The Flower Blog

"The Art of the Holidays" Design Show at Vans!

Posted by Tue, Nov 08, 2011 @ 12:00 AM

Della Gillespie-MendenhallUnique Fall Bouquet

Every year Van’s has a Holiday Design show and everyone at Gillespie Florists loves to go to these shows! Van’s partners up with the Teleflora Indiana Unit to bring a great designer to the show to give us new ideas for the upcoming holiday season! This year we had Bert Ford AIFD, PFCI from Ford FlowerCompany in Salem, NH.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece IdeasBert was a great teacher! He covered a range of topics like the basics of running a flower shop, how to price your flowers, new trends in the coming Holiday season and of course new design ideas! Though we at Gillespie’s are seasoned employees, we enjoyed getting a refresher course on some things and also learning totally new things! Holiday Design class

While Bert was fielding our many questions he was also showing us dozens of bouquets he and his staff designed! He showed us great bouquets for Christmas
parties, Christmas and fall wreaths for your door, Thanksgiving centerpieces and decorations for your home!

Everyone at Gillespie Florists understands that new fresh ideas help to create great designs for our Custom Products. That is why Gillespie Florists pay to send everyone on staff to continuing education classes when possible! Now, we will take these great ideas and put them into action! Watch our website for the most unique Holiday designs on the web!

christmas party idea

              

Want to see what we’ve got so far?

Click below to view our Gillespie Florists Custom Products!

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Topics: Holidays, Seasonal, informational

Top 5 Colors for Fall 2011

Posted by Thu, Oct 20, 2011 @ 11:05 AM

Della Gillespie MendenhallTop 5 Colors for Fall

I asked Gillespie staff members and customers what colors come to mind when they think of fall flowers.Here are the top 5 answers I received; you may be surprised by some of the colorsFall Flowers with Purple accent

5. Purple

Purple is a color that some people find surprising for fall flowers. I think it is a great accent color and can brighten up an otherwise dark bouquet.  It is easy to see how purple can work in a fall color scheme when looking at this picture.  Be careful when using purple in your fall bouquet. You want to make sure you are using a deep purple, if you use a lighter shade it will look out of place.

Burgundy Flower Indianapolis4. Burgundy

Burgundy is a rich color that will bring depth to your bouquet! Burgundy mums are a favorite among customers! Burgundy flowers pair up nicely with orange and rust flowers.  Cattails would go great with this combination of flowers, the chocolate colored spikes of the cattail will anchor the burgundy within the bouquet and the cattail’s golden Sunflower Indianapolisunique texture will give added interest.

3. Golden Yellow

Golden Yellow flowers are a must in almost any fall bouquet!  Golden Yellow will not only brighten up the bouquet but also helps the other flowers pop! For instance, if you had Burgundy and rust flowers in a vase; it would be pretty but very dark and you may lose some of the definition of the individual blooms. If you add Golden Yellow flowers to the vase in between the other flowers, you will define the individual blooms and get more enjoyment out of the bouquet.

Orange Lily Indianapolis

2. Orange

 

Think about when you go out shopping, what do you see this time of year almost everywhere?  Pumpkins! When we design our bouquets we make sure to add orange to our arrangements. We want to match the pumpkin orange color toOrange Leaves Indianapolis incorporate the pillar of the fall season! The pumpkin! Sometimes we even design a bouquet in a ceramic pumpkin! The reason why orange is close to the top of our top 5 is because it is so versatile.  You can match up orange flowers with red, purple yellow and rust flowers or for a darker look; Burgundy, yellow and rust flowers. Orange is neutral color when you are dealing with fall so, it can go with just about any fall flower!

Drum Roll Please….

1. Rust

Rust Buttons Indianapolis

Now for me Rust can come in many shapes and sizes. Well, actually many different shades! Rust is an earthy color that can have hints of orange in it but also touches of brown and bronze. Rust is the true natural color of fall! Look around you and you will see it in the mums in people’s front yards, the falling leaves of the trees and in the décor of the stores you shop in. Almost everyone I asked about fall colors, the first color out of their mouths was: Rust.  You can see with the different pictures I haveleonidas roses Avon, IN provided that Rust does have different shades to it. So, when dealing with its darkest version, make sure to pair it up with burgundy and a golden yellow for contrast. If you are working with a lighter shade of Rust, you can pair it with orange, yellow and red.

So what are your Top 5 Fall colors? Stop in the store and go through our walk in cooler and pick out your favorite fall colors and see how they go together! If you are not sure about what you picked out, our helpful staff will be glad to show you the ins and outs of the perfect color combination! Then see if you have an old watering can or pitcher at home you can put these great flowers into! You don’t have to use a plain old vase, look around your house and see what you can find!

Don’t have time to stop by? Check out our great selection of Fall flowers on our website! Click below!

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Topics: Seasonal, informational

Change the Scene!

Posted by Wed, Oct 12, 2011 @ 01:05 PM

Susan Gillespie

Changing of the SeasonFall wagon display with plants avon, in

Here at Gillespie Florists we are always under going dramatic changes with in the display room floors.  Every season, we have the most complete changes with specialty displays for the individual holidays.  We always start in the entrance foyer and move forward into the main room pulling seasonal fixtures to go into storage at our residential Gillespie garage or barn. Currently, we are fully engaged into bringing Christmas to life.  Half of the store has gone through a transformation of Summer to Fall and of course, Halloween!Fall Christmas tree indianapolis

Christmas gifts indianapolis

A Touch of Christmas

A touch of Christmas has already been put out for our customers to preview. As soon as we get new Christmas products in, we are excited to show off the festive items!

We are proud to have one of the largest and most complete lines of plush available in Indianapolis.  Featuring elite lines not easily found at other retailers such as London based "Jelly Cats" and New York style, Manhattan Toy. You'll see them in the video below along with some of our current displays!

Indian baby doll indianapolisOur designers are busily designing outstanding set pieces to complete our eye-catching displays. It is our hope that every time you stop by you will see something new and interesting.

 

 Don't have time to stop by the shop but want an eye-catching bouquet? Just have it delivered! Pick a beautiful bouquet from our wide online selection! Click Below!

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Topics: Videos, Seasonal, trends

Where Were You on 9/11?

Posted by Sat, Sep 03, 2011 @ 12:21 PM

Della Gillespie Mendenhall

There are a few days in our lives that we can remember exactly where we were and what you were doing. With the 10-year anniversary coming up in a little over a week, it brings back the memories of that day.

I was going to Butler University as well as being a high school senior. I had just gotten out of an early class at Butler and was driving back to my high school when the radio DJ announced the World Trade Centers in New York had been hit by a plane. Honestly, I thought it was a joke. It took a few minutes to realize this was no joke, this was for real.

When I got to school, there was a somber atmosphere.  Every classroom had TV’s on watching the news.  There was no way the teachers would be able to get our minds off the terrible tragedy that went on that day.

I asked my sister, Sarah Gillespie, to tell me about that day because she was working here at Gillespie Florists. 

As was usual every morning, I had the television on Sarah Gillespiethe local news, quietly in the background. As I was preparing to head out the door to work, an anchor broke in suddenly with news that a plane had crashed into an office building in New York.

Details were scarce, but it appeared to be a horrible, unthinkable accident. I put my things down and watched the events unfold before my eyes. When the second plane hit the World Trade center, it became apparent to the media that this was no ordinary accident. I became uneasy; worrying what other places might be attacked.

I finally tore myself away from my television set because I was 20 minutes late leaving for work. When I got into my car, I turned on the radio to continue listening to the latest on the events unfolding that day. As I traveled, I heard about the plane crashing into the pentagon. Suddenly, I was overcome with fear that the plane flying above me might suddenly crash into a building here in Indianapolis!

When I got to work, surprisingly, the two or so people who had come in “on time” were not aware of what was happening on the East Coast. We turned on the radio so we could all listen together. We worried, waited and prayed as more details came the twin towers new yorkacross the airwaves. We do not have a television set in the store but someone brought one from their home during their lunch break so we could listen and see what was going on all around us. Once the planes were grounded, it was oddly quiet, as our store is located within a few miles of the airport. There was less traffic. It was very eerie and stayed that way for a few days beyond the attacks.

We have no record of any sales that day… we did have deliveries that were previously scheduled that we delivered, but no actual new sales in the twelve hours that we were open. Only one sale the next day (the 12th) and no sales again on the 13th.

We at Gillespie Florists want to thank all of the firemen, police officers and other emergency crews who risked their lives to save others.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones on that day. 

Where were you on 9/11? We’d like to know. Leave a comment on our blog.

Topics: Seasonal, informational

Fall Mums 2011

Posted by Wed, Aug 24, 2011 @ 03:21 PM

Della Gillespie-Mendenhall  FAll Mums in Wagon avon, IN




 

Fall Mums are in at Gillespie Florists!

I love Fall Mums! They come in many colors and are very easy to take care of!  Gillespie Florists only carries the best of products. We buy from a local grower so we can go and handpick each mum!
We have Fall Hardy mums so, you can plant them before the first frost and they will come back year after year! There are many people that buy them every year and put the mum in outdoor pots to dress up their front porch. Typically the mums will not winter over in outdoor pots so if you want it to come back next year make sure to get it planted in the ground!
Our Fall Mums come in an eight-inch pot. Customers can purchase them in the pot for Take Out for just $6.95! It’s a great value! If you would like us to decorate and deliver it for you, we can do that starting at $24.95!
Plum Fall Mum Avon, IN 
Pictured here is a mum wrapped in decorative foil with wheat, a butterfly and all tied together with a beautiful bow! You can upgrade this with a lovely wicker basket! 
Large Double Mum Basket Avon, IN  
If you are looking for a “Wow” factor, you may want to get Plum Harvest. Plum Harvest has two mums planted into a large basket and accented with a lush bow!  This mum basket is huge and is perfect for someone who loves fall!
Watch this short video showing off some of our Fall Mums. It shows the great variety we can have on hand on any given day!

Love what you see and want to send someone a Fall Mum? Click below to order online now! It fast, convenient and easy!

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Topics: Videos, Seasonal

Indiana Grown Flowers

Posted by Fri, Jul 22, 2011 @ 12:00 PM

Della Gillespie Mendenhall
We proudly tell customers daily that we get flowers from all around the world.  That doesn’t mean we don’t get flowers from right here in Indiana! In the spring we get tulips and daffodils. During the summer we get a large assortment of flowers from local growers! The great thing is, not only are we able to get flowers that we can also get in winter months out of state but we can also get flowers native to Indiana only and would not be able to get them at any other time of year!
 

I made a short video for you to show you what we got from one of our local growers this week. But every week they have different things available so don’t think that’s all we’ve got! You’ll just stop in the store every week to see what’s new! Of course we are also carrying our regular stock of fresh flowers so there is always tons of variety!  You'll also notice a picture of my English Bulldog named Pearl! She comes to work with me on most Saturdays and Loves kids!


We also buy many of our plants locally.  Such as green houseplants and blooming plants. Like poinsettias at Christmas, Mums in the fall and hanging baskets in the spring! 


We use some of our local flowers in many of the Summer Bouquets! Check them out now!
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Topics: Seasonal, informational

The Dog Days of Summer!

Posted by Tue, Jul 19, 2011 @ 06:28 PM

Susan Gillespie
What do dogs have to do with the days of summer????

The dog days of summer refer to the time of year that the days are long and unbearably hot.  They respond by lying around all day panting and waiting for the heat and haze of the day to fade into evening cool.  
 
 
PearlDogDays.jpg

Unlike dogs, we cannot afford this behavior.  Don't just lie down and take it!  Try a refreshing and exhilarating walk through our 500 square foot cooler at Gillespie Florist's.  Not only will your temperature be dropped but you will also be surrounded by incredible beauty and the mixed natural scents of several varieties of flowers.  This temperature is maintained at a perfect 36 degrees to keep all the flowers from around the world at their peak of freshness.  
500sqftcooler_gillespieFlorists.png
While you take this leisurely stroll you may wish to pick a few to take home to your kitchen table.  A cool reminder that even though it may be hot and dismal outside; bright colors and sweet fragrance of fresh flowers will always brighten your day. Drop by our store today for a visit and leave the laying around to the dogs!

Don't have time to stop by? Check out our great summer bouquets on our website!

Summer Bouquets 

Topics: Seasonal, informational

Meet the Prom King & Queen for 2011!!

Posted by Sat, May 21, 2011 @ 10:21 AM

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

Leah & Steven Prom 2011 Winnters

And the Winner is...

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

 

Leah Nurnberg & Steven Melton!

They are the couple on the right.

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

 

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

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

 

 

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

Those Contestants are: 

Tyler Weir & Meredith Warbinton

Carly Lewis & Jacob Miller

Brenda Danielle & Tommy Dennis

Ryan Page & Cory Urick

Michael Brissey & Simi Bean

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

 

Buy Prom Flowers indinapolis

Topics: Holidays, Seasonal, Prom flowers, Prom flowers Avon, Prom Flowers Indianapolis

Prom King & Queen Contest at Gillespie Florists

Posted by Wed, May 18, 2011 @ 12:35 PM

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

 

 

Prom Couple with Prom Flowers Prom King & Queen Contest

corsage and boutonniere

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

·  Take a snapshot wearing Gillespie's Flowers.

·  Post it on our Wall.

·  Tag everyone in the picture.

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

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

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

Prom flowers 2011Prom Corsage & boutonnere 2011Prom Flowers 2011 group shot

 What do they win?

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

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

Winners will be announced on Facebook May 21st!

Check out our Fabulous selection of Prom Flowers!

Prom Flowers Indianapolis

Topics: Seasonal, Prom Flowers Indianapolis, Vote, informational

I'm a GleeK for 'Glee' Prom Flowers!

Posted by Wed, May 11, 2011 @ 01:43 PM

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

Glee Prom Flowers

 

'Glee' Certified

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

Most Memorable

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

Favorite Corsage

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

The Boutonnieres

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

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

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

"Glee" Prom Flowers

Watch this Video of Designer Favorites!

Topics: Videos, Seasonal, Prom flowers, Prom flowers Avon, Prom Flowers Indianapolis