Friday, November 20, 2015

How To Build A Succulent Terrarium (DIY)


Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman from Grohe Florist, and today I'm going to be making terrariums. First of all, you need to pick plants that you want to use. You can do small plants and then you need to pick a glass container. I'm doing open air terrariums, so there's a little air that can get in, but you can also do closed ones as well. I have one here that I've already pre made that you can see is an open air, and it's got the small ferns and splash plants in it.

Today I'm going to make one with succulent plants. So, I'm going to move aside the plants I don't want to use for this and I'm going to use succulent. So, first of all, you just need a container. You can do open or closed. They can be small or large, and then you need soil. I already put a little bit in a container, I like to use leftover containers to pick my soil up rather than shovels and stuff.

So, I'm going to put a little bit of the soil into my terrarium. Just put in a couple scoopfuls to start, and then I'll see if I need more once I start putting my plants in. I'm going to put my tallest plant in first until I kind of just squeeze the sides of the container to loosen it up... The plant up in here and then I'm going to take it out. And what I'll do is I'll kind of spread the roots of the plant from the sides a little bit and then put it in here. And I'm picking my tallest plants first to put them towards the back of my container. If you're doing one that's a little bit more open, you can kind of choose how you want to put them in, just to kind of get an idea of what looks best.

If you have a bigger container, you may have more dirt and you might not need to spread it out quite as much. And I chose to use five plants just because I think it'll fit my container. So again, you need to kind of judge, based off your container and your plant sizes, how many plants you're going to want in here to make it look good. And succulents are nice because you don't need to water them a lot, so they're really easy care plants. Alright? So now, I have all my plants in here and I'm going to add just a little more soil to make sure that they're all covered, and I'm going to try to get in here so I don't get soil on top of the plants as much. Otherwise, I'm going to have a lot more clean up to do.

And then, I'll just even it out, and then you can add accessories to your terrarium. So, if you're going to be going to somebody's house or you're having people at your house and you want a little decoration, you could put something like a little pumpkin or some fall leaves in there and kind of just decorate it. I'll show you here how that looks or you can change it out if it's Christmas time or Winter months. You could put pine cones, you could put little ornaments, you could put different types of things like that to kind of make them seasonal. And that is how you make a succulent terrarium. It's really simple. If you're not into making your own, you can call your local florist and they'd be able to make one for you. I hope that this helps if you want to make terrariums for yourself or for some hostess gifts this holiday season.

Have a great day.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Petal It Forward Campaign


Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman from Grohe Florists in Rohnert Park and today I want to tell you about a campaign that's sweeping across our nation called Petal it Forward. The Society of American Florists started this campaign at the beginning of the month. It's sort of like the pay it forward, but with a florist twist called Petal it Forward. Florists around the nation will be going to community events, handing out flowers, to show the joy that giving and receiving flowers brings to people.

For more information on Petal it Forward, you can either search #PetalItForward or if you want to find out when Grohe Florists will be spreading the joy in your communities, either follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook and we will be sending out updates for that.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

What Else Can I Send With Flowers or Plants?


Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florists in Rohnert Park, and I wanted to talk to you today about things that you can send with your flowers or plants.

The first thing is teddy bears. Teddy bears are very popular to add on. They're good for anniversaries, birthdays, and if there's new babies, most florists will also have baby stuffed animals that you can add on in pinks and blues to go well for the baby while you give the mother and father flowers or plants.

Another great option is chocolates, and chocolates are good for any occasion. Most florists will have boxed chocolates and they come in several different sizes. Again, like I said, they are good for any occasion and everybody, usually everybody, loves chocolate.

Another option is balloons. The mylar balloons, they come with several occasions written on them. So they can be specific to an occasion: Birthdays, anniversaries, any celebratory events or get-well. So balloons are another option.

And lastly are greeting cards. Greeting cards can really personalize what you're sending, so instead of the typed copies that most arrangements or plants come with, you can opt for a greeting card where the florist can hand-write a personalized note for you.

So I hope this answers questions of what some of the great options are to include with your flower or plant deliveries. Thank you.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Power of Flowers As A Business Gift


Hi, I am Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florists in Rohnert Park. As business owners, we don't often know how to show appreciation to our clients or employees, and as a florist, this is where we can help you. Have you ever seen somebody receive flowers? It brings true joy to people.

Your florist can make it convenient and easy helping you find the appropriate gift for each occasion. Also, your florist can work within a budget that you are looking for and find the appropriate gifts such as flowers or a plant, or chocolates or even gourmet baskets, whatever works for the person that you are going to be sending to.

Once you make a relationship with your local florist, we can make the ordering process go very fast, all we would need to do is have a phone call or an email because we will know your style and what you want to send on card messages. So all you have to do is send a quick email letting us know who you wanted to send to and we can get it done for you, as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

I hope that you found this information helpful and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Ordering Tips When Buying Flowers Online




Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman from Grohe Florists in Rohnert Park, and today I want to give you some tips for ordering flowers online.

Number one is if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Oftentimes when you place your order, right at the end, hidden fees appear on there and so you're paying more for what you thought was a low priced item. You're paying just as much as you would if you went to a florist in your town.

Two is to make sure you are ordering from your local florist. Oftentimes, there's deceptive order gatherers who pretend that you're in your city but are really not. So, if you are wanting to order from somebody local, really check the contact section of the website and see if there is a street address in your city. Oftentimes, they're not in your city and will be either shipping your flowers or they may not follow through with the date that you're wanting your delivery to be made.

Number three is make sure the flowers are actually going to be designed in a vase. Florists that are not in your city or that are not real florists with the location ship flowers in boxes with the vase separate. People do not want to have to design their own flowers. If you call your local florist, you will get a beautifully designed arrangement delivered to your door.

I hope that this helps you with ordering flowers online. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Thank you.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Not All Lilies Are Stinky

Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florists in Rohnert Park. We often get phone calls for flowers and people ask us to please not use lilies because they think they're too stinky. I want to tell you that that is a misconception because not all lilies are stinky. Next to me I have some lilies in this bucket and the three larger headed ones over here are called Oriental Lilies and they do have a strong fragrance. But not all lilies do. I have two varieties over here. The smaller variety, an LA Hybrid Lily and an Asiatic Lily have no fragrance.

The next time you call and order flowers you could ask for non-fragrant lilies, they are available, and you don't have to have stinky lilies in your bouquets. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Sonoma County Wedding Florist Consultation

Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florists in Rohnert Park. Today, I'm going to be talking to you about preparing for your wedding flower consultation. First of all, congratulations on your engagement and I'm going to give you a few tips because this is going to be a very stressful but exciting time for you. Some important things, I would love to see you have when you're coming in to see your florist is your event date because we need to know when the wedding is for knowing what certain flowers are going to be available.

Second is the venue. That will help determine what type of flowers are going to look best for your event whether it be rustic in a barn or fancy in a country club.

The next thing that we love for you to have when you come in is to know what style of dress you're going to be wearing, whether it's going to be modern or romantic, that also will help determine what type of bouquet we can create for you to carry on your special day. And then lastly, your bridesmaids' dresses should be selected so that we know the color palette that we'll be working with that will help us suggest the correct flowers for your wedding day. I hope that you found these suggestions helpful, and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Brides, Make Your Bouquet Special With This One Trick

Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florists. A request we often get from brides is if they can bring in a special memento for their bridal bouquets.

For example, a locket that was their grandmother's or a broach. I've had a bride that wants to wrap a handkerchief around her handle of her bouquet while she carries it down the aisle, in remembrance of her mother. So these are all special touches to your bouquet that can make the day just a little bit more special, remembering your family and your loved ones. If you have these requests, just make sure that you tell your florist a few weeks ahead of time so that they can prepare appropriately for that.

If you have any questions or comments, go ahead and leave them below. Thank you.

Monday, August 24, 2015

How Much Should I Budget For Wedding Flowers In Sonoma County?

Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florists in Rohnert Park, and one of the first questions we often get from brides and grooms is, "How much money should I budget for my wedding flowers?" And typically, most florists would say to use about 10% of your total wedding budget to put towards flowers. That number doesn't have to be concrete, and it will vary greatly depending on the type of center pieces you're looking for because the bulk of your money is gonna go towards center pieces. The size of your wedding determines how many center pieces you're going to need.

Another factor you need to consider is the size of the bouquet you're looking for. Are you looking for a large bouquet or something just small to go up in the center of the table, and the types of flowers that you choose? If you have a smaller budget and you don't wanna spend a lot of money, you may use some seasonal flowers that we do in a small vase, or if you want something large and elaborate with exotic flowers, that's going to cost more money and may go over your 10% budget.

Another factor to consider is your bridesmaids. How many bridesmaids do you have in your bridal party? The more bridesmaids you have, the more cost you will have because you're going to be purchasing bouquets for each girl. If you're on a lower budget, we can again use some seasonal flowers, and make them a little bit smaller, or we can do something really large and elaborate or medium that... It just will work within your budget. Think about doing 10% of your total wedding budget towards flowers, but when you start discussing it with your florist, they should be able to work within the budget you do have. Just let them know. That makes it a lot easier when you tell them your budget because they can make sure they work within that budget.

I hope that this helps you determine what your budget is for your wedding. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

How Make a Wrist Corsage (DIY)

Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman from Grohe Florists, and today I'm going to demonstrate how to make a glued wrist corsage. What you need is any kind of floral, a piece of glue, a wristlet and a bow. You also can have different types of wristlets that are available. There's diamonds, there's black diamonds, there's beads, there's pearls, there's all different types of wristlets available but today I'm just going to go ahead and use the standard wristlet. The first thing I need to do is I like to fold this prongs over that are sticking out here because they can get a little sharp if you don't want to scratch your wrist. Then you're going to tie your bow onto the wristlet just like you would tie any kind of knot. You're going to just bring it around, find the two ends, and tie the knot.

The next step you're going to do is you're going to get greenery and you're going to glue the greenery around the edge of the wristlet to kind of cover the metal bar that's on here. I chose today to use a little eucalyptus and a little pittosporum leaves 'cause they're nice and flat and kind of broad shaped to cover that. And I'll take a little bit of the glue and I just put it right on the ends and keep gluing them all the way around till that kind of skirts the whole band. I have one prepared here so I'm going to skip over continuing to do that step so you can see my first two that I put on this one and here is after I've put the leaves all the way around.

The next step is picking out the roses that you want to use for your corsage. Today, I'm going to use baby roses, they're spray roses. You can use all different types of flowers. You can pick 'em from your yard, you can pick 'em up at your local florist but you want to pick a smaller flower, they're easier, they don't get as heavy and floppy. So smaller flowers are better and you're going to cut them off of the stem right at the base, giving a little nub so that you have some area to put some glue on. So now I'm going to come over here and I'm going to cut some baby's breath and I'm going to just cut some little pieces. You can really use as much as you want. So I'm going to peel off some of the petals that I think don't look real pretty and I'm going to put the glue just like I did on the greenery except I'm going to put it all the way around kind of on the rose so it covers that. And I'm going to just find a good spot on this wristlet in between some of the ribbon and put my rose right on it and the ribbon will kind of help hold it. It's going to take a couple minutes to dry.

You don't want to use way too much glue 'cause it can get pretty messy but if you do, make a couple errors or something. You can use a little extra greenery or the baby's breath to kind of cover it up. Now, I'm putting in just the little accent pieces like I told you about the seeded eucalyptus and the baby's breath and I'm just kind of finding spots that I feel like need a little extra fluff to them. But there you have it and this is kind of what it turns out to look like in the end. I'll put it on so you can see the size, it's not too big, it's not too fluffy and pretty comfortable to wear, very light. I hope that this video helps you make your own wrist corsage for a special day that you'd like to use it for.

Thank you and have a great day.

Friday, August 14, 2015

Wedding Boutonniere Etiquette: Who Get's One?

Hi. I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florists. A common question we get from brides and grooms is who do they order corsages and boutonnières for their wedding. Today I'm going to let you know the common people that everybody purchases for.

The groom gets a boutonnière, and his groomsmen, and the fathers and mothers. Then if you have a ring bearer then you also will get him a boutonnière. Then, to expand out from that, if your budget allows and you want to include more people, include your grandparents, the sponsors, your minister, or any brothers or sisters that will be attending the wedding.

That should cover everybody that's important in your wedding. If you have any further questions, you can ask your florist or you can leave a comment or question below.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Power of Giving Flowers as a Gift



Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman from Grohe Florists in Rohnert Park and today I'm here with Ryan Perry.

Ryan Perry: Hi Julie. So big question for you. A lotta guys, we all know that if we do something stupid, we get tossed in the doghouse and it's a good idea to say, "I'm sorry", and include flowers. But there's more science behind the whole getting out of the doghouse with flowers.

JK: Yeah, there actually is a power of flowers. There's been research that has been done that shows that by sending flowers, as a giver you look emotionally caring, you look intelligent and successful, and people truly appreciate it and it strengthens relationships to actually send flowers, to give flowers to somebody. So not only did you get out of the doghouse and score some extra points but you actually made that person feel really special.

RP: Alright. So, and I'm assuming that doesn't just have to be then getting out of the doghouse, I would see maybe business opportunities, sending the appropriate flowers to people at business. Also social events, it's pretty common in Sonoma County to bring that bottle of wine with you to a social gathering. What about flowers?

JK: People love receiving flowers and I have heard from many people that they truly appreciate when somebody brings them flowers. Actually, some people love to have flowers delivered to their house before the event so that they can place them in an area and they're not put on the spot to get 'em in a vase really quick ahead of time. But, of course, any way you give flowers you create an emotional impact right away that brings instant smiles.

RP: Alright. So I guess, as guys, not only should we consider flowers as a way of saying, "I'm sorry", but also as an ongoing opportunity to score points, be perceived to be more, what'd you say?

JK: Emotionally caring, emotionally intelligent, and then also you're truly making that other person happy.

RP: And that's pretty nice when you can actually make somebody feel good, just with flowers.

JK: Yeah, it's pretty... It's a pretty amazing power that flowers have.

RP: Alright, very cool.

JK: Thank you. If you have any questions or comments go ahead and leave 'em below. Thank you.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Buying Long-Stem Rose Tips: Difference in Length



I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florist. And June is National Rose Month, so I thought what better day than today to tell you about the difference of rose lengths. The typical length of a long-stem rose is 50 centimeter, which is this white rose right here. The next step up is a 60 centimeter rose which is called an "extra-fancy rose." Then there's the 70 centimeter rose which is called an "elite-rose length," Most florists will use a 60 or 70 for the dozen roses that they send out, which is a reason why you pay more when you go to a florist to get your dozen roses.

When you see the 50 centimeter and 40 centimeters tend to be less expensive. The rose heads also tend to be a little bit smaller. Now, this is not necessarily always true, because domestically grown roses don't always have as big of a rose head as some of the imported roses. But you should really think about how you're helping your local economy when you buy a domestic rose over a imported rose.

Another factor to consider when you're purchasing roses is that, just because a rose looks open, doesn't mean that it's necessarily old. Sometimes, the way that they grow roses is for them to give that open show, but they'll hold and last for a long time. So the best thing to do when you're shopping for roses, and if you're really there to be hands on, is to feel the bud and to feel how firm it feels. Make sure that it doesn't squish when you do it. So like you can see on this rose, I don't know if you can see on camera, how when I squeeze it, my thumb kinda imprints in it, this rose is not going to last as long as these three up here, and these three were all a lot more firm.

I hope that this information will help you when you're selecting roses the next time you're shopping at your local florist. Thank you, and have a great day.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Cut Flower Care For Roses

I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florist, and June is National Rose Month. So today I'm going to talk to you about the care of your roses. You've received roses and you want them to last as long as possible, so I'm going to give you some ideas of how to keep the flowers lasting. First of all, you want your water to be clean, so you're going to need to change the water about every other day. You either will need to have two people there, somebody to hold the arrangement while you change the water, or you're going to need two vases. I have two vases with me. I have some clean water, and I'm lucky because I have floral preservative to put in the water already.

At home, if you don't have floral preservative, just make sure you have nice clean water in a clean vase. The other alternative to floral preservative is Sprite or Sierra Mist. I've tried a few experiments and that one seemed to work the best from the old wives tale of what you put in your water to make your roses last. What you're going to need to do is take your arrangement out of the vase, and you want to strip down any of the leaves that are in there, 'cause that will help create bacteria growth, so you want to strip down any leaves.

If you're going to take some scissors, or if you have pruners from your garden, you want to trim about a half an inch off of each rose, and that's going to help them have a nice fresh cut, so that they can start drinking up the clean water. You don't want to trim too much 'cause you want to be able to keep doing this about every other day so you don't want the flowers to get too short. So, like I said, about a half an inch is enough. This is where sometimes having a second hand is helpful. You want to stick it back down into the vase, and you gotta get all the stems together and bring it down in. And now you have a nice, fresh arrangement again, with clean water.

I hope this helps you keep your roses lasting as long as possible. Have a great day.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

How To Make A Carnation Lei - DIY

Hi. I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florist and it is graduation season, which also means lei season for florists and for all you graduates out there. Today, I'm going to demonstrate making a carnation lei. The reason I'm choosing carnations is because they're hardy, and hold up, and because they come in an array of colors. What you will need is ribbon, a long needle, and carnations. You need about 40 to 45 carnations. The bunches usually come up 25, so when you call your local florist to purchase the carnations, give them a couple days to get the colors that you're interested in, and they can get you bunches and you can just buy them by the bunch.

What you're going to do first is you're going to take all the carnations off of their stems. And you can use scissors or clippers if you happen to have them, and you just clip it right at the base and clip it right off. And then you're going to just take your carnation and string it through the base, and you can use a table to help you get it through and pull it right on. And you can decide if you want to do a pattern. You can do one solid color if you want to. When choosing your colors, you can choose colors that match your school colors, or you can choose a favorite color, or you can just do a mixture of colors like I am doing today. I picked three colors. It's what I had in my cooler, so that's what we're using. As you're pushing them down, you can see how the carnations will sit within each other. So, you don't want to leave a lot of space between them. You want to let them go. They open up in the center and you let them sit within each other. If you're going to have a party the next day or two days later, you can just put it in your fridge and it will hold up so that you can wear a carnation lei a couple days later. With orchid leis, you can do that as well. The problem with orchid leis is they break a little easier. So, with all the hugging that you're doing with people, sometimes the orchid leis begin to... The orchids begin to break off of the lei.

One other thing I forgot to mention was sometimes when you get your carnations, they may be a little bit tight. Some of these yellow ones are a little bit tighter and what you can do is you can just take the flower and with your fingers just push it open a little bit more just to open it up a little bit. This is going to be the 40th carnation I've put on here. So you can see when I put it together what length you would get with 40. Then, when I can cut this other end off of this, the ribbons, the spool, and tie them together, and it just slides right in. This is with 40 carnations. You can see this is a tight one. So, if it's for somebody smaller, 40's okay. If it's for somebody taller, bigger, I would go with at least 45, and if they're really tall, 50. You're going to get 50 if you buy two bunches anyway. You might as well use them. But that is how to make a carnation lei. So, have fun and happy graduation.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Difference Between A Single And Double Lei

 
Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florist. It is graduation season which means for us on the West Coast it's also lei season. And we get a lot of phone calls this time of year people wanting to order leis and they're not really sure what we mean when we ask, "Do you want a single or a double?" So today I want to show you the difference between a single lei and a double orchid lei. This here is a single Mokara orchid lei. This one comes in a variety of colors all on one lei. They're a little bit shorter than the doubles and they're strung differently than the doubles are strung.
 
These also comes in white Dendrobium orchid leis or purple Dendrobiums. This is a double orchid lei. These are made with Dendrobium orchids, they're strung differently than the singles. They're strung by the backs of them so you can see the flowers on each side, where the singles are strung through the center of the flower.

This kind of shows you the difference in sizes. The doubles come also in white or purple Dendrobiums. They also come in one that's called a color block where you'll see a chunk of white, a chunk of purple, a chunk of white. Lastly, are carnation leis. We make the carnation leis ourselves so if you give us a couple days we can make Carnation leis in any color that you choose. I hope that this gives you enough information so when you're making your lei orders you know the difference between single or double or carnation. I hope you have a great day, and happy graduation.
 

Monday, April 13, 2015

Flowers For Funeral Service



Hi, my name is Julie Klingaman from Grohe Florist in Rohnert Park, CA. The purpose of today's video is to help grieving families choose flowers for funeral services. This is often a very stressful time for families planning an important event in such a short amount of time, so hopefully, these following tips can make it a little less daunting.

The first tip is to find out if your loved one had a favorite flower or color. Ask your florist if these flowers are available and can be incorporated into the arrangements. If they're not available, perhaps there's something similar that your florist can suggest. If there wasn't a favorite color or flower, you can never go wrong by choosing seasonal flowers.

The second tip is to think about the room where you'll be holding the service. Is there a casket? Is it going to be open or closed? It's important to let your florist know that, 'cause that will help determine the size of the arrangement that you'll be needing. Is it a cremation? Then think about if you'd like flowers to be sitting next to the urn.

Families can coordinate the arrangements together, matching colors and different styles. In front of me is a casket piece that can sit on the casket. There's pedestal arrangements, like the one to my right-hand side here. Then over here, there's standing sprays, which are flowers on easels, or basket arrangements, as well as plants. All of these can help decorate the room and make it feel warm and inviting.

Lastly, figure out a budget you're trying to stay within. If you have no idea of the price of flowers, most florists have websites, and you can get a good idea that can help you set a realistic budget.

I hope this video will assist you in choosing the perfect arrangements to commemorate your loved ones.

How To Make a Boutonniere For Prom


Hi, my name is Julie Klingaman from Grohe Florist in Rohnert Park, CA.

Today, I'm going to demonstrate how to make a boutonniere. First, there's a few things that you need to make sure you have. The first is floral stem tape, a pair of clippers for cutting, wire... I like to use 22 gauge wire and pins, so when the boutonniere is complete, you have it for pinning.

Today, I chose a rose to use because they're sturdy and they hold for an evening, when you pin it onto a jacket. What you do is you cut the rose, you leave a little bit of a stem on it, just maybe about a half an inch or so. You can kind of pick the rose, the petals on the outside off that you don't like the way that they look, so that you've got a nice shape for a boutonnière.

The second step that you'll do is take your wire and you'll poke it through the base of the rose, kind of at the biggest bulb part. Now, you can decide if you like to keep these little leaves around the rose or not. I'm going to take it off today just because I don't want that to get in the way of seeing what I'm doing. And then I'm going to take the stem tape, and I'm going to start it at the base of the rose and I'm going to hold it tight, and I'm going to twist the rose. And as I'm twisting the rose, you're going to pull the tape at the same time so that it sticks. And you're just going to keep twisting until you get almost down the whole stem.

The next step will be cutting a little bit of filler flower. I chose to use baby's breath today, and it's kind of made a come back so we're going to use that for our filler. I'm just going to cut little pieces off so that I can put it around the base of the rose. The next step is you're going to just pick which part of the rose you think looks like the front or the back. So, I'm going to choose this as the front 'cause it looks the nicest from this direction, and I'm going to put the baby's breath kind of just in the front part of the rose; and I'm going to take the stem tape again just like I did that first time, and I'm going to start it around the base of it and wrap it around. You don't have to go all the way down this time, just about halfway is fine.

The next step is to pick greenery. I'm going to use Italian Ruscus because it has a nice shape and it's kind of flat to sit on the back of the rose. I'm also got some seeded eucalyptus just because it's a different type of texture and I think it's a nice accent to a boutonnière. So I'm going to do this again where I find the back of the rose. I'm going to put the Ruscus on the back side of it and when it sits up against a jacket it will have a flat back to it. So, don't worry that it's kind of leaning back on this. If you feel like it needs more greenery than this, you can add a little bit more, still. So, I'm going to just cut another piece and I'm going to stick it back here just to have it a little fuller with greens. And then I will stem tape again the rose and twirl it around. If you have too much stems down here, you can trim them and twirl all the way down.

Now, this step you have an option if you want to make it a pin-on boutonnière or there's a new thing that's a magnet. The magnet works very easy. I prefer using the magnet, but if you don't have it on hand, you can find them at your local florist or at a craft store. So this is the point where you can make that decision. If you decide you want to just do a pin on, what you can do is cut the stem of this, any length, say you want to cut it this long, and you can just leave it like that. You can use a pen to twirl it and then just simply put the pins in the side before you pin on. If you decide you want to use the magnet, all you have to do is take the magnet right here, put it on the back of it, like we did the greenery and then just twist, making the magnet on the back of this look really nice. And then you have a magnetic boutonnière, and it's really easy to put on.

I hope that this video was informational and you can make one at home yourself. Thank you. Have a good day.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Easter Lilies, Some History From Grohe


Hi, I'm Julie Klingaman with Grohe Florist in Rohnert Park. For many of us, Easter evokes memories of egg decorating, gift baskets, chocolate bunnies, local church services, family gatherings, and the Easter lily. I began wondering how and why the Easter lily is associated with this holiday. I'm going to share with you what I found out about this beautiful trumpet-shaped fragrant blossom.

They symbolize purity, hope, and life, and the spiritual essence of Easter and all the promises of spring. Easter lilies are given along with Easter gifts, and they happen to be one of America's largest potted plant crops, and one of America's favorite blooming plants. The Easter lily is found in history, mythology and art, with stories and images that speak of the beauty and majesty of these elegant white flowers.

They're often called the white-robed apostles of hope. Lilies are said to have been found growing in the garden of Gethsemane after Christ's agony. At Easter time, churches bank their altars and surround their crosses with masses of Easter lilies to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hope of life everlasting. The pure white lily has long been associated with womanhood too. In early paintings, the Angel Gabriel is depicted extending a branch of pure white lilies to the Virgin Mary announcing that she was chosen to be the mother of the Christ child. In other paintings, saints are pictured bringing vases full of white lilies to Mary and the baby Jesus. Tradition has it that when Eve left the garden of Eden, she shed real tears of repentance, and from those remorseful tears sprung up lilies.

The Easter lily has been a mark of purity and grace throughout the ages. The regal white lily is a fitting symbol of greater meaning of Easter. Gracing millions of homes and churches, the flowers embody joy, hope, and life. Whether given as a gift or to be enjoyed in your own home, the Easter lily serves as a beautiful reminder that Easter is a time for rejoicing and celebrating. So when you give Easter baskets to your family, don't stop with the decorated eggs and chocolate rabbits, include a few Easter lilies.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

How To Make A Centerpiece For Easter


Hi, my name is Julie Klingaman from Grohe Florists in Rohnert Park. Today, I'm going to demonstrate how to make an Easter centerpiece. Whether it's for brunch, lunch, or dinner, this centerpiece will definitely brighten your table.

First, I chose two different size containers. I have a four by four cube and a six by six cube. I chose a cube because they're low and for a centerpiece you want to make sure to keep it low. I also have a small piece of Styrofoam. If you don't have a piece of Styrofoam, you can find something else that will give you a little bit of lift because you want to be able to put your smaller cube within the larger cube and have it close to the lip of the vase, so that your flowers aren't set too deep in there. 'Cause next, what I'm going to do is I got a bag of jelly beans and I'm going to just fill in the jelly beans around my vase. You've got to keep doing it until you get all the way up to the top.

It looks like I'm probably going to need at least three to four bags of jelly beans. Okay, I chose... You can choose really any type of flower that you'd like to do but I chose tulips because they're a good reminder of spring. And most tulips come in bunches of 10, so I have about 20 tulips here right now, and I'm going to put them... I'm going to cut them and I'm going to stick them down into the vase.

With tulips, a good reason to use them is, you don't really have to design them, they kind of just do their own thing. So, all you have to do is kind of measure the height of the vase, and remember that your vase is shorter in here, so you kind of have to keep that in mind. Then I'm just going to use my clippers and trim this, and I'm not even going to peel back very much of the greenery. I'm going to try to leave it 'cause it's going to help keep all the flowers in place. Then all you have to do is place them in your cube and then from there, you can kind of adjust them a little bit. But that's the fun thing about tulips is they are going to look a little wild and tomorrow when you wake up, they're going to be in a different direction, so you don't have to take too much time fussing with them 'cause they're going to do their own thing. There you go, a fun Easter centerpiece.

Now, if you don't like the crazy wildness of tulips, you can do something like hydrangeas, and they'll make a nice round look over it or roses and what you can do with roses is design them first in your hand to make a nice round shape and put a twist tie around them and then just trim down the edges and just like we did with the tulips, and set it right it. Thank you and I hope you enjoy your own Easter centerpiece.