The Flower Blog

This week marks the two year anniversary of my continuing education adventure with my youngest sister, Della. Two years ago, on June 18, 2012, Della and I nervously entered the South Florida School of Design to take an intensive, 3 week advanced design course. It’s funny, but no matter what age I am (I’m nearly 40 years old), I still feel jittery on my first day of school!!

The adage “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” played through my mind as I walked through the door that morning. I grew up in the floral business, I had learned the art of floral design from some of the best instructors in the Midwest, I have traveled the country to attend Master Classes with world renowned instructors—so why travel all the way to South Florida for an intensive, three week course? For the sunny beaches, of course!!Just kidding—although, that was a nice perk of attending design school in a coastal town in South Florida! Actually, continuing education is an important aspect of any industry. If you remain stationary, you will never go anywhere.

It was amazing to me what I was able to learn and re-learn during my time as a student there. Walter, the instructor, has had an amazing journey in the floral business. I not only learned design techniques from him but I also gleaned information about the industry and daily operations that I was able to take home and put to work.

Perhaps most important, I reconnected with my youngest sister during our adventure. We have worked together in our family business all of our lives, but sometimes we take the little things (like each other) for granted. We laughed so hard we cried, we took hikes in state parks on the weekends, we studied together for our exams… It was truly a precious time for me.

As blog posts go, this one doesn’t have a lot to offer as far as insight or revelation in the floral industry. However, I hope that you remember to “grow yourself” a little bit every day and take time to appreciate the relationships you have with your friends and family!

The season of hats has arrived and we have been busy at Gillespie Florists designing some of the best!  Whether you're off to the Kentucky Derby, Indy 500, or a backyard garden party, hats are always a welcome change from the ordinary.  It's lovely to see the old fashioned traditions mixed with contemporary flair while designing the flowers that will adorn the many different styles of the season.

It doesn’t have to be expensive either. Make your hat DIY style! Go and purchase a simple hat that suits your individual taste at your local Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, ect.  Next at Hobby Lobby or Michaels; pick custom colors of silk blooms to compliment the colors of your outfit. The number of blooms is up to you. Do like lots of flowers and colors or something more simple? You may already have both of these items in your home tucked away in a closet or storage bin! Last use hot glue or fabric glue to glue on the blooms of your flowers. You don’t have to stop there! Think about adding feathers, ribbons, charms or anything you like!

Don’t have time for DIY? Bring your hat into one of our talented designers and tell them about the outfit you are wanting to match your hat to or better yet bring your outfit in for them to see! After asking you a few questions, our designers will be able to select silks and create the perfect Derby hat by matching your personalized color palette perfectly.

A few years ago, we at Gillespie Florists thought it would be fun to have a Prom King & Queen Contest and have been having it every year since! Prom customers only needed to post their picture on our Facebook Fan Page or use #GFPROM2014 on Instagram or twitter 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...

“A leprechaun, a cluricaun, and a far darrig…”

Sounds like the beginning of a great joke!

The joke is really on us in the states as we’ve condensed these three completely separate creatures into the Leprechaun. Here in the US the leprechaun is recognized on cereal boxes, plastered on t-shirts, posters, buttons, etc for St. Patricks day. I’ve often wondered what does this guy have to do with St. Patrick's day...he isn’t St. Patrick.  In fact, St. Patrick wasn’t even Patrick to begin with; he was Maewyn Succat and hailed from Great Britain. Kidnapped by pirates; sold into slavery in Ireland; and herded sheep on a mountain. One day God spoke to him in a dream to become a priest and his journey to sainthood began. But I digress, let’s get back to leprechaun and his pals.

The Leprechaun, sometimes called “wee folk”, inhabited Ireland before the arrival of the Celts. They are small enough to sit on your shoulder and are quite intelligent and a bit mischievous. Leprechaun translates from Irish leith brog into "One-shoemaker." He is often seen working on a single shoe.

Legend has it the Leprachaun makes shoes constantly and dresses in smart little suits with waistcoats, hats, and gold buckles on his shoe.  He has grown very rich from making shoes therefore dresses most proper!  Ah, so that is where the pot of gold comes in, isn’t it, to store all his riches? Hardly. Old treasure crocks were buried during war-time by soldiers whom never returned from the battlefield.  The Leprechaun discovered the buried treasure and claimed them for his own.

Irish fairies the gave him magical powers in case he was ever captured by humans who may be lurking near the pots of gold. The leprechaun could then use his magic to either vanish into thin air or grant three wishes!

Dodging humans and animals all day is hard work so the leprechauns are well known for playing hard too with musical instruments such as fiddles, tin whistles and even the irish harp! They get together and have crazy music gatherings at night called “Ceili’s, where hundreds of leprechauns join together to dance sing and drink.  Their favorite drinks are Poteen and Moonshine. You’d think they would cause some chaos, but it is not the case, his fine cousin, the Cluricaun, is the real trouble maker with his drink.

The Cluricaun is considered the night “form” of the leprechaun. Surly, rough, and mischievous he makes himself drunk in gentlemen's cellars after finishing his daily chores. Folklore concludes clurichauns enjoy riding sheep and dogs at night. If they are treated well they will protect your wine cellar, but mistreated, they will wreak havoc on your home and spoil your wine stock. Sometimes they act as liquor stockroom spirits, plaguing drunkards or dishonest servants who steal wine; if the victim attempts to move away from their tormentor, the clurichaun will hop into a cask to accompany them. Once plagued by the Cluricaun, it is difficult to get rid of him. If one happens to invade your wine cellar, I’d suggest staying on his good side. The Far Darrig is a different story; at first glance he looks like trouble!

The Far Darrig, meaning the Red Man, occupies his time with practical if not gruesome joking. He is closely related to the leprechaun, with similar features and a short stocky body. His face is splotchy yellow and dresses in red from his hat down to his socks. This is the reason he is called the far darrig or red man.

Ever the practical joker he can manipulate his voice, emitting sounds like the thudding waves on the rocks or the cooing of pigeons. His favorite sound  to make is the dull, hollow laugh of a dead man coming from the grave. It is advisable to say 'Na dean maggadh fum'-- do not mock me', when you come into contact with a far darrig so you will not be used in one of his macabre games. Unfortunately, he plans his tricks so well that mortals are snared long before they realize what is happening. 

With all this being said, the far darrig does not actually desire to do harm! He is good natured and will bring luck to those whom he approves; but cannot resist an initial prank or two. We can surmise the far darrig does have a good side although his appearance suggests otherwise.

The small, magical, mischievous and well dressed Leprechaun seems to be the spokesperson for his relatives here in the states, and I think we now know why! What does he have to do with St. Patricks day? Absolutely nothing until Walt Disney released a film "Darby O'Gill & the Little People" which changed the face of the Leprechaun to Americans everywhere. He is now a happy, joyful, and lucky symbol for St. Patrick's Day.  

I have checked around the shop a few times to see if there were any of the 3 creatures living among the plants in the showroom or maybe hiding out in the back cooler waiting to suprise a customer or designer but haven't seen any yet.  

We may not have these mischievous creatures lurking about to pull pranks but should you come visit in search of something green for St. Patrick's Day; you will be able to find quite a few fun, happy, and charming bouquets available!

Click below to see what Irish inspired delight our designers have created this year!

Is that a new ring on your finger?! Did you just celebrate Valentine's Day with your significant other and end up a fiancé by the end of the evening? If so, congratulations! So now what?

If you've been planning your big day since childhood it's possible you've already got your ducks in a row: the venue selected, the dress has been narrowed down, invitations on order...but what about the rest of us? If you're anything like me, perhaps you're still in shock or not even sure where to begin the process of planning your wedding!  

Planning a wedding is a spectacular feat and not to be taken lightly. Therefore we did some research on some of the more popular and convenient ways to get organized and on schedule as the countdown begins.  It definitely helps to have a day in mind when you get started but if you don't have the exact date, that's ok, even a month or season is a great start.

When I was planning my wedding in the days of yore the first thing I did was go to the store and pick up a couple of copies of bridal magazines. Of course, we had internet back then but this was before pinterest and the best way to gather your ideas was cutting them out of magazines and visiting the bridal stores to pick up free info.

We also visited the Bridal Show at in Indiana Roof Ballroom to visit many local vendors at one location. There are more shows available nowadays, and you can find more information about them and other local wedding related events at Indiana Bride Magazine.

Have you seen the movie "The Wedding Planner" with Jennifer Lopez?  I did. As a very indecisive person, I loved the idea of having someone else take care of the arrangements. Someone to say "we need this done by this date, you should have your dress by this date, the venue should be selected by..."  Sounds awesome, just tell me what to do when and I will do it. Unfortunately a wedding planner was not in my budget so I settled with the helpful lists the bridal magazines supplied and went online to gather more info.

Thanks to technology, all the wedding resources we could possibly imagine are just a couple of clicks and/or finger taps away. Here are a few of the best wedding resources out there to help you make your day a big success.

Weddings, there's an app for that. Actually there are quite a few!  We are spending less time in front of a computer and more time on the go! We've got places to go, cakes to sample, dresses to try on, this is no time to be sitting unless its in a vehicle to take you to another possible venue for the big day!

The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner app

This free app is available through itunes and truly is the ultimate wedding planner and syncs with one of the best wedding planning websites theknot.com

Get your budget and track payments, find your dress and the bridesmaids dresses too, 1000+ IDEAS for cakes, decor, hairstyles and more, see top gifts for your registry, Find and save the best wedding vendors in your area, AND save, store and send all your clippings and photos 

Weddinghappy:Wedding Planner, free wedding planning app. Just put in your big day and it schedules task list calendar to keep you on track. The beauty of this app is you don't need the web to use it.

MyRegistry.com this app is available for both iphone and android. No more standing in front of registry box filling out info and carrying around awkward price gun!

Scan any product barcode to add items to your registry/wishlist, manage your registry/wishlist on the go, send eCards to invite your friends to check out your gift list

Postable.com, another free online service, brides send out one email to friends and family, sharing a link to an address book. They fill out a form and suddenly everyone's information is organized in a neat file for sending invitations, thank you notes and more. 

Tabletop planner This ingenius piece of software and app is remarkable. Import guest list,
drag/drop names in table diagram as guests rsvp, can adjust table size and indicate meal preference. It reduces the headache of guest musical chairs and it's free!

Vyclone This app lets everyone upload videos which are then mashed up into seamless videos. Feeling super creative? You can edit and add soundtracks from your phone!

Wedding Party kind of like facebook for weddings! Invite friends, family, bridal party, etc and upload images, posts, and messages to single site viewable on mywedding.com, you choose privacy settings!

Don't these apps sound super handy and convenient? Have you downloaded them yet? These are just a few of many great apps and websites you can find online to help plan for your big day...it seems we might be forgetting one more website though...oh here it is

www.gillespieflorists.com

Sure we don't have a wedding app but we are ready to make bouquets and beautiful arrangements perfect for your wedding day!

For your every day floral needs, however, we DO have a floralapp! Check it out here!

Don't forget to click below to schedule a free consultation with our wedding specialist!

Tomorrow is the big day! Have you ordered something for your sweetheart yet? No? Don't worry, it's not too late! Stop by our shop and see what we have available. We have plenty of beautiful flowers for you to peruse; our cooler is packed full of gorgeous bouquets, loose stem flowers, sunshine bouquets and our shelves have countless cute things to attach to your selection.

We have many great take-out specials for our walk-in customers so stop on by and have a fantastic Valentine's Day!

Dozen Wrapped Roses $29.95

Dozen Wrapped Roses with Baby's Breath $34.95

Sunshine Bouquets $3.95

Dozen Wrapped Carnations with bb $16.95

Gerbera Stems $3.00

Tulips $9.95 a bunch (while supplies last)

European Style Wrapped Bouquet  Starting at $11.95

South Bend Chocolates $12.95 & up

Hydrangea fresh cut stems $3.95

Nothing says "I love You" quite like being smacked with a bloody piece of goat hide and having your name put in a jar to be matched up for a year with some guy you've never met. Sounds great, right?  It simplifies the process of dating and who knows, by the end of the year perhaps fate was right and the stranger selecting the scrap of paper with your name on it might end up being the man of your dreams! It could happen...maybe not today, but back when Rome was founded (traditionally 753 B.C.) or possibly even earlier. Romans, they really knew how to party! This party, Lupercalia, in particular occured February 13-15 and is often pinpointed as the origin for Valentine's Day.

 Lupercalia was actually a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. 

To begin the festival, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and hit the streets, smacking (gently) both women and crop fields with the bloody hide. It sounds disgusting and unpleasant but Roman women looked forward to this portion of the festivities because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Then later on in the day is when they held the Roman version of "The Bachelor". All the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn and bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. It was common for these matches to end in marriage.

Lupecalia was celebrated until outlawed due to it being "un-Christian" around the end of the 5th century when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day.  It wasn't celebrated as a day of love right off the bat however; began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. One legend is Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine realized the injustice of the law and performed marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.  

Another popular legend is an imprisoned Valentine fell in love with a girl, the jailor's daughter, who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it has been said he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression which is still very common today. Ah, NOW we are getting somewhere. This sounds a bit more romantic, although tragic, than Lupercalia festivities, but Valentine's Day in modern times is still a far reach from its origin until the Middle Ages.A common belief in France and England was February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season. So it was romance between birds which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine's Day should be a day for love! 

Although Valentine greetings began in the Middle Ages, written ones weren't around until the 1400's. The oldest one still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. I wonder if it ever reached her. This valentine is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.  

From the 1700's on, Valentine greetings and cards became more common place with the first ones being printed in the 1900's. Today, over 1 billion cards are sent a year for Valentine's day.  That is a lot of cards!

This day to celebrate love has come a long way from its origin. As Valentine's Day 2014 approaches, not only am I thankful for more opportunities to express love to my husband but also that I don't have think about an unknown bachelor drawing my name out an urn and lining up along the street for a chance to increase my fertility! 

If you happen to be celebrating Valentine's Day the modern way like me, there are many ways to say "I love you", from handmade cards, romantic dinners, unique dates, to beautiful bouquets! The fine staff at Gillespie Florists have outdone themselves again with fabulous designs this year! Click below to see what we have in store for you!

January 2014 kicks off a new year of award ceremonies. Some of them I watch; others, I just google the winners the day after. Regardless of watching in real time or checking stats later, one area I find intrigueing about these ceremonies are the glamorous outfits. Yes, Sandra Bullock didn't win best actress for Gravity at the Golden Globes but did you see her gorgeous black dress with pink and blue accents? Stunning! Taylor Swift was full of glitz and glimmer at the Grammy's!  Oh such a vast display of fashion do's, don'ts, and "What the heck was that?!" to be seen on the Red Carpet. It reminds me of prom...and corsages.  

Instead of designer jewelry and clutches, this year I decided to pick a few people from the Red Carpet and match a winning corsage to their look. It was difficult to choose a few; there are a plethera of amazing dresses AND corsages from Gillespie Florists with which to match them.  It's like playing digital barbie, lots of fun, so let's get started!

One of the most interesting dresses was the Rani Zakhem which "The Big Bang Theory" Kaley Cuoco was wearing. A corseted floral ball gown on millefueille tulle with watercolor floral patterns.

The Venetian corsage reflects a similar style with its peach roses, mini lotus pods with glitter, bead sprays, cream and gold ribbon, cream and pink accent flowers and a keepsake crystal beaded bracelet with rhinestones! Sure it has a bit of bling in it but it works with the dress as the pieces are small, flowing, and dainty.

Next up we have songstress Taylor Swift in a striking Carolina Herrera strapless gown with a black bust with bustling red gown.  The dress is simple yet elegant so I chose Glamazon to add a bit more attitude to the ensemble.

The beauty of this spray rose & rhinestone corsage that everything on it is interchangeable! Whether it is the color of the roses, ribbon, even the wristlet can be switched out or upgraded. A fantastic and versatile corsage!

BBC's "Orphan Black" Tatiana Maslany shimmered in an Old Hollywood styled Jenny Packham gown. The Bauble Bath corsage complements the style with posey callas, clear jewel accents, a butterfly, an adjustable bracelet and other jewel and silver accents!  

Now lets not forget about the guys! The ever so smooth and southern accent dripping Matthew Mccounaghey accepted his Golden Globe award in style with his Dolce & Gabbana and Cartier cufflinks. This guy has so much style I decided he needed a single rose in a silver boutinniere to complete his sophisticated look.  

There seems to be definite themes this year with color block dresses, metallics, and bold colored gowns. In other words, there are many exciting options to work with!

What ever style you choose, we have a corsage to match it!

Click below to see a few of our corsage selections online and stop by our shop to create the perfect accent to your winning prom ensemble.

 The stockings WERE hung by the chimney with care but where are they now?  Boxed up already? In the attic? Storage? Still hanging?! Our stockings were ransacked for their candy and then folded neatly in the box waiting for the rest of the Christmas decorations to follow.  I haven't taken down the tree yet. The lights are still on, the ambience of the holiday remains in my living room as I contemplate how to replace the excitement of the holidays with every day living. We've gone from the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to "Ugh...I want to go back to bed and not wake up till spring."  It's amazing how quick this transformation in attitude happens and it is a very common occurrence. So what can we do to help beat the affliction of the Post Holiday Blues?  Here is a short list of ideas to get your creative juices flowing. 

Take Time for a Date

Sure Valentines day is coming up soon but there's never a bad time to make a date with your significant other.  The holidays are busy; you're with your family trying to squeeze in as much time as possible with the kids or other family members that there may not be much "couple time" to be had. So grab your calendar and plan for some much needed time together, even if you only have a few hours to spare.  It will give you something to look forward to!  

We as people are a social species. We love to go out and do things.  When is the last time you and your best friend had a night out on the town, took a class together, went to a wine tasting? Why not grab a few friends and try something new? Whether it be a painting class, card making, possibly stopping by your local florist to pick up some loose flowers and have an arrangement making party with some martinis thrown in.  The possibilities are endless and what better way to chase the blues away by spending it with friends and creating a new memory together!                                                                                        

See The Sights Of Your City

I always have these grand plans for my family as to what we can do while on break. For one reason or another they don't always happen. It could be the weather, a bad cold, a few forgotten errands which need attention; the list is endless.  We're lucky to pick out a tree together sometimes! Most of our break consists of preparation for Christmas, visiting family, and making sure we have quiet uninterrupted family time at home. Well, we've had our fill of relaxation and are now antsy to do something.  Something fun and inexpensive to do post holiday is go downtown and do some window shopping! (Key word: WINDOW)

The Indianapolis Museum of Art is also another great place to visit. If you have kids in tow they have plenty of kid friendly activities on the weekends, just check their website to see when these activities will be available and which ones may interest your kids!  There is also Family Free Thursdays at the Indianapolis Children's Museum the first Thursday of every month.  Yes, it is very busy on those nights, but do the kids care? From experience I can say without a doubt, they won't mind much if at all.  

Use Some Elbow Grease

Okay..I know what you're thinking. "Hey this is a blog about chasing the blues away, not making things more depressing by cleaning!". Trust me, I understand. Although it would be nice to have Mary Poppins singing behind me as I clean toilets; it's not going to happen. BUT thinking about how accomplished I feel after cleaning makes the effort worth it.  Don't feel like scrubbing? Throw something away instead.  Grab a grocery bag, pick out any drawer in the house, give yourself 15 minutes and find things to throw away in said drawer.  I bet you anything one hour later you will have a bag full of stuff, 3 or 4 drawers cleaned out and an overwhelming feeling of "Ahhhhhhh".  Purging junk you don't need is good for the soul.  If you don't have time for a grand purge just try one little drawer. I promise it will make you feel better.

Bring New Life to Your Space

A great way to start the New Year is to do a little redecorating. It could be in "Your" space at home, or maybe your workspace at the office!  Perhaps its time to replace the photos in your picture frame at work. Or find a DIY craft on pinterest you could do and bring into the office to use as decoration? One of my favorite ways to bring life to my workspace and in my home is having planters, and keeping them alive year round. You might be thinking "I'm one step ahead of you, I have 3 planters already..they are 5 years old". Well, that's great! But when was the last time you replanted those suckers? Switched out the containers? Added a few more to your collection? Maybe you don't have a planter at all and are absolutely clueless as to what kind of plant would be best for your work or home environment?  That's ok! Go to your local florist, they will be able to help you pick the perfect plant to brighten up your space. Better yet! Go to one of those "Paint your own pottery" places, decorate a container and bring it the florist when it's ready!  Not only will you have your own piece of art, but also something living in it. It's a win/win!

So there you go! A few ideas to take the post holiday blues away and start the new year with places to go, people to see, and things to create!  And if you decide to have a flower party, decorate a container and want to fill it with something beautiful year round, be sure to stop by Gillespie Florists.  Our friendly staff will be delighted to help you kick the blues to the curb!

Click here to see what we've created for the New Year.

Check our planter section to see some of our favorites or stop in to create something new! Whether it involves flowers, plants, people, or places, the main thing to remember is to get out there and DO something. Let's start today!

I've been working on a few topics to write about for this week. Every time I am close to finishing and publishing one, something happens which leads me to believe the timing isn't quite right for posting. Somehow nature is always involved in the timing of things. So today, let us acknowledge the massive white elephant looming outside the door this morning...and last night, and the day before as well.

I love snow! I do not spend enough time in the snow as an adult and parent of children, and in these sub zero temperatures; well I will continue to admire it from the safety and warmth of my home.

Right now looking outdoors, the snow is in the finest of its hours. Still white, still everywhere, decorating our sparse little trees, beckoning families to come out and play, and inviting motorists to venture out. I see you out there...and I'm still not coming out. Such a beautiful creation of nature we enjoy but also curse at the same time.

I am an optimistic "glass is half full" type gal but sometimes even I think unsavory thoughts about the innocent looking white stuff outside which makes it difficult to travel and do things. It's all roses and sunshine until you actually have to play hide and go seek to find your car under a seemingly large mountain of it!

What effect did the first winter storm of 2014 have on you? Did you lose power? Was your neighborhood buried? Did the plows come through and block you in? Did your car get stuck in the drift of the roads? Did the pipes burst at your house?  How has the weather impacted your life in the past few days? Not long ago I mentioned nature had a way of making us slow down.. Even at its most inconvenient timing, it still remains the case that nature WILL slow things down and may cause damage along the way. It's ineveitable through one disaster or another, we will be affected in some manner. 

Keep in mind nature also has the ability to bring out the best in people. After checking the newsfeeds on facebook, some interesting news stories online, and experiencing some of it myself, nature is bringing out the best in people as they open their homes to those without power; others are willing and able to snowblow and shovel others out of the house so they can leave if an emergency situation arises; our neighbors kindly shoveled a way for our family to get IN to our house while we were away. Good samaritans pull over on the highway to help a stalled vehicle...All these acts of kindness and much more always appear in the most bleary of situations caused by mother nature. 

So today, as you're recovering from whatever effect the weather has had on you or in your area, keep in mind the beauty of nature isn't just in the eye of the beholder. It is also in the actions of our neighbors, families, friends, and people we do not even know.  Today I say thank you to everyone who worked to better the situation by plowing nonstop, fixing power lines, working overtime, and leaving a positive impact during the "Snowpocalypse of 2014".  

Need to send a "Thank You" to someone special? We have a variety of ways to send "Thanks" through flowers! Click below to see how!