California Flower Shop News
9-year-old boy earns praise for helping struggling flower vendor: ‘You are one awesome kid!’ - Yahoo Lifestyle
Wednesday, December 02, 2020A 9-year-old boy from California has been lauded for going above and beyond for a flower vendor who had appeared to be struggling on the job, KTLA reports.Jeremiah Reyes was on his way to basketball practice with his sister Stephanie when the two came across 57-year-old Israel Parra, who was selling flowers on the side of the road in Santa Ana. Reyes, a fifth grader, told the station that was when he noticed that Parra seemed to be having trouble in the heat with only one arm.“I felt really sad,” he said. “I really wanted to help him out.”When the boy later learned that Parra, who doesn’t have health insurance, was also struggling financially, he decided to take matters into his own hands and created a GoFundMe with a goal of raising $20,000.“It just stayed in my heart and it just made me sad, kept on thinking about it and I really wanted to help him out,” Reyes explained.The generous act caught Parra, who picks up bouquets six days a week from Lupita’s Flowers and tries to sell them, off guard. According t... https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/9-old-boy-earns-praise-180731402.html
Business is 'blooming' at Park Avenue Florist & Gift Shop - Clay Today Online
Wednesday, December 02, 2020FTD designs and Teleflora designs. They deliver all over the country as well as internationally. “We deliver worldwide – we FTD and Teleflora. We have wire services. So if it’s going to California, you place your order today, we can have it out there tomorrow,” McCleod said.“I’ve just started coming here,” said Orange Park’s Marlene Revella. “My parents and most of my family live up in Ohio, and obviously I won’t be going home for the holidays this year. So I decided to maybe send them a plant. But I came in and saw the different flower arrangements and plants, and I ended up being here for over an hour. The salespeople were so helpful and patient with me.“I ended up deciding to send a plant and flowers. I think it’s something I’ll probably do again in the future. It’s not too expensive, and it’s a pretty timely gift to let someone know you’re thinking of them.”McCleod says that the florist is doing mostly contactless deliveries and pickups on orders, as people are trying to maintain suggested health and safety protocols.“Usually within 24 hours,” said McCleod when asked about the turnaround time of delivery and pickup orders. “That way, if they pick out something special, we can order it in. We have a wide variety on hand, so we can usually fill it [the order].” McCleod hasn’t seen any particular demographic doing most of the buying.According to her, it’s across the board. Although, she says she’s seen more men than usual – doghouse buys, she calls them – assuming that quarantine has caused them to irritate the women in their lives.“We’re doing more centerpieces right now, especially for Thanksgiving,” said McCleod. “Scented with candles, something festive for their holiday table. Christmas is usually about the same thing. We have ornaments in the specialty type containers as well.” ... https://www.claytodayonline.com/stories/business-is-blooming-at-park-avenue-florist-gift-shop,25109
ROUNDUP: JP Parker Flowers vacates Indy store, adds retail truck - Indianapolis Business Journal
Wednesday, October 28, 2020Mark Weghorst and Nick Smith. Weghorst opened the area’s first Slapfish location in July 2019, inside the Broccoli Bill’s grocery store that his father, Bill Weghorst, owns in Noblesville.California-based Slapfish offers a mostly seafood-focused menu, with an emphasis on sustainably sourced fish. Menu items include fish tacos, burritos, grilled fish bowls and other items, including a children’s menu. The chain is based in the Los Angeles suburb of Fountain Valley and has about 20 locations in several U.S. states, plus England.— Fast-casual Indian restaurant Tandoor & Tikka has opened its third Indianapolis store, and its fourth overall, at 5650 W. 86th St. The restaurant’s grand opening was June 26.It opened in Indianapolis in June 2018 at 805 W. 10th St. near IUPUI, followed by a Castleton location in 2019. Tandoor & Tikka also has a location in Bloomington.— The culinary establishment Studio C, 1051 E. 54th St., has discontinued its coffee service though it is continuing with its other lines of business. Local chef Greg Hardesty opened Studio C in 2019 as a place for a variety of food-oriented offerings based on market demand. The business’ offerings include carry-out meals, private dining and a wine club.— Peppy Grill opened June 19 at 910 W. 10th St. in The Avenue, a mixed-use development near the IUPUI campus. The restaurant is in the spot formerly occupied by Madd Greeks Mediterranean Grille, which closed in March after 3-1/2 years.The new Peppy Grill is associated with the Peppy Grill at 1004 Virginia Ave. in Fountain Square—it is not affiliated with Burt’s Peppy Grill at 3401 E. 10th St.— The Fudge Kettle plans to open its first brick-and-mortar retail space... https://www.ibj.com/blogs/property-lines/roundup-jp-parker-flowers-vacates-indy-store-adds-retail-truck
Small but mighty, a Washington florist battles back in the pandemic - Reuters
Monday, August 24, 2020I really think they did a good job by not reopening too soon, because look at all the places that are having to close back down, like California, Texas,” Banks said. As the White House and Congress debate the next coronavirus relief bill, Banks said she would like more business funding and clarity on Paycheck Protection Program loans. The shop received a $75,000 loan under the program, allowing it to rehire furloughed staff. “They say it’s forgivable, but they haven’t come out with any clear-cut rules on how to make it forgivable,” Banks said. “I am on pins and needles.” Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Dan Burns and Richard ChangOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-smallbusiness/small-but-mighty-a-washington-florist-battles-back-in-the-pandemic-idUSKCN2511D6
Flower Power: Farm-to-Vase Movement Takes Root on Chicago's South and West Sides - WTTW News
Wednesday, July 29, 2020U.S., is more often than not Colombia or possibly Ecuador. The small slice of the market not dominated by imports is, in turn, almost entirely monopolized by California growers. Before they reach Chicago, the blooms, most of which are cultivated in greenhouses, will have traveled thousands of miles via energy-guzzling refrigerated planes, cargo ships and trucks, passing from farmer to exporter to wholesaler to retailer. Plenty won’t survive. What you wind up holding in your hand is less a natural wonder than a marvel of logistics and the modern global supply chain. All of which serves as a prologue to the story of Eco House. Eco House founder Quilen Blackwell. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Rain barrels are the sole source of water for the farm's irrigation system. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Beehives at the farm. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Lilies, biding their time before blooming. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Southside Blooms' floral studio, in the basement of the Blackwells' home. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) What a Midwestern flower farm looks like, when spring bloomers are spent, and summer's are freshly planted. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Southside Blooms seasonal spring bouquet. (Southside Blooms) Eco House upends pretty much everything we just told you about the flower industry. Here’s a farm with land located not in South America but the South and West sides of Chicago. Flowers are grown outdoors in the dirt on formerly vacant lots in E... https://news.wttw.com/2020/07/08/slow-flower-movement-chicago-eco-house
‘Master florist’ Haruko Adkins, 90, had a passion for flower arrangements and tennis - The Washington Post
Monday, August 24, 2020She would say that some were “too edgy compared with her formal training,” Morhart said. [Those we have lost to the coronavirus in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.]He said Adkins’s arrangements were unique because she “understood the idea of negative space.”“Others fill up all the space” in a vase, he said, whereas Adkins “understood that you didn’t have to crowd things in. She was an artist. She was definitely talented.”Morhart recalled Adkins as “totally sharp,” saying, “You would guess she was 80.” She was an avid tennis and ping-pong player and played both games well into her 80s, her friends said. When she and a friend visited the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., Morhart said, the trip was a “thrill for her.” Born in Nagoya, Japan, Adkins studied the art of floral arrangement and earned a four-year degree as a “master florist,” her friends said. She married Earl A. Adkins, a criminal investigator in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps. With his work, the couple traveled and lived in several places, including San Francisco and Germany, before settling in Arlington. He died in 1999.Adkins had a large group of friends and was known for helping others. If someone else wanted flowers she planned to use in an arrangement, she would happily give them away, Morhart said.“She was very, very generous,” Morhart said. “She was always willing to say: ‘Help yourself. Take that if you need it.’ She had a very sharing nature.”Adkins also did volunteer projects, including making sweaters and bags to carry food for those in need. She was once named Volunteer of the Year at Goodwin House.Valerie Burke, the chief philanthropy officer at Goodwin House, said Adkins also enjoyed working at a thrift shop on the property as a volunteer and was good at making displays.“She loved getting to know people and helping them find just the right trinket,” Burke said. In the dining room at ... https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/haruko-adkins-coronavirus/2020/08/18/58bc3c7a-e13e-11ea-b69b-64f7b0477ed4_story.html
Florist hits local streets to sell flowers in her tiny blue truck - WTOP
Sunday, July 05, 2020Mount Pleasant neighborhood, started Blue Ribbon Floral with a soft launch in November, and quickly found a use for the little truck she bought to get into tight spaces in the District and Bethesda, Maryland.Once the coronavirus pandemic hit, Chrisler couldn’t continue street vending, so she started contactless deliveries and flower subscriptions.“It was a way to bring a little bit of joy into their spaces,” Chrisler said.She’s now back to being a vendor in the area, bringing her little blue truck around to D.C. streets and the Bethesda Streetery.“I think when people see the truck they’re filled with so much excitement, because it’s so teeny tiny,” Chrisler said.Chrisler has a Ph.D. in human development and family studies, but decided after a miscarriage that she wanted to shift to doing something different.She’s following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother, who were both florists.“I started to take stock of what was important to me and decided that I want to transition out of my 9-to-5 and do something more creative,” she said.Chrisler is announcing where her truck will be located each day on her Blue Ribbon Floral Facebook and Instagram pages. Like WTOP on Facebook and follow @WTOP on Twitter to engage in conversation about this article and others.Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.© 2020... https://wtop.com/local/2020/06/florist-hits-local-streets-to-sell-flowers-in-her-tiny-blue-truck/
A Second Life for Flowers - The New York Times
Thursday, March 12, 2020But Ms. Anderson-Hall said she already sees the positive impacts in each of her workshops. For example, with an older woman at Pleasant Homes, a rental community in Maryland that offers programming for residents, Ms. Anderson-Hall said she has seen improvement in her participant’s dexterity in the time they’ve been working together. This participant walks quite slowly and has a significant curve in her upper spine. When Ms. Anderson-Hall helps her with the bouquet being arranged, she brings the flower up so that her helper has to lift her head. Ms. Anderson-Hall also encourages her to use the heavie... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/opinion/second-life-flowers.html
The Gardeners Who Planted for US Presidents - Prescott eNews
Thursday, March 12, 2020McLeod resigned to open a garden center located on "the road leading from Shaw's Meeting House to the Baltimore-Washington Turnpike," what is now Montgomery Road in Beltsville, Maryland.Alexander McKerichar (Served 1865–1875, under Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Ulysses Grant) Born in Perthshire, Scotland, he learned the trade as an apprentice in the gardens of the Duke of Atholl, near Dunkeld. In 1856 McKerichar was hired as a foreman under John Watt, taking on the role of head gardener nine years later. Known for his hothouse grapes, he also raised off-season Caledonian cucumbers for President Grant. Like the gardeners before him, he resigned from the White House to open a garden center in Alexandria, Virginia.George Field (Served 1875–1877, under Ulysses Grant.) The first English gardener at the White House, Field's floral fame came after he left the White House. He opened a garden center on Georgia Avenue NW with his brother Thomas. Field was responsible for naming and promoting the 'American Beauty' rose, originally selected on historian George Bancroft's estate as 'La Madame Ferdinande Jamin.' Field supplied the cattleya orchids for Alice Roosevelt Longworth's bridal bouquet in 1906. The Washington Post described him as an orchid specialist. He was an active member of the Florist Club of Washington. In 1916, he sold his stock of orchid plants for $15,000.Henry Pfister (Served 1877–1902, under Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt.) A native of Zurich, Switzerland, Pfister trained in the conservatories of a Swiss banker and at the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. He made his way to Cincinnati and then to Washington, where he was hired under Hayes. Pfister managed the greenhouses, designed and planted the ornamental beds around the White House lawns, and provided all indoor floral and plant decorations, including the wedding of Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom. He later opened his own florist and landscape design business on Connecticut Avenue.George Hay Brown (Served 1902–1909, under Theodore Roosevelt.) The son of a landscape gardener in Perthshire, Scotland, where he learned the family trade. In 1850, the family immigrated to the United States. In 1858, Brown took a job in Washington D.C. at the government experimental gardens. During the Civil War, he served with the Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans. By 1890 he was back in Washington D.C. as a public gardener with the War Department. Brown worked on the Capitol grounds, city parks, and the government propagating gardens and greenhouses near the Washington Monument, as well as the White House. He taught Theodore Roosevelt's children how to propagate plants in his greenhouses.Charles Henlock (Served 1909–1931, under William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover.) A Yorkshireman, and proud of his horticultural training, having worked for Lord Mowbray in Yorkshire, Lord Denbigh in Warwickshire, and Lord Harrington in Derbyshire before spending five years with the Royal Horticultural Society. Henlock arrived in Washington D.C. just before President Cle... https://www.prescottenews.com/index.php/features/columnists/mountain-gardener/item/34856-the-gardeners-who-planted-for-u-s-presidents