January is an odd time for landscaping, even though the weather so far this winter has been unusually mild, and we have just finished the wettest year on record. The last time I looked, the daffodils in the yard were about two inches tall- they are so confused by our mild temps. January is the time for planning and daydreaming. The seed catalogs start arriving in the mail, so if it ever snows this month and you are forced to stay in the house for a day or two, you can pour over the beautiful selections in flowers and plants available to you in 2012.
A very worthwhile project this time of year is to go outside, take a long, hard look at your landscaping and assess how it looks in the dead of winter. When landscaping in warm weather, all the plants have their leaves and it can be difficult to visualize what those plants will look like in winter when the leaves are gone. Basic design principles are balance, repetition, unity, and variety. Good landscapes have a balance of evergreen plants and deciduous plants. Varieties of evergreens, such as boxwoods, should be planted in multiples, as should deciduous shrubs, like spireas or barberries. No large quantities of any one type of plant should be planted. And all this advice adds up to variety!
Look at your plantings now and see if there are too many bare plants clustered together or too many green leaved or needled plants in a spot. Would it look better if you traded in some winter bare plants for some that keep their leaves all winter?
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
More Improvements
Last week we got a new wall with 2 doors and 3 windows. Then we got an addition to our roof that makes it so our roof sits over the top of the wall and extends out about 24". It rained a lot last Thursday and we did not have one bucket inside the building to catch water!!!!!! I think it has been over 20 years since the inside of the shop stayed dry in the rain! I am so happy! If you never really looked at the problems we had before, you probably can't understand why this is all a big deal to us. It is so exciting to upgrade things- change is good!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Change is scary!
Two and a half weeks ago we started the project I've looked forward to since 2008. After taking over the florist and greenhouse in Nov. 2006, I soon began to realize what a white elephant the greenhouse structure itself was. Because the greenhouse was attached to the flower shop building, there was a "ditch" where the two structures were conjoined, which trapped water when it rained. For years, buckets had been kept in place to catch all the water than leaked into the building with each shower. This really bothered me!!
By 2008 , I had had enough time to figure out that the price we had to pay to keep the water pipes from freezing was outrageous! This was all because the water came from the meter in the back yard and came to the greenhouse, entering in an unheated section of the greenhouse. Then the water traveled through pipes in the air, eight feet overhead through the length of the greenhouse. The water finally entered the building and then supplied the restrooms and the workroom. Heat tape had to be used to keep the pipes from freezing where they came up from the ground into the unheated section of greenhouse. The two heated sections of the greenhouse had to be kept above freezing all winter to keep the pipes from freezing. The only logical explanation I can come up with for all this is that the greenhouse must have had running water before the flower shop had bathrooms!
I hope you can imagine how expensive it is to keep a greenhouse heated all winter! This was a greenhouse that had rain coming down inside of it, as well as snow falling in it! So, if those forms of precip can get in, that means a lot of warmth can escape. $$$$$ down the drain!!!
I asked for advice from plumbers, builders, and electricians. No one wanted to tackle all these problems. The only answer I could imagine was tearing the whole thing down!!
Side Note: I always wondered how the old greenhouse kept from falling down when the wind blew. I was always scared it would fall and hurt someone. Today I learned why it never fell! The frame of the greenhouse was galvanized steel. Dave dug up four feet deep concrete pilings that secured the steel posts in the ground, with his tractor today. The wood in the place was very old and fragile, and there were some pieces of the steel structure that were no longer attached to each other, but those steel poles in four feet of concrete were not going anywhere very easily!
So, 2 1/2 weeks ago, we started swinging the sledge hammer! Today the last major part of the whole structure came! When you drive along Main St, you can now see the backs of houses on Elm St. past where the greenhouse used to be. When I walked into the shop this morning, I couldn't believe how sunny it was inside the building because the greenhouse is no longer blocking the morning sun on the east side of the shop.
I just can't wait until winter and Columbia Gas sends me little bitty bills!!!
By 2008 , I had had enough time to figure out that the price we had to pay to keep the water pipes from freezing was outrageous! This was all because the water came from the meter in the back yard and came to the greenhouse, entering in an unheated section of the greenhouse. Then the water traveled through pipes in the air, eight feet overhead through the length of the greenhouse. The water finally entered the building and then supplied the restrooms and the workroom. Heat tape had to be used to keep the pipes from freezing where they came up from the ground into the unheated section of greenhouse. The two heated sections of the greenhouse had to be kept above freezing all winter to keep the pipes from freezing. The only logical explanation I can come up with for all this is that the greenhouse must have had running water before the flower shop had bathrooms!
I hope you can imagine how expensive it is to keep a greenhouse heated all winter! This was a greenhouse that had rain coming down inside of it, as well as snow falling in it! So, if those forms of precip can get in, that means a lot of warmth can escape. $$$$$ down the drain!!!
I asked for advice from plumbers, builders, and electricians. No one wanted to tackle all these problems. The only answer I could imagine was tearing the whole thing down!!
Side Note: I always wondered how the old greenhouse kept from falling down when the wind blew. I was always scared it would fall and hurt someone. Today I learned why it never fell! The frame of the greenhouse was galvanized steel. Dave dug up four feet deep concrete pilings that secured the steel posts in the ground, with his tractor today. The wood in the place was very old and fragile, and there were some pieces of the steel structure that were no longer attached to each other, but those steel poles in four feet of concrete were not going anywhere very easily!
So, 2 1/2 weeks ago, we started swinging the sledge hammer! Today the last major part of the whole structure came! When you drive along Main St, you can now see the backs of houses on Elm St. past where the greenhouse used to be. When I walked into the shop this morning, I couldn't believe how sunny it was inside the building because the greenhouse is no longer blocking the morning sun on the east side of the shop.
I just can't wait until winter and Columbia Gas sends me little bitty bills!!!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
July in my garden
Looking out over my organized chaos in my backyard flower beds, I can write an article called "Toughest Perennials for Kentucky Gardens". When flowers are happy and blooming out there right now that means they have survived the potential of mildew, fungus, and drowning roots from the heavy rains in April and May. If they are still standing up tall, they have survived the storms in May and June. And, by now, they have survived and thrived in spite of high temps, high heat indices, extreme humidity, and periods of no rain. Let me also add that, to survive in my gardens, they have to be resistant to the bugs, too, because I don't use insecticides so I don't offend the bees, butterflies, & birds. Those little creatures, plus the moths at night, are one of the main reasons I raise flowers. So, here comes my list:
1. Snowball Hydrangea. This is technically a woody shrub, not an herbaceaous perennial, but it is an important part of my floral scheme. I have several scattered around because they are easy to divide. They have been blooming for a month already with their large white puffs that start out snow white and turn to green and then eventually turn brown when they dry, providing fall and winter interest. Hydrangeas are great cut flowers, lasting over a week. Insects don't bother them and they are just not fussy about anything!
2. Tall Garden Phlox. I have allowed these to grow everywhere because of the fact that I never deadhead them so the seeds fly all over. Phlox is also an excellent cut flower and they smell lovely. Some do suffer from powdery mildew and I pull them up and toss them, because I have plenty to spare. In fact, I have way too many, and plan to dig and give a lot away.
3. Coneflowers. I have been successful with "Kim's Knee High". Other cultivars don't survive so well. I do have some insect damage, but I just let that happen. I don't deadhead, so the seeds scatter, and I get new plants, and the finches come to see me to eat the seeds.
4. Perennial Hibiscus. Not to be confused with tropical hibiscus, which is readily available in the spring. Perennials die back in the fall, leaving dry brown stems that you can cut down after a hard frost or the next spring. Perennial hibiscus have huge dinner plate size blooms that start blooming around the 4th of July and continue until frost. The blooms only last a day, but are prolific. Hummingbirds can't miss them!! We will have several perennial hibiscus for sale next fall at the greenhouse!
5. Day Lilies. These are the easiest plants in the world to grow! I have many reblooming day lilies, such as the over used Stella D'Oro, red "Pardon Me", "Ruby Stella", and others I can't remember the names of. I've gone through phases, such as the red phase, when I only planted red day lilies, the purple phase, the pink phase. Most of my yellow ones were given to me. The blooms last a day, hence the name, but they produce lots of blooms and keep the color coming for a month or more. Dig and divide and pass them along!
6.Iris. Spring begins with Bearded Iris, then along come the blooms of Siberian Iris, and , in conclusion, we have the Japanese Iris. I love iris, so I get to enjoy them for a month to six weeks with this succession of blooms!
7. Bee Balm. This plant with the very interesting bloom is a hummingbird, butterfly, & moth magnet. Careful, they can be invasive, though. Mine are red, but there are also shades of pink and lavender out there. Also interesting is the square stem on these aromatic plants, which are also classified as herbs.
8. Anemones. These don't bloom until late summer, but they are lovely when they do, and the foliage of these plants is attractive all summer, prior to bloom.
9. 'Autumn Joy' Sedum. Many sedums are on the market today, but most don't measure up to the performance of 'Autumn Joy'. They love full sun, tolerate drought, and tolerate moisture better than other sedums. They bloom mid summer and the blooms eventually dry and remain attractive into winter.
10. Hosta. There is so much to say about Hosta!! I have collected many over the years. I have very large leaved 'Sum & Substance' and I have planted my namesake (LOL) 'Francee" and 'Guacamole' because they can tolerate more sun. I have hostas because they have green and white leaves, or because they have chartreuse green leaves, or because they are very small leaved. I have hostas with white flowers and some with lavender flowers and some are more fragrant than others. So, you see, there are a lot of reasons to love a hosta! Heads up for 2012: We have purchased 'Empress Wu' Hosta to sell-they are as big as a grown person!!
I hope this list is useful to you. You may see posts on Facebook from time to time where I'll offer up the surplus when I dig and divide perennials. One of the things I love about perennial gardening is that so many of my favorite plants are "pass a long" plants. I can walk through and remember that the hydrangeas and phlox came from Mae, the obedient plant came from Michelle, the iris and peonies came from Richard's
grandmother's garden via Hazel, and it just makes me feel at home in my flower garden! Happy gardening!!
1. Snowball Hydrangea. This is technically a woody shrub, not an herbaceaous perennial, but it is an important part of my floral scheme. I have several scattered around because they are easy to divide. They have been blooming for a month already with their large white puffs that start out snow white and turn to green and then eventually turn brown when they dry, providing fall and winter interest. Hydrangeas are great cut flowers, lasting over a week. Insects don't bother them and they are just not fussy about anything!
2. Tall Garden Phlox. I have allowed these to grow everywhere because of the fact that I never deadhead them so the seeds fly all over. Phlox is also an excellent cut flower and they smell lovely. Some do suffer from powdery mildew and I pull them up and toss them, because I have plenty to spare. In fact, I have way too many, and plan to dig and give a lot away.
3. Coneflowers. I have been successful with "Kim's Knee High". Other cultivars don't survive so well. I do have some insect damage, but I just let that happen. I don't deadhead, so the seeds scatter, and I get new plants, and the finches come to see me to eat the seeds.
4. Perennial Hibiscus. Not to be confused with tropical hibiscus, which is readily available in the spring. Perennials die back in the fall, leaving dry brown stems that you can cut down after a hard frost or the next spring. Perennial hibiscus have huge dinner plate size blooms that start blooming around the 4th of July and continue until frost. The blooms only last a day, but are prolific. Hummingbirds can't miss them!! We will have several perennial hibiscus for sale next fall at the greenhouse!
5. Day Lilies. These are the easiest plants in the world to grow! I have many reblooming day lilies, such as the over used Stella D'Oro, red "Pardon Me", "Ruby Stella", and others I can't remember the names of. I've gone through phases, such as the red phase, when I only planted red day lilies, the purple phase, the pink phase. Most of my yellow ones were given to me. The blooms last a day, hence the name, but they produce lots of blooms and keep the color coming for a month or more. Dig and divide and pass them along!
6.Iris. Spring begins with Bearded Iris, then along come the blooms of Siberian Iris, and , in conclusion, we have the Japanese Iris. I love iris, so I get to enjoy them for a month to six weeks with this succession of blooms!
7. Bee Balm. This plant with the very interesting bloom is a hummingbird, butterfly, & moth magnet. Careful, they can be invasive, though. Mine are red, but there are also shades of pink and lavender out there. Also interesting is the square stem on these aromatic plants, which are also classified as herbs.
8. Anemones. These don't bloom until late summer, but they are lovely when they do, and the foliage of these plants is attractive all summer, prior to bloom.
9. 'Autumn Joy' Sedum. Many sedums are on the market today, but most don't measure up to the performance of 'Autumn Joy'. They love full sun, tolerate drought, and tolerate moisture better than other sedums. They bloom mid summer and the blooms eventually dry and remain attractive into winter.
10. Hosta. There is so much to say about Hosta!! I have collected many over the years. I have very large leaved 'Sum & Substance' and I have planted my namesake (LOL) 'Francee" and 'Guacamole' because they can tolerate more sun. I have hostas because they have green and white leaves, or because they have chartreuse green leaves, or because they are very small leaved. I have hostas with white flowers and some with lavender flowers and some are more fragrant than others. So, you see, there are a lot of reasons to love a hosta! Heads up for 2012: We have purchased 'Empress Wu' Hosta to sell-they are as big as a grown person!!
I hope this list is useful to you. You may see posts on Facebook from time to time where I'll offer up the surplus when I dig and divide perennials. One of the things I love about perennial gardening is that so many of my favorite plants are "pass a long" plants. I can walk through and remember that the hydrangeas and phlox came from Mae, the obedient plant came from Michelle, the iris and peonies came from Richard's
grandmother's garden via Hazel, and it just makes me feel at home in my flower garden! Happy gardening!!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Thrillers, Chillers, & Spillers
By mid April, our greenhouse will be jam packed with hanging baskets and hundreds of trays of blooming annuals and tomato plants. Our parking lot will be converted into a little garden center, with tables filled with blooming plants and the ground covered with blooming shrubs, perennials, tropicals, and roses. We will answer a million questions about flower and vegetable gardening and landscaping by the time May has ended. In this column I'll answer one of those questions, with the subject being container growing.
How do I choose plants to go in a mixed pot? The plants that you put together in a container should be chosen for the reasons I'll list below. And remember, that a container does not have to be a conventional pot, it can be a wagon or a box or an enamel ware bowl or a concrete trough or anything you can think of.
1. Sun requirements. All the plants should need full sun, or part sun or shade. i.e. Don't plant an impatien in the same pot with a lantana and a geranium.
2. Water needs. All the plants should require similar amounts of water. i.e. Don't plant moss roses with lobelia.
3. Color. Pick a color scheme you like. Monochromatic is shades of one color. Complimentary colors are purples and yellows, or reds and greens, or oranges and blues. Aggressive colors are oranges, reds, and yellows. Receding colors are blues, greens, and violets. What colors do you like best?
4. Thrillers, chillers, and spillers. This refers to the levels of plant growth that make an attractive container garden. A "thriller" is the tallest plant in the pot. The dracaena spike is commonly used, but don't be afraid to try something new. For real drama in a large pot in full sun, plant a hibiscus or lantana tree in the center for height. The "spiller" is the plant that will grow and drape over the side of the pot. Wave petunias, Million Bells, and verbena are great choices for spillers in the sun. The "chiller" is the plant that is of medium stature and upright and branched and fills in the space in the middle of the pot. Good examples are geraniums, aryranthemum, vincas, or Bandana lantanas.
Always ask questions regarding plant choices when you visit our greenhouse. We can give you information you can't always get at the big box stores. Our staff includes 2 horticulturalists with a combined 35 years of experience with plants.
We get a lot of questions about rose plants. The biggest selling rose is the Knockout Rose. The great thing about Knockouts is that anyone can grow one! They are disease resistant, insect resistant, and they bloom a lot! They are a shrub rose, and they are grown on their own rootstock, instead of being grafted, which makes them hardier.
Also available this spring are David Austin roses, hybrid tea roses, climbing roses, and floribunda roses.
We are now currently adding the flowering shrubs, perennials, tropicals, and annuals that we will have to sell this spring on our website www.ravennagreenhouse.com. You will be able to see pictures of flowers and plants and read about how to care for these plants.
Our inventory this spring will include several varieties of Hydrangeas, including Pinky Winky, Limelight, Paris Cityline, Vienna Cityline, Incrediball, and Invinceable Spirit, any of which would make a great Mother's Day gift!
Call us with your inquiries concerning availability of plants at 606-723-2175 or 1-866-408-2559.
Happy Gardening!!!!!!
How do I choose plants to go in a mixed pot? The plants that you put together in a container should be chosen for the reasons I'll list below. And remember, that a container does not have to be a conventional pot, it can be a wagon or a box or an enamel ware bowl or a concrete trough or anything you can think of.
1. Sun requirements. All the plants should need full sun, or part sun or shade. i.e. Don't plant an impatien in the same pot with a lantana and a geranium.
2. Water needs. All the plants should require similar amounts of water. i.e. Don't plant moss roses with lobelia.
3. Color. Pick a color scheme you like. Monochromatic is shades of one color. Complimentary colors are purples and yellows, or reds and greens, or oranges and blues. Aggressive colors are oranges, reds, and yellows. Receding colors are blues, greens, and violets. What colors do you like best?
4. Thrillers, chillers, and spillers. This refers to the levels of plant growth that make an attractive container garden. A "thriller" is the tallest plant in the pot. The dracaena spike is commonly used, but don't be afraid to try something new. For real drama in a large pot in full sun, plant a hibiscus or lantana tree in the center for height. The "spiller" is the plant that will grow and drape over the side of the pot. Wave petunias, Million Bells, and verbena are great choices for spillers in the sun. The "chiller" is the plant that is of medium stature and upright and branched and fills in the space in the middle of the pot. Good examples are geraniums, aryranthemum, vincas, or Bandana lantanas.
Always ask questions regarding plant choices when you visit our greenhouse. We can give you information you can't always get at the big box stores. Our staff includes 2 horticulturalists with a combined 35 years of experience with plants.
We get a lot of questions about rose plants. The biggest selling rose is the Knockout Rose. The great thing about Knockouts is that anyone can grow one! They are disease resistant, insect resistant, and they bloom a lot! They are a shrub rose, and they are grown on their own rootstock, instead of being grafted, which makes them hardier.
Also available this spring are David Austin roses, hybrid tea roses, climbing roses, and floribunda roses.
We are now currently adding the flowering shrubs, perennials, tropicals, and annuals that we will have to sell this spring on our website www.ravennagreenhouse.com. You will be able to see pictures of flowers and plants and read about how to care for these plants.
Our inventory this spring will include several varieties of Hydrangeas, including Pinky Winky, Limelight, Paris Cityline, Vienna Cityline, Incrediball, and Invinceable Spirit, any of which would make a great Mother's Day gift!
Call us with your inquiries concerning availability of plants at 606-723-2175 or 1-866-408-2559.
Happy Gardening!!!!!!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Topping a tree is unacceptable behavior!!!
In the March issue of All Things Country Eric Baker wrote about topping trees. He explained all the reasons why you shouldn't top a tree. Thank you so much, Eric! I will now expound upon that subject!
Do you ever look at the bare trees in winter? Were you ever taught in school or Boy Scouts how to identify a bare tree by the shape, size, and growth pattern of the branches? I learned to observe trees in winter after reading a book that showed the branch structure of many trees. Now, when I walk the dog in the woods, or hike, or ride in a car, I notice the trees and try to identify what kind they are. Most commonly, people identify trees by their leaves or fruit or flowers or bark. And, of course, you can identify a tree by the cross section of it's wood. My point to all this identification talk is this: Can you identify, for example, a maple tree, in winter by its branch structure after that tree has been topped??
Have you ever noticed what a topped tree looks like in winter? The sight of a topped tree in winter is one of the ugliest sights I've ever seen. It ranks right up there with trash along the roadsides and potholes! A big fat trunk with some knots on the top of it and maybe some wimpy looking sucker branches on top of that is a horrible sight to a person who has spent a career working with plants.
I need to point out some basic things that can prevent that terrible urge to butcher a tree.
1. Don't plant a 40,50, or 100 foot tall tree under power lines.
2. Remember a 6 foot tall tree will grow into a large tree.
3. Read the description of your tree before you plant it so you understand how tall it will grow.
4. Look up before you plant.
5. Take in to consideration what kind of tree you have. If you have a 100' Pin Oak tree, you have a very strong tree. It probably will never be uprooted in a storm, or split and drop big limbs, so there is no excuse for topping it..
6. Every tree, as well as every other kind of plant, will leave behind some debris, such as leaves, small limbs, and flower petals, as the seasons change and the wind blows. This does not justify torturing the tree by topping it.
7. If you hate your tree so badly that you want to top it, please just cut the tree down instead of maiming it until it finally dies.
8. If you don't like trees at all, don't plant them.
While we are on the subject of trees, let me mention roots. The largest percentage of a tree's roots are near the soil surface. Those huge tap roots that people fear below the ground in their yards don't exist.
Evil roots are not below the surface trying to find a way to wreak havoc. The root zone of a tree is roughly as large in diameter as the canopy of the tree. If a tree's branches are about forty feet in diameter, its roots are about forty feet in diameter surrounding the tree. Tree roots naturally grow toward water if it is available, and they will invade a crack in a pipe to seek water. This is why it is not advised to plant a tree in the septic system drainage field. There is a product available to pour in your septic system that contains copper, which acts to prune roots that have invaded a pipe.
As you may have guessed, topping trees and talking trash about innocent trees is one of my pet peeves.
I apologize if I have offended anyone!
Do you ever look at the bare trees in winter? Were you ever taught in school or Boy Scouts how to identify a bare tree by the shape, size, and growth pattern of the branches? I learned to observe trees in winter after reading a book that showed the branch structure of many trees. Now, when I walk the dog in the woods, or hike, or ride in a car, I notice the trees and try to identify what kind they are. Most commonly, people identify trees by their leaves or fruit or flowers or bark. And, of course, you can identify a tree by the cross section of it's wood. My point to all this identification talk is this: Can you identify, for example, a maple tree, in winter by its branch structure after that tree has been topped??
Have you ever noticed what a topped tree looks like in winter? The sight of a topped tree in winter is one of the ugliest sights I've ever seen. It ranks right up there with trash along the roadsides and potholes! A big fat trunk with some knots on the top of it and maybe some wimpy looking sucker branches on top of that is a horrible sight to a person who has spent a career working with plants.
I need to point out some basic things that can prevent that terrible urge to butcher a tree.
1. Don't plant a 40,50, or 100 foot tall tree under power lines.
2. Remember a 6 foot tall tree will grow into a large tree.
3. Read the description of your tree before you plant it so you understand how tall it will grow.
4. Look up before you plant.
5. Take in to consideration what kind of tree you have. If you have a 100' Pin Oak tree, you have a very strong tree. It probably will never be uprooted in a storm, or split and drop big limbs, so there is no excuse for topping it..
6. Every tree, as well as every other kind of plant, will leave behind some debris, such as leaves, small limbs, and flower petals, as the seasons change and the wind blows. This does not justify torturing the tree by topping it.
7. If you hate your tree so badly that you want to top it, please just cut the tree down instead of maiming it until it finally dies.
8. If you don't like trees at all, don't plant them.
While we are on the subject of trees, let me mention roots. The largest percentage of a tree's roots are near the soil surface. Those huge tap roots that people fear below the ground in their yards don't exist.
Evil roots are not below the surface trying to find a way to wreak havoc. The root zone of a tree is roughly as large in diameter as the canopy of the tree. If a tree's branches are about forty feet in diameter, its roots are about forty feet in diameter surrounding the tree. Tree roots naturally grow toward water if it is available, and they will invade a crack in a pipe to seek water. This is why it is not advised to plant a tree in the septic system drainage field. There is a product available to pour in your septic system that contains copper, which acts to prune roots that have invaded a pipe.
As you may have guessed, topping trees and talking trash about innocent trees is one of my pet peeves.
I apologize if I have offended anyone!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Everybody's Cashin in...
The impending arrival of Valentine's Day is showing me something I never looked at so clearly before. A lot of people evidently think there is a lot of money to be made from roses on Valentine's Day. A lot of people also think being a florist is a "fun and easy job".
For some reason, it seems like every where I turn right now, someone else is selling roses for Valentine's Day. Everybody wants to be a florist for a day. The dollar store, the grocery, the drug store, churches, and schools have all jumped on the bandwagon.
Maybe this bothers me more this year because this has been a tough year financially. I work so hard to keep things going at the shop. I feel the responsibility that comes with meeting the payroll every week so my employees are able to feed their families. I worry a lot about how I'm going to pay my bills.
My worries are the same ones that others have had before me, especially over the last twenty five years as WalMart has put the small family owned businesses out of work and changed the whole economy of our country.
Here's the thing: I don't sell paper towels , cleaning products, and potato chips. I do sell fruit baskets, but I buy the fruit from the grocery that is now selling roses. I don't sell cans of soup or steaks or cookies. A florist has a very narrow inventory. Roses are one of the few things we sell compared to a grocery store that sells a million different products before they start selling roses. And the same goes for the dollar store.
Why can't these stores just sell what they are good at and leave us lttle people to earn a living selling what we are good at?? Or are we not good at it, so they feel the need to rub that in our faces???
And what about churches cutting into my ability to earn a living?? And will they be at my doorstep in a while asking for a donation?
We used to sell a lot of balloons, but now everybody does it so we don't sell very many. Same goes with stuffed animals to go with those balloons. Add memorial flowers to that list, too, and silk flowers in general. Heck, you can even buy your wedding at WalMart or Hobby Lobby, leave the tags on everything, and take it all back after the wedding.
More later, it's 8:42 and I have to go back to work.
For some reason, it seems like every where I turn right now, someone else is selling roses for Valentine's Day. Everybody wants to be a florist for a day. The dollar store, the grocery, the drug store, churches, and schools have all jumped on the bandwagon.
Maybe this bothers me more this year because this has been a tough year financially. I work so hard to keep things going at the shop. I feel the responsibility that comes with meeting the payroll every week so my employees are able to feed their families. I worry a lot about how I'm going to pay my bills.
My worries are the same ones that others have had before me, especially over the last twenty five years as WalMart has put the small family owned businesses out of work and changed the whole economy of our country.
Here's the thing: I don't sell paper towels , cleaning products, and potato chips. I do sell fruit baskets, but I buy the fruit from the grocery that is now selling roses. I don't sell cans of soup or steaks or cookies. A florist has a very narrow inventory. Roses are one of the few things we sell compared to a grocery store that sells a million different products before they start selling roses. And the same goes for the dollar store.
Why can't these stores just sell what they are good at and leave us lttle people to earn a living selling what we are good at?? Or are we not good at it, so they feel the need to rub that in our faces???
And what about churches cutting into my ability to earn a living?? And will they be at my doorstep in a while asking for a donation?
We used to sell a lot of balloons, but now everybody does it so we don't sell very many. Same goes with stuffed animals to go with those balloons. Add memorial flowers to that list, too, and silk flowers in general. Heck, you can even buy your wedding at WalMart or Hobby Lobby, leave the tags on everything, and take it all back after the wedding.
More later, it's 8:42 and I have to go back to work.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Best choices for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is in February and the subject comes up every year: Why do roses cost so much? Why is the price higher now than the rest of the year? Why does it cost more for a rose at a florist than it does at a mass marketer? Why not buy roses on line from an internet company?
The first thing to understand here is "Supply and demand".
At Valentine's Day, roses are in demand. The supply is somewhat limited. Retail florists have to place their orders well in advance so that growers, wholesalers, & brokers know how many roses to supply. Roses are by far the most in demand flower for V Day, no matter how hard florists try to encourage their customers to buy something different. The growers take this opportunity to raise the price for their roses because they know that retail florists will pay their price in order to get their product and, in turn, sell the roses to their customers who are demanding the roses.
Let me say one thing in defense of the rose growers- they do work very, very hard to time their crops so that there are enough roses to cut in time for V Day. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of people working together to get all those roses where they need to go on time.
I hope you are starting to understand that retail florists have no choice but to raise their price on roses on Valentine's Day. Otherwise the florist would take a loss and there is no point to being in business if you take a loss.
Roses are deemed the most romantic flower choice for V Day. More women expect to get roses than any other flower and most men don't even consider buying their gal anything but a rose. If women wished for a different flower such as tulips, gerbera daisies, or lilies, and made that desire known to their significant other, then perhaps the demand for roses would eventually shrink and so would the price. Unfortunately, I don't think that will ever happen!!
Now, to that other burning question-Why do roses cost less at mass marketers?
There are three grades of cut roses- the first being the mass marketer cut, the second being the cut used by retail florists. The third cut doesn't matter in this particular story.
The mass marketer cut is made when the roses are still in tighter bud and the stem length is short. The next cut is made at a later time, so the rose is not as tight a bud, has more petals, and has a longer stem length. The first cut naturally costs less than the later cut. The first cut roses do not last as long because of having fewer petals and shorter stems. All this means that a rose that is sold to you by a professional florist will last longer because of the better quality rose, will be a bigger rose, will look prettier because it has been arranged by a professional floral designer, and will be delivered to your loved one, if you desire. Would you rather buy a rose at the store that changes the oil in your car, sells cans of beans and DVDs, or would you rather buy a rose from a trained professional who took proper care of your rose because that's what they DO!
Please let me warn you that you will be a much happier consumer if you steer clear of on line flower ads for flower arrangements. Many of these "dot com" companies are order gatherers- not florists. The price may sound great, but you will probably pay a big service fee and a delivery fee. Especially watch out for the ones who say "free vase" is included. Order that bouquet of roses and your girlfriend will find a cardboard box on her doorstep with unarranged, dry flowers with that free vase packed beside it. And it will probably not arrive when you expected. Sound like a romantic Valentine's Day?
Your best results when buying flowers for that special someone on Valentine's Day will come from calling a professional, local florist. Best quality and best service will be found when you trust your local florist with your Valentine's Day flower order.
The first thing to understand here is "Supply and demand".
At Valentine's Day, roses are in demand. The supply is somewhat limited. Retail florists have to place their orders well in advance so that growers, wholesalers, & brokers know how many roses to supply. Roses are by far the most in demand flower for V Day, no matter how hard florists try to encourage their customers to buy something different. The growers take this opportunity to raise the price for their roses because they know that retail florists will pay their price in order to get their product and, in turn, sell the roses to their customers who are demanding the roses.
Let me say one thing in defense of the rose growers- they do work very, very hard to time their crops so that there are enough roses to cut in time for V Day. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of people working together to get all those roses where they need to go on time.
I hope you are starting to understand that retail florists have no choice but to raise their price on roses on Valentine's Day. Otherwise the florist would take a loss and there is no point to being in business if you take a loss.
Roses are deemed the most romantic flower choice for V Day. More women expect to get roses than any other flower and most men don't even consider buying their gal anything but a rose. If women wished for a different flower such as tulips, gerbera daisies, or lilies, and made that desire known to their significant other, then perhaps the demand for roses would eventually shrink and so would the price. Unfortunately, I don't think that will ever happen!!
Now, to that other burning question-Why do roses cost less at mass marketers?
There are three grades of cut roses- the first being the mass marketer cut, the second being the cut used by retail florists. The third cut doesn't matter in this particular story.
The mass marketer cut is made when the roses are still in tighter bud and the stem length is short. The next cut is made at a later time, so the rose is not as tight a bud, has more petals, and has a longer stem length. The first cut naturally costs less than the later cut. The first cut roses do not last as long because of having fewer petals and shorter stems. All this means that a rose that is sold to you by a professional florist will last longer because of the better quality rose, will be a bigger rose, will look prettier because it has been arranged by a professional floral designer, and will be delivered to your loved one, if you desire. Would you rather buy a rose at the store that changes the oil in your car, sells cans of beans and DVDs, or would you rather buy a rose from a trained professional who took proper care of your rose because that's what they DO!
Please let me warn you that you will be a much happier consumer if you steer clear of on line flower ads for flower arrangements. Many of these "dot com" companies are order gatherers- not florists. The price may sound great, but you will probably pay a big service fee and a delivery fee. Especially watch out for the ones who say "free vase" is included. Order that bouquet of roses and your girlfriend will find a cardboard box on her doorstep with unarranged, dry flowers with that free vase packed beside it. And it will probably not arrive when you expected. Sound like a romantic Valentine's Day?
Your best results when buying flowers for that special someone on Valentine's Day will come from calling a professional, local florist. Best quality and best service will be found when you trust your local florist with your Valentine's Day flower order.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Call your local florist-avoid dot coms
I tested this myself: yesterday I followed a Teleflora.com link on a website to see how much it would cost to order from them instead of ordering the same thing from Ravenna Florist & Greenhouse (we are a Telefora member). TF offered $10 off the order. I picked an arrangement that sells for $79.99 on our website and on Teleflora's website. Teleflora charged $14.95 for delivery and $5 for wire service fee, then applied the $10 advertised discount and tax. The total came to $86.95. If you had called us and said "I want you to deliver this $79.99 arrangement to my friend in Irvine", it would have cost $86.89. The catch is that we would have made you a $79.99 arrangement and delivered it for $1.99 plus tax. If you had placed the order on Teleflora.com, they would have sent it to us for $69.99 and given us $5 for delivery. You would have gotten an arrangement of less value. Teleflora would have kept the extra $14.95 that they got from you, plus the 20% of the order that they keep from us. We would have kept $60 of the amount you paid Teleflora.
This is how ordering from a dot com online works. You as a customer will get a lot more for your money if you call a florist you know directly. You may argue that we are not convenient like a dot com is, but, we also have a website that you can order from 24/7. If you want to send something out of town, you can call us to do it for you, but there will be an additional $3.50 wire service fee. We have the lowest wire service fee around. In other towns, florists charge $5 or $7.50 or even $10 wire fee for sending oders for you. The cheapest way to send out of town is to Google florists in that town and call them directly and place the order yourself. Many people feel unsure of themselves when it comes to ordering flowers and feel better if they call us and have us do it for them.
Sometime in the near future I predict there will be no more wire services. It is already a common occurance that we have to google a town to find a florist to send an order to because there are no florists in a wire service in thoses towns. Also many florists have gone out of business in the last two years and there are some towns who don't have a florist at all now.
On a similar note, FTD.com is also out there soliciting orders like Teleflora, but the difference is that FTD is drop shipping flowers in a box to customers instead of sending the order to an FTD florist in your town for same day delivery. So, if you order from FTD, you have to be sure it is sent to a florist that day instead of shipping the parts of an arrangement in a box that will arrive in one or two days. And the same issues of high fees and the value of your arrangement by the time it is completed still apply.
The real thorn in my side is proflowers.com and bloomstoday.com and wesleyberryflowers.com. These companies are order gatherers-they never see a flower-they never make a flower arrangement. These people don't know the difference between a rose and a carnation. Proflowers call us every week and ask us to deliver to Stanton, Clay City, Beattyville, and Booneville because there are no wire service florists in those towns. Their operators do not speak English well and do not understand when we tell them we don't have specific high end flowers in stock that they are asking for. They will call back repeatedly and ask for the same thing we just told them we couldn't do.
I have to say in defense of 1800flowers that I learned on Undercover Boss that they started out as a florist with a storefront and they still operate a lot of shops. They do also have a huge business as order gatherers and they own a candle company, a pottery company, a candy company, and Bloomnet, which is a wire service like FTD or Teleflora.
Tha gist of my ranting here is that floral customers should talk to a local florist when they want to send flowers. Don't be sucked in to online ads for saving money on flowers!!
This is how ordering from a dot com online works. You as a customer will get a lot more for your money if you call a florist you know directly. You may argue that we are not convenient like a dot com is, but, we also have a website that you can order from 24/7. If you want to send something out of town, you can call us to do it for you, but there will be an additional $3.50 wire service fee. We have the lowest wire service fee around. In other towns, florists charge $5 or $7.50 or even $10 wire fee for sending oders for you. The cheapest way to send out of town is to Google florists in that town and call them directly and place the order yourself. Many people feel unsure of themselves when it comes to ordering flowers and feel better if they call us and have us do it for them.
Sometime in the near future I predict there will be no more wire services. It is already a common occurance that we have to google a town to find a florist to send an order to because there are no florists in a wire service in thoses towns. Also many florists have gone out of business in the last two years and there are some towns who don't have a florist at all now.
On a similar note, FTD.com is also out there soliciting orders like Teleflora, but the difference is that FTD is drop shipping flowers in a box to customers instead of sending the order to an FTD florist in your town for same day delivery. So, if you order from FTD, you have to be sure it is sent to a florist that day instead of shipping the parts of an arrangement in a box that will arrive in one or two days. And the same issues of high fees and the value of your arrangement by the time it is completed still apply.
The real thorn in my side is proflowers.com and bloomstoday.com and wesleyberryflowers.com. These companies are order gatherers-they never see a flower-they never make a flower arrangement. These people don't know the difference between a rose and a carnation. Proflowers call us every week and ask us to deliver to Stanton, Clay City, Beattyville, and Booneville because there are no wire service florists in those towns. Their operators do not speak English well and do not understand when we tell them we don't have specific high end flowers in stock that they are asking for. They will call back repeatedly and ask for the same thing we just told them we couldn't do.
I have to say in defense of 1800flowers that I learned on Undercover Boss that they started out as a florist with a storefront and they still operate a lot of shops. They do also have a huge business as order gatherers and they own a candle company, a pottery company, a candy company, and Bloomnet, which is a wire service like FTD or Teleflora.
Tha gist of my ranting here is that floral customers should talk to a local florist when they want to send flowers. Don't be sucked in to online ads for saving money on flowers!!
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Calendar
We narrowly avoided disaster this week!! We forgot to order plant plugs a few months ago for this coming spring. Apparently our salesperson called on a busy day & I didn't return her call & she didn't try again. Result: We need plugs in 2 weeks and they were not ordered.
Let me explain what a plug is: Greenhouse growers plant seeds in trays & grow 50, 100, or 200 little plants in the tray, depending on the size of the tray. When each plant has a healthy mat of roots, it is time to pop each little plant out of its little space in the tray & plant it into a larger pot, usually the pot it will eventually be sold in. There are greenhouses who make a business of growing thousands of plugs for little greenhouses like ours to buy. When orders are placed in the fall and before the first of the year, the growers know what they need to grow. At this time of year, it is difficult to find the plants that you want if you didn't place your order ahead of time. After a desparate search through several availability lists of some of the major growers, we finally located everything we need!! Yah!!
Let me explain what a plug is: Greenhouse growers plant seeds in trays & grow 50, 100, or 200 little plants in the tray, depending on the size of the tray. When each plant has a healthy mat of roots, it is time to pop each little plant out of its little space in the tray & plant it into a larger pot, usually the pot it will eventually be sold in. There are greenhouses who make a business of growing thousands of plugs for little greenhouses like ours to buy. When orders are placed in the fall and before the first of the year, the growers know what they need to grow. At this time of year, it is difficult to find the plants that you want if you didn't place your order ahead of time. After a desparate search through several availability lists of some of the major growers, we finally located everything we need!! Yah!!
Devious plans for the new year.
My devious little mind is hard at work formulating plans for 2011. Number one plan of the week: removing the office from the flower shop. I would like to take out the old cooler that hasn't worked for 20 years and then take out the walls of the office. We'll then remove the old sales counters and replace them with new, shorter counters and butt them up to a new desk for Melanie. Mel can then work at her desk with her computer while being able to see the whole front room of the shop. I will be getting an estimate for this in a few days.
The problem is that I should be getting a new roof instead!
The problem is that I should be getting a new roof instead!
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