Abington Flower Shop News
William Richardson Sr., owner of Rose Flower Shop and many other businesses - The Philadelphia Inquirer
Tuesday, November 19, 2019William Buchanan Richardson Sr., 81, of Abington, who owned the Rose Flower Shop in the Ogontz section of the city and several other businesses, died as the result of a heart attack Saturday, Oct. 12, at Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health. Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Richardson was the sixth of nine children born to Virginia and Edward “Bobby” Richardson. He grew up in North Philadelphia and attended Gratz High School. As a teenager, Mr. Richardson began his career as an entrepreneur by opening a small fruit-and-vegetable store, said his daughter Donna Richardson-Glover. He later owned ice cream parlors and night clubs. For the last 30 years of his life, he was known as “the Flower Man.” He owned the Rose shop at Ogontz and Stenton Avenues for about 15 years, until 2018, when he decided to retire. “But he didn’t know what to do with himself,” his daughter said. So, a few months later, he opened Hamilton Flower Shop in Abington and worked there until he retired for a second time in July. In the 19... https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/william-b-richardson-rose-flower-shop-philadelphia-abington-20191024.html
Actor Hugh Bonneville was on hand to launch aa new flower wall at Breast Cancer Haven, Wessex
Monday, October 01, 2018Abbey and Paddington star helped highlight Breast Cancer Awareness month at the haven in Titchfield. The wall has been funded by The Rare Brand Market and created with the help of florist Susie Babington. Covering the front of their Titchfield centre, this large-scale display of locally sourced, in-season flowers mirrors the Breast Cancer Haven brand’s colours. The Rare Brand Market founder Emma Schwarz said: “I am thrilled to champion independent florist Susie Babington and reflect the inspiring and positive work carried out by Breast Cancer Haven, Wessex. “My mother is currently receiving help from Breast Cancer Haven after a second diagnosis of breast cancer so this is an association very close to my own heart.” Breast Cancer Haven, Wessex opened its welcoming centre in Titchfield in 2015. It is from here that counsellors, therapists and health professionals offer the support needed to help individuals facing the challenge of living with breast cancer. Florist Susie said: “Having been the primary carer to my mother during her battle with cancer, I was delighted to lend a hand to this project to raise awareness of the disease, which sadly affects so many of us today, either directly or indirectly, and of the Breast Cancer Haven which supports no... https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/16909909.actor-hugh-bonneville-was-on-hand-to-launch-a-a-new-flower-wall-at-breast-cancer-haven-wessex/
'Gardening with Jenny Rose Carey' set for April 7 at Kettle Creek - Pocono Record
Tuesday, March 27, 2018Carey was involved with the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show for many years. She is the director of PHS Meadowbrook Farm, the society’s public garden and nursery in Abington Township. She lives with her husband, a Philadelphia native, at their beautiful Victorian property, Northview, where they have raised three daughters.Meadowbrook FarmWhen he died in 2003, J. Liddon Pennock, renowned florist and landscape artist, bequeathed Meadowbrook Farm to PHS. My favorite part of a visit to Meadowbrook (except for the retail nursery and gift shop, of course) is touring the beautiful English Cotswold-style house with Carey.The house is set on 18 wooded acres with seven acres of gardens and greenhouses. Pennock’s in-laws gave it to Pennock and his wife, Alice, as a wedding gift. The rooms are somewhat quirky in their decoration exemplifying Pennock's eccentric personality. Rich details are abundant inside and outside. The rooms open onto garden rooms functioning as outdoor living spaces. There are 15 small gardens in all. I don't have a favorite, loving the formal statuary and the sense of enclosure created by walls, wrought iron fences and boxwood hedges in each area. Meadowbrook Farm has a beautiful legacy, and Carey is bringing it to life with her promotion of wildlife gardening and sustainable practices. It is a pivotal learning venue.Northview GardensCarey’s magnificent Victorian home and 4.5-acre garden are known to thousands of visitors. It was originally part of Wilmer and Anna Atkinson’s 1888 100-acre farm. Here, Carey has created a work of stunning originality with 31 distinct garden spaces: from the Blast from the Past Garden, Italian Garden, Dry Garden, Herb Garden and Victorian Stumpery, to the Fountain Garden — to name just a few.My favorite spot is Rose Cottage, Carey’s potting shed. As a fellow Brit, I know the importance of the garden shed, and this one is magnificent. It is functional — containing plant records, collected seeds, garden tools and catalogues, and the like — while acting as a cozy retreat. Carey is a hands-on gardener, believing that gardening feeds your soul and body. The goal of her work at Northview is to educate visitors about plants, planting techniques and garden design features. She succeeds in her vision magnificently. Her gardens have been featured on the TV series, "The Victory Garden," in the Wall Street Journal, and in numerous new... http://www.poconorecord.com/entertainmentlife/20180323/gardening-with-jenny-rose-carey-set-for-april-7-at-kettle-creek
This is how thousands of plants at the Philadelphia Flower Show bloom early and on time - LancasterOnline
Wednesday, March 14, 2018Philadelphia Flower Show, which opens Saturday.North of Philadelphia, in the greenhouses at Meadowbrook Farm in Abington Township, growers use cold rooms, hot water, special lightbulbs and carbon dioxide to trick a wide range of plants into blooming. They have ways to handle a plant blooming too fast or not quick enough for the show.It’s a complicated dance that’s equal parts science and art, and it requires a lot of planning, says Nate Roehrich, manager of the greenhouses at Meadowbrook, which is one of the show’s plant providers.This year’s flower show, the largest and longest-running in the country, will focus on water. Designers will build a rainforest, a 28-foot-tall waterfall and other plant-filled landscapes, all inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The show runs through March 11.Planning for the show started months ago. At Meadowbrook Farm, the planning started back in September. For decades, renowned florist and landscape artist J. Liddon Pennock grew and forced plants for the flower show at Meadowbrook, formerly his estate. After Pennock’s death in 2003, the farm and greenhouses were given to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the nonprofit that organizes the flower show.These days, Meadowbrook’s small staff, along with society volunteers, grow plants for the show as well as for commercial customers. Roe... http://lancasteronline.com/features/home_garden/this-is-how-thousands-of-plants-at-the-philadelphia-flower/article_ac4ef9d2-1cbe-11e8-b76e-53ae7a3503de.html
Open house, with holiday greens and flowers, at Meadowbrook Farm in Abington - Bucks County Courier Times
Tuesday, December 06, 2016It's a gardener's Christmas any time of year at historic Meadowbrook Farm in Abington, where many of the blooms to debut at the Philadelphia Flower Show are growing right now. But when it's Christmas for everybody, the setting is a resource for holiday trimmings of the greener sort. The farm has scheduled an open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, offering a look at the grounds, the mansion formerly inhabited by the late flower show powerhouse J. Liddon Pennock Jr. and his wife, Alice, and a garden center packed with fresh decorations.Among the offerings are greens, wreaths and swags; plus cyclamen, paperwhites and amaryllis. Free crafting, storytime, s'mores and cocoa are on offer for youngsters. The Streetside BBQ food truck also is expected to be on hand. Self-guided tours may be taken until 4 p.m. in the stone house, built for the Pennocks by Alice's wealthy father as a wedding present for the couple in 1936. Pennock, a well-known florist and flower show exhibitor, created a small wonderland of linked gardens around the mansion over many decades. When h... http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/life-style/local-feature/open-house-with-holiday-greens-and-flowers-at-meadowbrook-farm/article_5612771a-b7fc-11e6-a34b-fb490c580a21.html
Florists wilt under COVID-19's impact, losing Easter and Mother's Day would be devastating - yoursun.com
Sunday, February 28, 2021Linda Stevens, a fourth-generation florist and owner of Stevens the Florist South in Englewood.Her great-grandfather, Charles Stevens, first opened a florist shop in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and the family had wholesale greenhouses as the business flowered. But COVID-19 and new state rules have forced closure of her Englewood shop at 3455 S. Access Road. She delivers or takes orders off the web or from regulars that include Keith Rowley of Rowley Insurance in Englewood. On Wednesday he had purchased flower arrangements for his staff, all isolating at home to show support.“Just trying to help others and keep our town strong,” Rowley said.Pushed on what may happen to her shop, Stevens choked back tears.“We’re taking every precaution,” she adds of keeping everyone safe through COVID-19’s run.But not just florists are suffering through COVID-19, of course. For the public’s safety, retail, bar and restaurant owners deemed non-essential are being told to close their shops or limit their services to take-out or delivery. The American economy is being devastated, losing billions in sales and value in March alone.Aside from the loss of life and millions of laid-off workers, COVID-19’s impact on business is unprecedented.But even as U.S. flower sales wilt as supermarkets and web services elbow into the trade, independent florists still account for $7 billion in annual sales. There are more than 32,000 related businesses employing 75,000 or so workers.It’s estimated that Americans alone will purchase 110 million roses in a normal year, three-quarters of them by men. Wholesale fresh-cut flowers and plants account for billions more in revenue.And while hurricanes and other natural events damage florists, COVID-19 is especially hurtful, as it closes off weeks of sales and the places to which flowers, arrangements and things related to the business go.At the 1-800-Flowers in Port Charlotte shop, for instance, March 2019 sales blossomed. Should COVID-19 keep its pace and the country remain tucked away in isolation, however, this season could be devastating, said Vanessa Carusone, the shop’s manager and a North Port city commissioner.“Probably looking at one-third of last year,” she said of 2020’s predicted sales for March and April, should trends continue. “The odds are stacked against us.”Easter and Mother’s Day, she added “are our bread and butter.”COVID-19 has also changed delivery rules... https://www.yoursun.com/northport/news/florists-wilt-under-covid-19s-impact-losing-easter-and-mothers-day-would-be-devastating/article_2e88771e-75de-11ea-a009-0b875913d327.html
Fitchburg’s Cauley’s Florist and Garden Center is partnering with Operation Service to provide free trees to vets - Sentinel & Enterprise
Wednesday, December 02, 2020Spot, and with the addition of Cauley’s we hope to take some pressure of the Leominster location,” Firmani said.Firmani said they provided an additional 100 trees last year with the support of the Massachusetts VFW Foundation and the Boston Bruins Foundation.“We delivered those trees to Fort Devens for families that could not make it out this way,” he said.Firmani said the pandemic was part of the inspiration behind adding another Trees for Soldiers location.“With COVID-19 affecting all of our day to day decisions the timing to reach out and add a new site seemed right,” he said. “We wanted provide people with another option to promote social distancing and still continue the growth of the program.”Firmani said Cauley’s is an ideal location because it already has the infrastructure in place to handle the additional trees inventory and it has a similar set up to The Gardner’s Spot.“Not only can U.S. service men and women go and get their tree at no charge as a thank you from Operation Service and their community for their service and sacrifice, but they can also shop for flowers, wreaths, garland, all in one place,” he said.Cauley’s does have ties to the military. Bob Cauley opened the first greenhouse in 1966 on Lancaster Street in Leominster after he retired from the Army. He was stationed at Fort Devens. His son Bill Cauley purchased the business from his parents and built the current location in the early 1990s. Landry, Bill’s nephew and Bob’s grandson, has worked there since 2001. Francine Bergeron is the florist manager.Landry said they enjoy interacting with community members and various groups and organizations at the garden center.“Whether it’s people shopping for their home gardens, churches decorating for the holidays, schools doing fundraisers or the Friends of the Leominster Library doing their annual poinsettia sale, we are here to help in whatever ways we can,” Landry said. “That said, an annual event like Trees for Soldiers simply doesn’t happen without somebody like Joe and the folks at Operation Service doing the hard work and having a big idea. When somebody like Joe tells you that this program can become even bigger and better, and that he thinks you can help, it’s an absolute no-brainer – you want to get involved.”Landry said Cauley’s has remained busy throughout the pandemic, beginning in the spring with people “stuck at home” looking to start their first vegetable garden, decorate their new home office with plants, clean up their landscaping, “or simply just adding some colorful flowers to have a nicer staycation.”“Those trends have continued through the year and now that the holidays are here we are doing everything we can to provide our customers the seasonal products they come to us for, and help them have as happy and normal a holiday season as they can,” Landry said.Christmas trees arrived at both Cauley’s and The Gardner’s spot last week. Veterans and military mem... https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2020/12/02/fitchburgs-cauleys-florist-and-garden-center-is-partnering-with-operation-service-to-provide-free-trees-to-vets/
ROUNDUP: JP Parker Flowers vacates Indy store, adds retail truck - Indianapolis Business Journal
Wednesday, October 28, 2020Parker said. “It’s a very fun, trendy thing to do right now.”In other news this week:— Fast-casual seafood chain Slapfish opens Monday at 345 Massachusetts Ave. The restaurant takes the space formerly occupied by Louie’s Wine Dive, which closed in March.Franchisees are long-time friends Mark 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
Massachusetts relaxes rules on florists, car dealers, other businesses - SouthCoastToday.com
Friday, May 29, 2020Massachusetts relaxes rules on florists, car dealers, other businesses SouthCoastToday.comCoronavirus restrictions on Massachusetts florists, retail ease ahead of Mother's Day Boston HeraldFlowers for Mom: Baker loosens retail restrictions prior to May 18 Boston Business JournalFlorists allowed to fulfill orders ahead of Mother’s Day in Massachusetts — with some restrictions MassLive.comBaker Eases Tight Restrictions on Floral Shops, Garden Businesses Ahead of Mother’s Day nbcboston.comView Full Coverage on Google News... https://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20200505/massachusetts-relaxes-rules-on-florists-car-dealers-other-businesses