Local Flower Shop News
Flower Show gives visitors a taste of spring - BurlingtonFreePress.com
Monday, March 06, 2017Sunday, March 5, 2017, gaze at and photograph plants displayed as part of the "Neverland" grand display at the Champlain Valley Expostion.(Photo: ELIZABETH MURRAY/FREE PRESS)Buy PhotoESSEX JUNCTION - During some of the colder days Vermont has seen in several weeks, the Vermont Flower Show this weekend offered a welcome, spring-like sight for visitors. More than 8,000 people attended the event, which was held Friday through Sunday at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. The event is held every other year, said Ashley Robinson, a member of the board of directors with Green Works, which organizes the event. More than 100 vendors and about 10 nonprofit organizations were also in attendance.Each year, the event features a "grand garden display" and a number of vendors. This year's theme was "Neverland," drawing inspiration from the magical place described in the famous children's story "Peter Pan," Robinson said. At the end of the show, many of the plants from the display are sold.The display spanned most of one room, and visitors walked by Wendy's house, a clock tower, a waterfall and lagoon with a skull-shaped rock, and more. Colorful and fragrant flowers and trees adorned the giant display.Buy PhotoVermont Flower Show attendees take in the flower display near a clock tower on March 5, 2017, which was part of the "Neverland" garden display. (Photo: ELIZABETH MU... http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2017/03/05/flower-show-gives-visitors-taste-spring/98781824/
2017 Vermont Flower Show is March 3-5 at Champlain Valley Expo - vtdigger.org
Tuesday, February 28, 2017Vermont Nursery & Landscape Association [email protected] or (888) 518-6484Join us in “Neverland” where dreams come alive from March 3rd through the 5th at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, Vermont for the 2017 Vermont Flower Show!The Vermont Flower Show is an event where attendees spend the entire day and take advantage of the numerous activities offered as part of the admission fee. Highlights include: The Grand Garden Display, over 100 vendors related to the horticultural and gardening industry, 35+seminars and workshops, a Family Room with hands-on activities and entertainment, a local bookstore, food/flora/fresh demonstrations, the St. Albans Garden Club and VT Railway Society displays, and VT Certified Horticulturists and Green Works members on hand to answer any gardening and landscaping questions.The show is open to the public on Friday, March 3rd from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday, March 4th from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sunday March 5th from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The daily cost of admission is $16 for adults, $12 for seniors (60+), $5 for children (ages 3-17), and free for children under the age of 3. Two-day passes are $25 each and three-day passes are $35 each. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Price Chopper stores, at G...
Prada Introduces Fashionable Floral Arrangements Around the World - Vogue
Tuesday, November 19, 2019In New York, Milan, Paris, London, Moscow, Shanghai, and Tokyo, the brand has partnered with local florists to create custom Prada bouquets that will be wrapped, of course, in the brand’s Resort 2020 campaign instead of traditional flower paper.In New York, the bouquets will be available at Bethel Food Gourmet in the West Village—and as with any bit of luxury fashion, they will be exclusive and specially made. You see, not just any floral arrangement is Prada-worthy: In keeping with the palette and pared-back theme of the Resort collection, Prada is offering special flowers for its bouquets. Yellow celosias, pink dahlias, white oriental lilies, red celosias, and big sunflowers are what’s on Prada’s floral menu, to name a few, allowing for shoppers to customize the exact arrangement to their taste. The installations will be open for a limited time only, so head to Bethel’s soon to get your Prada fix, or check out one of Prada’s international stands at I Fiorai di Piazza del Carmine in Milan, Maison Meunier in Paris, Petals at Bibendum in London, Flower Studio 55 in Moscow, the Beast flagship store in Shanghai, or Nicolai Bergman’s store in Tokyo. https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/prada-resort-2020-floral-arrangements
Saturdays bring freshness at the farmers market - The Tide
Tuesday, November 19, 2019Her favorite part of the market is by far the diversity of things for sale.“The variety’s really extraordinary here. The variety of cheese, the variety of microgreens, the variety of mushrooms—this florist here specializes in kind of unusual flowers—so it’s all stuff you just can’t find anywhere else,” she said.Photo by Victoria TongA variety of fresh produce appears at the farmers market each week.As the aroma of freshly baked scones, roasted coffee and handmade empanadas floats through the air, many shoppers flock towards the various businesses selling prepared goods. Charlie’s Empanadas attracts lines with their golden-brown empanadas, the beef, chicken, ham or spinach stuffed inside ready to burst out after one bite. Grandma Vera’s Bakery is a mainstay at the market with their gigantic scones a broad mix of imaginative flavors, and both customers and other vendors can be spotted with a steaming cup of Zeke’s Coffee in hand.Wander to the far end of the market, and a pleasant hubbub of conversation will fill the air at Scenic View Orchard’s expansive stand. A vibrant spectrum of pumpkins, pears, apples, sweet potatoes and more, as well as a brilliant rainbow of flowers, peers out from underneath multiple white tents while customers mosey around an extensive selection of product.Scenic View Orchard is another veteran of the market, having been a vendor at Rockville for at least 25 years. In addition to the beautiful fruits and vegetables displayed within their main tent, Scenic View also sells “seconds,” produce that may not be quite as pretty as their more photogenic brethren. “We sell [these] at a cheaper rate, and a lot of people like the seconds because they don’t care what it looks like. It tastes the same,” employee Wayne Masser said.“I’m glad to see that there are local farmers still thriving. And I’ll support that any day.”— Marci MaclinThe wide variety of goods on sale, the freshness of the fruits and vegetables and the tempting food selection are hardly the only outstanding features of the market. All of the vendors are incredibly friendly and willing to chat about their products, and even give cooking advice and insider tips on selecting the best produce. “Grocery stores kind of stress me out,” Nora Lyle, who runs the stand for King Mushrooms Farm, said. “With the farmers market, it’s kind of relaxing. You can take your time and get your coffee in the morning, and people will be a lot more helpful to you than at a grocery store. It’s more personal.”Linda Miller agrees. She works for Keswick Creamery, whose tent at the market houses at least 20 different kinds of cheese and offers free samples of them all. Unusual cheeses among her selection include hot and spicy Dragon’s Breath, soft and crumbly Bovre, and quark, a German-style cream cheese. “I think when you come to the market, you get to talk to the person that was actually producing the product, so it’s very intimate—it’s not like the grocery store and you have no clue where... https://thermtide.com/8970/features/saturdays-bring-freshness-at-the-farmers-market/
Marigold harvest a gift to workers who have kept Mellano blooming for 50 years - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Tuesday, November 19, 2019Knott’s Berry Farm.At the request of poinsettia grower and family friend Paul Ecke, the Mellano family took over management of the American Florist Exchange in L.A. in the 1960s. And in the 1970s, Giovanni and Maria’s son Mike Mellano Sr. and son-in-law Battista Castellano moved to Oceanside to expand the family’s flower empire. Chairman of Mellano & Company Michael Mellano stands among marigolds at the Mellano & Company farm on Friday, October 25, 2019 in Oceanside.(Hayne Palmour IV / The San Diego Union-Tribune) Today, Mellano & Co. farms more than 40 varieties of cut flower products, particularly the fresh foliage and greenery that fills out most traditional floral bouquets. With locations in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Orange County and Las Vegas, it’s the largest specialty cut-flower grower in the nation, producing 6 million flower stems each year. In partnership with the Ecke family and Armstrong Nursery, Mellano & Co. also oversees the 40-acre growing and wholesale operations for The Flower Fields in Carlsbad.Michelle Castellano Keeler, the daughter of Battista Castellano, also grew up on the farm and today is the company’s corporate vice president. She and her cousin, Mike M., said the company has always had a heart for immigrant workers because of their family’s roots in Italy.During World War II when Japanese farmers in California were sent to internment camps, Giovanni Mellano purchased some of their L.A. farm properties and equipment for $1 and then stored everything for the internees until they returned after the war.At the Oceanside farm, Mellano & Co. offers onsite housing for its workers, some of whom have lived on the property for two generations. From 40 to 50 workers live there now, most of them were born in Mexican as well as a few Guatemalans and a family of Congolese refugees. Keeler said the idea for the worker housing came from her dad.“He was an immigrant himself and when we first moved here, he felt the way the Hispanic workers were treated was horrible so he built this area on our farm where they could live and be safe,” she said. Advertisement Taking care of workers is also smart business. Mellano said that 10 years ago, 50 people would show up to apply for five open jobs. Now, with the local unemployment rate at a historic low, just one person will show up to apply for five open jobs, and they may not even have the proper legal documentation to qualify. Giovanni and Maria Mellano with their sons Johnny, second from left, and Mike Sr. at their family flower farm in Artesia, Ca., in the 1930s. Their Mellano & Co. now farms more than 340 acres of flowers in Oceanside and Carlsbad.(Courtesy of Mellano & Co.) Beyond the labor shortage, growing flowers is an increasingly challenging business. The cost of water, electricity and equipment keeps rising along with competition from South American growers, who have significantly lower production costs.To adapt over the years, the company shifted its growing focus away from high labor-intensive crops like gladiolus and chrysanthemums to lower labor-intensive crops like myrtle, ruscus and other greenery. The company also expanded beyond the cut-flower trade into growing hemp, succulents and potted poinsettias and hydrangeas.The company has also invested in state-of-the-art equipment, like sensors that measure the amount of water in the soil to... https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/story/2019-10-27/marigold-harvest-a-gift-to-workers-who-have-kept-mellano-blooming-for-50-years
Why this Kamloops flower shop is handing out 500 free bouquets today - iNFOnews
Tuesday, November 19, 2019Kathy Underwood, left, owner of Kamloops Florist Ltd. and volunteer Jenny Gessel hand out flowers as part of Petal It Forward. Image Credit: SUBMITTED / Kathy Underwood October 23, 2019 - 12:30 PM A Kamloops flower shop is the only one in the province taking part in Petal It Forward, a North American initiative to create positivity and connection by handing out free bouquets. Kamloops Florist Ltd. has prepared 500 bouquets to hand out today, Oct. 23, at different spots throughout town. Head designer Alanna Gobkes says this is the first year the company has participated and notes they are one of four stores in Canada handing out free flowers. She says there are two floral shops participating in Ontario and one in Manitoba. The annual event is organized by the Society of American Florists, and she hopes to see more Canadian participation in the coming years. “There are quite a few flower ... https://infotel.ca/newsitem/why-this-kamloops-flower-shop-is-handing-out-500-free-bouquets-today/it66965
Police in Yardley 'petal it forward' - News - Bucks County Courier Times
Tuesday, November 19, 2019Usually giving something else out," said Sgt. William Golden as he prepared for the delivery duty.This is the fifth year that the police department has joined with Ye Olde Yardley Florist in a national "Petal It Forward" campaign sponsored by the Society of American Florists, of which the shop is a member.The acts of kindness caught drivers and pedestrians off guard, but their smiles told the story. No one seemed to mind the few extra seconds waiting in traffic for the officers and flower helpers to hand out two roses to those who drove or walked down Main Street.The campaign’s idea is that you keep one rose for yourself and give the other to a friend, family member or even a stranger."It’s my absolute favorite day of the year," said Noreen Gorka, a manager of the flower shop, a Yardley institution for 105 years. "We gets tons of smiles, gratitude and even hugs and tears."The shop, located at 175 S. Main, supplied 900 roses to the event this year, in bright white, golden orange and sunny yellow. And, of course, red and rosy pink.Some of the colorful bouquets were sent to Edgewood Elementary School for the teachers there; they in turn, gave their extra rose to teachers at Charles Boehm Middle School, Gorka said.Others went to a networking group in Newtown to share, and were given to commuters at the Yardley train statio... https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/20191024/police-in-yardley-rsquopetal-it-forwardrsquo
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