Belen, NM Florists

Belen Flower Shop News

Florists' credit union finds niche - Albuquerque Journal

Like Florist FCU, which is based in a small home in Roswell, Belen Railway Employees Credit Union was founded to serve a core group of employees, in this case, employees of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Ditto for Colfax School Employees Credit Union in Raton — the smallest of them all — with just 170 members and $300,000 in assets. The “office” is located in a filing cabinet behind CEO Carolyn Hestand’s desk at Raton High School, where she is also works as the district’s special education secretary.Without credit unions like Colfax, a lot of working people in the state’s smaller communities would not have access to credit or financial services, said Hestand. Many members are retirees.“They like the way we do business,” said Hestand of loans for cars, horse trailers and vacations.Florist FCU has $8 million in assets, said Kenn Bell, president of the credit union, the only one chartered in the U.S. to serve the floral industry. “What makes us unique as a small credit union is we know more members by name, their stories, their challenges,” said Bell, whose three-person staff wears a lot of hats. “I know over half our members and can recognize their voices (on the phone),” he said.Members tend to be low- to middle-income earners, Bell said. They are designers and drivers, often single parents or the sole bread winner in their families. “As such, many often don’t have great credit scores, so we have had to change up our model for lending,” said Bell.Services important to members are remote deposit capture, mobile banking and access to an ATM service through the Illinois Credit Union League because it’s very focused on serving the needs of small credit unions.“We have a very robust ACA (Automated Clearing House) program with another vendor,” said Bell. “We are an $8 million credit union, but we send and receive about $16 million in transfers each year,” said Bell.Started in 1955, Belen Railway Credit Union has outgrown the living room of one of its founders and several other locations to serve its 2,000 members, which include railroaders and their families as well as vendors serving the industry.Automated banking is very important to railroaders, since many are out of tow... http://www.abqjournal.com/827449/florists-credit-union-finds-niche.html

'Garden on Mars' replaces blight with flowers, vegetables - The New Orleans Advocate

I sold my first bouquet 35 years ago to a restaurant in Detroit. Flowers have always been my first love. That’s how I met Ian,” Bell said, referring to chef Ian Schnoebelen, of Bywater’s Mariza. “I was selling roses at the Crescent City Farmer’s Market one Saturday morning when he stopped by my table and bought a few. I tucked my business card in with his order, and that is how it got started.” Schnoebelen was intrigued by Bell and her Baronne Street garden, as well as her knowledge of growing herbs and vegetables. Over time, Bell began growing what Schnoebelen told her he needed for his restaurant, and their friendship developed into a business relationship. One of two lots on Charbonnet Street in the Lower 9th Ward is devoted to growing basil, thyme, parsley, sage, fennel, greens and other edibles Schnoebelen buys for his restaurant. “If you think about the difference between really fresh greens grown within a couple of miles of where they’re consumed and something that was harvested weeks ago and shipped hundreds of miles, you can see why a chef would want the local product,” Bell said. The other Charbonnet Street lot, closer to Florida Avenue, is where the flowers grow that Bell and Zimmer turn into bouquets. A downtown apartment complex is a weekly subscriber, but Garden on Mars also grows exotic flowers, like Gloriosa lilies, to sell to florists. Both the flowers and the edibles are grown in raised beds — about 4 feet wide, 8 feet long and 2 feet deep — framed by wide, cedar boards. Sonnet snapdragons in yellow, magenta, white and pink fill the beds of the flower garden, but tubs filled with freesia and gladioli (yet to bloom) circle the lot. “One thing we talk about in the gardening classes is containers for growing food and flowers. You don’t have to a big bed to grow enough food to reduce your grocery costs or enough flowers to sell for extra income. We’re growing the freesia and the gladioli in big plastic tubs that we get from Bayou Tree after they plant whatever was in them.” Bell said. “We made 28 old tires left over from the lot cleanup into planters by painting them and filling with a growing medium. You can even grow in a grocery store crate or box, as long as you use the right soil.” For Bell, that means bags of top soil (brand name “Gardenese”) processed by Phillips Bark in Brookhaven, Mississippi. At $1.69 per bag, Bell considers it a bargain. “I’ve been to their facility, and I can vouch for the product,” she said. “It’s really affordable and you can get it at the big box stores.” Although many of the flowers and other plants grown by Garden on Mars begin with seeds, others start with plugs purchased from Sunrise Trading Company, a large wholesale greenhouse in Kenner. “Sunrise starts the plugs. We buy them from Sunrise and grow them until they are big enough. Then when we harvest them, we sell the flowers to a florist or make bouquets to s... http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/features/15210096-55/garden-on-mars-replaces-blight-with-flowers-vegetables

New Mexico organ donor honored in Rose Bowl parade - KRQE News 13

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Millions will watch the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day, and a Belen man will be recognized for a decision he made at the Motor Vehicles Division. Jonathan Madrid died in August, but his life lives on through others. He was a young organ donor, and he leaves behind a lasting legacy.In California, Joe De La Riva and Monica Ramirez, volunteers with Donate Life, worked hard on a floral portrait of Jonathan Madrid of Belen.Monica Ramirez said, “I want to tell the families thank you, thank you for sharing Jonathan with me, thank you for making a decision to make that decision to donate first of all.”The floragraph of Jonathan is one of 60 memorial floragraphs that will go on the Donate Life float in the 127th Rose Parade in Pasadena.“It’s a pleasure and an honor, honestly, again to do this for the family. They’ve gone through so much, and just a little token of saying, thank you, for everything they’ve given,” said Joe De La Riva.The floragraph was shipped from California to Albuquerque, and Thursday in a moving ceremony, Jonathan’s parents put the fin... http://krqe.com/2015/12/04/new-mexico-organ-donor-honored-in-rose-bowl-parade/

Flower shop brightens day for first responders - KPIC News

ER as a nurse. I figured she could use a little pick-me-up today."While this flower shop is handing out roses, another shop has been getting hundreds of dollars in donations. "Casa de Belen had an event scheduled for the following weekend and they had to cancel the event due to all the things that have happened,” said Barbara Hagedorn of Barb’s Flowers in Roseburg. “So they called me and said ‘Barb, since you were going to do the flowers, how about you donate the flowers to the families.’"... http://www.kpic.com/news/local/Flower-shop-brightens-day-for-first-responders-331497151.html

Flowers: Make a joyful arrangement - San Francisco Chronicle

Eden should be. Getting her start in 2006 with big restaurant accounts like Range, Nopa, Zuni Cafe and Bar Tartine, the New Mexico native took cues from her clients’ similar culinary ethos. “They valued really fresh, local produce, and that really influenced my arrangements, which weren’t necessarily about design but rather about showcasing the beautiful material in a natural way,” Northway says. She likens her work to a wild garden or “rebellious ikebana,” a seemingly untamed modern-day spin on the ancient and ceremonial Japanese art of flower arranging. Professional influences notwithstanding, the root, so to speak, of her calling can be traced back to her family’s robust garden of flowers and edible plants in the high desert, where she first witnessed the power of a bloom. “I love the way people are so drawn to flowers,” Northway says. “They are the purest subjects of our admiration.” Here, the Duboce Triangle resident (her floral studio is also in the neighborhood; you might see her gray flower truck, an ol... https://www.sfchronicle.com/culture/article/Flowers-Make-a-joyful-arrangement-15270753.php

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

It gives something for my hands to do. It gives you a separate problem to think about than whatever else is going on. It gets you off of social media.”Waldrop and her husband moved last summer from New Mexico, where she didn’t have much luck gardening in a scorching climate. At her new home, she got rid of the lawn, installed an irrigation system, and recently planted dozens of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and other vegetables.Over the years, Waldrop converted her skeptical husband, who initially wondered why digging in the dirt and moving things around was considered fun.After tasting his first home-grown tomatoes, he was converted.Families, too, are discovering that gardening gives cooped-up kids something to do, builds their self-esteem and brings variety to what has suddenly become a lot of time spent together.In Miami, Annika Bolanos isn’t a fan of the south Florida heat and mosquitoes. But going outdoors lately has been a lifeline.Bolanos works at home making cakes and doing bookkeeping with her husband’s golf cart business. Her three young children add an extra layer of busy, and together they’ve seeded a variety of vegetables and herbs.“We have always loved the idea of growing our own food,” Bolanos said. “It feels good to eat something that you grew yourself too. It also helps my kids eat more fruits and veggies since they find it cool to eat what they have grown.”Her children water the plants daily and concentrate on what’s growing.“You’re feeling the sun and the breeze and don’t have to worry about anything in the moment,” Bolanos said.In Britain and Germany, there’s a premium on allotments — popular parcels of land rented for growing food crops.“Those with a garden are the lucky ones,” said Heidi Schaletzky, standing on the lawn beneath a cherry tree in the north of Berlin.Schaletzky and her husband have been cultivating a plot in the “Free Country” community garden for the past eight years, growing strawberries, salad greens and kohlrabi. So far, access to garden plots remains exempt from restrictions intended to stop the spread of the virus in Germany.“We’ll be able to see other people, too,” she said. “As long as they stay on their side of the fence.”As ... https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2020/03/31/feed-the-soul-in-chaotic-times-gardening-becomes-therapy/

Taos event planner helps make holidays, weddings about you - taosnews

Margaret Vitulli married her high school sweetheart, Richard Palmer, 30 years ago. The couple raised two children. Daughter Paisley, 27, received her B.A. from the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque and her M.A. at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. She is an archaeologist for an environmental company and plans to marry Matthew De Freese in Hawaii on Dec. 16. The Palmers' son, Allen, 25, completed his bachelor's degree at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. In April, he wed his wife, Serenah. The couple lives in San Antonio, where he serves in the Air Force as a commissioned officer.Personal interestsPalmer prefers to live in the moment, and loves sharing stories. The frequent volunteer helped with hockey, soccer, tennis, drama, fundraising and many activities in the schools, including substitute teaching. She supports the Taos County Chamber of Commerce as a member and an ambassador. "I like to stay involved with town things, and that includes political campaigns," said Palmer.As frequent travelers, the Palmers visited Europe and Russia and have gone American river boat cruising. The couple enjoys traveling with family. Anticipated future vacation spots include Alaska, Machu Picchu and Africa.In this season of Thanksgiving, Palmer said she is grateful. "I give thanks for another day in paradise. I live in a wonderful place. Our children received a good education in the Taos schools and they continue to come to Taos whenever possible. I love to spend time with family and travel the world. The Taos sunsets are the best. I love my life here with my husband - who's my best friend." ... https://www.taosnews.com/stories/know-your-neighbor-margaret-palmer,60914?

How Much Does a Wedding Cost on Average?

Geography matters, too. Getting married in New Mexico only costs, on average, $17,000 according to The Knot. But if you get married in New York City (Manhattan), expect to pay around $76,944. Your head-count matters regardless of budget. The cost of a larger wedding, with 100 people or more, is significantly more than that of an intimate wedding. According to the website CostofWedding.com, 50% of couples keep their wedding costs below $15,000 by opting for an intimate wedding. Yet invite 100 or more guests for a larger wedding, and you're looking at costs totaling twice as much (or more, if you're getting hitched in a big city like San Francisco or New York City). Traditional Wedding Cost Splits Wedding traditions, at least from a financial point of view, haven't changed much over the years. Exhibit "A" is having the bride's family pay the most for the wedding. According to The Knot, the bride's family pays 45% of all wedding costs. Right behind the bride's mom and dad are the actual newlyweds, who contribute 41% of wedding costs. The groom's family pitches in, too, paying 13% of total wedding costs. While traditions remain strong, figuring out who pays for a wedding can be somewhat complicated, given that so many people are getting married (and remarried) later in life. Historically, here's a list of who pays for what in a traditional wedding. It's an important piece of knowledge, considering that you'll need to set up a wedding budget beforehand, and you'll want to know who's paying for individual wedding costs. What the Bride's family traditionally pays for: The reception, complete with drinks, food, music and a wedding cake The wedding ceremony, including flowers and any special decorations The bride's wedding gown The photographer and videographer Limousine or special transportation to the wedding and reception What the Groom's family traditionally pays for: The wedding rehearsal dinner Wedding gifts for the bride and groom What the Bride traditionally pays for: The wedding ring for the groom Any wedding gift for the groom The bride's hairstyling and make-up Wedding gifts for her bridesmaids What the Groom traditionally pays for: The bride and groom's marriage license The bride's engagement ring The honeymoon Any wedding gift for his groomsme... https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/education/how-much-does-wedding-cost-14693474