Algonquin, IL Florists

Algonquin Flower Shop News

Florist's career continues to bloom - Brockville Recorder and Times

Howard Bus Service coach has taken Brockville and area residents to the show, she said.Harvey got into the floral industry right out of high school. She went to college at Algonquin, then started working at Colonial Flowers. She has been in the floral industry for 18 years.Last November, members of the Canadian Academy of Floral Art elected her as the organization’s next president. She will assume the position in September. A frequent writer in industry publications, Harvey travels the world for her work, leading seminars and workshops that emphasize floral therapy, although most of her work is in the Toronto and Ottawa areas. Harvey said she comes home to Brockville as often as she can and enjoys helping with local causes and activities. http://www.recorder.ca/2018/03/08/florists-career-continues-to-bloom

Florists arrange to retire - The Kingston Whig-Standard

Marilyn, laughing at the memory.A few months later, Earl purchased the downstairs portion from his brother Art, giving the family some much-needed space.In 1976, Paul graduated from Algonquin College with a diploma in horticulture."He tried to get a job with a flower shop in Kingston but he couldn't find one, so we opened our own shop," Peter said.The flower shop opened on Raglan Road, next to the salon. Business became so successful it moved over to the larger, south side of the building. A greenhouse was added in the early 1980s.Siblings Beverly and Kevin also worked in the flower shop at one time, but it has been Marilyn, Paul and Greg who have been the anchors."Combined we've made it work," Marilyn said. "We needed each other to make it special."Paul is a horticulturist and master florist. Marilyn lauded his work ethic, and Peter said "we call him the Energizer Bunny. He moves at one speed but he never stops."Greg, Marilyn said, is "very talented, very artistic" and creates their "high-end bouquets.""It's been an honour being a florist for the city of Kingston," Greg said."I'm married to the business," Paul said.Ironically, on the final weekend of business, the shop, according to Peter and Marilyn, is handling the largest and most lucrative job in its 41-year history -- a wedding that includes floral arrangements in the church, including pew bows, and at the reception, including arrangements at each table.On the final day of business, Tuesday between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., the Blaneys are inviting their customers to drop by for a party, which will include cake and a violinist playing Irish jigs."Everyone knows us by name," Marilyn said. "Customers that come in here more than once or twice, we know their name. We took a lot of care with each and every order. We know what they wanted and we delivered it."On Wednesday, however, Marilyn, Paul and Greg won't have the flower shop to call home anymore."I have mixed emotions because this is a big change in my life," said Marilyn, who plans to spend her first day of retirement with her feet up while sipping tea and reading a magazine or book.Greg intends to get outside that day."I'm going to sit on Princess Street on a bench, with a coffee, and watch the cars go by," he said. "I've always wanted to do that."Paul, who usually wakes up before 6 a.m. to receive deliveries, won't have to on Wednesday."I'm going to sleep in," he said, smiling.mnorris@postmedia.com... http://www.thewhig.com/2017/10/26/florists-arrange-to-retire

Florist to be showcased nationally - Brockville Recorder and Times

A: I was actually a dancer and getting into university, and I was competing but I hurt myself, so I had to go to college for something else while I was healing. I took a floral design course at Algonquin College while I was waiting to dance professionally. I loved the floral design course so much I just kept going with horticulture, business, and all sorts of different educational platforms, and now it’s been 16 years and I’m still in the industry. It’s funny what the universe will throw at you, but I never went back to teaching.Q: Did you have any horticultural experience flowers prior to taking the college course?A: I was always a crafty kid. I always played in the gardens at the apartment buildings where I used to live at. I’ve always loved flowers. It was Mr. Cook at TISS who inspired me. I won all the awards at TISS for art and he said, this is a neat art form, and so I did. Thank you Mr. Cook!Q: How long have you been in the industry?A: Right out of high school I started working. I went to college at Algonquin then I started working at Colonial Flowers, then got married and moved to Alberta, and I’ve been working all over the place for 16 years.Q: What do you like so much about floral design?A: I love art. It’s amazing what this medium can do. A lot of people don’t think floral design is an art form, but it’s got texture, it’s got colour. But what’s neat about this medium is that they’re alive. There’s science behind it, there’s math behind it, there’s light levels. There’s food quantities, temperatures of water, temperatures outside. There’s so much you have to learn about botany. There’s so much to learn about the plant matter itself to be able to do it correctly.Flowers are used ... http://www.recorder.ca/2016/03/05/florist-to-be-showcased-nationally

South Bay History: Torrance flower producer once supplied gardenias and orchids nationwide - The Daily Breeze

Florists’ Transworld Delivery, or FTD. FTD started in 1910 as Florists’ Telegraph Delivery in Detroit, later moving to Downers Grove, Illinois, and growing into a global enterprise.Wright already was a master flower grower, and frequent winner at the Southern California Horticultural Association’s annual garden show for his roses.But he had a vision that went beyond his flower shop’s walls. He decided to specialize in producing two types of flowers, gardenias and orchids. He wanted to grow them in bulk and set up a network to distribute them nationwide.Gardenias grow in a greenhouse at Wright’s Greenhouses orchid and gardenia farm in Torrance, on May 27, 1937. (Credit: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection)Neither plant naturally thrives in the South Bay’s cool and dry climate, so Wright went looking to buy land where he could build greenhouses to replicate the humid climate in which they grow best.He found such a parcel at the corner of present-day 190th Street and Western Avenue but it wasn’t in Torrance. Yet.The city wasn’t on anyone’s radar in 1907, when Wright began his operations there. He started building greenhouses five years before the city’s founding date and 14 years prior to its incorporation.Wright’s parcel was 12 acres of unincorporated county land then, and it wouldn’t be annexed to Torrance until 1930. “Not a building was to be seen,” when he bought the land, Wright told the Torrance Herald in 1936.Flowers grow in a greenhouse at Wright’s Greenhouses orchid and gardenia farm in Torrance, on May 27, 1937. (Credit: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection)Gardenias in bloom. 2007 file photo. (Credit: Orange County Register) SoundThe gallery will resume insecondsBy 1912, he had his operation... https://www.dailybreeze.com/south-bay-history-torrance-flower-producer-once-supplied-gardenias-and-orchids-nationwide

How plants protect themselves from sun damage: Study reveals a mechanism that plants can use to dissipate excess sunlight as heat - Science Daily

A better understanding of plants' natural photoprotection system could help scientists develop new ways to improve crop yields, Schlau-Cohen says. A 2016 paper from University of Illinois researchers showed that by overproducing all of the proteins involved in photoprotection, crop yields could be boosted by 15 to 20 percent. That paper also suggested that production could be further increased to a theoretical maximum of about 30 percent."If we understand the mechanism, instead of just upregulating everything and getting 15 to 20 percent, we could really optimize the system and get to that theoretical maximum of 30 percent," Schlau-Cohen says.The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200310094246.htm

Demanding Answers: NJ Company Accused Of Posing As Local Florists Nationwide - CBS New York

Troys Florist customer Susan Hatch ordered online, pictured on the right is the arrangement that was received (Photos Provided)“Googled ‘local florists in Park Ridge, Illinois’ and they came to the top of the search engine,” Hatch said.Each time CBS2 searched for a “local florist” — from Plano, Texas, to West Milford, New Jersey — Troys Florist was one of the top results, boasting it’s a “family-run business” with a “huge loyal following within the community.”A former employee of Troys Florist says orders nationwide really go through a house on Route 18 in East Brunswick, New Jersey. (Credit: CBS2)A former employee who asked we hide her identity says orders nationwide really go through a house on Route 18 in East Brunswick, New Jersey.“How would you find the real local florist?” Rozner asked.“The same way like the people do. We go on Google,” the former employee said. “So once you put in your order for, let’s say, $100, we send it out to a local florist.”But they allegedly called in a much cheaper arrangement, she says, at the discretion of owner Perry Kessisiades, who would keep a cut of the money as his commission.“He would be on top of us in order to make that percentage everyday,” the former employee said. “Anywhere from 40% up was perfect.”She says she was fired after complaining about two weeks’ worth of pay she was owed. She says she earned $15. She also alleges that arrangements under $60, some for funerals, were never fulfilled.Legitimate flower shops told CBS2 confused customers ended up posting bad reviews about them.Mario Milewski, the owner of Christy’s Florist, located across the street from Troys, says he stopped doing business with them months ago.“That put my business, my name at risk, my reputation,” he said.CBS2 showed him some of the arrangements people have been getting.“Absolutely terrible. My kids can do a better job,” Milewski said.At least 350 customers nationwide have complained to the Better Business Bureau, mostly in the last year. It’s given the company an F rating.“We’re assuming our letters and our notices... https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/02/12/troys-florist-scam/

CBS11 Investigates Online ‘Florist’ With Hundreds Of Complaints - CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

That’s what Susan Hatch did when she wanted to send flowers to an out-of-state relative.“Went to Google. Googled local florists in Park Ridge, Illinois, and they came to the top of the search engine.” She’s talking about Troys Florist, a company whose website touts it as “the best Park Ridge florist you trust.”“They had a whole range of flower arrangements, probably 100 different selections,” said Hatch.She paid $100 for the “beauty in bloom” arrangement, but Hatch said the flowers that arrived were not nearly as nice. “Cheap! Really poor quality.” When she complained, Troys offered her a 10% refund. “That didn’t even cover the delivery fee,” said Hatch.Even so, Troys Florist is “the best” in a lot of places. We searched for local florists across DFW; every time Troys was one of the top results. The best in Fort Worth, Frisco, DeSoto and Melissa. So we ordered a bouquet of our own. We paid for the “thinking of you” bouquet. A Fort Worth florist delivered a smaller arrangement with different colors to our studios. She said she had never heard of Troys.CBS 11 News ordered the bouquet on the left. The one on the right is what was delivered to the newsroom. Not even close! (credit: CBS 11 News)That’s because Troys Florist isn’t in Texas. The company’s address i... https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/02/12/cbs11-investigates-online-florist-with-hundreds-of-complaints/