Happy Holidays

This time of the year has been busy for us here at Hestands Floral!
We had a very successful open house on Nov. 21st. That was also our 2 year anniversary of owning the shop.

Altrusa's Holiday Happenings was the first Sat. in December, we decorated 2 tables and had arrangements on 2 other tables, and had plants and flowers on 2 more tables! All the stage decor was from our shop...the place looked great! There are so many creative minds that decorate these amazing tables each year.

The Christmas season is in full swing and we are busy as ever!

Design Challenge continued...

Design challenge part 2...design by Judie

used 1 jade rose, 1 1/2 delphinium, 2 asltro

1 green button and bear grass!

Allergies and flowers

Allergies are a pest for many of us, me included! and my profession is a florist!! I keep zyrtec in business! So we think we cannot enjoy the benefits of a beautiful, artfully arranged bouquet of fresh flowers. Wrong. There are flowers out there that don't aggrivate the allergies. When speaking to your local florist ask for these flowers when sending bouquets to people who have allergies:

Agapanthus
Bouvardia
Carnations
Daffodils
Gladiolus
Hydrangeas
Hypericum berries
Iris
Leucadendron
Lisianthus
Magnolia
Orchids
Protea
Snapdragons
Spray roses
Tulips
Hibiscus

Some of these flowers are seasonal and are not available all year, but you can find most in your local flower shop!

Countdown

We have been sending flowers to the spouse of a deployed military member, and from what I've heard she has been enjoying her flowers! I will get pics up as soon as my pc and camera are in sync again!

Fall is here!

The fall season is upon us and we have been busy here at Hestands Floral! Homecoming for both PHS and ENMU have past and we have a calm before the holidays! Unfortunatly, our camera and computer are having a spat because I cannot seem to get them to cooperate with each other so that I can upload pics!

The second arrangement was made for the design challenge, Judie designed this time, she used 1 jade rose, 2 delphinium and 2 alstro. Hopefully I will get a pic up soon, it looks great!

I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather that comes with fall, I love it!

"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower" by Albert Camus

Week 12

Here is this weeks surprise bouquet. It has 12 blooms, the foliage hides some from the alstromeria though.

FTD Good Neighbor Day

The Mayor of Portales read our proclamation for FTD Good Neighbor Day!

For every person that brings in 3 cans of food (for the community services center food pantry) we will give them 1 dozen carnations free! WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
But there is a catch....we ask that you keep 1 and give the other 11 to 11 different people to spread goodwill throughout our community!
Andy Mason will be playing live from 12-1

Valley Furniture is hosting a blood drive from 9-1 on Main St. in front of their store.

the 3/50 project

I just read an article in the latest edition of Floral Management about the 3/50 project. The founder is amazing, what a great way to get Americans thinking about all the mom and pop joints out there and to support local business. I have always been a supporter of 'shop local'. I encourage you to check out her site! the350project.net

The Countdown

Each week we are delivering a wrapped bouquet to a military spouse whose husband was recently deployed overseas. He came to us and we worked out a plan to have each week represented in blooms as a countdown to his return, last week was the first week. This weeks bouquet is pictured. A total of 13 blooms (the lily has 1 open and 2 that are about to open, 3 roses, 2 carnations, 1 gerbera, 1 iris and an alstromeria stem with 3 blooms). Each week I will post a picture of the bouquet we are sending out.

Pets and Plants

Greetings!
I wanted to give you all some info on plants and pets. Some plants should not be in a home with pets, or should be kept up and away from their reach. Below you will find a list of plants commonly sold in retail shops that can be toxic to pets. For more information on plants that are toxic to pets visit http://www.aspca.org/

Easter Lilies - toxic to cats

Tulips/Narcissus bulbs

Azalea/Rhododendron

Cyclamen

Kalanchoe

Amaryllis

Chrysanthemum

English Ivy

Peace Lily

Pothos

Schefflera

Pretty plants

We got some amazing plants in yesterday. Purple Lisianthus, yellow shrimp plants, chenille plant, black pepper pearl plant....very cool plants. Holy fazoli!! I just sold out of shrimp plants!!! I paused typing this post to answer the phone and all my shrimp plants are now gone, incredible!! We still have the stunning purple lisianthus available

WTNM Florist Association Convention

My Mom and I spent the weekend in Ruidoso NM for the WTNM Florist Association annual convention. My husband and daughter came along too and we had so much fun touring Ruidoso, and learning from some faboulous designers. the WTNM (Westexas New Mexico) family is an amazing group of people and we are so blessed to be a part of WTNM! We were able to meet many new people and create friendships, as well as strengthen relationships with vendors and florists we already knew. I have already implemented some of the new tips and techniques that we learned and I can't wait to be able to share them with you all. To see pictures check us out on facebook! Find us as Hestands Floral

The Result

After much experimentation this is what I came up with. The delphinium was a pain to work with because it has a hollow stem! So after some glue, shoving foam up the stem and trying different heights and all I was finally given the suggestion to put wet foam on the frog then put the stem on the foamed up frog. GENIUS!! it totally worked, now the test will be if the frogs stay glued down to the bowl. I had it complete yesterday but one of the pieces fell over because the glue weakened. Hopefully I solved that issue. So I used 3 jade roses, 3 white alstromeria and 1 delphinium and other grasses and foliages. And there is clear flower gel in the bowl, it serves two purposes, it looks cool and provides the moisture the flowers need. The total is a mere $30.00 (since Mandi provided her own bowl and frogs the cost is much less.)

A Challenge...

A DESIGN CHALLENGE HAS BEEN ISSUED!!

My friend Mandi wants us to design a piece in her fabulous blue bowl! Each designer is to create a masterpiece using 4 base flowers (1 blue delphinium, 1 white alstromeria, 2 jade roses*) at a 16.00 minimum and a 35.00 maximum, ready to be picked up by 11am tomorrow (7/28) This month I am participating in the challenge, the rest of our designers will follow in the coming months! Check back tomorrow for pics of the finished product!

*colors may vary

Flowers and their meanings....

Have you ever wondered what meaning the flowers you just recieved/bought have? Below you will find a small list of flowers and their meanings, remember color plays a role too! For a complete list of flowers and their meanings visit http://www.aboutflowers.com/

Alstromeria: Aspiring
Baby's Breath: Festivitiy
Bells of Ireland: Good Luck
Carnations:
pink: Gratitude
red: Flashy
white: Rememberance
yellow: Cheerful
Daisy: Innocence
Gladiola: Strength of Character
Iris: Inspiration
Stargazer Lily: Ambition
Orchid: Delicate Beauty
Roses:
red: Passion, Love
pink: Thankfulness
yellow: Friendship
orange: Desire
white: Grace, Purity
Sunflower: Adoration

Cool plants

We finally got some more zebra plants in! I am so excited...they are the neatest looking plants with a yellow bloom...too cool. And they are so easy to take care of, just water them! They do well in office lighting and when the leaves start to droop down add water and they perk right back up.

LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Just Because...

The best reason to send flowers....just because. It's sure to be a surprise and a day brightner! People enjoy recieving flowers and studies have shown people feel better when they see flowers. Studies have also shown that people who send flowers are viewed as more compassionate and giving. Other reasons (besides the obvious birthday, anniversary, get well, holiday etc) are job promotions, new baby, hostess gifts, new house, thank you, welcome, and graduations to name a few. There doesn't have to be a reason for flowers though...it's nice just to have them in the house. These days people often overlook themselves, it's perfectly ok to buy yourself some flowers! To learn more about flower studies visit www.aboutflowers.com

Proper Care and Handling of Cut Flowers

I just want to share with you all some tips on properly caring for flowers:
source: http://www.aboutflowers.com/

*Keep the vase full (or floral foam soaked) with water that has flower food in it (you can get this from your local florist)

*If the water becomes cloudy pour it out and replace it with properly mixed flower food solution, if possible recut stems by 1" (this will help the flowers drink better)

*Keep flowers in a cool location away from drafts of heat or cold.

*If you recieve a wrapped bouquet or loose stems, recut the stems before putting them in a vase of properly mixed flower food water.

For more information on caring for your flowers check our our blog or visit http://www.aboutflowers.com/
to see our website visit
http://www.hestandsfloralnm.com/
to see our myspace page go to
www.myspace.com/hestandsfloralnm.com

Hot summer days...

So this is my first offical blog! My name is Michele and I manage Hestands Floral and Gifts. My parents purchased it in November of 2007. I absolutely love my job!! It can be hectic and stressful at times but there is no other job I would rather have, I am a florist for life!
Portales is a small community located on the Eastern Plains of New Mexico, I strongly feel that community involvement is vital when running a business which is why we (my parents and I) participate in community organizations and events.
Check in each week to read the new blog, see new pictures, share stories etc. We will be starting a designers challenge soon!