Ballston Spa Flower Shop News
Business is blooming at NYC Flower District staple thanks to outdoor dining - New York Post
Wednesday, July 29, 2020Instead, the boxwoods and hydrangeas that once lined the sidewalks along Sixth Avenue were in storage, the latest victims of the coronavirus.Like the restaurants, barber shops and tailors forced by New York’s health officials to shut their doors for several months, Ashok Kumar’s Tropical Plants & Orchids Inc. also had to close because of the pandemic.When the shop was allowed to reopen its landscaping business in June, the first order Kumar received was from the United Nations, whose greenery he is in charge of refreshing every month. The UN’s campus had been without fresh flowers and plants for months and was looking to add splashes of color in this dark time.Then came the lobbies of hotels and apartment buildings across town, all ready to brighten up again. Kumar was able to open for retail on June 10, but many of his regular clients have yet to return after fleeing New York.“We have a lot of great customers, but they’re out of the city right now,” Kumar, who took over the shop from his father and uncle in 2003, told The Post. “They don’t want to come back, but they’re still in touch with us and they know we’re waiting for them.” The span of the lockdown was particularly painful for flower shop owners because it coincided with the all-important graduation sea... https://nypost.com/2020/07/29/tropical-plants-orchids-boosted-by-outdoor-dining-after-covid-19-closure/
Flower arrangements made simple with floral designer Cristina Lozito - Greeley Tribune
Wednesday, July 29, 2020Brides Magazine for teaching her to “let flowers be flowers.” Based in Westchester, New York, she’s styled flowers for hundreds of weddings, bat mitzvahs, photo shoots, birthday parties and cocktail galas. We asked her for advice even the most hesitant botanist can bring home. Greeley Tribune: Your colors are so subdued and your arrangements look almost wild. What’s your overall philosophy regarding bouquets and floral pieces?Lozito: I tend to be drawn to softer colors, which inform a lot of my palettes. But even when I work with a brighter palette I incorporate gradations of color and a variety of shades. If a client wants an overall red or yellow scheme, I use shades of reds or yellows so things don’t look so fixed.Ialso use floral varieties that naturally fit the style I want to achieve. Ilook for blooms or foliage that fall gracefully. For example, I’ll always use agarden rose rather than a standard rose, since the stem is so much morenatural. I would never put something stiff or spiky in an organic bouquet. Idon’t ever try to force a flower to be something that it isn’t.Greeley Tribune: Where do you start when putting together an arrangement? Lozito: I always start with a color palette and what’s in season. I think about what’s happening in nature at that moment to find my inspiration. In spring that means flowering branches: the soft, tender greens that don’t exist at any other time of year. It’s my favorite season to arrange in because everything’s so fresh. But even in winter, I supp... https://www.greeleytribune.com/2019/09/01/flower-arrangements-made-simple-with-floral-designer-cristina-lozito/
Can flowers live through a pandemic? - liherald.com
Wednesday, July 29, 2020Roses, lilies and daisies tend to live longer than hyacinths, tulips and lilacs, however, the maximum lifespan of cut flowers is still about a week with maximum care. Since Phase One of New York’s reopening plan began May 27, florists were able to open in a limited manner with hopes of restocking as much as possible. Face masks and a limited capacity were requirements made by New York State that Imperial Florist in Baldwin, Flowers by Mike in Oceanside and Duryea’s Flower Shop in Freeport are all following in order to continue peddling petals. Ann Marie Pierce at Imperial Florist in Baldwin has been operating her shop with only one in-store employee and one delivery driver since late May, accepting curbside and delivery orders. According to Pierce, for “at least six weeks we didn’t work at all.” Imperial Florist has recently opened its shop to customers with caution, putting up dividers, allowing one person inside at a time, requiring mandatory facial covers and accepting only credit cards. Similarly to Pierce, Susan Martin, whose family runs Duryea’s Flower Shop in Freeport, has taken precautions in the first few weeks after reopening. Martin wipes down everything in the store frequently, allows no one to enter the refrigeration unit and has employees “working limited hours.”Mike Graham, the owner of Flowers by Mike in Oceanside and East Rockaway, said one of the main challenges he faced was coming up with new marketing strategies to reach his cu... https://www.liherald.com/stories/can-flowers-live-through-a-pandemic,126506?
Port Washington Florist: Coronavirus Decimated Floral Industry - Port Washington, NY Patch
Wednesday, July 29, 2020It absolutely nearly killed the floral industry," a tearful Otis-Cohen told Patch in a phone interview this week. When the crisis began unfolding in New York, countless truckloads of tulips, hydrangeas, roses and more were thrown out by large wholesalers and even airports, she said. "I'm talking about millions of stems of flowers," Otis-Cohen said. She added: "It brought tears to my eyes. That's how many flowers were thrown out from all over the country." To sign up for free, local breaking news alerts in Port Washington, click here. Before the coronavirus forced Gov. Andrew Cuomo to issue a statewide stay-at-home order for all nonessential workers, Port Washington Florist had three employees and sold flowers for all types of occasions. Birthdays. Parties. Weddings. "Get well" sentiments and sympathy arrangements. "That definitely has changed," she said. People simply aren't ordering flowers like they used to. Nursing homes paused their orders. Events were canceled or postponed. Gift arrangements remain unclaimed. "I have gifts. All my gifts are just sitting waiting for somebody to take, but nobody can come in," she said. Sales nosedived about 75 percent, forcing Otis-Cohen to lay off her workers, who are now filing for unemployment benefits. Now she works alone, picking up flowers — they're no longer delivered to her door — taking phone orders and making deliveries. She's turned off idle refrigerators that no longer hold flowers to keep fresh. "I'm just comin... https://patch.com/new-york/portwashington/port-washington-florist-coronavirus-decimated-floral-industry
