Caledonia, ON 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/

McLennan Flowers and Gifts Provides No Contact Delivery - Press Release - Digital Journal

McLennan Flowers & Gifts - London, ON FloristMcLennan Flowers and Gifts, the leading florist in London Ontario, specializes in the supply of beautiful flowers hand-designed by their experts that are delivered through no contact delivery.London, Ontario - June 30, 2020 - McLennan Flowers and Gifts, the leading florist in London Ontario, specializes in the supply of unique floral arrangements. One area they excel in is designing flowers to convey your sympathy to family or friends who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Sending a sympathy bouquet to the bereaved shows them that you are thinking of them.“Sympathy flowers are a sweet and tasteful way of showing compassion and support to someone who has lost their loved one. Sending an arrangement of sympathy flowers adds pleasantness to an otherwise sombre atmosphere and expresses your condolences for the loss,” said the spokesperson of McLennan Flowers and Gifts.When choosing a bouquet to express your sympathy and compassion for the loss of someone, you want to ensure that you are receiving high-quality blooms that will be a beauti... http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4728671

Keirstead's Flower Shop Still Has Strong Saint John Roots - Huddle - Huddle Today

Covid-19.“Our flowers come from all over the world,” said florist Connie Dean. “We get flowers from Holland, Ecuador, our roses come from Ontario. A lot come through Ontario and they get them from different places all over the world as well.”Australia, Africa and Lebanon are a few other places where the shop gets its flowers, with Birds of Paradise and Protea flowers being some of the most popular selections.“Ontario does have locally grown flowers so those are the closest local flowers we get,” said Dean. “Sometimes there’s someone on the Kingston Peninsula or Hampton that’ll bring in garden flowers that we can buy.”A piece of family history (Image: Elizabeth MacLeod)The business was founded by the late Guy G. Keirstead whose passion for flowers led him to first rent a stall at the City Market in 1925.Keirstead’s operated out of the market from 1925 to 1946, until he purchased property on the corner of Charlotte and Princess Street where the shop still operates to this day.Dean said the building survived the Great Saint John Fire of 1877 and used to be a hardware and butcher shop, which were combined to make Keirstead’s.“You have some of the old coolers that we still have from back when they opened up this shop in the 40... https://huddle.today/keirsteads-flower-shop-still-has-strong-saint-john-roots/

25 flower delivery options in Toronto - blogTO

This florist asks that customers call in to place orders for delivery — they will deliver locally in Toronto, and also to anywhere from Whitby to Oakville. At the moment they are offering mostly Ontario-grown flowers and plants, and if you want to know what’s in season check out their site or give them a call.May FlowersMay Flower’s deliveries are still going from Monday through to Saturday, and they offer free contactless delivery throughout Toronto. They also have an option for same-day delivery. Eco StemsThis Corktown florist specializes in locally-grown blooms from the Niagara region that are grown with little to no pesticides. They are doing delivery throughout Toronto.PoppiesPoppies’ flowers are available for contact-free delivery within the GTA only. Their floral bouquets are made to order.Plant CollectiveSpecializing in house plants such as succulents and mini cacti, this Beaches store delivers throughout the country, and they offer free delivery for orders over $100, with standard shipping throughout the GTA at flat rate of $4.99.Wilbe BloominThis Kensington Market florist accepts online orders for delivery throughout Toronto. They offer a colourful selection of arrangements along with cacti terrariums.Pistil FlowersPistil Flower’s shop in the Financial District is closed, but they are still accepting orders through their site and through email for contact-free delivery. The florist specializes in elevated bouquets and contemporary arrangements.Botany Floral StudioThis florist offer daily delivery from Monday to Friday in the GTA. The studio specializes in modern arrangements that are inspired by “nature, whimsical gardens, and nostalgia,” their site reads. They are also sustainable in their practices.Bayview BlossomsBayview Blossoms creates custom arrangements for delivery in Toronto.  If you so choose, you can have their stylists create a botanical freestyle arrangement for you.Flower NookThe Flower Nook is offering contact-free delivery so that you can stay connected while apart. They deliver throughout the country, and offer local same-day delivery for orders placed before noon. You can search their site for flowers and arrangements based on occasion or type.Garden’s Path Floral DesignThis Leslieville florist creates intriguing arrangements they're able to deliver contact-free. They ask customers to email in their orders instead of calling them in. At the moment, they're having one staff member inside of the store working with the flowers to facilitate social distancing.Wild North FlowersThis online studio is providing contact-free deliveries in Toronto from Monday through to Saturday. They note on their site that because supply of hard goods such as vases has been limited, they might be substituting vase types for their arrangements in the coming weeks.TelefloraThis online florist has loads of deals up on its site, and they’re curated ones for every occasion. They also provide same-day delivery on most of their arrangements. They deliver throughout Canada, and are experienced at making deliveries to hospitals.BloomenThis online store off... https://www.blogto.com/fashion_style/2020/04/flower-delivery-toronto/

Flower growers see sales wither as planting season launches - CBC.ca

Demand for non-perishable items pushed decorative plants out of the supply chain in last month's stockpiling frenzy, while the ongoing shutdown of garden centres in jurisdictions including Ontario and New York has cut off critical points of sale, threatening to leave growers high and dry. "This is when we sell. We're on the cusp of a critical period," said James Farrar, director of the Canadian Ornamental Horticulture Alliance. Trees, bushes and bedding plants are usually planted between May 1 and June 15, he said, with customers ranging from backyard gardeners to municipalities. In Ontario, flower producers discarded about 40 per cent of their Easter crop, according to Flowers Canada Growers. The province has designated garden centres as a non-essential service — a painful exclusion for the industry, since nearly two-thirds of Canadian production stems from Ontario. Neighbouring New York and Ohio have also forced garden centres to lock their doors, while Michigan and Vermont have banned retailers from selling non-essential products, including home gardening items. "If they don't open, the damage is going to be astronomical," said trade group head Andi Kuyvenhoven, noting garden centres' crucial role for bedding plants in particular. British Columbia — the second-biggest flower and plant producer — Alberta and Manitoba and have allowed garden centres to keep running, while Quebec deemed them essential along with nurseries as of April 15, though not in time for Easter. Kuyvenhoven, who with his wife co-owns a $2.5-million business selling potted Chrysanthemums and indoor calla lilies — largely to U.S. distributors — on a pair of farms west of Toronto, says clogged supply chains south of the border remain a problem. 'I haven't slept in five weeks' "U.S. customers for a time closed their distribution systems to floral and so the main grocery chains were not purchasing plants," he said, which was hard on growers of cut flowers such as roses and tulips. "If a truck can take 24 skids and four skids were flowers, the flowers came off the trucks and they put more food on the truck — which we completely understand. The only challenge is, when you're growing flowers as we do, they also have a shelf life," said Kuyvenhoven, who bought his bu... https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/flower-growers-hamilton-1.5546023