Dixon Florist and Gift, Dixon, CA

Meet My Florist Showcasing your local florist

FEATURING

DIXON FLORIST

FLORIST AND GIFTS

Meet My Florist Showcasing your local florist Welcome to Meet My Florist magazine, a publication that gives you new insight into the wonders of your local flower shop. Your florist is an important part of your community. The following pages will provide you with information to help you better utilize your florist, and make you a more informed floral consumer.

Flowers are something that anyone can appreciate and everyone enjoys. Flowers always make a beautiful statement, expressing a wide range of sentiments to compliment any occasion. You can always make someone smile with flowers!

Choosing the perfect flowers for your occasion can be a daunting task. Let your florist guide and help you create the perfect arrangement. Your florist will help you express your sentiments with flowers.

This issue of Meet My Florist magazine features Dixon Florist. The three sisters of Dixon Florist give you an insider’s look into their flower shop, and share with you the many ways that they help customers with all their floral needs. In addition, you will get information about how to get more from your plants and flowers.

When you buy from a Mom and Pop business, you are supporting your community. Your local florist is another family in your community, your neighbor, and your friend. Our customers are our shareholders. We strive to make you happy.

Thank you for your support!

March 2019 | © Meet My Florist® Periodical

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Meet the sisters of

Cover photo by Ryan Greenleaf Photography

DIXON FLORIST T he three Sisters that run Dixon Florist, Courtney, Melissa, and Dana, are the daughters of Joe and Jean Williams. Explains Courtney, “we are a second generation florist, in business since 1962. Originally the shop was across the street. There was vacant lot, and so my dad designed and built his own shop.”

“This shop is specially designed so that one person can run the whole operation all by themselves. For sixteen years my dad and mom ran this shop while also raising us kids.”

The Enchanted Cooler Box window: “The glass in the front of our cooler is very special glass that came from the original Bell Florist of Sacramento. When that shop closed, the special cooler box glass was sent to Dixon and installed in our cooler

box. This is very old antique glass that has a special quality, a frosted coating, that gives a special glow to everything you see through it.” “ We are a full service florist- we do it all.

Someone calls, and we say, ‘absolutely, not a problem!’ People don’t necessarily come to us for a specific flower design, they come to us for our quality and our expertise. We emphasize seasonal floral, with a bit of exotics mixed in! We love orchids. Something that our father instilled in us: feature flowers that people don’t see on a daily basis.”

“Our clients are everywhere: Sacramento, Davis, Winters, Woodland, and Vacaville.

We really appreciate our Dixon business, but we also service a much larger area.”

“We were raised in this lifestyle; it’s what we do! When you work here, you are DIXONFLORIST. NET

working with family. For us this business is something bigger than just a flower shop, bigger than just selling flowers… we help people express their emotions with flowers. We are there for them through all their life events.”

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Keeping Plants Happy FERTILIZE every month. Most plants like a little boost to keep them looking their best.

DEADHEAD SPENT BLOOMS Keep the blooms coming by removing spent blooms from your flowering plants.

ORCHIDS are a plant category of their own. Water orchids sparingly with ice cubes to prevent blooms dropping from over watering (one ice cube a week).

REMOVE DECORATIVE WRAPPERS as soon as possible. Drainage keeps plant roots happy.

LESS FREQUENT but deep watering is most effective. Don’t let your plant sit in standing water; let it drain after watering.

GET THE LIGHT RIGHT Place your plants near light but never in direct sunlight.

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MANY BLOOMING PLANTS are meant to be outdoor plants. After the blooms are spent, find a happy home for your blooming plant in your garden or in an outdoor container.

EXTENDING CUT FLOWER LIFE LOCATION MATTERS. Keep Flowers in a cool place and away from direct sunlight if possible. Avoid vents with blowing air.

PRESERVATIVE FEEDS THE BLOOMS. Add commercial plant food to the water every time you change the water.

RECUT STEMS AFTER A FEW DAYS. Every few days, cut 1” from each stem at an angle to bypass clogged stems. Your flowers will draw water and the blooms will be happy longer.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE WATER. Always remember to keep water levels up!

Change the water when cloudiness appears.

TRIM OR REMOVE SPENT FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE. Keep your arrangement looking its best by taking out wilted blooms or leaves. This also prevents contamination of the water and increases the longevity of your arrangement.

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A

Love in

Bloom Photos by Anne Claire Brun Photography

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M A R K E T D A Y 8

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Every Wednesday morning at 3AM Courtney gets up to get ready for her weekly trip to the San Francisco Flower Market. She doesn’t always go by herself though! At times her trusty companion Stella (the sweetest yorkie you’ll ever meet) tags along. A fun stop for Courtney on her way to San Francisco is to Donut Queen in Vacaville. “There’s nothing like it. Keeps you going” says Courtney about Donut Queen.

“With beginnings paralleling the growth and development of the San Francisco Bay Area, the origins of the San Francisco Flower Mart go back to the late 1800’s when land was plentiful.

Local flower growers could bring their product to Lotta’s fountain in downtown San Francisco three days a week, selling their product to local flower shops. A need for a centrally located market bringing together the three ethnically diverse groups of flower growers was fulfilled with the opening of a market located at 5th and Howard Streets in 1924.

As flower growers expanded production areas outside of the Bay Area and as product from other parts of United States came in, the need for a larger more modern permanent facility led to the design and construction of our current market at Sixth and Brannan Streets in the South of Market area of San Francisco.

The grand opening of the San Francisco Flower Terminal in September 1956 marked the establishment of an industry icon.

Today, officially known as the San Francisco Flower Mart, we now have over 60 vendors, purveyors of cut flowers, potted plants, blooming plants and floral supplies. We have evolved from being a “growers” market to being a marketplace for floral wholesalers.

Product, which at one time was only from the immediate Bay Area, now comes from the far reaches of the world.” SF Flower Mart. www.sanfranciscoflowermart.com/our-history.html

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Photos by Ryan Greenleaf Photography 10

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IT’S YOUR

Day

Y

MAKE IT MEMORABLE

our wedding day is one of the most special days in your life. Organizing this event can become a major undertaking. One way to help ease the planning burden is to have your florist guide you along the way. Your florist will be happy to provide you with a free wedding consultation so that you can sit down and personally share your ideas, and discuss the flower budget. Since every bride is unique, your florist will want to get to know you and your own personal tastes and style. Not everyone wants to have a traditional style wedding. Your florist can help you creatively express your personality or interests.

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LET’S

Celebrate Brooke Shannon Photography Celebrate Life’s milestones with flowers! Flowers add grace and elegance to every celebration. You can always celebrate the passage of a major milestones with flowers. Nothing beautifies a table better than flowers. No matter what your look, there are many possibilities for decorating with flowers. Let your florist decorate your gazebo, or make fabulous table centerpieces. Your florist will take your party to the next level.

CHOOSE A FOCAL POINT Do an impact arrangement on an entry table or as a centerpiece on a buffet table.

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Anna Perevertaylo Photography D I X O N FLORIST AND GIFT S (707 ) 678 - 4 432

Anna Perevertaylo Photography

Jennifer Clapp Photography

Jennifer Clapp Photography

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A LOOK INSIDE DIXON FLORIST Let Dixon Florist create a personal floral design that reflects exactly what you want to say. Whether it be a sentiment of love, condolence or encouragement, there is an arrangement out there for everyone.

Flowers are also an excellent way to beautify your home. One person may prefer a contemporary tropical arrangement while another loves the tradition of a dozen roses. Whatever your preference, Dixon Florist is there to accommodate you.

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Photos by Brooke Shannon Photography

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D I X O N FLORIST AND GIFT S (707 ) 678 - 4 432

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Keeping Keeping it it Local Local Dixon Florist

150 E A St, Dixon, CA 95620 dixonflorist.com (707) 678-4432

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Tribute

Sending sympathy flowers is an important expression of love and support for the grieving family, as well as an opportunity to honor a person’s life. When we think of a funeral as a celebration of life, what could be better than a room full of flowers? The beauty of flowers is symbolic of life itself, and is always an appropriate tribute to a loved one.

Let your florist help you send the perfect expression of your sympathy and love.

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BE MINDFUL OF CULTURE. Certain cultures have very specific traditions. For example, Muslims won’t appreciate a cross, and Eastern Orthodox place the highest value on white flowers.

PHOTOGRAPHS ADD A VISUAL PERSPECTIVE. A photo image of your Loved one in a wreath of flowers can be a fitting tribute.

REMEMBER THEIR PASSIONS OR THEIR CAREER. If you know specific details of passions of the Loved one, your florist can incorporate a symbol of those passions, such as a baseball cap, or golf club.

FLOWERS ARE ALWAYS APPROPRIATE. Even if the family has requested donations to a specified cause, it always is appropriate to also send flowers.

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Did you make the deal?

“Did you make the Deal? We have women in their 50’s , 60’s and 70’s who say, ‘my husband never gives me flowers.’ They say, ‘I wish my husband would give me flowers.’ We ask them, ‘did you make the deal?’

“Always, it’s because they made the deal: ‘you don’t have to give me flowers’ (maybe because money is tight), you tell him, ‘you don’t need to get me anything.’ And that’s why they don’t get flowers.

“They say, ‘but that was years ago.’ In this particular area, men will do exactly what you say… and you won’t ever get flowers again!

Women think it’s just for that year… men think it’s forever. The bottom line: Never make the deal!

“Flowers are the single most inexpensive gift you can give. If it is a birthday, and you are tight on money, come get a single rose or a mixed bouquet. When people get older, they’re trying to purge things, to eliminate some of the clutter in their life. Flowers only last for a certain amount of time.

“When you take someone a dozen roses, or peonies when they are in season, that first thirty minutes, they take a deep breath, and it’s absolute joy!”

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Remembering Joe & Jean Joe had been working with Bell Florist in Sacramento and heard of a shop for sale in the small town of Dixon. He and Jean took a drive and immediately fell in love with the town.

In 1962 the shop originally was located in a small building across the street from its current location. In 1964 they purchased an empty lot and started construction on the building we know of today as Dixon Florist and Gift Shop.

Joe and Jean were always creative, they designed the building as well as the current logo. Joe and Jean ran the florist shop alongside each other, and to them it was much more than a small business. It was a connection to the people of Dixon. The shop allowed them to be an integral part of the community and acted as the fabric that tied them to people in town.

Whether it was the celebration of marriages, anniversaries, birthdays, the birth of babies, showing sympathy

for people’s loved ones, they shared in everyone’s celebrations, blessings, and hardships.

Joe and Jean raised all four of their children, Scott, Melissa, Courtney and Dana, in the shop. The children grew up helping Joe and Jean with anything they would throw at them.

The kids always say, “They never went anywhere without a wet lap” because they would have to hold the floral for the deliveries.

“To them it was more than a business. It was a connection to the people of Dixon” They always went to places where the deliveries needed to go. Along with raising in the kids in the shop, Joe and Jean also had a telephone ring at the house so they could take orders at all times. Many people say that you kids learn everything they need to know in DIXONFLORIST. NET

kindergarten but Joe and Jean’s kids learned everything they needed to know in the florist.

Today Dixon Florist runs the same as it did 58 years ago. They still hand write every order with care, still hand pick the floral from the San Francisco flower market every week, and the grandchildren from every daughter are now being raised in the shop.

Dixon Florist is a family business through and through with integrity, commitment and honesty. Just like Joe and Jean did back then, today the shop is open six days a week and delivers to Dixon, Davis, Winters, Woodland, and Vacaville.

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Dixon Florist

150 E A St, Dixon, CA 95620 dixonflorist.com (707) 678-4432

Photo by Anne Claire Brun Photography © 2020 Meet My Florist®