Ft. Lauderdale Florist, Flowers From The Rainflorist Loses it's Matriarch
Recently my Mother lost her battle to Alzheimer’s and passed away and her services were handled by the wonderful folks at TM Ralph Funeral Home in Plantation, Fl. Mom was instrumental in helping our shop get its humble beginnings and she never failed to appreciate the smell, the touch and the beauty of flowers. She was a child of the Depression who wore bloomers made from flour sacks as a kid and knew how to eat squirrel that her Dad had hunted so her appreciation of flowers was born from the family garden that occasionally had “snowballs” and real grapes grown along with beans in the family backyard. As she grew and succeeded in business, she became a huge fan of Georgia O’Keefe’s floral paintings and I now have her picture of the red poppy in my room to greet me each morning. My favorite memory of her is in the shop with her straw hat, watering the orchids each week and being amazed at how beautiful they were from week to week. It didn't matter to us that the ones she was watering were silk. We never had the heart to tell her that and she always thought she had a "special" green thumb with them. In truth, she did, as her spirit was that of a gentle woman who ruled with an iron will. Many times, the family referred to her as "the little General" as she was barely five feet tall but she sure got things done.
As a florist who has delivered flowers to Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise funeral homes for over twenty years, you would think that the importance of flowers, how folks respond to receiving flowers and the impact that flowers have on an empty funeral parlor would have sunk in. However, even a florist can be overwhelmed during the loss process and forget how important they are to families until they see the response they get from their own family when they see the flowers in the funeral home that have been sent from friends and family across the country to show respect, support and comfort.
I myself had a group of fellow florist friends that are scattered across the country from La Jolla Village Florist in California who sent a beautiful standing spray in pinks, Mioux Florist in Carlyle Illinois thoughtfuly sent a delicate vase arrangement of calla lilies , Coleman Florist a Flower Shop in Syracuse New York sent a trendy funeral basket with gladiolas and roses and even a Corvallis Florist in Oregon sent a basket of blooming plants that reminded my family of my Mothers love of gardening. Each called my staff and arranged to have flowers delivered to my Mom’s service while I spent time with my family so this gift of love was totally unexpected. They had never met her and yet to comfort me they sent flowers and words of encouragement and sympathy on her passing. I see flowers every day yet this simple act of kindness enhanced the service and made me feel surrounded by the love of friends who could not be there. My family was overwhelmed that so many people sent flowers for their “Grammy”.
As the owner of Flowers From The Rainflorist, I sometimes think I live on the "net" all the time so I get to see some pretty outrageous ads and articles from so called “online florists” that tell you how much easier and less expensive it is to order from them to send flowers across the country for a funeral service. Sometimes I wish I could reach in and just yank their phony baloney ads out of my computer and send it to the shredder. What a bunch of bunk!
No one does it better than your local Brick and Mortar Florist. No one has the contacts that we have or the experience we have in choosing a Real Florist for you anywhere in the world who is a Professional and who actually has a daily selection of fresh flowers in their store, or the experience in guiding you with the appropriate funeral flower selection for the funeral home, residence or church service. That’s the difference in an “online” florist sitting in a cubicle taking your order and a Real Florist who knows all about flowers.
We are not just interested in “getting” your order but we want to provide the service that comes with helping you to send the correct thing, choosing the right message for your card according to the deceased’s religion or beliefs of the deceased family and selecting the right flowers for the location.
We also have excellent relationships with Ft. Lauderdale and Sunrise funeral homes and know their rules as well. The last thing they have time to do is arrange flowers that you have ordered online from a drop shipper that arrive in a box…..just picture having the deceased family getting a brown or purple box that needs to be arranged…believe me that is the last thing a grieving family wants to be bothered with.
So give us a call when you need to send a special sympathy tribute to a family member or even someone across the country…we are here to help you. And thanks for letting me tell you about my Mom, "the little General". Rest in Peace Dear woman rest in peace.