The Flower Blog

Hemiparasite, aphrodisiac, protectant against poison and kissing.

Ever wonder what kissing and parasites have in common? What on earth does this have to do with flowers, holidays, blogs and people? Oh just a little science and history on one of our traditional holiday plants, the mistletoe.  

First off, Science! There are 2 types of mistletoe. The one most commonly used for Christmas decoration is Phoradendron flavescens. Don't worry..you do NOT have to ask for it by that name! Did you know the name Phoradendron is derived from the Greek for "tree thief"? Pretty cool huh?  

This thieving little parasitic plant has been a part of of the winter holidays for quite some time but have you ever wondered why? Well friends, you could wiki some knowledge on it or let me give you the readers digest version. You've got things to do, parties to plan, gifts to buy, but for a few minutes just read on and I'll give you some interesting tidbits about mistletoe. So let's talk about the gods.  

Frigga, The goddess of love, learned her son, Balder, god of the sun, had a dream where he died and the earth was destroyed because of it. As she wanted to protect her son from harm,   she told the elements earth, water, wind, and fire, and all the plants and creatures of nature that no harm would befall him. Everybody was good with that except Balder's one enemy, Loki, the god of mischief.

Loki knew of one plant Frigga had overlooked in her quest to protect her son; the lowly mistletoe. Why was it overlooked? Because it was not of the earth or under the earth. It thrived on the apple and oak trees. He took the unassuming plant and fashioned it into an arrow and gave it to the blind Hoder, god of winter, who shot it. The arrow hit Balder and killed him.       The elements tried for 3 days to bring him back to life, finally he was restored by Frigga, his mother. The tears she cried for her son turned into the pearly white berries on the mistletoe plant and Frigga was so joyful she kissed everyone who passed under the tree on which it grew.

After that, whomever should stand under the mistletoe would have no harm befall them. Only a kiss, a token of love. Sounds pretty nice, I'll take it! Of course, this was the legend; other countries have their own take on mistletoe and it's many magical properties.  

In Scandinavia, mistletoe is known as a plant of peace. Enemies could declare a truce or warring spouses could kiss and make-up underneath it. The English used mistletoe to make a ball and dubbed it a “kissing ball”. If a young lady stood under it at Christmas time, she could not refuse to be kissed, as it would lead to a deep romance or lasting friendship. If she remained unkissed, she would marry within the following year. To protect against all the lucky ones who did get kissed under it, some parts of England would burn the Christmas mistletoe on the twelfth night. In France, kissing under the mistletoe is linked to New Year's Day: “Au gui l'An neuf” (Mistletoe for the New Year).

These are just a few examples of many reasons why kisses are exchanged under the mistletoe.  

Some say mistletoe has magical properties, others say you'll kiss the love of your life under it, regardless of whether we believe the stories and legends or not, it's still a part of the fun and frolicking which occurs during the holiday season. Not only is its history rich, but the nature of mistletoe is fascinating as well! If you're looking to add alittle more frolic to your next holiday party or start a new tradition, be sure to stop by Gillespie Florists and pick up a bundle of this magnificent plant.

Tied together with ribbon and ready to be hung in a doorway for an unsuspecting victim, sparring spouse, or simply there to add a bit more festive to your décor. Either way, mistletoe is a winner for the holiday season.   

Click below to see more of what we have to offer during this wonderful holiday season!

It's not too late to order and have it hand delivered to your door!

After reaching in my mailbox and pulling out four Christmas cards, the realization kicked in that the holiday season has arrived and with it all emotions it entails. At this point it has more than just arrived; the season is well underway! How did this happen? I believe it has something to do with the hustle and bustle and hurry-scurry of preparation and celebration of impending finale of Christmas and New Years.

Remember Black Friday and it's array of great deals around town and online? It was over a weekend, the month of December is jam-packed full of things to do. Cards to send, parties to attend, gifts to wrap, closets and rooms to ransack for places to put said gifts, and let's not forget our daily responsibilities such as jobs, laundry, cleaning, child rearing, etc. wow, just reading this made my heart rate tweak! That or the highly caffeinated holiday blend coffee I just drank...

But hang on! let's slow down a moment and bask in the glow of the seasons memories.The ones centered around love, family, friendship, and joy, because that is what it is about, right?    The warm glow of the Chrismas tree lights, scent of fresh cookies and seasonal casseroles baking...cuddling on the couch watching the traditional classic shows such as Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer, How the The Grinch Stole Christmas, Merry Christmas Charlie Brown...ah yes, this is what gets me in the spirit and slows me down.

You know what else slows me down? nature...

What better way to appreciate what this holiday is about than to have an unexpected snow storm? Oh sure, you have things to do, but it can wait one or two days, right? You don't have to start baking your cookies this instant! Trip to the Toy Store? They're open pretty late on Christmas eve...I should know and by my experience and observations so do few other parents. Back to the point about nature and slowing down!

One of my favorite memories of Christmas is when my husband and I were marooned at my parents house with my siblings and their significant others. We ate all the leftovers, cookies, sat around talking about growing up together, the guys played video games, gals watched movies. We went outside for snowball fights, walking in the woods and sledding, I think we ordered pizza a day later when the roads cleared up and there was an extensive discussion on who would brave the weather to go get it...they came back an hour and a half later. Oh bad weather is tricky and inconvenient but it has the power to strengthen family bonds and give new meaning to season. Or rather it serves as a reminder of what the season is about to begin with.  I love how nature has the capacity to change our attitude and reboot our frazzled minds into the calm peacefulness which gets lost in the shuffle too often during the season of joy and love. 

We seem to be programmed to go through the harangue of the hustle, bustle to get to the grand finale of late Christmas Eve when time gloriously slows down. Why do we wait so long and late into the season to experience this "silent night"?  Ever try to put a moment like that into words? What does it feel like?
To me, it feels like a mountain. Quiet, calm, overwhelming and sheltering. The outside world disappears and all that is left is peace. It's a truly wonderful feeling...so wonderful and dense is this feeling that I could walk out the door and see my calm mountain in the backyard! Of course, when I do open the door I usually get a blast of cold air, a tiny dog yipping in dismay that the breeze has interrupted his slumber, and a few cars zoom by...possibly trying to catch Santa before he hits their house...the spell is broken till the door shuts and I am back in my peaceful silent night of a world after taking in the ambiance and lovely pine scent of our Christmas tree.  I am reminded of the outdoors and the calm it represents without freezing to death.

I love having these reminders to slow down in my house. Admiring the brilliant red carnations mixed with evergreen and pine cones in the arrangement sitting on my kitchen table while drinking early morning coffee and planning out the day. Pausing by our little tree full of light and memories of selecting ornaments each year to add to it. Smiling at the realistic but fake palm tree dressed up in lights and tiny ornaments reminding me of past Christmases with my family in Florida...It is amazing how a bit of the outdoors reconnects me to what this season is all about and dims the busyness which can overwhelm us if we let it.

The season isn't over yet. There is still time to slow down before the candle-lit gathering of friends and family singing "Silent Night" at church together.  Take a moment from worrying whether anyone is going to notice your gift-wrapping skills aren't up to par and look at your tree or out the window, take a deep breath and savor the experience and memories of this season. Maybe reflect on a favorite family memory.

Would you like more nature inside your home? Something to admire while making a holiday feast or maybe just cereal while getting ready for the work day?  You don't even have to battle traffic to have it. Click here to view our Blue Mountain Christmas collection and let us bring the peaceful outdoors to you.

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! 

Most florists get 10% of their sales for the entire year from Valentine’s Day. There is a ton of preparation that happens to get ready for this one day of business!

For me, I am in charge of anything that happens online. This includes Product Development, Designer recipes and marketing. Sometimes as early as November I will start making our Specials for Valentine’s Day and take pictures of them. Duane, one of our designers will help me with some of the designs. Then I compile the best pictures of the Management team to review. They select the pictures they want used for this year's specials and I start working with a graphic designer at a printing company to create a flier to distribute. I also have posters printed for our store and I upload the bouquets to our website. I thentype up a list of all the flowers needed for each bouquet ( we call that a recipe) and give a copy to each designer about 3 weeks before the holiday. I also make sure we have a good online presence before the holiday by sending out Tweets, posting pictures on Facebook, creating YouTube videos and writing a few blogs on the subject of the holiday. Then the week of Valentine’s Day, I join the design staff and help create bouquets to fill orders!


I asked our General Manager Sarah what she does to prepare for Valentine’s Day. This is what she had to say:

“The first thing I do is hire people for temporary sales, drivers, designers and flower processing positions at the beginning of January. I interview each candidate personally and I bring them in the second week of January for training and the training period lasts about three weeks. After that,  starting the fourth week of January going into the first week of February they go into their practical experience where they practice waiting on customers, answering phones and flower processing begins at that point as well. During the week of Valentine's we start tagging orders that have been placed early with the day of the week that they need to be designed and day of week they need to be delivered. We also determine of we have enough product for the more popular specials and if not make sure we get in enough product to cover our orders.”

Sarah is also in charge of pre-ordering all of our fresh flowers, she handles weddings and the Order Control desk!

I asked Pat our main delivery router what he does to prepare for Valentine’s Day. He told me that not only is he in charge of delivery but many others things in the store as well. He pre-orders all the supplies we need. That includes vases, ribbon, flower food and so much more! He orders a refrigerated semi and coordinates getting shelving being put up in it so we can fill it with our Valentine’s product! Then he lines up the drivers for the holiday and has a class with them and he gives each driver a kit that will help them during their hectic day. The kit includes things like Frequently Asked Questions, pens, door tags, ect.

The week before Valentine’s Day we try to do anything we can ahead of time, such as: filling vases with water and preservative, cutting balloon ribbon, filling water tubes, making bows, making extra planters, getting in extra chocolates, balloons, candles & plush, setting up additional cash drawers,  setting up temporary design tables and so much more!

Check out this video of our staff and see what they said they do to prepare for Valentine’s Day!



The most important thing we do is make sure we are surrounded by lots a great people who can help us help our customers!


Want to order your Valentine’s Day Flowers with Gillespie? Check out our wide selection of Custom Products by clicking below!

Are you a Valentine's Day hater? Does cupid make you want to puke? Actually, Valentine’s Day doesn’t make me want to puke but there are a lot of people out there that hate this holiday all about love. Every year we have a few customers admit they don’t care for the holiday and we even have some customers buy flowers and corsages for Anti-Valentine’s Day Parties. 

If you have a friend who have recently gone through a breakup and isdown in the dumps about it, why not brighten their day and make them laugh a little by sending them a Anti-Valentine’s Day bouquet? This bud vase will not break the bank at just $29.95. The Little Stinker Bouquet is filled with yellow gerbera daisies, baby’s breath, greenery and a keepsake plush skunk holding a heart thats says “Love Stinks”

Anti-Valentine’s Day Parties are gaining in popularity in recent years. Now there have always been people who didn’t care for the holiday but now people are getting tired of all the lovebirds having all the fun. If you are going to an Anti-Valentine’s Party think about getting a corsage for you or a friend! Last year a customer came in and bought two corsages, one for herself and one for a friend. They were going to Anti-Valentine’s Day Party being hosted by a local radio station and she said getting a corsage always make her feel special and there’s no reason why she couldn’t feel special that day!

One corsage you might like to get is the Sugar Skulls corsage. Sugar Skulls is a wrist corsage that has lavender sweetheart roses, statice, black lazer leaves, black feathers, rhinestones, black beads, black flash ribbon and little skulls. Think of the skulls as: Death to Valentine’s Day! You could also ask us to make you a corsage in deep red and black or colors that match your outfit!

No matter what day of the year it is, I think that everyday is what you make of it. So, if you are a Valentine’s Day hater, try to find a way to have fun with it! Invite some friends over to watch movies about the opposite of love, send your single friends Anti-Valentine’s flowers or cards, or have an Anti-Valentine’s Day Party! Turn this day you dread into a day you look forward to!

Check out our other Anti-Valentine’s Day Bouquet by Clicking below!

13V01                  Beary Lovable               $29.95

The Beary Lovable bud vase includes two red long stem premium roses, babys breath, seeded eucalyptus and a keepsake teddy bear! This is a gift perfect for a guy or girl and is the perfect size to sit on their desk at work!

13V02                  Tulips Renoir             $44.95

Send the gift of spring with the Tulips Renoir bouquet! This bouquet includes ten fresh cut tulips in mixed colors and tree fern elegantly designed in a keepsake vase decorated with hand painted tulips! This painted tulip vase will be cherished for years to come! 

13V03                  Love Is...                      $44.95

This bouquet is so popular that we remake it year after year! This year, Love is... is filled with tea roses, alstroemeria lilies, carnations, daisies, mini-carnations, limonium and a keepsake silver heart keychain. Roses, lilies and a heart! What can be more perfect than that?

13V04                  The Love Bug Bouquet                $39.95 

The Love Bug bouquet is a small vase filled with carnations, alstroemeria, limonium, daisies and a small keepsake plush love bug that makes kissing noises when you press on the belly! This bouquet is filled with all long lasting flowers! With proper care you can expect this bouquet to last your two weeks!


13V05                  The Key to My Heart Bouquet          $34.95

The Key to My Heart bouquet is filled with daisies, alstroemeria, carnations, limonium and a keepsake keychain!

The Key comes packaged with a poem that reads:
“Late at night when I’m sound asleep, Into my heart you so softly creep. I sit and wonder how it could be, But you must have stumbled across the key. This key holds the secret to true love and more, So take it now and unlock the door. And I pray that we will never part, Now that you have the key to my heart.”

13V06                  Sweet Annie                            $29.95

If your Valentine loves to get flowers but doesn’t get into the decorative hearts and roses, this will be the perfect gift for them! The Sweet Annie bouquet is a small vase filled with lavender daisies, alstroemeria lilies, carnations and wax flower! A long lasting bouquet in wonderful spring colors! 

13V07                  Vin Rouge                     $79.95

Vin Rouge is the classic symbol of Valentine’s Day, an elegant dozen roses! This clear glass vase is filled with 12 long stem red roses with babies breath, greenery and a bow! Red roses represent love and this bouquet sends a lot of love! But if your Valentine doesn’t like the color red, ask about the other colors we have in stock for no extra charge! 

13V08                  Cupid's Choice                    $64.95

Send a bouquet that makes a big statement like a dozen roses with out hurting your wallet! The Cupids Choice bouquet is a clear glass vase filled with nine pink carnations, three pink roses babys breath and a keepsake plush bear! Pink roses stand for appreciation. Tell your Valentine you appreciate them with the pink roses in this bouquet! 

Check out our Valentine’s Day Specials and more on our website by clicking below! 

One of my favorite things to give for Christmas is the poinsettia! Poinsettias get a bad wrap because they are poisonous to animals but did you know that it can take up to 10 whole poinsettia plants to be poisonous to a cat?  I have two cats and they will nibble on various plants and flowers I bring into the house but they don’t eat the whole thing.

So, What is poisonous in the poinsettia? The milky white sap found in poinsettias contains the chemicals: saponin-like detergents & diterpenoid euphorbol esters.  While poinsettias are commonly known as poisonous plants, the poisoning is greatly exaggerated. Also remember that poinsettias on affect cats and dogs, they are not poisonous in any way to humans.

But just in case you are worried about your cat or dog being poisoned, here are a few symptoms to watch out for: vomiting, drooling, and rarely, diarrhea may be seen. If the milky sap is exposed to skin, dermal irritation - including redness, swelling, and itchiness- might develop. There is no at home treatment for poinsettia poison. If you feel your pet has been poinsettia poisoning, you will need to go see your vet.

Since there is no true threat to your animals from poinsettias, feel confident to pick up a poinsettia before Christmas and enjoy having the beautiful colorful plant in your home all winter and spring!

There are a few poisonous plants I want to note that you should worry about if you have pets.

Lilies, holly and mistletoe.

Just a few bites from a lily can result in severe acute kidney failure in cats. When holly is ingested, it can result in severe gastrointestinal upset thanks to the spiny leaves. If ingested, most dogs and cats lip smack, drool, and head shake excessively due to the mechanical injury from the spiny leaves. As for mistletoe, most of us hang it high enough so it’s out of reach of our dogs and cats but the leaves and berries can dry out then fall from the stem to the floor. So, keep an eye on your mistletoe after it is hung.  Thankfully, American mistletoe is less toxic than the European varieties of it. Usually mild signs of gastrointestinal irritation are seen with mistletoe ingestion.

When ordering your Christmas bouquet or a bouquet at any time of year, just mention to our sales staff if the home the flowers are being delivered to has animals and we will make sure to exclude anything that may be harmful! Because our designers love the look of variegated holly, we keep silk holly on hand to use in bouquets for homes with pets!

Check out some of our great poinsettias and other plants by clicking below.

Check out our  Christmas Video below! 

Father’s Day is this Sunday and millions of children out there are scrambling to find Dad the perfect gift. Studies have shown that the Necktie is the most popular gift choice for Father’s Day. Don’t you think Dad has enough neckties? Don’t just get Dad something different this year, get him something he will never forget!

We make several bouquets with keepsake containers with Dad in mind. Year after year we get calls from customers who send Dad one of these keepsake arrangements and we always get rave reviews! Customers order these bouquets year after year because they say “He talks about that bouquet all the time!” So, really Wow him this year with a mini Jeep filled with flowers, a Ford Truck filled with plants or a Weber Grill filled with candy!

If you don’t see a keepsake container that Dad will go crazy for, Check out our Terrariums! What is A Terrarium? A terrarium is a miniature indoor landscape with living plants that are perfect for people who want to decorate their office or home with house plants but don’t have a lot of space and time to care for them. These mini gardens are easy to maintain and a popular gift for men!

If Dad isn’t much of a plant man, maybe you should check out our Gift Baskets! We have a wide selection of baskets that can include anything from Gourmet food, Fruit, Junk food snack to candy! Our Junk Food baskets are popular for Father’s Day, probably because they have everything you shouldn’t eat!

To get some other great ideas, check out our Father’s Day video!

Last year, I blogged about the 2011 ‘Glee’ Prom and had positive feedback so, here’s the scoop on what flowers our favorite characters wore to ‘Glee’ Prom 2012!  First and foremost, I noticed that there more characters on ‘Glee’ wearing Prom flowers this season compared to season. As a florist, that makes me very happy!

No Dino Flowers!

The theme for the 2012 ‘Glee’ Prom was Prom-asaurus.  Although there weren’t any flowers from the Jurassic era, there was plenty of variety in the types of flowers worn to the prom. Like last year, the characters wore carnations, roses and orchids. However, this year, daisies made an appearance and so did keepsake bracelets!

Most Memorable Corsage

The most memorable corsage in my opinion, was Rachel's because of the story behind it. Rachel, Blaine and Kurt decide to have an Anti-Prom party. Because Finn was nominated for Prom King, he felt obligated to attend prom. After a surprise from Quinn, Finn decided to ditch Prom to be with his girl! He gallantly showed up to Anti-Prom and talked everyone into going with him! Before leaving for Prom he gives Rachel a corsage. She wore orchids again this year but with a twist- light pink dendrobium (which was a great accent color for her dress). Her corsage looked similar to the one pictured here, including the keepsake bracelet.

Favorite Corsage

I absolutely loved Quinn’s corsage! In my opinion, her corsage way way too big last year (it engulfed her hand)! This year, her corsage was the perfect size and beautiful! Her corsage was placed on a keepsake bracelet that sparkled and shined.  The corsage had perfectly matching lavender ribbon, white accents and white roses(I think). It’s hard to tell what the exact flowers are when these girls are dancing all over the screen! Quinn’s corsage was similar to the one pictured here.

Boutonnieres

I did not care for Kurt’s Boutonniere. It was too simple for my taste-just a tiny pin-on mini-carnation. It’s not that Kurt has to have some humongous boutonniere but I certainly expected more style for him! Though I liked Blaine’s boutonniere, I was surprised by it, too. He had on a large white carnation with a metal boutonniere holder, which is very cool and the style you would expect to see this season.  However, if you look at episode from last year, he wore almost the exact same boutonniere. The only difference was that the carnation in the holder was pink instead of white. I was expecting a little more pizazz from them both! Blaine’s Boutonniere was similar to the one on the right.

Principal Figgins’ Boutonniere was a pleasant surprise! He wore a daisy boutonniere similar to the one pictured here. Daisies are becoming a more popular Prom flower choice. We design with daisies frequently in corsages and boutonnieres here at Gillespie’s. Principal Figgins pulled off his look with style and looked very comfortable in it!

In Indianapolis, our Prom season is coming to a close with only two weekends left.

 If you are a GleeK like me and want ‘Glee’ Prom flowers to accent your style, click below!