Alma, NE Florists

Alma Flower Shop News

After 125 years, Manatee company delivering fresh flowers differently - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

If the flower you're looking for isn't at the main office ready to be shipped out to a retailer near you, it's probably at their 30-acre greenhouse facility, which sits on 300 acres of land near Palma Sola Bay. It's at 11703 40th Ave W, Bradenton, just off Cortez Road before the bridge to Anna Maria Island.The greenhouses are a wonderland of blossoms. Turn one way and you might find yourself hedged in by rows of tulips. Stumble backward and you could suddenly be staring into a purple sea of peonies and bougainvillea.The company ships to a variety of retail chains and independent garden centers. You can find Manatee Farms products at more than 150 retail florists throughout Florida, 50-plus independent garden centers from Naples to Central Florida, and at supermarkets, such as Albertson’s and Safeway, as well as wholesalers and brokers nationwide.Flowers and feelingsThough the business depends on executing the logistics of delivering fresh products, Preston is equally comfortable talking about the value of what Manatee Fruit Co. brings to its customers.“Flowers are a business of feelings," he said. "There’s a saying that flowers are the language of love, and they really are. When you think about the unspoken word, the word you can never really say, you can say that with flowers.“Flowers fulfill that moment when no one really knows what to say, and we’ll always need that.”That's the message of the company's latest transformation.Hurricane Irma slowed the rollout of the company's re-branding effort last year, damaging several buildings, including greenhouses and a packing house that was built in 1926. But by April the new Manatee Farms brand was fully formed and public with a new look, feel and focus as well as  name.Cortez Floral and Manatee Floral, two companies under the umbrella company Manatee Fruit Co., were consolidated.Beyond fresh, sustainably grownManatee Farms now is offering “choices that matter” to consumers that care about how the products they buy are produced. The goal is to attract, engage and inform consumers and to be as transparent as possible about where and how their flowers are produced.Robert McLaughlin, chief sustainability and marketing officer for Manatee Farms, has largely spearheaded the re-branding.“This is the decade of responsible choices, and that resonates with consumers,” McLaughlin said. “We focus on eco-friendly flowers and plants, ensuring that they are certified so that we can ensure that every flower is held to certain standards.”According to Manatee Farms, its eco-friendly flowers also are good for the people who work on the farms that grow them and means that “every purchase helps improve the lives of farmworkers by providing fair wages, health care benefits, education programs and employment of women.”The company requires that farms they work with have sustainability certifications, such as USDA Organic, Rainforest Alliance or Fresh from Florida. According to the company, certified farms employ 60 percent women and are far more likely to offer higher wages and produce higher standards of living for their workers.Many of these farms also use integrated pest management as opposed to heavy pesticides, meaning that more common-sense, long-term practices are used to achieve the same results. Examples are vacuuming pests out of plants and using organisms like spiders to eat harmful pests, such as thrips, which puncture and damage plants.Getting the word outIn an effort to create a more direct link between customers and its product, the company is placing interactive digital kiosks in some stores that can help educate consumers about where their flowers come from.“We want to create a source for the consumers so that we’re reaching out in different ways and allowing access to all this information right in the retailer,” McLaughlin said.The ultimate goal is to attract customers, engage them, inform them and send them to the retailers that carry the Manatee Farms brand.Fo... https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20180611/after-125-years-manatee-company-delivering-fresh-flowers-differently

10 Florists Delivering Vibrant Bouquets for Mother’s Day - The New York Times

May 10. (It’s best to order by Tuesday.)An arrangement of anthurium and painted plumosa by Calma, in one of the studio’s Blob vases.Credit...Emma FishmanA pairing of faux palm fronds and faux yellow oncidium.Credit...Elizabeth JaimeCalma, MiamiThe florist Elizabeth Jaime, of the Miami studio Calma, specializes in tropical, Art Deco-inspired arrangements made with statuesque flowers that often have an artificial look: shiny anthuriums, birds of paradise and dried fan palms. But recent changes in flower availability have prompted her to experiment with softer, more romantic compositions with a focus on striking palettes. For Mother’s Day, she will choose blooms in shades of bright pink and yellow, a scheme inspired “by the start of spring,” she says, “and also brighter times.” In order to support other small businesses affected by the coronavirus, she has partnered with the local spa Sana on a wellness gift bundle, in which one of her bouquets will be accompanied by rose-hip body oil and a dry brush kit, as well as the pizzeria Stanzione 87 on a set that includes a bottle of rosé and a spice-infused olive oil. Bouquets from $75.An assortment of specialty orchids, arranged by Fox Fodder Farm.Credit...Nicole FranzenA bouquet of seasonal spring blooms including daffodils, hyacinths and scented geraniums.Credit...Nicole FranzenFox Fodder Farm, New York, N.Y.In March, as businesses in New York began to close, Taylor Patterson, the founder of the Brooklyn-based floral design studio Fox Fodder Farm, which specializes in textural, naturalistic compositions of mostly locally sourced blooms, was sent a photo of one of her arrang... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/t-magazine/mothers-day-flowers-delivery.html

5 Best Florists in San Jose?? - Kev's Best

I definitely recommend this florist.” – Emily MajorBloomster’sBloomster’s. Source: Screenshot from www.bloomsters.comBloomster’s is a flower shop located in Almaden Expressway, San Jose. The shop’s founder and lead flower designer Kren Rasmussen has been assisting his father with a landscaping business ever since he grew up. That is why he truly has got what ti takes in generating beautiful flower arrangements. He also worked and assist with professional florists before he finally decides to build his flower shop.The Bloomster’s flower shop started operating in 1987. Since then, they have built their own reputation when it comes to offering elegant and sophisticated personalized floral arrangements and designs. They take pride in their supportive customers across local areas. The shop has more than 40 individuals employed.Products/Services:Flowers, Wedding & Events, Corporate, Residential & Holiday ServicesLOCATION:Address: 5945 Almaden Expy #170, San Jose, CA 95120Phone: (408) 268-5518Website: www.bloomsters.comREVIEWS:“Great flower arrangements with amazing customer service! I am an event planner in Dina’s Deluxe Events and I ordered 10+ flower arrangements for our client. We were very satisfied with the customer service and the product! The flower arrangements were lush, generous and gorgeous with an exquisite taste! I recommend it!” – Dina McMahonRosies & Posies Downtown Floristimg class="wp-image-9979 size-full" src="https://kevsbest.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/depth-of-field-photography-of-sunflower-bouquet-1180372.jpg" alt="Source: Pexels" width="640" height="426" srcset="https://kevsbest.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/depth-of-field-photography-of-sunflower-bouquet-1180372.jpg 640w, https://kevsbest.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/depth-of-field-photography-of-sunflower-bouquet-1180372-300x200.jpg 300w, https://kevsbest.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/depth-of-field-p... https://kevsbest.com/best-florists-in-san-jose/

'Nonessential' businesses close due to coronavirus - Los Angeles Times

Advertisement One prominent store operator forced to close his Los Angeles shops said he was incensed that big retailers deemed essential such as Costco, Walmart and Target now have the market to themselves to sell nonessential items such as toys, towels and holiday knickknacks that people might otherwise buy at small businesses.“This really bothers me,” said Fraser Ross, owner of two Kitson stores on Robertson Boulevard, who fears, for example, being stuck with surplus Easter stock after he resumes business. His competitors shouldn’t get to sell theirs right now either, he said.“Is that Easter section at Costco getting closed off?” Ross asked rhetorically. “They shouldn’t be able to ring anything unless it’s essential.”Matt Monroe sat inside Turn Zero Games on Friday with the lights off as he waited for a UPS truck to deliver off a shipment to the store he’s owned for seven years.The 38-year-old and his five-member staff had already taken precautions, such as limiting the number of people coming into the Koreatown shop. On any given night before the pandemic, the store would host 20 to 50 people to play card tournaments and shop for new items. With the sudden lack of foot traffic and a website devoted mainly to in-store pickups, Monroe has sent emails to his landlord and distributors asking if he could defer payments for the next 30 days.“We just all have to be smart and take it one day at a time and try not to panic or do anything rash,” he said. “We’re doing all we can right now, but we really can’t do a ton.” Creative digital marketing agency Social House has been offering free consulting sessions to businesses suddenly forced to become social media experts. Chief Executive Norel Mancuso said the Los Angeles firm has fielded calls from 35 businesses, including restaurant groups, hair salons and shoe stores. Advertisement One of the ideas her company came up with was for a sunglasses brand: hourlong online DJ sessions for customers.“In a time like this it’s important to offer customers a form of entertainment, a form of escape, some fun,” Mancuso said.Knowrealitypie in Los Angeles has shut down its pie shop but is letting customers preorder pies for curbside pickup. Owner Tracy Ann also is pushing her “pie club” through her website and social media, which lets customers buy multiple pies at a discount for a future date.“So we have 60 personal pies that people have ordered” for weekend pickup, Ann said.“We are masked and gloved and when people come to our shop they will text or call and we will walk the pies out. They are not to get out of the car,” she said. “So, that’s how we are handling it. We are going to see how that goes.” Times staff writers Emmanuel Morgan and Roger Vincent contributed to this story. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-03-20/coronavirus-nonessential-business-closures

Feed the soul: In chaotic times, gardening becomes therapy - Sentinel & Enterprise

As long as they stay on their side of the fence.”As the weather warms, garden shops are bustling as other businesses shut during the outbreak.At the Almaden Valley Nursery in San Jose, California, rose expert John Harp has seen a mix of new gardeners and regulars. Customers can’t come into the shop, so their online orders are brought to their vehicles in the parking lot.“Around town everyone is gardening right now,” Harp said. “They’re looking to be a little bit more self-sufficient.”This home-grown attitude goes back to World War II, when millions of people cultivated victory gardens to protect against potential food shortages while boosting patriotism and morale.Hollie Niblett, who lives near Kansas City, Kansas, hopes the victory gardens come back. Niblett, who has a degree in horticultural therapy, tends to a kitchen garden near her backdoor, perennial flowers, flowering trees and shrubs, and upper and lower grassy yards connected by a path through an area left in its natural condition.“There are so many things about it that feed my soul,” she said. “Right now, more than anything, my garden gives me hope, gives me purpose and provides a sense of connection to something bigger than myself.”For beginners, wonderment awaits. Just south of Atlanta, 10-year-old Ezra Gandy’s love for playing baseball has been paused. He and his grandmother, Melanie Nunnally, recently started an outdoor garden, planting strawberries, cabbage, broccoli, kale and asparagus.“I like digging in the dirt because I like to see all the bugs and stuff that’s in the ground,” he said.The nonprofit group KidsGardening.org suggests that children grow their own salads or do other activities.The virus scare could even usher in a new crop of gardeners who start from seed rather than risk the crowds buying starter plants.Kendra Schilling of Scott Depot, West Virginia, doesn’t have space for a sprawling garden, so she’s planting potatoes in a bucket and trying to figure out with her teenage daughter what to do with other vegetable seeds.“I usually go buy the plants and stick them in the dirt. But this year we’re going to try to do the seeds,” she says. “Thank God for YouTube.”___Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report. https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2020/03/31/feed-the-soul-in-chaotic-times-gardening-becomes-therapy/

Society of American Florists Past President Mel Schwanke Dies at 92 - Greenhouse Grower

Florists and a recipient of the SAF Floriculture Hall of Fame Honor, passed away at his home in Fremont, NE, on Dec. 17, 2018, at the age of 92.Schwanke served as the executive director of the Nebraska Florist Society for more than 50 years and was also the Executive Director of NeMoKan — the Nebraska Missouri and Kansas Florist Association Convention, held annually for many years. He served on numerous committees, including the Retail Florists Council for SAF, and helped to create the American Floral Endowment for research and education in the flower industry.AdvertisementMel and Joey, his surviving wife of 70 years, were known throughout the floral industry for many years for their passion and dedication. They were also known as the famous matching couple, having dressed in coordinating outfits at industry events and everyday in Joey’s family business, Greens Greenhouses Inc.Schwanke served as a Marine in World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart for his service. He is survived by his wife Joey, and children Jo Heinz, Cindy McKown, and J Schwanke, along with four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Ludvigsens Funeral Home in Fremont, NE, is in charge of the services. Visitation will be Thursday Dec. 20.Brian Sparks is senior editor of Green... https://www.greenhousegrower.com/management/saf-past-president-mel-schwanke-dies-at-92/

Citizen of the Year: Catlins fantastic florist - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

J.C. Penney in Danville, where she met her husband, Tim, then a manager trainee.She and Tim married in May 1987. That October, Tim's job with the department store took them to Iowa and then Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming and Minnesota. In Nebraska, Welsh — who continued to work as a florist out west — directed community theater, served on the Miss Nebraska Pageant board of directors and directed the pageant for three years. In Wyoming, she was involved with the Cheyenne Frontier Days, billed as the world's largest outdoor rodeo and western celebration.In 2004, the couple and their young son, Tanner, moved back to Catlin to be near family. A couple of years later, Welsh opened Floral-n-Flair, a flower shop and event-planning business, in the same downtown building she started out in. She and business partner Kay Smoot also own and operate a gift boutique called Pauline's Attic.Welsh was working one evening when Stutsman popped in."Who got it, and how are we going to decorate?" she asked, thinking he'd stopped by to discuss the Citizen of the Year banquet at the Methodist Church, which she decorates.She was floored by his answer."It still hasn't sunk in," she said, the day before the banquet.While honored, Welsh was quick to acknowledge her "crew," including local high school students and residents who help her set up for community events, weddings and parties — and family. Tanner, who turns 21 this month, has autism, and Tim is his full-time caregiver and still finds time to help out at work."I wouldn't be able to do any of this without him," she said."It's always been a team effort," she continued, adding she learned that from her dad who helped out in many ways at the shop and home before he passed away a couple of years ago.Welsh recalled sitting at the family table years ago after her brother became a 1,000-yard rusher on his high school football team."My dad pointed to his picture on the front of the sports page and said, 'He wouldn't have done that without his line that blocked for him.' I've always remembered that. You can't do it alone. You have to surround yourself with good people and work as a team."... http://www.news-gazette.com/noelle-mcgee/2018-11-01/citizen-the-year-catlins-fantastic-florist.html

Four Floral Businesses To Receive The Century Award In Palm Springs

The 2018 Century Award honorees are: City Line Florist in Trumbull, Connecticut; Gould's Flowers in Lockport, New York; Janousek Florist & Greenhouse, Inc. in Omaha, Nebraska; and Lake Forest Flowers in Lake Forest, Illinois. "Each year when we gather at the SAF convention, we interact with business owners who have determination, vision and grit," said SAF Awards Committee Chairman Marvin Miller, Ph.D., AAF, of the Ball Horticultural Company in West Chicago, Illinois. "But to sustain that for 100 years or more is truly an impressive feat." City Line Florist Trumbull, Connecticut City Line Florist has been owned and operated by the Roehrich/Palazzo family since 1918. When Charles Roehrich returned home from World War I, he already had a family history in the floral industry; his grandfather had grown plants in greenhouses in Stratford, Connecticut, in the late 1800s. Charles borrowed a horse and wagon and sold flowering plants and cut flowers at the entrance of St. Michaels cemetery in Stratford, eventually opening up a storefront in Bridgeport, which sat on the city line of Stratford, leading to the name, City Line Florist. In 1975, Charles' son Bob and his grandchildren, Susan and Carl, decided to move to a new location in Trumbull, where they turned an old horse barn into a charming new florist shop. Bob received the Connecticut Florist of the Year Award in 2005. City Line, located in a quaint New England town of 30,000 people,  has been voted "Best Florist in Fairfield County" for several consecutive years and won the 2018 Small Busi... http://www.perishablenews.com/index.php?article=0069973

Blooming business - Hays Daily News

When it comes to customer service, Sherfick is dedicated to going the extra mile — literally. She has traveled to meet with people all across Kansas and even Nebraska for consultations.“I tell them, ‘I’ll come to you. You have enough to deal with,’ and they love that and I don’t mind it at all,” Sherfick said.Rebekah Lee, Hays, found out the lengths Sherfick will go to for her clients. Lee originally had planned to put together the flowers for her October wedding herself, but decided to contact Sherfick three weeks before the wedding for last-minute help.“I found her through Facebook, actually, and she went above and beyond,” Lee said. “She met me two days after I messaged her to get an idea of what I wanted, and she met me three other times before the wedding. She’s amazing. She did it so quickly, and I loved them.”January is a slower month for the Unique Bouquet, but Sherfick is working on bouquets and boutonnieres with a combination of sunflowers and roses for Tiffany Antholz’s wedding that will be in Bird City on Feb. 3.“It’s been fantastic,” Antholz said of working with Sherfick. “She’s very personable. I was really nervous to begin with because I don’t like a lot of attention on myself, and she just makes it so nice. She’s just really down-to-earth and just wants to make you happy.”While Sherfick enjoys the design aspect of creating floral pieces, the real reward for her is the joy it brings to the brides.“When they see it and their eyes light up and they smile, it sometimes bring tears to my eyes because I’m so happy for them.”Those wanting to contact Sherfick can call or text her at (785) 743-8149, email her at theuniquebouquet@yahoo.com or through her website theuniquebouquet.com. http://www.hdnews.net/news/20180113/blooming-business