Mother’s Rule Book

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Barbara

When you were growing up, did it seem like your mother had millions of rules? She probably had one for just about everything you wanted to do! But these rules were all for one purpose: to teach us how to be the best person we could be. Here are a few different rules your mom might have had.

• Clean up your room! This was really just a rule to teach us to be clean and organized when we owned our own homes.

• Eat your vegetables! One fact of life is that as we get older, our bodies start to break down. Having a balanced diet can help prevent that. Eating vegetables, fruits, and other foods we may not necessarily like but are needed for a healthy diet will help keep the body functioning properly. Mom was just trying to make sure we would live to a ripe old age!

• Don’t watch more than an hour of TV! This was mom’s way of making sure we would go out and play or do something active instead of sitting in front of the TV, computer, or video game all day. It kept us healthy and, hopefully, gave us an appreciation of exercise and being active.

Did your mom have these rules for you? She probably had them and a lot more! But they were all for good reasons. Show your mom how much you appreciate everything she did to keep your healthy and safe by giving her a great Mother’s Day flower bouquet in St. Petersburg, FL, on Mother’s Day.

April Flowers

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Barbara

Are you ready for April? As the first full month of spring, April is full of gorgeous flowers and bright, cheery days. That’s why a number of people plan April weddings. If you’re having your wedding during this month, here are some of the most popular flowers to use.

Roses, naturally, are used in weddings all year around. However, some roses start blooming in April. If you’re having an outdoor wedding, you might want to take that into consideration. Blooming roses can look great as part of your décor!

How about tulips? They’re in season during April. Actually, April is usually the last month for tulips to bloom, so if you want them fresh, now’s the time. Since tulips come in many different colors, you can match them to your wedding theme pretty easily.

The calla lily is another great flower that’s popular in April weddings. It comes in a number of colors, plus you can find smaller versions of the calla lily if you don’t want the larger size.

Another nice April flower for weddings is the daffodil. Its bright spring colors will really pop at a wedding and can be a nice way of bringing in some light.

Need flowers for a wedding, or just want some spring flowers in St. Petersburg, FL, to cheer you up? We’ve got some amazing bouquets available for delivery!

Most Popular Winter Flowers

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Barbara

While most people don’t think about flowers during the winter months, there are some out there that bloom and thrive in the cold. There aren’t as many, and some aren’t as bright and cheery as spring flowers, but there are some beautiful ones out there. Here are a few of the most popular winter flowers.

The helleborus is a bright flower often used for decoration. It’s a beautiful winter flower that comes in many different colors, including green, yellow, dark red, and pink. One variety, the Blackthorn Strain, actually has bright red stems, while another, the Wester Flisk, features some red on its leaves. These flowers can actually bloom anywhere from November to April!

The cyclamen is another flower that people don’t hear as much about, but it’s also very pretty. It features pink and white blooms that start to appear as early as mid-November. The flowers of the cyclamen look like they’ve been bent at the stem, giving them a slightly different look from other flowers.

Are you looking for popular flowers for your winter wedding? You may want to go with some bright colors, which of course may be expensive since those flowers will be out of season. Here are a few good options.

Red flowers, especially roses and red orchids, will add some great color to your ceremony. While they may be difficult to find in colder areas, you’ll be able to get roses from somewhere. They’re pretty much always available.

For a wedding near Christmas, poinsettias are perfect. They’re easily available, have a good, strong color, and they look nice for decoration. You could even carry a bouquet of poinsettias down the aisle. Amaryllis or calla lily are also good, colorful choices.

Want to go with a more traditional white winter flower? You may find them more easily available than brightly colored flowers. Winter jasmine, orchids, tulips, white amaryllis, and anemone are popular options. A nice color combination is to add in some blue flowers like hydrangea, muscari, hortensia, or ceanothus.

Looking to add some fun winter flowers to your St. Petersburg, FL, home? We’ve got some beautiful options!

Holiday Organizing Tips

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Barbara

Having some trouble keeping your holiday organized? It can get a bit overwhelming with all the shopping, wrapping, cooking, and traveling you’ve got to do. Fortunately, with just a few simple steps, you can be organized and handle the holidays with ease.

Before you even start shopping, make a list of everyone you have to buy for. Put a dollar amount next to each one—this isn’t a reflection of how much you value that person but a budget for each of them. For example, you’ll probably spend more on your children than you will on your co-workers. It’s important to set a budget so you don’t spend way too much on gifts.

Once you’ve decided how much you plan on spending on each person, write down a list of gift ideas. Try to think of at least one thing for each person. This will make it much easier when shopping. You won’t be going up and down each aisle looking for things, nor will you be going in and out of every store in the mall. You’ll have an idea of what you want and where to get it.

Mark things off your list as you shop (so take the list with you), and once you make a purchase, don’t change your mind. If you see something you think the person would like better, only buy it if you can give the already-purchased gift to someone else. Otherwise, you’ll end up either returning a lot of items or blowing your budget.

Once you get everything home, it’s helpful to put a sticky note on each item so you don’t get confused as to whom it’s intended for. You can also group gifts in bags or boxes. Once you start wrapping, be sure to put a name tag on each gift as it’s wrapped. If you wrap several at once, you might get them mixed and put the wrong name on gifts!

These tips should help you organize your Christmas shopping and gift-giving. By taking the stress out of what is one of the more stressful parts of the Christmas season, you’ll give yourself more time to enjoy everything else.

Also, don’t forget to bring a bit of holiday joy into your home with some of our amazing Christmas flowers in St. Petersburg, FL!

Thanksgiving Decorating

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Barbara

Thanksgiving is going to be here before you know it. Are you ready? If you haven’t started thinking about how you’re going to decorate for the day, now’s the time. Here are a few different tips on Thanksgiving decorating.

If you’ve put out any fall decorations, keep them. Most of them work very well for Thanksgiving. In fact, if you want, you don’t have to use any Thanksgiving decorations. A fall tablecloth, napkins, and place mats will look right at home with your turkey. Fall wreaths and flowers also work very well for Thanksgiving.

If you do want to add to this décor, you don’t have to do a lot. A few small turkeys or pilgrims are fine. Remember, Thanksgiving isn’t like Halloween or Christmas. Most people don’t have much, if any, actual Thanksgiving decorations. You don’t have to go overboard with decorating.

Kids can help with the holiday décor, too. You can help them make hand turkeys or turn pine cones into little turkeys for a centerpiece. This makes your decorations more personal and gets your kids involved with one of the holidays that doesn’t have a lot for kids to do.

Finally, let your food be the décor. A golden brown turkey looks amazing, but you can do a lot with other dishes, too. Use decorative bowls, arrange finger foods so they’re presented more, and look at food colors when setting out dishes.

If you need any help with your Thanksgiving flowers in St. Petersburg, FL, just check out the amazing options we have available online and in our shop.

Halloween Decorations

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Barbara

Looking for some amazing Halloween decorations for your Halloween party? While some of the cheap decorations you’ll find out there look kind of tacky, you can put together an elegant yet festive décor for your adult party. It might take a bit of work, but it is possible.

First, think of your theme. Are you going to go all out haunted house? If so, then those tacky skulls, rubber bats, and plastic spiders might be the best thing. They do bring out all of the trappings of Halloween, even if they do look cheap. However, don’t discount these things if you want to have a more tasteful décor. A few skulls, for example, can make nice accent pieces on your bookshelves or on the table.

Many people love putting up fake cobwebs for Halloween. Don’t go overboard on this, but a few here and there are OK. You might want to avoid the cheap looking plastic spiders, though.

For an adult, more elegant Halloween party, your table is going to serve as the centerpiece of your decorations. Think about how you can make your finger foods and desserts match your decorations. Decorate cupcakes with black and orange sprinkles or, if you’re more artistic, make them into bats, pumpkins, or witch’s hats. You can also do fun Halloween appetizers like shaping a cheese ball into a pumpkin, making little bats using small balls of different foods with chip wings, and creating blood-colored punch and other beverages.

Don’t forget a few pumpkins! You can use large ones or small ones, carved or uncarved. If you don’t like carving, you can always paint images on them. If, on the other hand, you’re pretty handy with a knife, you can do more than just a funny face. Some talented people carve entire scenes into pumpkins.

Of course, not elegant Halloween party would be complete without a boo-tiful bouquet of flowers! Order you Halloween flowers in St. Petersburg, FL, today!

Fall Decorating Fun

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Barbara

There’s nothing quite as fun as decorating. Now that fall is here, you can take a little time and change up your décor. Don’t make it a chore—have fun with it! Get the whole family involved.

Head outdoors with your kids and collect some items for your decorations. You’ll want some red, gold, and brown leaves, some small gourds (you might have to buy these), some pine cones, and maybe even some twigs. Once you’ve got everything you want, you’ll have to decide what to use them in. You can make a fun fall wreath for your front door, or you can create a centerpiece for your table. You could also spread these items out across your mantle.

Halloween is coming up in a month. You’ll want to put up some decorations, of course. Your kids can here you carve pumpkins or decorate them with markers. You’ll also have fun picking out Halloween costumes or even making your own.

For Thanksgiving, you can also have fun decorating. Kids love to make turkeys out of hand prints, for example. You can also get them involved in baking cookies and even putting together some of the simpler dishes for the big meal.

Need some great fall flowers for your home? We’ve got some gorgeous fall flowers in St. Petersburg, FL.

Autumn Colors, Designs, and Flowers

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Barbara

Now that the seasons have changed and autumn is here, it’s time to change your home décor and color scheme from those bright, cheery summer colors to the brave, bold colors of fall! Because these colors are so bold, a little of them goes a long way, so you can very easily change the entire feel of a room just by making a few small changes in color.

The colors of fall

The main colors you’ll use in your fall décor are the colors of falling leaves. Think red, dark orange, and bold but not incredibly bright yellow. Brown is also usually used in fall colors, although most people use it sparingly since it’s not, by itself, a very interesting color to decorate with. You can also bring in some dark green and even a little bit of dark purple to use as accent colors, but don’t go overboard with them. Use these colors in combination to create a beautiful autumn theme throughout your home.

Decorating

There are many ways you can create this autumn theme. Most people go for small changes. Because these colors are so strong and bold, if you do too much, it can really overpower a room. This color scheme is also somewhat dark, so you should be careful adding too much if the room you’re decorating tends to be a little on the dark side anyway.

In the dining room, you can do a fall themed table runner, table cloth, placemats, and napkin rings. You can even get paper plates and napkins in fall colors if you like. Add some candles or gourds and pine cones to the table as a centerpiece and you have an amazing autumn table. Many different fall flowers are also available, such as sunflowers, that look incredible in the middle of your table.

For other rooms, you can add small throw pillows, throw blankets, and candles. Lighting the candles and snuggling up under the blanket also brings in a nice, cozy feel on those cool fall nights.

The Flowers of Fall

You definitely need to add a few fall flowers to your decorations. Basically, go with any flowers that work with the color scheme of red, yellow, and orange. For example, sunflowers are absolutely amazing as a fall flower. Other great flowers include dark red and orange roses, marigold, daisies, chrysanthemums, and lilies.

We can help you with your flower needs! Check out the awesome fall flowers in St. Petersburg, FL, that we can deliver right to your door.

Summer Fun in St. Petersburg, FL

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Barbara

Are you glad the hottest part of the summer is over with? If you’ve been hiding from the heat for the past month or so, you may be going a little stir-crazy. Fortunately, temperatures are starting to drop a little bit, and being outdoors is no longer quite as horrible. There’s still some summer left, even though the kids may have already gone back to school, and you can fill the remaining weekends of the season with some fun activities.

Swimming is always a popular summer activity, and the pools are still open for a few more months. Take the kids after school or on the weekends, or skip out of work for an afternoon and go yourself. Spraygrounds, a popular new twist on the playground, are also fun. They incorporate water hoses, sprinklers, and sprays into the playground.

Get out and enjoy nature. There are plenty of parks and outdoor locations in and around St. Petersburg. Head over to the Boyd Hill Nature Park for a nice, relaxing walk, or go play games and have a picnic at Pioneer Park. These are just two of the amazingly beautiful locations nearby.

Another great outing is to go to Tampa Bay. The water is absolutely gorgeous! You can rent a boat, go sailing, play on the beach, or even visit with the dolphins at the Dolphin Landings Charter Boat Center.

If you’re a sports fan, you can check out the Tampa Bay Rays major league baseball team. They play at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. They will be playing a number of games at home through October.

Of course, you can have a lot of summer fun in your own back yard. Just set up your own little swimming pool, have a cookout, or play some basketball. No matter what you do, enjoy the rest of the summer!

Bring some summer indoors with some of our beautiful summer bouquets in St. Petersburg, FL.

Parents’ Day

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Barbara

National Parents’ Day is July 29th! This little-known observed day has only been around since 1994, but even though it’s new, it’s still an important day. While Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and even Grandparents’ Day already exist for honoring these important individuals, Parents’ Day is actually a day for honoring the entire family. Parents, children, grandparents, and even those who aren’t strictly related to you but have served as parents and second parents should be celebrated on Parents’ Day.

Parents’ Day was created from a resolution that passed through Congress in 1994 and was then signed by President Clinton. It set aside the fourth Sunday of July to recognize “the role of parents in the rearing of children.” However, the day is also a day to recognize the importance of family and celebrate children and togetherness. Being committed to your family is not just something that happens. Sometimes, it takes work, and that work should be recognized. In a time when domestic violence, crime, and child abandonment seems to be getting worse and worse, those who stand by their families and love and honor them no matter what deserve recognition.

While Parents’ Day may have originally been created to honor the traditional two-parent family, it’s not limited to just those families. Single parents are forced to do the work of two, and they deserve just as much honor and recognition. The same goes for non-traditional parents and those who act as a second mother or father. If you’ve had a hand in raising a child, you deserve some recognition, and Parents’ Day is the perfect day for that.

Even though it has been celebrated for 18 years, there are still some people who haven’t heard of Parents’ Day yet. Help spread the word, and if you haven’t celebrated the day, set aside Sunday the 28th to honor your parents and your entire family. We can help by supplying a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. Order a bright flower arrangement in St. Petersburg, FL, today.

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