Normally when we do a wedding we buy the flowers, arrange them and deliver them to the appropriate places.
This Saturday however the bride is bringing the flowers with her, all the way from Ecuador!
She is a firm believer in fair trade practices, and being from Ecuador, she felt one way to be sure of the source was to see it and buy them for herself.
The flowers started their journey about 3 days ago and will arrive with us on Friday morning, all 600 stems of them!! That will give us just enough time to prep and strip them and arrange them in time for the big day...we hope!
July should typically be a quieter month, what with everyone either being off on holiday or spending their hard earned on entertaining kids...but so far we've been pretty busy. Add to that a full wedding schedule and it's smiles all round.
Our home grown organic flower bunches are still going down a storm. The picking is a little erratic this season though as the farmers have to crop them before any big rains come down. As they are a little bit delicate, down pours can be bad for their health.
That's all for now, hopefully the next instalment will be a little quicker.
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Well summer is here, which means we can stock locally grown bunches of flowers again. These gorgeous selections of the prettiest summer stems, from alchmelia to snapdragon, campanula and dill are grown at
Oxenfoord Organics out near Pathhead. Not only are they grown locally, they are organic too. Summer in a vase.
We are also glad that summer's arrived because the weddings are in full swing at the moment. Yesterday we created bouquets and arrangements for a wedding at Holy Cross Church followed by a reception at Craighouse Campus, which is a gorgeous venue. The happy couple chose a stunning selection of white and green summer flowers, including peony roses, sweet peas, hydrangeas and delphinium.
We are also glad that summer's arrived because the weddings are in full swing at the moment. Yesterday we created bouquets and arrangements for a wedding at Holy Cross Church followed by a reception at Craighouse Campus, which is a gorgeous venue. The happy couple chose a stunning selection of white and green summer flowers, including peony roses, sweet peas, hydrangeas and delphinium.
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Flowers for The Proms
'It's wasn't like that in our day!'......it certainly wasn't! This week we've been making lots of buttonholes and corsages for School Proms. All of which have been taking place in the fanciest hotels in town, the pupils arriving by limo, wearing expensive tuxedos, kilts and dresses, and according to one mum, she even had to pay for a hip flask for her son to take along! We also created flower arrangements to adorn the tables of one Schools prom at The George Hotel earlier in the week, and it wasn't a small budget! I remember having an end of school 'prom', but it was more of a dodgy disco with a few sarnies and a sneaked in bottle of something cheap and nasty ! Ach, we're just jealous!
It's Fathers Day tomorrow, and we have had a few people ordering flowers for their dads. I don't think it'll ever reach Mother Day proportions though, I think a bottle of whisky somehow tends to win the hearts of most dads! Happy Fathers Day to all you dads anyway...hic.....
It's Fathers Day tomorrow, and we have had a few people ordering flowers for their dads. I don't think it'll ever reach Mother Day proportions though, I think a bottle of whisky somehow tends to win the hearts of most dads! Happy Fathers Day to all you dads anyway...hic.....
Monday, 7 June 2010
Long Live The Independent Florist!
We are excited to start watching the new series of 'Mary Queen of Shops' which starts tonight on BBC1. This series Mary Portas is looking at our local shops such as greengrocers and bakers who are facing increasing competition from the ubiquitous supermarket. Not sure if the humble florist is featured or not, but our profession is definitely one which has been hit hard by supermarkets over the years.
While we can pretty much never compete on price with the Tescos and Marks and Spencer of this world, (we simply don't have the buying power), we here at Pollination like to think we offer something a bit more unique, interesting and original than the generic bunches that are often offered by the supermarkets. We have seen some really lovely bouquets though, and a good range of flowers from the simple rose to the more exotic orchids and proteas. Although the fact that the supermarkets have moved on from just plain old carnations and chrysanths always worries us slightly! On the plus side, it does educate people who may not go into their local florist on the huge range of stunning blooms that are available to us now.
Supermarkets don't generally give the same care to their flowers though, whilst your local florist will prep every individual flower and cut, feed and generally treat them with respect, many bunches from the supermarket will be pulled out and stuffed half in half out of water, stems crushed by customers. They are often positioned at the front of the store, which from a marketing point of view is clever, but at the same time they are then treated to every blast of cold wind each time a customer enters, and are left wilting in the sun when it's a hot day. Nor does the supermarket allow you to pick individual blooms to create a tailored made bouquet or arrangement, or offer specialised services such as wedding bouquets (although Asda are selling 'good vaue' wedding dresses, so give them time!). They produce mass bunches for the masses, rather than original bouquets tailored to the individual.
The supermarkets, along with the recession, are good reasons to keep on top of our game, to keep our shops looking fab, and to keep producing good quality gorgeous bouquets. We find it encouraging that we receive orders from throughout Britain and the rest of the world to send our bouquets through the UK, and that we have a regular local customer base as well as new customers all the time, who have been recommended to us, have seen our website or maybe have received a bouquet themselves. But we never get complacent. It is a constant challenge to survive in the highly competitive retail world.
The more local independent shops that close down as they struggle to compete with the supermarket giants, the more our local high streets turn into streets of To Let signs and smashed windows, the more our local communities suffer and the less specialised, original independent businesses will be available, and what a dull place that would be.
While we can pretty much never compete on price with the Tescos and Marks and Spencer of this world, (we simply don't have the buying power), we here at Pollination like to think we offer something a bit more unique, interesting and original than the generic bunches that are often offered by the supermarkets. We have seen some really lovely bouquets though, and a good range of flowers from the simple rose to the more exotic orchids and proteas. Although the fact that the supermarkets have moved on from just plain old carnations and chrysanths always worries us slightly! On the plus side, it does educate people who may not go into their local florist on the huge range of stunning blooms that are available to us now.
Supermarkets don't generally give the same care to their flowers though, whilst your local florist will prep every individual flower and cut, feed and generally treat them with respect, many bunches from the supermarket will be pulled out and stuffed half in half out of water, stems crushed by customers. They are often positioned at the front of the store, which from a marketing point of view is clever, but at the same time they are then treated to every blast of cold wind each time a customer enters, and are left wilting in the sun when it's a hot day. Nor does the supermarket allow you to pick individual blooms to create a tailored made bouquet or arrangement, or offer specialised services such as wedding bouquets (although Asda are selling 'good vaue' wedding dresses, so give them time!). They produce mass bunches for the masses, rather than original bouquets tailored to the individual.
The supermarkets, along with the recession, are good reasons to keep on top of our game, to keep our shops looking fab, and to keep producing good quality gorgeous bouquets. We find it encouraging that we receive orders from throughout Britain and the rest of the world to send our bouquets through the UK, and that we have a regular local customer base as well as new customers all the time, who have been recommended to us, have seen our website or maybe have received a bouquet themselves. But we never get complacent. It is a constant challenge to survive in the highly competitive retail world.
The more local independent shops that close down as they struggle to compete with the supermarket giants, the more our local high streets turn into streets of To Let signs and smashed windows, the more our local communities suffer and the less specialised, original independent businesses will be available, and what a dull place that would be.
Friday, 28 May 2010
Windy Weddings!
Unusually for a weekend we don't have any weddings to prepare flowers for, as we are actually going to a wedding ourselves tomorrow. Our friends Nik and Anna are doing the do up in Aboyne, near Aberdeen, and it should be a great day (even if the weather is looking a bit dodgy!). We first met Nik many years ago when we used to do flower classes in the shop. He was the only male that signed up for them which we were quite excited about, and we bonded over the flowers and too much wine! A few years later at a Hogmanay party, Nik met the lovely Anna (who bonded over wine...and beer....) and the rest is history.
There must be lots of weddings on this bank holiday weekend though as tomorrows box if full of orders for corsages and buttonholes. We can't quite decide if we are going to adorn a flower ourselves or not. I'm sure as florists we are supposed to be showing off our wares, but we didn't even have flowers at our own wedding!
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Nice Day For A Hot Wedding
Phewwie, its hotter in Edinburgh today than it is in Ibiza apparently - how the great British weather can change in a week!
The down side to the glorious sun shine is having to work in the shop! The upside though, is that today's lucky bride is able to get married outside. We delivered the flowers this morning and it was at least 20 degrees then! Here's a photo of the ceremony table adorned with a large vase of gorgeous white lilies, tulips and delphiniums.
We have some amazing passion flower plants in the shop, they have got to be one of the maddest flowers, we love em.
Another wedding tomorrow at Balbirnie House Hotel in Fife. It's a beautiful venue, with gorgeous gardens that I'm sure tomorrow will be filled with merry 'sun kissed' (ie burnt) wedding guests. If the weather holds, we will head up to Elie on the east coast which has a fabulous beach and very nice pubs (with beer garden!). So we'll deliver the flowers for the wedding, then chase our dog into the sea, whilst licking our melting ice creams - HOO RAH for the sun!
Another wedding tomorrow at Balbirnie House Hotel in Fife. It's a beautiful venue, with gorgeous gardens that I'm sure tomorrow will be filled with merry 'sun kissed' (ie burnt) wedding guests. If the weather holds, we will head up to Elie on the east coast which has a fabulous beach and very nice pubs (with beer garden!). So we'll deliver the flowers for the wedding, then chase our dog into the sea, whilst licking our melting ice creams - HOO RAH for the sun!
Monday, 17 May 2010
Lily Watch
Monday morning, and yay the sun is actually out ;o))) Well it's not exactly tropical and the ash has closed airports throughout the country again, but the sun is definitely poking through the clouds which is a good start to the week!
We are on Lily watch this week - one of the weddings we have at the weekend taking place at Keavil House, Dunfermline is predominately white lilies. Lilies, along with a few other flowers such as peonies, can often prove a bit of a challenge for the florist.
They arrive directly from Holland lovely and fresh and tight, so judging how many days in advance to buy them in order for them to be open in time for the brides big day can be like playing russian roulette! Too open and the petals might just start to turn or look bruised. Not open enough and they don't look full or colourful enough for the bouquets/vases etc. Its not unknown on a Friday afternoon or Saturday morning for florists to be phoning each other desperately searching for open blooms!
The many tubs of lilies we have in our back shop this morning are looking just right (eek, are we tempting fate here!) They haven't opened yet but the buds are looking nice and full and white....everything crossed!
We are on Lily watch this week - one of the weddings we have at the weekend taking place at Keavil House, Dunfermline is predominately white lilies. Lilies, along with a few other flowers such as peonies, can often prove a bit of a challenge for the florist.
They arrive directly from Holland lovely and fresh and tight, so judging how many days in advance to buy them in order for them to be open in time for the brides big day can be like playing russian roulette! Too open and the petals might just start to turn or look bruised. Not open enough and they don't look full or colourful enough for the bouquets/vases etc. Its not unknown on a Friday afternoon or Saturday morning for florists to be phoning each other desperately searching for open blooms!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)