Cute Animals Help With Party Planning

Planning a party doesn't have to be stressful! Here's a little cuteness to help you through at least the flower-planning part.

Planning a party starts off exciting, but sometimes can get a bit...

...but flowers are lovely! And this is supposed to be fun!

Come back! I said this was going to be fun!

No, not like this!

Flower planning should not be stressful!

A good florist can help you through. :)

And flower planning can be fun and relaxing so that you can enjoy your party!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

Upcycled Wedding Design Floral Ideas

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We all love to do our part to recycle and help save the environment.  Here are some fantastic ideas to incorporate sentimental upcycling into your wedding day to help reduce waste, cut down on your carbon footprint, and include personal touches that make your day even more special!

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1. Instead of a ribbon-wrapped bouquet, use strips of cloth from a piece of meaningful clothing.

We all have that one shirt we held on to from a departed loved one, or a dress that we were wearing the day we met that is now threadbare or otherwise never going to be worn again, or a special blanket or even a pair of socks with sentimental value.  You can ask your florist to cut the fabric into strips to use for ribbon and can even ask for flowers to be designed around the color palate of the fabric!

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2. Instead of ribbon for centerpiece accents, use either more upcycled fabric from the same piece, or use other articles of clothing or significant fabric to accent your reception tables and ceremony decorations.  You can also work with your wedding designer to use pieces as placemats or table runners in place of using new fabric for these things.

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3. For his boutonniere, instead of a fresh flower that will be crushed by the end of the day from countless hugging, look into making a fabric boutonniere from upcycled clothing of sentimental value.  A beautiful piece could be put together from an old blouse of a grandmother or mother or child.

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4.To make your bouquet extra-special, use old pieces of jewelry either from the time you were dating, or from a relative.  The pieces can be real or or even old costume jewelry.  And as many pieces are flower design based or floral influenced, you can even bring them in while determining the design for your day with your florist - a good florist will work with your vision to create the day of your dreams and can use pieces like this to come up with the perfect fresh flowers to use for your perfect day!

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5. While this isn't directly related to your flowers, it can still help to take one thing off your mind for your big day: that last detail of "something blue!"  Again, you can use an old piece of jewelry or fabric from a sentimental clothing item or blanket - and turn it into an accent on your garter, or a piece for your hair.  And again, your florist should be more than happy to incorporate a small item or token as a charm on your bouquet as a more subtle touch of blue!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

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May is here and it is the perfect time to plant a perfect a Flower Garden to enjoy all Summer long!

Don't have room for a full garden at home?  This is some great advice for making your own window box garden!  

While Fall is a good time to plant longer growing plants like trees, small bushes, bulbs and some perennials, Spring is a perfect time to get started on a flower garden!

Here are a few steps to get you started:

1. Pick a Spot

Most flowers need about 6 hours a day of sunlight, so first you need to find a spot with plenty of room for them to grow.  You also want to make sure it is not a spot with lots of water run off (that is to say, at the top of a hill with nothing holding the soil) so that the seeds or soil do not wash away when it rains!  If you only have spots that are in direct sunlight all day, some of these flowering plants might do well!

If you only have land on a hill, a ledge or garden edging can be helpful to plan while you are designing the spot.

Large gardens are beautiful, but if you are starting off for the first time, pick a smaller spot so that you don't overwhelm yourself.  They are easy to do, but take some work.  So a spot about 25 - 30 square feet is good for a beginner! 

Make sure you are at least 3' from a house or fence, 20' from a large tree or 5' from a sizable bush, so you don't risk digging into any vital roots, and so your flowers have room to grow.

2. Clear The Ground

This is where you roll your sleeves up and get your hands dirty!  If the area is already cleared of grass and weeds, you can skip this step.  If not, you need to get digging - pull up the weeds and any plants growing that you did not want as part of your garden.  This includes grass.  Make sure to wear gloves if you are doing it by hand and watch out for ants getting on you. 

Remove all pieces of grass or weeds or anything that might start to grow again.  Using a spade or small gardening fork, turn the dirt at least eight inches deep, up to a foot if you can.  Remove any rocks or small items you dig up.

3. Prepare To Plant

Check with your local Department of Agriculture and treat your soil as needed.  You might need to add compost or packaged soil to fill in the ground as needed.  Some soils need to be pH balanced.  Find out what is best for the soil where you live.

4. Plant Your Flowers

If you are starting from seeds, be sure to water regularly.  If you are planting grown plants or seedlings, be sure to leave enough room to fill in some dirt on top of the roots once planted.  Follow instructions carefully on seed and plant packaging and be sure to space your plants with enough room for them all to get sunshine and to have room to grow.

5. Enjoy Your Flower Garden!

Watch your lovely flowers grow!  Be sure to cut them back or support them as needed as they get bigger.  Remember that many flowering plants will re-flower if the finished blooms are cut off.  Trim them back for several set of flowers per plant.  Make sure they get plenty of water and enjoy!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

Five Ways To Make Mother's Day Extra-Special For Mom

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With Mother's Day right around the corner, here are some last-minute tips to make the day extra special!

1. Don't Waste Your Money On Big Company Flower Purchases

These 5 tips from Fox News are probably the best advice I could give before you order.   And, with a 5-star Google and Facebook rating and wonderful hand-written Thank You notes from our customers, a selection of plants and Designer Specials, plus an awesome 15% off coupon, we are happy to take your order and make sure you get your money's worth!

2. Give Her Memories Along With Flowers

Do you live close enough to see Mom on Mother's Day?  Start her day off with a special delivery of her favorite flowers then take her out for her favorite lunch, but make it special!  For all those years she spent making sure you ate lunch, why not a picnic?  Or check out local deals and take her out to lunch or dinner!

3. Show Her You Were Listening

For the next few days before Mother's Day, take photos of yourself doing all things that she taught you!  Then on Friday or Saturday head to your local CVS or Walgreens or whatever the best local place is for same-day pickup an great deals on prints.  Then give her a stack of photographs tied with a ribbon for her to look at during the year and see what a great job she did raising you!

4. Send a Small Gift With Your Flowers

If your mom lives near Clearwater Beach or surrounding areas (St Pete, Dunedin, Largo, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs, etc), we can deliver to her and add on an awesome small gift with the flowers, so you only have to go shopping once!  And if Mom doesn't live where we deliver, check out your local Flower Shop - many locally owned and run shops also offer things like balloons and small gifts to send along with a floral piece!

5. Make Her a Present to Give Her Along With Flowers

Not super crafty? There are lots of simple craft projects on Pinterest or just write her a hand-written letter on nice paper saying what she means to you.  

What is most important on Mother's Day is reminding Mom what she means to us and that we thank her for all she has put up with being a part of our lives!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!