The changing of funeral flowers

I have been seeing a change in the funeral florals. It has been going away from the big showy. facing, mach'e pot types to smaller all round take home styles. This does not mean less money but it does say that people want it to endure longer than just the funeral. Plus if the families can not take them all home with them they can give them to nursing homes/retirement homes without the feeling that they (the flowers arrangements) came from someone funeral.

This is the traditional way funeral  arrangements looked

This is what they are looking like now days.

Nicer containers and interesting flowers and combinations.

I for one am happy to see this happening because, with funerals being faster and faster it does let the family know they are loved and that their loved one was loved because they now have flowers in their homes for a while to show them that they mattered. 

In lieu of casket....

I received this on my Facebook page.

"JUST ADD FLOWERS"

Come see our "JUST ADD FLOWERS" containers. 

Baskets and vases filled with a lush assortment of greens just waiting to add your choice of flowers, which by the way we can add while you wait - making this "your" custom design, plus you get to walk out with it in just a few minutes. Want it delivered? We can do that too (delivery prices vary and are additional).

JUST ADD FLOWERS

Hi! I would like to send flowers to....

Have you ever thought about how your flower order is anatomized?

 Say you call in and say: "hey, I would like to send an order to... and would like to spend X amount of $". I hope you did not think all of that would just be in those beautiful blooms.

         *Note - Taxes and delivery should not be part of the total dollars for the order. These should be always be above the arrangement price. Same as if you are purchasing food at a restaurant or hard goods at a store. Here is why; say my state taxes are: 7% so you are taking 7% away from the order just to start. On a $50.00 arrangement that is $3.50 subtracted and an average delivery charge in a medium sized city $8.00 so on the $50.00 order minus $11.50 (taxes and delivery) leaves your total arrangement at $38.50. So, you took a medium priced arrangement and made it a low priced arrangement.

What goes into the designing/manufacturing of flower arrangements?

Shhhhh... Here is the secret, not so secret breakdown.

Of course the beautiful blooms BUT there is more before we get to the flowers.

The container that holds the flowers:

This can vary greatly and take a large part of your flower design. 

·       Plastic - least expensive, but not normally too attractive.

·       Glass - a little more pricey, but can be suitable for most.

·       Basket or ceramic, nicer - these are generally similar in pricing. Higher than glass and plastic but design wise and style offer more options.
      All of these can be keepsake or a stock type of container. As the name "keepsake" implies these are higher in pricing than stock and do allow the design to be showcased better and container treasured after the flowers have gone. They are more impressive in the overall look and design of the order too. But for keepsake type of containers expect to add minimally $20.00 and up just for the container.

There are the needed supplies to make the arrangement:

These items are such as; floral tape, oasis, wires, picks, greening pins, preservative for the flowers floral sprays, ribbon, delivery box and more. 

Labor:

Ouch!

This is when the word manufacturing starts getting used. Sorry floral designers. As with all things crafted by hand, there is labor and it is figured in (somewhere) or separate. In this case separate. As we all know labor is not inexpensive, because, it is not just about that current employee you have as much as taking care of past employees and other people’s employees as well. I know its crazy isn't it.

Now the big beautiful blooms and greenery:

The type of flowers and greenery do vary quite a bit but you can depend that lower end flowers generally start at $2.00ish per stem and up (average flower pricing is $4.00 per stem not including tropical’s). *Note that the tropical flowers are more but their longevity is much longer than say roses and carnations and such.  Picking the right mix is very important and the designer should be versed on flower life. 

Greenery - the unspoken need. 

Almost all designs need a cover/filler and it does have a price. It is considered just like flowers.

Generally speaking; if you use less flowers, the more greenery you will need. One, to keep them in place in the container (clear containers) or two, to cover the mechanics used to keep them in place (non clear containers).

Remember flowers are a perishable commodity. Even if it is in the shops cooler or in an arrangement, same as chocolate and food items all have a basic sell by date. Florists have to be aware of the shelf life of their flowers and try to sell through before that end time.

Now that I have broken down the basics of a flower arrangement you wish to send, it is my hope that through education you will be for aware of how your $$$s are used in the beautiful, wonderful, life affirming, flower arrangement.

Benefits of sending flowers are: 

A tried and true way to show someone you care that touches their soul.

It is a facilitator, a universal language with another human being.

Flowers have just enough longevity to keep the feeling going but short enough to give the sender another chance to let the person know how much they mean to them in sickness or in health. 

Flowers have health benefits; one cannot gain weight from them and are "green" for the environment.

Plus the designing can be different each time so they are always "one of a kind", just like the one you are sending to.

Fall color love

What a beautiful fall day! I love the  colors of fall, oranges, reds, greens. They are warm but cool against an azure sky. Makes flower designing a joy!
What is your favorite color of fall?

Interesting wedding colors

This wedding we did a few weeks ago continues to intrigue my color sense. Many people know I love color theory and these colors put together were not what I might have thought about when planning a wedding but it was so appropriate for a late summer wedding.
To turn it towards fall, I could see oranges and for Christmas I can see a deep burgandy all the while keeping the original color scheme.

Say you want to send flowers

So you decided to send flowers to your special someone but you are not sure what to do. I will guide you to getting what you have as an idea of what you think it should look like and money you will spend to get that look.

• First and foremost order flowers directly from a real brick and mortar florists.
• If you are reading this then you have a computer or access to one.
• Type in the city and state of whom you are sending to plus the word florist.
• Skip the ones at the top of the page.
• Scroll down to where you see the florists near the city you typed in. If they have a physical business address in that city then you will have a brick and mortar business.
• Skip any one that starts with FTD,Teleflora, Just Flowers, Wesley Berry,     1-800 flowers, Proflowers etc.. check www.floristdectective.com if you are in question.
• Why you ask, well because, they are sending your order to those florists anyway BUT they are taking there chunk out before they send it on AND reducing it by quite a lot also. They also do not take in mind that that the florist has a delivery charge which comes out of the order you are placing PLUS they might not get a florist near the area you are sending to so some more of it is eaten up by delivery charges. Large cities can get expensive!
• To get the best service:
• Call them.
• Next best, call them or another florist in that area.
• Independent florists - their ordering system. **But if it says FTD, Teleflora etc.. on it you, are still sending it through the wire service and it might not go to who you think you are sending it to. I know it is complicated but what isn't these days  AND it is not the brick and mortar florists that are making it that way.
• Ask your local florist to send it for you and ask if it can be done directly to that cities florist. They call it "florist to florist" ordering.
• For you to come up with how much this will cost here is how to figure it.
• Delivery charge can average between $7.00 to $15.00
• What type of container do you want it in?
• Stock container - this is an inexpensive normally heavy glass or plastic container--after 30 years in this industry these have not changed in style or shape. These will generally run you about 5 to 10.00. So take away at least that much from what you intended to spend.
• If you want a keepsake container start at the $10.00 and up. I know you are thinking "wow" BUT IF you are shopping at a regular retail establishment that sells containers that would be the average price for a nice container.
• Supplies - could be floral foam, ribbon, wire, tape and such that could be generally be 2% to 5% of the order. So now take that away from what you planned on spending for the flower arrangement.
• Designing of the arrangement - this will generally be between 25% to 45% of the total order, depending on complexity of the design.
• Now adding just those things up figure before you get into flower will give you what will be in flowers Lower end flowers average about $2.50 to $3.00 per stem, higher end flowers will start around $3.50 and up.

Auburn Free Fall Fair Does not slow us down

Good morning,
The Auburn Free Fall Fair is in town but it does not slow down Auburn "Classic" Florist's delivery capabilities so feel free to call us at 1-260-925-2000.