Caledonia, MI Florists

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The Gardeners Who Planted for US Presidents - Prescott eNews

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. William Saunders Reeves was the first American-born White House head gardener.) His grandfather, William Saunders, was the chief of experimental gardens for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and founder of the National Grange but is perhaps best remembered for introducing the navel orange. Reeves worked under both Roosevelt's, starting as a groundskeeper at the White House during... https://www.prescottenews.com/index.php/features/columnists/mountain-gardener/item/34856-the-gardeners-who-planted-for-u-s-presidents

Revealed: The First Flower, 140-million Years Old, Looked Like a Magnolia - Scientific American

Previous evidence pointed to different answers. On the one hand, one of the earliest diverging lineages of flowering plants, represented nowadays only by a rare shrub from the Pacific island of New Caledonia called Amborella, has flowers that are either male or female. On the other, most modern species combine both sexes in the same flower.The authors of the study settle the question and show that the ancestral flower was a hermaphrodite. This means that early flowering plants could reproduce both as a male and a female. Combined sexes can be advantageous when colonising new environments as a single individual can be its own mate, and indeed many plant species colonising remote oceanic islands tend to be hermaphrodite. Maybe the combination of sexes helped early flowering plants to outcompete their rivals.The devil’s in the detailDespite the apparent similarity with some modern flowers, their ultimate ancestor has a few surprises up its sleeve. For example, botanist have long thought that early flowers had floral parts arranged in a spiral around the centre of the flower as can be seen in modern species such as the star anise.The new reconstruction, though, strongly suggests that early flowers had their organs arranged not in a spiral, but in series of concentric circles or “whorls”, as in most modern plants. The early flower had more numerous whorls, however, suggesting flowers have become simpler over time. Paradoxically, this simpler architecture may have given modern plants a more stable base upon which to evolve and achieve more complex tasks such as sophisticated interaction with certain insects as in orchids, or the production of “flower heads” made of dozens or hundreds of simpler flowers as in the sunflower family.Although now we have a good idea of what one of the earliest flowers may have looked like, we still know little about how that flower came to be. The detailed steps leading to its evolution are unknown. Perhaps we will have to wait for the discovery of new fossil flowers spanning the gap around 250m-140m years ago, before we can understand the very origin of what is the most diverse sexual structure on the planet.This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Caledonia florist Mary Ann Schmitz is ready to retire after 65 years - La Crosse Tribune

CALEDONIA, Minn. – At age 87 and after more than six decades in business, Mary Ann Schmitz is finally ready to retire and sell Mary Ann’s Floral & Gift in downtown Caledonia to her great-niece.Schmitz is selling the business and building to Aimee Welscher as of Jan. 1. She will help Welscher until she retires April 2 – exactly 65 years after she and her late husband opened the shop.“Willie and I started the business on April 2, 1952,” said Schmitz, who was parade marshal for the local Founder’s Day Winter Wonderland parade earlier this month (on Dec. 2).Willie died in 1994.Mary Ann’s Floral was in two other Caledonia locations before the Schmitzes bought the house at 308 E. Main St. where the shop has been since 1955. It’s also the home where they raised their children, Ken, Steve, Bill and Debbie.Schmitz said she is retiring for health reasons, and expects to miss operating the floral and gift shop. She plans to continue enjoying playing cards.“I love it,” Schmitz said of being in... http://lacrossetribune.com/business/local/caledonia-florist-mary-ann-schmitz-is-ready-to-retire-after/article_8b06e1cf-2fa6-5dc1-832e-744d35eeb25c.html

Best Flower Shop: Julie's Personal Touch Flowers - Journal Times

First place: Julie's Personal Touch Flowers, 5445 Spring St., Mount Pleasant; and 4060 N. Main St., CaledoniaSecond place: Millers Flowers,  219 Sixth St, RacineThird place: Milaeger's, 4838 Douglas Ave., Racine; and 8717 Durand Ave., SturtevantSpring is in the air year-round at Julie's Personal Touch Flowers as flowers and vibrant colors fill the shop.Julie Mohrbacher opened the shop in her basement in 1971. Demand for her work grew quickly. She started doing funerals as well and opened a brick-and-mortar location in 1977.Years of experience and honest service is what Mohrbacher believes makes them the number one flower shop in Racine County.“Originally I only did weddings," Mohrbacher said. "Mothers started calling and thought of me as their florist so I expanded."Her two daughters, Melissa Mohrbacher and Jamie Doe, manage the stores with her — Jamie at the Spring Street location and Melissa at the Main Street location.The locations offer green plants, blooming plants, arrangements, and fresh flowers among its products."We get flowers from all over the world," Doe said. "We get flo... http://journaltimes.com/best-flower-shop-julie-s-personal-touch-flowers/article_f8a5c3ed-cf6b-5f20-8e82-36041e2806d0.html

Getting a green thumb — tips for beautiful plants - WOODTV.com

Harder and Warner gave us some tips.Tip #1 – pruningTip #2 – waterTip #3 – fertilizeHarder and Warner is located at 6464 Broadmoor AveCaledonia(616) 698-6910Share this:AdvertisementWOOD TV8 provides commenting to allow for constructive discussion on the stories we cover. In order to comment here, you acknowledge you have read and agreed to our Terms of Service. Commenters who violate these terms, including use of vulgar language or racial slurs, will be banned. Please be respectful of the opinions of others. If you see an inappropriate comment, please flag it for our moderators to review. http://woodtv.com/2015/07/23/getting-a-green-thumb-tips-for-beautiful-plants/

10 Northern Michigan Florists - MyNorth.com

February and whether yours is a newly budding relationship or a blossoming one, let your significant other know they’re special to you with a Valentine’s Day bouquet from a Northern Michigan florist.These 10 Northern Michigan florists (from Traverse City to Ludington!) are great to keep in mind for Valentine’s Day, but they also create arrangements year-round for weddings, funerals, anniversaries, parties and more!Beads and Blooms Florist78 N. Jebavy Dr. Ludington, MI 49431, 231.845.6537 or 231.425.4133A local florist that delivers on a personal level, “all flower arrangements are artistically arranged in a vase and hand-delivered to the recipient.” Flower’s From Sky’s the Limit413 Michigan St. Petoskey, MI 49770, 231.347.7770Pick out the perfect pair of posies (or whatever suits your fancy) online and choose from a wide variety of arrangements that can be delivered in Petoskey or nationwide. Flower Station341 W. Front St., Traverse City, MI 49684, 231.946.1742, toll free:Located a short walk from the heart of downtown Traverse City, the Flower Station is a family owned store that offers a selection of imported and locally grown fresh flowers.Hagstrom’s Flowers... https://mynorth.com/2015/01/10-northern-michigan-florists/

Plymouth flower shop closes after four decades as owner retires - Hometown Life

Museum, the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and volunteering with Angela Hospice with flowers."We're always trying to do for others," she said.Then earlier this year, the coronavirus pandemic hit Michigan, forcing her to close her doors temporarily. During that time, she looked ahead to what doing business in a world occupied by COVID-19 looked like. She said she did not want to operate like that and risk her health. So she's decided to retire."While we were closed, every day in the news was something different," she said. "I just said, 'I think that it's time.'"'I'm going to miss the customers'Ribar, who still lives down the street from the floral shop, said she was sad to hear the shop still bearing her name would close, but understood why Morrison would decide to do it.She said meeting Morrison decades ago was an important point in her professional life."It would've been a monumental task (to stay open). She's a hard worker, always has been," Ribar said of Morrison. "She does anything you need to do and happy to do it. We did a good thing when we met Lori."Morrison planned to be out of the space by the end of the month. While Morrison said she's looking forward to spending time with family and friends or traveling near Christmas instead of working, she said she will miss the loyal customers that came in all the time looking for that personal touch in flowers. She said she hasn't ruled out helping out in other flower shops in the future; she said she's already had some people inquire if she wants to help during a busier season in the future."I'm going to miss the customers," she said. "I'm certainly not going to miss the long hours or smelling like sap. "I am going to miss the people I see every Christmas."... https://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/plymouth/2020/06/25/plymouth-floral-shop-closes/5306585002/

Welcome Mat: Ferndale florist hits the road with mobile flower cart - The Detroit News

One way to help butterflies is to plant native plants, such as milkweed for monarch butterflies. Ten milkweed species are native to Michigan – the most widespread of which are common milkweed, butterfly milkweed and swamp milkweed. If you'd like to plant milkweed in your own yard, Barson's Greenhouse, 6414 Merrimen in Westland, carries milkweed. To learn more about pollinators, click here. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/life/2020/07/02/mobile-flower-cart-ferndale/5351054002/

For Livingston County nurseries closed over the coronavirus: 'May is make it or break it' - Livingston Daily

Her hanging flower baskets and flats of flowers are beginning to bloom as April nears its halfway point. However, like other nurseries and retail garden centers in Michigan, Morehouse's business, Tulip Tree Gardens, is not going to open for the season on time.The delay is due to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay home order, which she recently extended until April 30 with tighter restrictions. "If Gov. Whitmer keeps everything closed past May 1, she'll kill agriculture," Morehouse said. "Half of what I've prepared to sell would be sold by Mother's Day."She said she believes any more extensions of the stay home order would bankrupt nurseries like hers. MORE: New map shows where COVID-19 cases are in countyMORE: Former judge David Reader to run for county prosecutorMORE: No Livingston County residents charged with order violationsBefore the spread of COVID-19 in the state, Morehouse was planning to open Saturday. She said the season ends for her in July, but most of her business is done in May and June. She said she is worried she will have to toss plants she's been growing and tending for months. The financial loss in equipment and investment in plants could be at least $45,000, not accounting for lost sales. She continues watering her plants every day, hopin... https://www.livingstondaily.com/story/news/local/community/livingston-county/2020/04/17/livingston-flower-nurseries-limbo-may-make-break-it-garden-centers/2986553001/