Aspen, CO Florists

Aspen Flower Shop News

Obituary: Margery Shanks - Aspen Times

Marge will be greatly missed by her 3 children ; Robbie, Dorian, and Carey as well as surviving brothers along with their families. Services are being planned for Toledo, Ohio and Aspen, Colorado in April and August respectively. In lieu of flowers for the family or for Marge, please consider a donation to your local arts chamber, school, or museum in Marge’s name. https://www.aspentimes.com/obituaries/obituary-margery-shanks/

More than just a pretty petal: How flowers feed the world around us - Vernon Morning Star

Furthermore, in some cases the extrafloral nectaries are only produced after some herbivore damage has occurred. In cottonwoods and their relatives (aspens), expression of these nectaries is reportedly both heritable and inducible. Elderberry shrubs have them too; they are the little stalks near the axils of the fresh leaves in the accompanying photo; nectar is borne at the top of the stalks. However, so far, we have no observations of insect visitors to these nectaries.[Wild Shots: Photos of Mother Nature in Alaska] The most-studied extrafloral nectaries in non-tropical plants may be those found on bracken fern, a cosmopolitan species that grows in Southeast. (Ferns do not have flowers, so the nectaries are necessarily extrafloral, but the term is used for convenience of comparison with the truly extrafloral nectaries of flowering plants.) The nectaries on bracken are produced on very young, developing fronds, before the leaves expand, in late spring and early summer. They are dark blobs at the junctions of the major pinnae or leaflets, and small ones may occur along the midribs of each pinna. A study in Britain showed that the size of bracken nectaries varied with habitat: they were larger in open habitats than in woodland. The numerous studies of bracken nectaries have produced highly variable results: some showed that ants defend the young fern particularly against sucking insects, or only insect herbivores in the act of egg-laying, or just the eggs of the herbivores, or only leaf-chewing herbivores, while others showed no effect of the ants attracted to the nectaries. Presumably, habitat effects on nectary size are likely to be reflected in ant activity, and furthermore, the deterrent effect of ants depends on what species of ants come to the nectaries and the density of the ants. It also matters just what herbivores are involved: some insect herbivores are very well defended against ant attack and are impervious to their assaults. A lesson in ecological complexity!I have the untested impression that extrafloral nectaries on our local plants are not very well developed. For instance, on cottonwoods, although I find yellow, sticky exudates, probably a resin that might deter leaf-eating insects, on young stems near where new leaves attach, I do not see nectar-secreting g... https://www.vernonmorningstar.com/news/more-than-just-a-pretty-petal-how-flowers-feed-the-world-around-us/

Walmart Slashed Its Orders. His Equipment Melted Down. This Guy Made It Work Anyway

What if I partnered with online florists? I sent three floral arrangements with decorative fillers in them to Lynda Resnick, the owner of Teleflora--to her office, to her home in Aspen, to her home in Beverly Hills. I got a meeting with Teleflora's president and V.P. of marketing. My pitch: They could include my fillers in their vases, and charge extra for them."The president says "OK, Adam, I've got it--if we partner with you, we'll sell more of everything. Great! But you need to understand: My customer is the florist. And they don't like your product. It's hard for them to make your rocks look nice like they do in the picture. Second, when you put rocks in a vase like that, you're displacing the water. And without water, everything dies."I had felt in my gut that this was the most important meeting in my life. I went away from it feeling, well, that was a B-minus! I spent the next week thinking: What is the solution? Then, very quickly on a piece of paper I drew this thing, a vase that was double-walled, with an opening at the bottom.It sparked my imagination. At the end of the day, decorative fillers are a commodity. This was a chance to create something new--a double-walled vase that could house both fillers and flowers.Manifesting this idea turned out to be really, really tough. The first result was really clunky. It was going to take a lot of trial and error, a lot of R&D, to make it elegant.I cobbled together almost $1 million in capital. I sold my condo, my 401(k), and any insurance I had, to cover my existing debts. I sold Akasha to my direct competitor for a song--for half the value of our contracts. That certainly hadn't been my original vision--to get down on my knees, to give back the key. But I wasn't alone. Four investors from Akasha came over--loyal friends who knew me. My longtime manager in China, Apollo Li, helped me vet glassblowers and factories.We wanted a seamless design, not two ugly pieces of glass glued together. We figured something called the pocket technique: You blow the outside form, and while it's curing you drop another ball of molten glass on the top. But if there's too much temperature variation, the thing will explode. We tried underwater techniques, and even lasers! You can laser-cut through glass, but now you're talking about a $50,000 to $100,000 machine. Finally, we designed it so that it had a neck with an opening on it, that we could cut off.A good fr... https://www.inc.com/magazine/201808/burt-helm/how-i-did-it-adam-kasha.html

Spring flower show, grow a garden, fruit trees, Minneapolis Home + Garden Show and more - Minneapolis Star Tribune

A dining bay displays glam sparkly dinnerware and stemware for “entertaining the queen,” said Sims. The store’s 6-foot-tall faux palm trees, fiddle leaf fig and aspen trees can easily fill a corner — but require no care.Z Gallerie offers a more moderate price point than the recently opened Design Within Reach. Side chairs are $299 and up, mirrored table lamps from $199, vanity mirrors from $250, and sofas start at $1,500. Framed art ranges from $50 to $900. You can register for a $1,000 gift card at the store through April 1. Z Gallerie is in the new east wing by Cov Restaurant and Starbucks.The Galleria, 69th St. and France Av. S., Edina, 651-846-0480, zgallerie.comFloral spring flingMiss the Macy’s spring flower show? Bachman’s has partnered with the Galleria to stage “Spring Is in the Air,” a floor-to-ceiling floral experience that runs the length of the shopping center from March 25 through April 8.Bachman’s, the family-owned garden business, has teamed up with theatrical designer Jack Barkla, who worked on more than 50 downtown Minneapolis shows.The flower show will showcase hyacinths, tulips, daffodils and other spring-blooming flowers in beds, hanging arrangements and installations from one end to the other of the shopping center at 69th St. and France Av. S., Edina.LYNN UNDERWOODSip and growGain garden inspiration and know-how at a free “Grow a Garden” workshop, offered open-house style. Master Gardeners from the University of Minnesota will be on hand to assist in planting seeds in an egg carton to take home. Participants will learn gardening basics and will have an opportunity to ask questions. There will also be a pop-up build-your-own Bloody Mary Bar. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31. Free for the workshop, $10 for the Bloody Mary Bar. Wedge Table, 2412 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls.Fruit trees at homeJust because it’s Minnesota doesn’t mean you can’t grow fresh fruit in your backyard. Experts will offer suggestions for planting fruit trees. 6:30 p.m. Tue. Free. Shakopee Library, 235 S. Lewis St. carverscottmastergardeners... http://www.startribune.com/spring-flower-show-grow-a-garden-fruit-trees-minneapolis-home-garden-show-and-more/477756913/

Seeing nature makes life real - Loveland Reporter-Herald

But clouds curtained the sun and left the garden without sparkles.I visited the aspen grove to see the flammulated owls that I have been learning about for the last 42 years. None gave a territorial call; none uttered a food-begging call; none chirp-squeaked a mate-recognition call. I detected no eyeshine as I methodically worked my light through the crowns of the aspens. But one owl flew by to let me know they have not migrated.I watched the expanse of rubber rabbitbrush to see the insects that work the flowers. These robust shrubs of the sunflower family provide tiny sips of nectar in exchange for pollen delivery services. Butterflies and moths, bugs and beetles, bees and wasps, ants and more ants all frequent the rabbitbrush flowers; the total diversity of species is astounding. But I was a week early and found mostly flowers still in bud and so very few insects.These things I do because they make life real, because they enrich my own life. No matter how much I see, nature always presents more to be seen. And much of our wildlife presents such fascinating differences, day to day, season to season, year to year, that seeing them again and again is not a tedium but a pleasure.I must go. I have things to see. Kevin J. Cook is a freelance writer and naturalist based in Loveland. His Wildlife Window column appears in the Reporter-Herald every Thursday. http://www.reporterherald.com/columnists/wildlife-window/ci_31279588/seeing-nature-makes-life-real

10 things do in Northern Colorado this holiday season - Coloradoan

Erin Udell  Fort Collins ColoradoanShow Caption Hide Caption Colorado businesses can apply for grants to winterize outdoor patiosWinter is coming, but Fort Collins bars, breweries and restaurants have you covered with heated patios.Editor's note: Before you make social plans this holiday season, please check current local public health guidelines to make sure your chosen event makes sense for you or your household. At the time this list was published, Larimer County was at Level Yellow on the state's COVID-19 dial, meaning at-risk populations are advised to stay at home and personal gatherings are limited to up to 10 people from no more than two households. Update - Nov. 30: Canyon Concert Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker" has been canceled due to Level Red restrictions and removed from this list.'Tis the season to socially distance. But even as COVID-19 throws a wrench into many holiday p... https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2020/11/20/christmas-and-covid-19-10-holiday-things-do-northern-colorado/6229571002/

Flower power: Business continues to bloom at Skyway Creations in Colorado Springs - Colorado Springs Gazette

Goede in charge.The name was changed to Skyway Floral, then Skyway Creations, and the business has also moved over the years — first to 1515 S. 8th St., then to its current home at 1407 S. 8th St. on Colorado Springs’ west side.Goede’s father was in the Air Force when the family bought Scotty’s, but became more involved in the business when he retired.“He had always dealt with contractual work in the Air Force, so he did contracts and sales,” Goede says. “He was a salesman. He got on the greenery side of things while the city was growing and we just sold the hell out of green plant maintenance contracts.”His dad stayed active in the business until his early 80s, Goede says. To help fill the void, Goede’s wife, Lori, who had long worked at the shop, became more active in the business.“She’s the frosting on the cake,” Don says. “Lori’s a super saleswoman.”And a talented artist, as well. Lori has an art studio next to Skyway and the flower shop sells cards with her designs; she works primarily in watercolors.She appreciates the live art that Mother Nature produces.“There’s nothing more beautiful in your home than a bouquet of flowers,” she says. “You get a flower arrangement or a little blooming plant and you feel different, you just do. It gives a wonderful feeling.” Small business spotlight: Beef, alligator and everything in between at Andy's Meat Market in Colorado SpringsChanging tastesThe business has seen many changes, Don says, though there’s also a lot that hasn’t changed. “You’re still dealing with the trucks and the delivery and the product.”That product comes largely from California, with flowers bred in that state, and from Florida, a conduit for flowers from South America.“We’ve always bought from California and Florida,” Don says. But he’s also had to look to producers closer to home to fulfill a growing desire for more unusual flowers.“We need so many varieties of flowers now. We used to be able to order a big case of this and that. Now we need this special flower.”A desire for more variety isn’t the only change he has seen in consumer tastes. https://gazette.com/business/flower-power-business-continues-to-bloom-at-skyway-creations-in-colorado-springs/article_d5c342b4-5821-11ea-b62d-7be600878467.html

Meet Pickletown Flower Co., Denver's Mobile Floral Studio - 5280 | The Denver Magazine

The scene inspired her to start crafting bouquets for her nonprofit employer’s events—and she quickly found her calling. Six years after moving to Colorado, she began making imaginative floral and wreath installations for her neighborhood coffee shop, Spur, and Pickletown was born soon after.Since last summer, Sparzak has been traveling around Denver, Littleton, and Golden in her gray truck—once used to haul furniture deliveries—selling individual stems and limited grab-and-go arrangements during twice-monthly pop-ups. If you can’t get to the vehicle, the flowers will come to you: Pickletown offers a subscription service that supplies florals to your office or home on a recurring basis. (Office flower subscriptions start at $35 per delivery; the personal Bouquet Coterie membership program starts at $48 per month.) And if you want to try your hand at the craft, Sparzak host... https://www.5280.com/2020/03/meet-pickletown-flower-co-denvers-mobile-floral-studio/

Fort Collins woman gets traditional wedding, prepares for death on own terms - Coloradoan

Kevin DugganFort Collins ColoradoanPublished 11:35 PM EDT Mar 13, 2020Debra Brockel knows her days are numbered. But her mind is at ease because she’s the one doing the counting. Brockel, 60, has suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, since 2006. She has endured severe exacerbations of the disease, which irreversibly damages the lungs, and all manner of medical treatment and hospitalizations.She has received hospice care from Pathways at her home in southwest Fort Collins since December after a year of palliative care, which is geared toward making gravely ill patients comfortable rather than curing them.Her condition has deteriorated to the point she is prepared to take aid-in-dying medication. She wants to end her suffering, but she also wants to spare her family the anguish of watching her waste away.“It’s been a long haul,” she said. “It’s time to say goodbye.”The decision to end her life as allowed under Colorado law did not come quickly or easily. She consulted with doctors an... https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2020/03/13/fort-collins-woman-plans-death-aid-dying-medication/5013976002/