Sending Smiles ~

Flower Power!  We all know that flowers are pretty but did you know that studies have shown that flowers are a very potent mood enhancer? Well, a study done by Rutgers University by Jeannette Haviland-Jones Professor of Psychology and her husband Terry McGuire, Professor of Genetics offer convincing evidence that flowers may be  potent mood elevators. I know my opinion might be suspect because I'm surrounded with beautiful flowers every day but it's fun knowing that the product that I petal, that provides my livelihood can be so powerful in making folks so happy ! Quoted from a Rutgers Blog called "Flower Power" this is what they found out during the study! "In the first of several double-blind studies performed in 2005, Haviland-Jones and her team presented participants with one of three gifts—a decorative candle, a fruit basket, and a floral bouquet—­supposedly as a thank-you for taking part in a study on mood. The delivery people were really out to

We've all seen those commercials with the little kids talking about how "Bigger is Better" right? Don't they make you laugh? Those kids are so funny. Well, imagine this arriving to your door? Here at the Flower Shop it is our job to help folks choose the perfect floral gift.  Because most orders come to us via the phone, we use descriptions such as "desk sized or coffee table sized" to help them visualize how large the arrangement we create can be.  Next we discuss particular flowers, colors and style. It's not as easy as you might think. With beauty in the eye of the beholder and everyone on tight budgets, it's hard to be sure we are both on the same page. It's the main reason our Website has become such an important tool for us. The hardest part of our job is to try to understand what the sender is expecting and making sure that the moon, stars and sun align with their budget. So is Bigger Better? A consumer that owns and drives a Be

This design might not be for everyone but our designers spent some time being creative and having fun. Bird of paradise, tulips, lucky bamboo and horse tail combine to make for one fun and funky floral design! What do you think? Would you want someone to send this to you?

The holidays are the perfect time to send friends, family and clients flowers through a florist but buyer beware. Sending flowers is easy and affordable and did you know that people that send flowers are seen as "thoughtful and sincere". It's true and a Rutger's University study proved it.  So for that person who has it all, sending a pretty floral centerpiece for the holiday could be the perfect gift but buyer beware so read on!  Over the years there have many businesses that have popped up online acting as if they are a real florist when in reality, they are a call center collecting orders. These business have been funneling orders away from local florists for years, charge the consumer an extra fee (sometimes as high as $17!!!) and then transmit the order back to a local florist for them to full fill and deliver. Some of these businesses are down right sneaky and have names that make them appear to be located in a certain town. When ever you order onlin

Designer Norman finally got the front of our shop decorated for the season and we are thinking he did a mighty fine job. Pine and Laurel Garland really make for a festive outline and a few wreaths with bright red ribbons make the shop stand out from the street. We've started taking orders for the holidays and so far we are noticing centerpieces and decorated boxwood trees seem to be the most popular floral gifts. Be sure to check out all our new arrangements on our website at www.sendingsmiles.com . We also brought in an extensive line of Decorative Gifts such as pillow and ornaments along with fun gift items such as coffee mugs, wine glasses, platters and more. Don't forget our line of jewelry and also our gourmet items such as chocolates, poinsettias and stuffed animals . We also have fresh evergreen wreath and grave blankets for sale.  Don't forget that we deliver 7 days a week and we can also handle your "Out of Town" orders for those folks who liv

It's officially fall here at the shop. Some folks think we rush it but as soon as we put out the fall products and merchandise our website with fall arrangements, they start selling. Take this dramatic floral arrangement for example:  It's one of our brand new designs for fall 2012. It's named   Autumn Expressions  and retails for only $42.95. The orange  cube vase makes such a nice keepsake and these rich autumnal colors really pop. Imagine this being delivered to you at work or home? We especially love the assortment of flowers and the dried wheat! Folks have also been starting to buy our Halloween and Thanksgiving table top pieces such as chip and dips, salt and pepper shakers, dried wreaths, wine glasses, pitchers, cookies jars and more. To see some of our new arrivals, check out this video on YouTube . Don't forget about our $5 flower specials and be sure to check out Facebook Page to find out what flower we have each week.

When I say that we have some colorful flowers that have just arrived, I'm not kidding! Wow, the colors in the shop this week run from all the fall arrivals of reds, oranges and red to browns and even deep rich blues. Over 300 assorted colored gerbera daisies arrived from Holland this week and the flowers span almost 5 inches across. Some have dark centers like these yellow ones while others have a light center but all are amazing. Each week we try to get at least one variety of hydrangea that is a little bit different, either in the color or the same of the florets. These are called - You and Me Together Classic and they are an amazing shade of blue. Yes, they grow that color naturally without any help from dyes or paints. This particular variety seems to last a very long time and as it ages, it dries almost the exact same shade of blue with very little fading. Talk about a flower that gives it's all! To see these and more of our floral designs be sure to check out

Have you ever wondered how they grow those amazingly huge gerbera daisies that you get from our shop? Well, this week we were lucky enough to visit one of the farms that grows them for us - Ever-Bloom Farms in California. Ever-Bloom has over 14 acres of these amazing flowers - all under the protection of very sophisticated green houses.  According to Sue, the Director of Sales at Ever-Bloom, they grow over 120 varieties of gerbera and gerbera mini's in all shades from white, red, pink, orange and even one that is almost purple. Sue says that hot pink is the color in highest demand. The amazing plants are putting out flowers each and ever day, requiring they be harvested 6 days a week. Sue says the workers walk through each row picking them by hand and sorting them right out in the green house where they are added to these very cool carts by variety.  Minutes after being harvested, they are cut and placed into a special water solution to allow them to continuing drink

I live and breath flowers, flowers, flowers, flowers - it's what I think about all the time. No matter where I am or what I'm doing, if there are flowers there, I notice them. So obviously, I've learned a thing or two and these are the Top 3 Things I've learned About Selling Flowers!  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Flowers are like food. Some people love Escargot and will pay any price for them while others think of them as no better than a slug found in their garden.  Flowers are the same way - some folks will see the rare and unusual as something worthy of a high price tag, while others just don't see that appeal. Take the arrangement above for example: The roses are pretty common and affordable but the Dutch  Asclepias , the star shaped orange flowers are  much more unusual and rare, thus costing more. If you like them, you might pay for them, if you don't, you won't. It's as simple as that.  Sending flowers only to say you are sor

Like a kid in a candy store, we all gather when the flowers arrive, especially our Dutch shipments. Above, these gorgeous mini callas are such a pretty pink. They are so perfect, they look fake, don't you think?  We love dahlias and it's the season for them. we love getting them in assorted colors so that we can really play!!   Lotus pods are so cool and are fun to design with. Not an inexpensive flower but long lasting and super cool for those looking for something a bit different in their floral design. Most folks are used to the dried ones but they are green when they are fresh. Craspedia or also called Billy Balls , we love designing with the little yellow balls on a stick. They are super cute in wedding designs, especially boutonnieres! To see these and more of our flower designs, be sure to check out our website at www.sendingsmiles.com

 Each week we try  to bring in a few new floral varieties that we have never seen before like this very cool green and blue hydrangea above. The heads are huge and we loved the ruffly nature of the petals.  The celosia this week are amazing. The colors are so vibrant and shocking! They really look so cool in the arrangements.  Oh my goodness!! What can you say about this beautiful Banksia above. Wow, wow, wow, the texture and colors of these flowers is just super cool. How fun!  Mocha sunflowers, locally grown and very brown, how fun is that? We love the yellow ones but these really add an interesting touch to a summer arrangement. Have you ever seen our bud vases? Each vase is a different shape and very artfully holds a single flower. Who says you need multiple flowers to make a statement? Not with these sweet vases. There you have it, our floral favorites from this past week - 7/22/12. Check back to see what next week holds in store for our customers. Want to see t

 Here are just few flowers that came in this past week that made us happy, happy, happy. How can you not look at this Blue Peppermint Hydrangea (above) and Sunset Mini callas (below) and not just say - aaahhhh. It's fun getting in new varieties of flowers coming through the Dutch market and these were 2 of our favorites. I'm sure we'll order them in again real soon!  Now moving on to some fun plants, we just got in these elegant anthurium plants. Don't you just love these waxy little heart shaped flowers. These plants had tons and tons of blooms and I doubt they will hang around long once our customers see them.

 Please, please, can we please? We love our website  but sometimes have to create the same floral designs over and over is not so much fun. That's why we love the opportunity to design fun, funky, festive and elegant arrangements for our cooler displays. This is where we get to show customers running in for a quick gift how talented we really are! Don't you just love this simple orange basket arangement. Big is not always better. I love this arrangement above done in a simple glass bowl with "Free Spirt" roses, hydrangeas and veronica. All dutch flowers, so elegant but fun don't you think?    Imagine getting this for your birthday. Love the balloon box! Adorable cube arrangements that look good enough to eat! Love this tropical styled arrangement with river cane, roses, fatsia leaves and even a cute butterfly. Elegant for a foyer table, this makes a really elegant gift . I loved this arrangement that design Rocio made. Three roses, an orchi

Every week we have been ordering in a different variety of Dutch Hydrangea and this weeks is amazing! It's so much fun being a florist.  This is Magical Amethyst Hydrangea, produces giant spherical flower heads that open lime green that change to pink then back to soft green with pink edges. All we can say is WOW! What do you think? To see these beauties in person, come visit our shop in Princeton, NJ or Yardley, PA or better yet, send some to a friend.

 We love Mondays here at the shop and with a name like Monday Morning Flowers that's a good thing. Although flowers arrive 3 to 5 times a week, Mondays is the day we get lots of our dutch flowers. Take the hydrangea above. We'll bet you don't see those everyday and certainly not in the flower department of the Supermarket! Called Expression they have a star design to their petals and each head is huge! $19.95 per stem.  We have fallen in love with the variety of mini callas. Called Paco they have the dreamiest lavender coloring you'll ever find on a flower. Long lasting and elegant, we use them in weddings and our everyday floral designs. $5.95 per stem.  These Starfighter lilies are spectacular! Each stems has 3 flowers that will bloom in succession. Long lasting with an amazing touch of fragrance, only a few stems in a vase will give you 2 weeks of floral pleasure. $6.95 per stems.  Alstroemeria is one of our staple flowers around here and we love all the

We love Mother's day here at the shop. Did you know that Mother's Day is the largest floral holiday here at our shop next to Valentine's Day? We'll sell over 2,000 carnations and just as many roses during the week along with other popular spring flowers like gerber daisies, hydrangeas, lilacs and more. What better time than Mother's Day to show mom how much you appreciate everything she has done for you? What better way than by sending her a gorgeous floral bouquet!! Ok, if you are looking for gift ideas for mom, can you really go wrong by sending her flowers? We think not! The variety of flowers available during spring are spectacular and there a so many unique ways to arrange them. What about French Tulips  submerged in a tall glass cylinder vase or a topiary of all Yellow Lilies? Does mom really love plants? What about a sweet Pink Azalea plant in an elegant ceramic pot? A gift like this lasts all summer long out in the yard and can be planted in the