Athol, MA Florists

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Pescadero flower farms threatened by church closures - Catholic San Francisco

Lucy Michel, the florist who designs the flower arrangements for St. Mary´s Cathedral in San Francisco and St. Charles Borromeo parish, agreed that Catholic churches and events require a lot of flowers.During the quarantine, Michel’s business wcompletely stopped. She had contracts to do the floral decorations for six weddings during the spring and summer of 2020 but were canceled. The clients moved the weddings for the next year.Michel’s business has started operating again in the last two months, but at a slow pace.Currently, it is selling flowers mainly for funerals, although not as much as before the pandemic, due to the limitations in funeral services.Many of the flowers Michel uses for decorations come from the farms in Half Moon Bay and from Pescadero to the flower market in San Francisco, where most of the workers are Hispanic as Susano Ledezma.Since Ledezma came from Guadalajara, México, 25 years ago he has worked in the San Francisco Flower Market.The last 16 years he worked in one of the largest florists there. When the shelter-in-place started, Ledezma and his co-workers lost their jobs.The San Francisco Flower Market has opened and some of Ledezma’s co-workers have been rehired, but he hasn’t yet.Since the middle of March when he lost his job, he and his wife Catalina Rocha have not had health insurance and both are suffering stress and depression.Ledezma is concerned because unemployment benefits were reduced to 50 percent in September and he does not know how he will pay the rent of $1,800 for his apartment in South San Francisco.“I can still work,” he said.When Ledezma worked in the San Francisco Flower Market, he had clients from many churches. “They were good customers. They bought many flowers in May for first communions and in June for weddings and quinceañeras. There was a lot of business“, he said.Rita Mancera, deputy executive director of the nonprofit organization Puente that helps the communities of Pescadero, La Honda, Loma Mar and San Gregorio, said that the farms most affected are those that produce flowers only.The other farms that grow vegetables and flowers kept producing during the shelter-in-place. She thinks the biggest hit on all agricultural activity in the cost was the fires of August.Puente has allocated resources to temporarily cover the wages of farm workers who have not been able to work due to the fires and who do not have unemployment insurance, Mancera said. ... https://catholic-sf.org/news/pescadero-flower-farms-threatened-by-church-closures

Ham Lake couple trust God as they grow family flower farm business - The Catholic Spirit

Kristen, left, and Jonah with their three children: Chiara, left, John Paul and Lilly." data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/thecatholicspirit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Flower-farmers-3.jpg?fit=300%2C202&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i1.wp.com/thecatholicspirit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Flower-farmers-3.jpg?fit=550%2C370&ssl=1" class="size-full wp-image-92650" src="https://i1.wp.com/thecatholicspirit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Flower-farmers-3.jpg?resize=550%2C370" alt width="550" height="370" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/thecatholicspirit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Flower-farmers-3.jpg?w=550&ssl=1 550w, https://i1.wp.com/thecatholicspirit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Flower-farmers-3.jpg?resize=300%2C202&ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" data-recalc-dims="1" Kristen, left, and Jonah with their three children: Chiara, left, John Paul and Lilly. DAVE HRBACEK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT“There are some Black-eyed Susans over here that I love,” Kristen Carlstrom said as she walked toward rows of yellow-petaled flowers with their signature chocolate-colored center. She cr... https://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/ham-lake-couple-trust-god-as-they-grow-family-flower-farm-business/

Philadelphia case shouldn't stop Supreme Court from taking floral artist case | TheHill - The Hill

Supreme Court’s recent decision to hear Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. That case gives the court the opportunity to affirm the commonsense right of religious nonprofits, like Catholic Social Services, to act in accordance with their religious beliefs when placing children in foster homes. In a country founded on principles of religious freedom, Catholic Social Services should be headed for a decisive win.But when it comes to protecting religious liberty, the Supreme Court shouldn’t stop at Fulton. The time has come to take up the case of a Washington florist who has been persecuted by the state because she refused to use her expressive and artistic talents to create a message supporting a same-sex wedding that contravenes her sincere religious beliefs.Why all the drama about Catholic foster services and religious florists? It goes back to a promise the Supreme Court made in the landmark 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. That case famously found in the Constitution a right to same-sex marriage. But what’s often overlooked is the court’s insistence in that decision that people of faith who disagree with same-sex marriage could live by their faith without interference.ADVERTISEMENTBarr... https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/486124-philadelphia-case-shouldnt-stop-supreme-court-from-taking-floral-artist

The Gardeners Who Planted for US Presidents - Prescott eNews

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 Cleveland's wedding in 1886 and was hired as a foreman gardener at the White House, and grew to the propagating gardens and city parks. Henlock was the White House head gardener in 1909, where he was responsible for the first shipment of cherry trees sent from Japan as well as the successful plantings around the Tidal Basin.William Saunders Reeves (Served 1931–1945, under Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. https://www.prescottenews.com/index.php/features/columnists/mountain-gardener/item/34856-the-gardeners-who-planted-for-u-s-presidents

Funeral Is Monday For Ooltewah Man Who Was Killed In His Front Yard - The Chattanoogan

The family will receive friends on Sunday from 4-8 p.m. at the East Brainerd Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home. A funeral mass will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at St. Stephen Catholic Church, 7111 Lee Highway, with Father Christopher Manning officiating.   A reception will follow. Interment will follow at 2:30 p.m. at Chattanooga National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org. Arrangements are by the East Brainerd Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, 8214 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421. ... https://www.chattanoogan.com/2020/1/10/402247/Funeral-Is-Monday-For-Ooltewah-Man-Who.aspx

Fitchburg’s Cauley’s Florist and Garden Center is partnering with Operation Service to provide free trees to vets - Sentinel & Enterprise

Spot, 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

Parker 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

On Mother’s Day, Mass. Florists Struggle to Meet Demand - nbcboston.com

Florists in Massachusetts struggled to meet the demand for flowers this weekend as families observed Mother's Day, Sunday. Many florists stopped taking orders for Mother’s Day after selling out. Central Square Florist in Cambridge was one of the few still taking orders and delivering.Herbert Berg Florist in Worcester said demand was too high because they are short staffed and have a limited supply. "When we all closed up the beginning of March and April, nobody was buying flowers so the suppliers had nowhere to sell them to," said Sally Jablonski, owner of Herbert Berg Florist. "They were just dumping all the flowers."Gov. Charlie Baker allowed florists and some other non-essential businesses to open — on a remote basis — in time for Mother’s Day, but some business owners said it wasn’t enough time to prepare.Some businesses, however, got creative to make the day special. Monument Restaurant in Charlestown partnered with a local florist, Junebug, to create dozens of pre-ordered breakfas... https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/businesses-adjust-to-mothers-day-during-pandemic/2121803/

Winston Flowers is closing three retail florist shops - The Boston Globe

Boston Design Studio and Winston Flowers & Garden center in Chestnut Hill.“While we are downsizing our portfolio of retail stores throughout Massachusetts, this is definitely not goodbye,” the owners wrote. “While it saddens us that we will not be a daily presence in your community, we hope to remain a constant presence in your lives.”Janelle Nanos can be reached at janelle.nanos@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @janellenanos. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/28/business/winston-flowers-is-closing-three-retail-florist-shops/