The Flower Place of Fountain Valley, CA 92708

The Prom season is approaching here and everyone is filled with excitement,
as there is so much to do to get ready for it. The gals are busy shopping for the perfect dress, hairdoo, and makeup, the guys reluctantly looking for a tux, while we here at the Flower Place in Fountain Valley, CA are gearing up to fill corsage orders. We have been putting together some corsage ideas that will compliment the gown, the tux and adorn the prom goers with the BLNG that the young folks are looking for this year.

Yes this is the year for Jewelling in Prom Flowers. From pearls, rhinestones and sequins to give that extra BLING!

The following are some ideas to help in the selection for this year’s prom season
 
A Fantasy Butterfly Wrist corsage with matching boutonniere

       With white Dendrobium Orchids, wax flower and Hypericum berries.

Butterfly Variation- Gold Butterfly with White Dendrobium Orchids, Spray Roses, Wax Flower and Rhinestone Sprays----matching boutonniere

                  
 
Mixed white flower wristlet with Rhinestones - White Dendrobiums, White Spray Roses, and White Hyacinth florets.

For something unusual-Pink Mini Calla Lilies, Purple Bombay Dendrobium Orchids and Pink Roses and Pearl Sprays.

There are also a number of unusual boutonnieres this year.

And for the real unusual an Epaulette for the guy.

This year we are including a single rose with each corsage order for the guy to give to his dates Mom when he picks her up for the Prom. We started this for the Winter Formals (yes we do have winter here in So California) and it has been a wonderful idea. The guys say "yeah another brownie point for me, puts me in  good with her Mom.

There is a saying that our only limitation is our imagination, and we love it when they say I want something different, not the same old thing with babbies breath and add some Bling! There are so many different and unusual fresh materials for us to work with compared to days gone by that it is interresting to come up with something different.

We do suggest using flower colors that will compliment the dress and then use a ribbon color that will come close to matching the dress. Our choices in ribbon are a sheer for the back loops and then 2 or 4 loops of a picot in the center. In the construction we work the flowers coming out of the bow rather than the bow being added to the bottom of the corsage as then the bow becomes a part of the corsage.  We have even had the gals bring in their dress so we can style something that will compliment the lines of the dress. Sometimes this will end up being a hairpiece as pictured. This customer came in to have us put her hairpiece in and we photographed her in it.

For more Corsage And Boutonniere ideas please visit us at The Flower Place or in our Gallery here.

A quote from their site discouraging consumers from ordering flowers frrom a Real Pro Local Florist.

 "No florist comes close to Proflowers. Because florists--on line and off--sell flowers from their coolers. Ours come fresh from the fields so they last longer"

  Well a fellow Florist, The Bloomery ,from Pennsylvania placed an order as a test to see the flower selection and the condition the flowers were received in. They placed an order for a dozen mixed color roses for $29.99 and with a coupon code they were able to get a free vase upgrade. The flowers arrived today, left on their doorstep in 7 degrees weather. They made a video of the opening and unwrapping of the box of "Freeze Dried Roses".

Here is the link to the video posted on You Tube.  

There is more information on taking you thru the order process on their blog here .

This information being bombarded to the consumer is very disheartening to the Real Pro Florists, who take great care in their delivering of fresh flowers during the very bad weather conditions surrounding a holiday such as we are seeing around this Valentines Day. Real Pro Florists do everything in their power from wrapping the flowers, to the drivers going to the door to make sure someone is home before removing the wrapped arrangement from their heated delivery vans to give to the recipient. If no one is home they will try and either leave it with a neighbor, or tag the door asking the recipient to call and set up another delivery time when some one will be home to receive the flowers. Many shops will call ahead of the delivery to make sure someone will be home at the time of delivery, or to reschedule the delivery when someone will be home. This is what we call Real Professional Florists at your service.

These are the facts, now you have to make the decision as to whom you will be ordering your Valentines Day Flowers from and hopefully it will be from a Real Pro Local Florist and save yourself and the reciepient a lot of uncertainties

As stated in the recent Proflower ad:

"Love comes fresh from a field.

Like comes from a florist’s cooler."

One needs to define Love and Like.

Lets look at it this way. What would the boss think when his employees

were to receive a Valentine gift packed in a cardboard box that she would have

to unpack this box at her desk, go and fill the vase with water, find something

to re-cut the stems with, remove most of the foliage, and try and

arrange these flowers at her desk and clean up the mess before

she could continue on with the days work ahead of her. All the while

she is thinking gosh he did send me flowers but now I have to take the

time to arrange them myself and I have all of this work ahead of me.

At the time she is struggling with her arrangement, the gal sitting at the next desk

is presented with a beautiful flower arrangement from the Real Professional Local Florist in a nice clear vase and just smiling all over the place as she is admiring her

thoughtful gift.

Now which do you think is the difference between Love and Like?

In placing your order with a with a Real Pro Florist, we take care to convey the true

Meaning of  “Be My Valentine” arranged beautifully in a container

and not delivered in a do it your self  cardboard box.

So think about this twice before deciding whether to order your "field fresh cardboard box" or the wow arrangement you can only order from a Real Pro Florist.

There are other posts about this same topic with a different twist.

Other florists blogging about being pros:
Everyday Flowers
Felicity Flowers
Flowers from the Rainflorist
Florist Detectives
Chappell's Florist
Real Florist Blog

We are very honored to have been asked to do the Monthly Featured Arrangement for the December issue of the Orange County Home Magazine. As part of the Orange County Register, the magazine features a monthly flower arrangement from an Orange County Florist.

The arrangement picured is designed in a 6 inch glass cube filled with fresh cranberries. The flower selection is Red Amaryllis, Viburnum, Red Tulips, Red Ranunculas, Fresh Pomegranates, Artichoke, Pine Cones and Christmas Greens.

We have just updated our Hanukkah and Christmas selctions on our main web site.

The Flower Place, Inc 

As we begin the process of organizing the shop for the upcomming holidays, our design staff  at The Flower Place has been busy assembling arrangements that we will be offering to our customers for this Thanksgiving.

Our centerpieces and arrangements will include a wide variety of fresh flowers combined with the textures of our favorites: Fresh Pomegranates, Kumquats, Artichokes, Flowering Kale, Milett and Fresh Apples. We are using the wonderful "New England Fall" colors of reds, yellows, oranges, bronze and addinig in a touch of purple and blue to give our selections that extra zing as the purple and blue addition pop the other colors.

One of our best sellers at this time of year are the glass cubes filled with fresh cranberries and kumquats and the designers selection of unusual flowers. The new Pave Look has also been very popular featuring some of the more unusual flowers and textures available this time of year.

Many of our arrangements will include such flowers as Lilies, Hydrangeas, Pin Cushion Protea, Safflower, Purple Anemonies, Milva Roses, Red Charlotte Roses, Red Rover Chrysanthemums, Pink Ginger, Hypericum, Lizzanthis and Liatrus to name a few.

 To view our selections go our photo album here or visit our site The Flowere Place 

We at The Flower Place wish each one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Well its the Labor Day holiday once again and we are in the process of changing over from a HOT summer to hopefully a cool fall here at The Flower Place in Southern California.

 It has been interresting to stop at the wholesalers on the way into the shop each morning and notice the arrival of the wonderful fall fresh product now beginning to appear at the market. Fresh Artichokes in green and the wonderful dark purple, Saffron with the tufts of bright orange popping up out of the pods, braches of white Snowberry, huge Hydrangea blossoms in dark blue, lavender, antique and green, Zinnias in their brilliant colors. It should not be too long before Bittersweet, Monkshood, Cockscomb,Chineese Lanterns and Flowering Kale are arriving.

We are waiting for the fresh produce markets to tell us that kumquats and cranberries will be arrinving soon as we use a great deal of both of these for filing the glass cubes for a different and unusual texture.

To see some of the items we offer in these glass cubes filled with cranberries visit the new picture album just posted.

On this Sat, May 27 ,the skys were a clear blue, the weather was just right as the Flower Place of Fountain Valley CA finshed decorarting for the wedding. The Bride and Groom exchanged their vows under a flower Bridal Arch in a romantic setting at the club.

The attendants wore a beautiful shade of Latte' Satin, and the Bride wore a gown of  Ivory Lace over Cream Satin with Jeweling. The reception was in the same color scheme and the flowers were designed in all white.  

The reception was held in a room overlooking the Golf Course and was decorated with the guest tables drapped in white with a cream satin overlay and light Taupe napkins and chair covers. Half of the tables were arranged in Glass Cubes with all white flowers including; Dutch Bearded Iris, French Tulips, Helvita Lilies, Akito Roses, Bouvardia and Alestromeria. The other tables suported arrangements of the same flowers in tall Candleabras. The Bridal table of 14 was drapped with roping of Salal, Verigated Pittisporium, and Plumosus. The Attendants bouquets were placed in holders in the roping on the head table for the reception.

The beautifully decorated cake was 4 separate layers set up on individual lucite pedistals and we arranged cake tops in the same flowers from the attendants bouquets. Their bouquets consisted of Gloriosa Lilies, Pale Peach Roses, Peach Gerberas, Blue and Pink Hyacinths, Purple Lizzanthis, Blue Grape Hyacinths; Cream, Pale Yellow, Pink and Purple Tulips, Viburnum and Hypericum. Strung smilax and the same flowers were used to formed a pastel flower garland connecting the 4 cakes.

For a pictorial of this recent wedding , please visit our Wedding Gallery.

This week is Nurse's Appreciation Week and as our part of our Comunity Appreciation, we at the Flower Place,  are honoring the nurses at our two local hospitals. In the next two days we are sending a fresh flower creation to each of the nurses stations in these hospitals.

We have to make our deliveries to the patients rooms and the nurses have been so very helpful at directing our driver to the correct room or in some cases will deliver it to them personally. Each day they oooh and aaah when our driver appears with a gift of flowers, or oh is this for me? 

 Well girls, these ARE for you!

So often persons in a humanitarian roll or profession in life, are taken for granted, but there are times when a Thank You and a beautiful floral creation means so much---that you have taken the time away from your busy schedule to remember them and say I apreciate you and what you are doing.

For a look at some of the Thank You Creations we are semding, they have been posted on our site-

Not every woman can wear the types of hairpieces that were worn at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, CA by the women of Las Floristas on April 21st, 2006 at their 68th Annual Headdess Ball.

Las Floristas is a non-profit organization that raises 3/4 of a million dollars each year for the Rancho Los Amigos Childrens Hospital in Downey, CA.

This years ball theme was "Legendary Ladies" and featured such favorites as Bette Midler, Dolly Pardon, Frida and Mame. During the evening seven ladies, referred to as Living Mannequins, adorn a headdress that measures 6'x6' and perform a live runway show with dance routines known as the Parade of Mannequins.  The winners are announced at the end of  the show and the audience votes on The Peoples Choice Award.

The frame for these masterpieces is constructed from aluminium tubing and window screening secured onto a fiberglass helmet. There is a back brace with  a pallet at the end of it and fits into the pocket of the mannequines merry widow.

During the show it appears as though she is carrying the headress on her head but the weight is actually on her hips thus allows for easy movement during the preformance.

The frame is then covred with fresh flower petals and allowed to dry out to rid the petals of moisture and weight. The headress is then painted the colors of the theme and during the final 12 hours before the ball the fresh flowers are added to the headdress. This is truly a spectacular show!

Guests are invited to enter the mini headress competetion during the cocktail hour before the dinner and show. These  are either self constructed or designed by local florists. Scott and Richard of The Flower Place in Fountain Valley were asked to design one for a customer who is a member of Las Floristas. Her theme was Cruella de Ville......

    (more pictures in the gallery)

 We have been participating in this headdress ball from 1979-2000  in various capacities. Entering the main competition, floral advisor, judges of the main competition and the nimi competition and Scott was Emcee in 2000.

We competed against each other in several balls and in 1996 we entered "the Magic of Walt Disney" and won Sweepstakes and the Peoples Chioce Awards. Between us we have entered 8 headdresses and have 3 Sweepstakes and 3 Peoples Chioce Awards.

For a closer look at some of our entries please visit us at :

http://theflowerplacefv.com/outandabout.htm

Welcome to our new adventure to a Blog. In the future both Scott and I wish to bring you updates of what we are involved in our shop and the Floral Industry.

We have just completed a very interresting week participating in the annual Las Floristas Heddress Ball at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

I am working on the post at the present and trying to post some of the picturres from the ball and the Guest Headdress we were asked to do for one of the guests.

Thank you and visit us often as we will continue to post information of whats happening from our shop in Fountain Valley, CA

The Flower Place