds a little boring, doesn't it? Not so long ago designers had a limited supply of fonts; we appreciated the subtle differences between Helvetica and Futura, Garamond and Goudy, but now? The world is our oyster! Thanks to font creation software and imaginative artists we have categories upon categories of fonts to meander through to find the perfect match for what we are thinking….

I know what you are thinking right now..."How does this relate to flowers?!"

Flowers aren't so different...there are millions of specimens; all having unique characteristics, some subtle, some obvious, all having the ability to express ideas, convey messages and feelings whether it be through a single stem of daisy poms or an entire spring bouquet.

One of my favorite examples of expression through flowers and fonts is how we bring them together for weddings through a theme.  You know when you have your theme; it may be colors, a favorite style or era, the newest trend, or maybe something of your own creation!

Again, endless possibilities!

Think about when you picked out or commissioned a designer to do your wedding invitations. Was there a certain font in the collection that stood out?

Where you thought "this is me! Oh this fits us! Just what I was looking for!"

It's so exciting when you find something which can express your ideas without having to say much, if anything at all. Again, flowers have the same capacity. A rose, for example. When I see a Vendela Rose, the word elegant comes to mind.

 

 

 

 

 

Take a rose of a different color, such as red, add a few orange stargazer lillies, a few stalks of purple status, and the once "elegant" rose is now part of a brilliant and bold bouquet!

 

 

 

 

 

Or consider yet another one, a few white roses mixed with some eucalyptus,  delphinium, cornflower, kale, thistle eryngium, tree fern and voila!. A soft whimsical bouquet to compliment a light and airy wedding dress for a summer wedding outdoors.

Isn't it amazing how a single rose can transform into an entire theme? Just like font lettering. One style of letter by itself can speak to you. Put together a meaningful word with these letters and there it is, your theme is created, your idea in motion. Now off to your local florist to find which flowers express the same message for the world to see what you're feeling on such a special day.

With the right floral combination, color, and creativity you can have your wedding theme pulled together as boldly, elegantly, whimsically, beautifully as you have always imagined! Not sure where to begin? Have an idea or certain theme in mind but not sure what direction to go next? Check out our wedding link to get your creative ideas flowing. The fine staff of Gillespie Florists will be delighted to help you out with your wedding plans. Good luck and happy matching!

The past couple of years I have been blogging about ‘Glee’ Prom and have received positive feedback. So here’s the scoop on what flowers our favorite characters wore to ‘Glee’ Prom 2013! First and foremost, I noticed there were way more characters on ‘Glee’ wearing prom flowers this season compared to past seasons; which as a florist, makes me very happy!

BrundleProm?

The theme for the 2013 ‘Glee’ Prom was BrundleProm? It was either BrundleProm or simply Junior/Senior Prom, which is a disappointment when looking back at past Prom themes. Unlike previous years, there was not a great variety in the types of flowers worn to the prom. The characters wore mostly carnations and roses on the inexpensive throw away elastic wristlets.  I did notice however, one or two of the main characters did wear keepsake bracelets!

Most Memorable Corsage

The most memorable corsage was Tina's; mostly because it was one of the few corsages in the entire show that looked like any care was put into putting it together.  This corsage outshone all the others with red sweetheart roses, black ribbon, white pearl beads, green leaves and a keepsake charcoal gray wristlet!

Since Tina was crowned queen of the BrundleProm, it’s not a surprise they put extra effort into having her wear a pretty corsage. Of coirse, it is unfortunate red slushy got dumped all over Tina while being crowned but her true friends took care of her, got her cleaned up so she could enjoy the rest of her prom as queen!

Favorite Corsage… or Not!

I  didn’t have a favorite corsage this year. There was much left to be desired when it came to the corsages worn by the lead characters. In previous seasons, they always had nice corsages which were different from everyone elses and even had some creativity put into them! This year, however, everyone was wearing one of two flower types: Carnations or Roses. Many corsages had inexpensive satin ribbon, elastic wristlets, and green leaves; making the final effect oversized and sloppy.

With that said, I LOVED the fact that almost every single person in the cast was wearing prom flowers! Even all the extras were wearing prom flowers! They had a scene where some of the Glee Club members were performing on stage and the crowd of high schoolers were jumping and dancing and you could see the corsages bouncing around on their wrists!  For that reason, Glee producers; you are forgiven for not putting more thought into your leads’ prom flowers!

Boutonnieres

Have you noticed they use the same boutonniere holder every year? (I’m probably the only person who notices but I’m just glad they are showing a holder at all.)  I believe Blaine was wearing it this year, a metal boutonniere holder with a carnation.  I’m kind of tired of seeing the same boutonniere holder every year, but admit they serve a great purpose.

Boutonniere holders are a lot easier to use than the traditional “pin-on” because you don’t get poked with a straight pin!

Past that, there’s not a lot to say about the boutonnieres of the BrundleProm. It was nice to see more guys wearing flowers this year!

Once Last Thing...

I don’t know if you noticed but they were using a hardy mum as part of the decor for the photo area. Did you know Hardy mums are only available in the Fall?  Now, it could be said that they were using a “Florist Mum” (a non-hardy mum grown in greenhouses year round), but the mum shown is way too big to be one of those. Which leads me to something that's been bugging me and if you follow Glee closely, it should bug you too! If you don’t, let me explain....

Last season ended mid-school year and this season picked back up after school winter break. For the show Glee, prom is taking place in early to mid spring, NOT the fall.  The reason why this bugs me is because at the end of last season and the beginning of this season, the show didn’t explain that they were splitting the school year up and making two seasons out of one school year. So, as I’m trying to piece this together, they show contradicting things like the hardy mum at prom!

All in all, I really enjoyed seeing all those Prom Flowers on one of my favorite shows.

In Indianapolis, our Prom season is a long way off but it’s never too early to think about what flowers will make your perfect prom! If you are a GleeK like me and want ‘Glee’ Prom flowers to accent your style, click below!

Over the last several years, I have seen a steady increase in customers who want to design their own arrangements.  The DIY revolution is not limited to one occasion as I have assisted customers with flower selections for weddings, receptions, large events/celebrations (recently a pastor at a church celebrated his 25th anniversary of service), birthdays, anniversaries, get well and even sympathy expressions.

DIY is not a new concept to Gillespie Florists.  As a matter of fact, Gillespie Florists has been offering our staple DIY bouquet (The Sunshine Bouquet) since 1975.  This simple, loose stem bouquet includes two stems of carnations, one stem of pomps (spray daisies or cushions), ½ stem of accent flower (babies breath, solidego, statice, limonium) and one stem of leatherfern for the unbelievable price of $3.95 each.  We sell dozens of Sunshine Bouquets each week to customers for every occasion.  We even have customers that purchase one or two Sunshine bouquets every week to have a few flowers at home to enjoy for themselves.

Did you know that you can bring your own vase into our store and fill it with flowers yourself at one of our design stations?  We provide the tools, water and flower preservative and you become the artist!  If you don’t have your own vase, no problem!  We have plenty of vases to choose from at the discounted, DIY rate!

Our second most popular DIY bouquet is the Take/Carry Out Dozen Rose Bouquet.  We offer two versions:  Dozen roses with Leatherfern for $19.95 or dozen roses with Leatherfern and a stem of babies breath for $22.95 (prices will vary with seasonal availability).  Our most popular color of rose is red, of course, but did you know that we offer a variety of colors of roses?  Depending on our inventory, we stock white, yellow, pink and other novelty rose colors, all for the low DIY prices mentioned above!

DIY weddings have steadily increased since 2009.  Brides on a budget are taking the world by storm, researching options online, arming themselves with the knowledge and skills to have gorgeous weddings, while staying within their budget.  The most common DIY aspect of a wedding is the reception centerpieces.  However, I have worked with brides who have designed their own bouquets for themselves and their bridesmaids, designed their own corsages and boutonnieres and designed their own ceremony and reception décor.  A tip for DIY brides:  Design practice bouquets a few months ahead of time.  This will help you know how many flowers you will need, how much time you need to plan for on your busy wedding week and discover any problems/issues/design changes BEFORE the week of your wedding!  

Interested in DIY flowers?  Stop by and speak with one of our friendly sales representatives to walk you through our 500 square foot cooler to start designing your own bouquet!

Mission impossible:  Plan a wedding from nearly 4,000 miles away from the site of the ceremony.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to plan every detail of your wedding, which is to take place in Indiana, while living and working in Alaska!  This was a REAL scenario for us a few months ago.  I have worked with out of town brides before, but this was certainly the greatest distance I had experienced!  

With the technology available to us today, working with brides from out of town is not an impossible mission.  As a matter of fact, it can be a very positive and rewarding experience! Of course, I prefer to meet brides face to face.  However, in the case of 4K miles, a bride just can’t hop a flight to Indy at a moment’s notice!  Therefore, the bride and I worked together to create an open line of communication and plan her flower selection down to the finest details.

Our bride, who lives and works in Alaska, contacted me about the possibility of designing the flowers for her wedding.  She inquired as to whether or not we could work with her from such a distance. Fortunately, this bride was able to meet with me in person during a visit to Indianapolis a several months prior to her wedding.  At that time, I was able to show her samples and begin planning her order with her in person.  After our meeting, we corresponded via email, sharing photos and samples of flowers digitally.  Over the course of several months, the bride and I kept in close contact via email.  

Finally, the weekend of the wedding arrived!  The bride came to our store to preview the completed/designed wedding flower order the day before her wedding.  The arrangements turned out wonderfully and she was pleased with the result of our coordinated efforts.  I really must give the bride most of the credit, she was fantastic to work with and corresponded with me frequently so we could have all the details worked out in advance.

If you are planning a wedding from across town or out of town, never fear! We are able to accommodate any distance (even 4K miles!) with a little help from technology.  

Ready to start planning your wedding or just have some questions? Contact Sarah, our wedding specialist, by clicking below!

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!

Some of the windchimes we offer are from local vendors and some are from QMT Windchimes. 

QMT Windchimes has been manufacturing hand-tuned wind chimes right here in the USA for over 30 years. They manufacture their chimes in Manassas Park, Virginia and use raw materials from American lumber and aluminum suppliers! They manufacture over 600 varieties of wind chimes!

Below is what we offer online from QMT:

Arias & Arias Elite

For more than twenty years, the Arias have been built to last the test of time.  The wood components are redwood with a penetrating oil-resin finish. The aluminum is anodized or powder-coated to stand up to the elements, and everything is held together with a strong cord.  Durable and weather-resistant, they will provide you years of enjoyment. They have an earthy, natural look that will easily become part of the scenery in your landscape. Whether in gentle breezes or strong winds, the Arias chimes will generate beautiful music to surround your home.

Sentimental Reflection Wind Chime

This wind chime is a part of the Arias collection by QMT windchimes. This wind chime is a part of the Arias collection by QMT. It is 24 inches long and has four bronze tubes. These wind chimes are hand tuned for optimum sound quality. This product is delivered on a handcrafted black metal stand made locally in Indiana! We also include in the presentation a beautiful red bow with streaming ribbons!

Peaceful Blessings Wind Chime

Also part of the Arias collection. It is 33 inches long and has six silver tubes. These wind chimes are hand tuned for optimum sound quality. This product is delivered on a handcrafted black metal stand made locally in Indiana! We also include in the presentation a beautiful lime green bow  with streaming ribbons!

Happy Remembrance Wind Chime

This wind chime is a part of the Arias Elite collection by QMT. This windchime is 24 inches long and has eight green tubes. These wind chimes are hand tuned for optimum sound quality. This product is delivered on a handcrafted black metal stand made locally in Indiana! We also include in the presentation a beautiful lavender bow with streaming ribbons!

Heartfelt Wind Chime

Also a part of the Arias Elite collection. It is 24 inches long and has eight black tubes. These wind chimes are hand tuned for optimum sound quality. This product is delivered on a handcrafted black metal stand made locally in Indiana! We also include in the presentation a beautiful rust colored bow with streaming ribbons!

We have more windchimes we want to add to the website and hope to add Weatherland and Shenandoah Melodies soon!

Wind chimes are a wonderful gift to send to someone for many reasons! You can have us box it in one of our white gift boxes wrapped with tissue and a bow, have us deliver it on one of our hand crafted wind chime easel stands with a bow and trailing ribbons or have us incorporate it into a large plant or bouquet! With wind chimes ranging in size from 12” - 67”, we will have the right size for you! Call us at 317.273.1100 for more details!

We have even more options on our website! Click below to check them out!

One of the most popular trends in fashion during the last several years has been flesh-tone, skin tone or nude colors.  At the on-set of this trend, I had difficulty sourcing flowers in these colors and often resorted to over-spraying flowers (lightly coating a flower with spray paint formulated for flowers).  Tinting flowers is not a bad practice, it’s just not one of my favorite techniques (the smell of the fumes and the uneven/inconsistent color are my top two reasons to stay away from paint).  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!

One of the most popular roses right now is Quicksand.  This beauty actually has a hint of very pale pink with a warm, sandy overtone.  I have seen this rose used in tandem with lavender, pale pink, peach and ivory for a subtle contrast.

A unique blend of mocha and ivory, Leonidas roses have been popular with autumn weddings for years.  The nude trend loves this rose, as seen in this bridal bouquet.  
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. 

Another pale peach option that I have designed corsages with recently is a miniature rose called Chablis. This unique spray rose is dominantly pale peach with hints of ivory at the base of the petal. 

Vendela roses are a warm ivory tone, which I have working with for several years.  They are making an impact with the nude trend as a lighter, contrasting color.   

New on the scene, but trendy all the same, are Amnesia roses.  This unique lavender rose is very romantic with hints of taupe undertones.  Seen here with Antique hydrangea and pale pink roses, this combination hints at nude tones, without being completely colorless.

Check out our selection of online wedding products by clicking below!

Ready to start planning your dream wedding? Contact our Wedding Specialist!