Sending Smiles ~

One of the best parts of my job is securing flowers to sell at the shop. Whether they are for a special event such as a wedding or just for our everyday offerings, I try to buy American Grown Flowers whenever possible. Truthfully, there aren't many florist grade flowers being grown in PA or New Jersey these days so we look to states such as California for the "locally grown" American product we crave.  Did you know that 80% of the flowers used in America are imported from outside of the US? That's crazy but true! I've personally visited farms in Holland and California and it's fascinating how they grow these amazing beauties. Take for example, the photo below of our tour of the Stock Flower Fields at Ocean View Farms in Lompoc, California We have been known to secure NJ flowers through both our wholesaler and on our own, like these Sunflowers from a past summer! Our designers had fun making little smiley faces on them!  Do you know where the ...

I thought I'd share this photo of my hubby Kevin, doing a fantastic job routing the Valentine's Day deliveries. Looks like kaos but in fact everything was staged and routed depending on the town it was to be delivered too. Just about 400 deliveries left the shop in one day and all drivers returned by about 5 pm. Thank you too all our "extra" helpers - Donna, Steven, Donna (number 2), Alison, Mikey, James, Ed, Cory and Dave. Acting as drivers and shop greeters, these wonderful folks helped make our holiday the least stressful holiday in recent years!!

Did you know our Princeton shop is located in the Princeton Forrestal Village? Yes we are and we are just up from the Westin Hotel and are located between Exquisite Brides (how convenient to be located next to that) and Tre Piani and Tre Bar (again, how convenient is that?)! We've actually been in the Village for just over 12 years and we really love it. We moved out of downtown Princeton when we lost our lease and needed more space. People often ask if anyone finds us in this mixture of corporate and retail and the answer is yes they do. We actually do a very brisk walk in and thanks to customer deciding to shop local and the recession lightening up it's grip a bit, our walk in is up this year very nicely. We make speedy delivery into down town Princeton, the whole Route 1 corridor, all of Mercer County, parts of Middlesex and Somerset, not to mention Lower Buck, each and every day. Offering delivery to over 70 zip codes keeps our 3 to 5 delivery trucks busy all day long,...

Last Friday night we had the opportunity to drive over to the Mercer County Farmers Coop and what fun we had, so much in fact, we're going back tomorrow night. We were able to purchase fresh, local grown product such as these zinnias, sunflowers, cockscomb and even small pumpkins and Indian corn. We even purchased a case of fresh New Jersey peaches for our fruit and gourmet baskets! What made the night even more special was getting to meet the actual farmers who grew the products that we were purchasing. What nice people and are clearly devoted to their farms.It felt good to really put my money where my mouth is with regards to "buying local". Keep check back to see what comes into the shop all through the fall as I am told the mum plants are next!! Remember, shop local and support your local community. To see more of our local products become our fan at www.facebook.com/localflorist !!

Late summer is always a nice time in the flower shop because of the local product that arrives each day such as these huge yellow centered sunflowers. Some measuring 7" across, what fun it is to bring a couple home to brighten up the house. Another flower that screams late summer are iris. Available year round from various farms, they are especially plentiful at this time of the year and the color is just so vibrant! Did you know that these very cool brown sunflowers grow this way? Nope, they are not dyed and they came from a local New Jersey Farm too! Look at these very cool gloriosa lilies that just arrived from Holland. Very spidery and vibrant, these little short stemmed version of this viney flower is perfect in summer basket arrangements and centerpieces. How about these tropical bird of paradise? Tropical floral displays are very popular during the summer months. Must be the heat!! Well, that's a view in the shop today!!