Bronx Flower Shop News
Watch These Six Flower Bloom Events From Your Couch - Smithsonian.com
Monday, April 27, 2020Here are six to see right now. "The Orchid Show," New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx, New York New York Botanical Garden (Courtesy NYBG) Now in its 18th year, "The Orchid Show" has proven to be the at the top of New Yorkers’ spring to-do lists for nearly two decades, and it’s easy to see why. Every spring the New York Botanical Garden transforms its Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, a sprawling glass-enclosed greenhouse, into an orchid paradise, and this year’s theme doesn’t disappoint. Called "The Orchid Show: Jeff Leatham’s Kaleidoscope," the virtual event features floral designs by the artistic director of the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, who over the years has created arrangements for His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as other notable figures, and includes a tour of the facility with Marc Hachadourian, NYBG’s director of glasshouse collections and senior orchid curator. For this show, Leatham morphed each of the conservatory’s sprawling galleries into a riot of oranges, purples, pinks and reds accompanied by light installations, mirrored sculptures and overhead floral arches. In describing his concept, Leatham says, “Color is the first and most important aspect of my work, always. I want every gallery to be a different color experience, like looking into a kaleidoscope.” National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C. Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. (National ... https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/watch-these-six-flower-bloom-events-from-your-couch-180974562/
Family Over Flowers - The New York Times
Monday, April 27, 2020Charling Chang Fagan and Dr. William C. Fagan, where the bride’s father baked the wedding cake.For the bride, 33, a fifth-grade special-education teacher at John H. Finley (P. S. 129) in the Bronx, her barely recognizable wedding day was a learning experience.“You find out what’s most important when you start removing things from your wedding day,” said Ms Fagan, who received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Education from Fordham.“I came to learn, more than anyone, that the things that are most important are your family,” she said. “Like the flowers and the other stuff, you don’t need that, you just need family.”Mr. Bogle, 44, who teaches fourth graders at John B. Russwurm School (P.S. 197) in Harlem, said his wedding to Ms. Fagan provided a lesson for him as well.“It’s all about commitment,” said Mr. Bogle, the son of Lucena Jackson of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and the late Raymond Bogle.“Unless you are uncertain about marrying someone, you need to get what you have got to get done, done,” said Mr. Bogle, who received both a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of the West Indies and an Master of Education from the City College of New York.Despite the silver linings, the couple, who met in 2017 through mutual friends at the Carmel Hill Foundation’s party for Harlem District 5 teachers, admitted that they were both a bit disappointed as to how the coronavirus reshaped their wedding.“I could seriously say I was disappointed, but what can you do in that situation,” said Ms. Fagan, whom Mr. Bogle surprised with an engag... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/25/fashion/weddings/family-over-flowers.html
Florist and plant lover wants to create more green spaces in the - News 12 Bronx
Saturday, January 18, 2020A Bronx florist and plant lover is making it his mission to create more green spaces and educate his neighbors about sustainability and urban agriculture.Christian Montero's passion for plants and flowers sprouted when he was very young with his grandmother. He says he likes expressing his feelings through flowers, growing his own food and educating his neighbors about it all. Montero is leading a mission to raise awareness and build communiy gardens to create a space for bees and monarch butterflies. "Concrete Jungle" is in efforts to grow fresh produce, beautify the Bronx and educate children and adults on sustainability. Montero says even the greenest borough needs more of these sacred spaces. Montero is finishing a nearly 50 pound floral installation that will be hanging from Wall Works on Saturday and he says it symbolizes the seed of this whole dream. Montero and his "Concrete Jungle" team will be at Wall Works on Saturday to tell Bronx residents about their goals and continue spre... http://bronx.news12.com/story/40901311/florist-and-plant-lover-wants-to-create-more-green-spaces-in-the-bronx
Park Avenue: Flowers and Financiers, in the Thick of It All - The New York Times
Tuesday, May 21, 2019But the landscape feature that prompted Park survives, front and center.The long avenue stretches nearly 10 miles, across two boroughs, from East 32nd Street in Manhattan to East 189th Street in the Bronx, where it ends near an Applebee’s. But it is perhaps best known for the section below 96th Street.For much of that stretch, a ribbon of lawns, trees and hedges unfurls between the avenue’s northbound and southbound arteries. In recent weeks, slender tiny parkland has welcomed beds of scarlet tulips and sculptures with yellow rubber wrapped around poles. #g-0512-rea-web-LIVINGparkave-box .g-artboard { margin:0 auto; } #g-0512-rea-web-LIVINGparkave-box .g-artboard p { margin:0; } .g-aiAbs { position:absolute; } .g-aiImg { display:block; width:100% !important; } .g-aiSymbol { position: absolute; box-sizing: border-box; } .g-aiPointText p { white-space: nowrap; } #g-0512-rea-web-LIVINGparkave-300 { position:relative; overflow:hidden; } #g-0512-rea-web-LIVINGparkave-300 p { font-family:nyt-franklin,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight:500; font-style:normal; font-size:9px; line-height:10px; height:auto; filter:alpha(opacity=100); -ms-filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=100); opacity:1; mix-blend-mode:normal; letter-spacing:0.04em; t... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/08/realestate/park-avenue-flowers-and-financiers-in-the-thick-of-it-all.html
Third-generation owner seeks to turn retail plant shop into lifestyle brand - Crains New York Business
Sunday, February 10, 2019PlantShed in the 1980s, but their roots in the New York floral business date to the Depression, when Eric Mourkakos's great-grandaunt, a Greek immigrant, started a flower shop in the Bronx. Now the third-generation owner of PlantShed, Mourkakos nurtures three healthy shops in a shrinking retail landscape. When I took over, we were mostly filling orders for the big wire services—1-800-Flowers, FTD and Teleflora—giving up a portion of the profit per order and paying membership fees. That's not part of our business anymore. Now we have our own commercial clients, and they make up half of sales. Our accounts include Arizona Beverages, Bank of America, Columbia University, Chanel, Facebook and Kith. We have expanded our retail model by opening cafés, and we have boosted our e-commerce business to 20% of revenue.Many of our local customers shop online. We also offer online ordering with next day, in-store pickup at any of our shops. This allows customers to make quick purchases on their way home or to work, or as they get their morning coffee from us.It's difficult to pay a real living wage. We are committed to it. My family owns the West 96th Street building and ... https://www.crainsnewyork.com/asked-answered/third-generation-owner-seeks-turn-retail-plant-shop-lifestyle-brand
Budding florists get day in the sun in new reality series - Your Valley
Sunday, January 17, 2021By BROOKE LEFFERTS NEW YORK (AP) — They designed epic floral statements in limited time with some very intense judges, but the contestants on the new reality competition series “Full Bloom” did not wilt under pressure.Ten budding florists from around the United States compete in wildly creative floral design challenges on the eight-episode HBO Max series. It debuts Thursday on the streaming service.Contestants accept two themed challenges per episode -- with the luxury of choosing from the best blooms -- and spin flowers into art. The show lifts the curtain on the high-pressure world of floral design and what it takes to be successful. It’s not as easy as it may seem.“It’s not just about who’s making the most beautiful bouquet. That is part of it. We all have to make beautiful things for our clients. But it is so much about the journey of being in the floral industry, which people just do not understand," judge Elizabeth Cronin said.While it may appear that florists just “play with flowers,” she said, th... https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/budding-florists-get-day-in-the-sun-in-new-reality-series,200666
A devoted florist gives each 9/11 victim a white birthday rose - The Gazette
Sunday, January 17, 2021NEW YORK — Every Sept. 11, Michael Collarone, a Brooklyn-bred florist who goes by Mikey Flowers, has the same routine. In the hours before 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane struck the World Trade Center 19 years ago, he parks his truck in downtown Manhattan and, bearing buckets of angelic white roses, walks to the site where he once helped scour for victims’ remains in the twin towers’ smoldering wreckage.There, the burly 62-year-old meets up with “my guys” from the Port Authority police. This year, he will be wearing a mask for the first time and, for social distancing reasons, the victims’ names will be played from recordings on a loudspeaker rather than read aloud from a stage, but little else will change for him. “I’m going to hug my friends,” he says. “I’m going to hug my guys.”Collarone’s steadfast devotion to honoring the victims of 9/11 isn’t a once-a-year kind of thing, though. He’s been the de facto volunteer florist to Ground Zero since it was known around the city as the... https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/a-devoted-florist-gives-each-911-victim-a-white-birthday-rose-20200911
Toilet Tissue Bouquet goes viral amidst cornavirus TP shortages - WCTV
Sunday, January 17, 2021Judging from the nationwide reaction the TP bouquet has received, they're succeeding.It even got a big thumps up from a caller in the Big Apple."Because in New York, she said it's very doom and gloom," said Bart Faulkner. "She said this is definitely making people smile up here."Faulkner says people across the nation have asked about ordering a bouquet, but sales have been limited to local customers.While the unique arrangement is making for a lot of snickering, the pair is seriously concerned about what the coronavirus is doing to their business, one that primarily depends on weddings."It's going to affect our business one way or another," said Bart Faulkner. "So, we're just trying to, right now, do like everybody and make the best of it."... https://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Toilet-Tissue-Bouquet-goes-viral-amidst-cornavirus-TP-shortages-568902351.html
RVC florist fills window displays with 'holiday pandemic' scenes - Newsday
Sunday, January 17, 2021People passing by Masters and Company Florist in Rockville Centre will see a holiday window display not unlike those found in New York City. Its decked-out windows are inspired by both the holiday season and the pandemic. "I feel like everything is so surreal and depressing, especially during the holidays," says owner Laurie Speziale, 60. "Why not create something a little whimsy?" The scenes created by the Woodmere resident include a Santa Claus sporting a face covering and a Christmas tree with medical masks mixed in among its ornaments. "I always do [the windows] up quite elaborate, for every season and holiday," Speziale says of her decorative handiwork. This year, COVID pulled the plug on the events that typically carry her business such as weddings, bar and bas mitzvahes and other parties, which gave Speziale some extra time to beef up her holiday display. "I really wanted to bring joy to others, so I thought ‘why not really do them up and I just want as many... https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/fashion-and-shopping/rockville-centre-masters-and-company-florist-1.50091128