Flowers& - May 2017

Flowers& May 2017 $6.50

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Be A Show-Off When your floral selection is top-of-the-line— flaunt it!

Outstanding varieties, showcased in attentiongetting designs Pg 26

Fresh-flower news from markets and trade fairs Pgs 12, 20, 58

contents

MAY 2017

features 12

What’s Up Downtown?

How downtown flower markets are changing with the times.

By Bruce Wright

20

The Market Report

Our annual update on new varieties and developments in the world of cut flowers and potted plants.

26

Head Turners

Make a statement with flowers that command attention.

Floral design by David Powers AIFD Photography by Ron Derhacopian

58

A Fresh Perspective

Floradecora is the newest global showcase for floral trends and products.

2 MAY 2017

pg 50

ON THE COVER To separate the heads of these extraordinary tulips and to emphasize their straight stems and flaring leaves, David Powers AIFD placed them within a framework of tiered, folded red ti leaves. For more of David’s designs featuring special flowers and new varieties, turn to pages 26-51.

contents

departments 8

Focus on Design

Body Flowers that Last

By Rich Salvaggio AIFD, AAF, PFCI

10

Design Tech

Detaching and Piercing

By Tim Farrell AIFD, AAF, PFCI

52

Shop Profile

By Marianne Cotter

62

Industry Events

64

Where to Buy

66

Wholesale Connection

67

Advertiser Links

68

What’s in Store

pg 10

Farrell’s Florist, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania

pg 9

Flowers& Volume 38, Number 5 (ISSN 0199-4751).

Published monthly by Teleflora, 11444 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064, 800-321-2665, fax 310-966-3610. Subscription rates: U.S., 1 year, $78.00.

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Copyright © 2016 by Teleflora. Printed in U.S.A.

4 MAY 2017

pg pg12 52

pg 55

Flowers& Publisher Editor Art Director

Rich Salvaggio AIFD, AAF, PFCI rsalvaggio@teleflora.com Bruce Wright Tony Fox

National Advertising Director

Peter Lymbertos

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Advisory Board Teleflora Education Specialists Susan Ayala

Riverside, Calif., Tom Bowling

AIFD, PFCI,

Fairfield, Ohio, Tim Farrell

Hitomi Gilliam

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Customer service: For service on your magazine subscription, including change of address, please write to Flowers&, P.O. Box 16029, No. Hollywood, CA 91615-9871, enclosing a recent address label. For faster service, call 818-286-3128; Teleflora members call 800-421-2815.

focus on design

•j

Floral design by Rich Salvaggio AIFD, AAF, PFCI

•

Photography by Ron Derhacopian

Help flowers to wear and carry look their best.

Even without a water source, boutonnieres, corsages, and hand-tied bouquets can hold up beautifully with proper care and handling products and techniques.

1. Start with flowers and foliage that have been processed using clean (sanitized) tools, and conditioning solutions with ingredients that have been carefully measured before being mixed. Make sure all your floral materials are fully hydrated—dry on the outside but plump with moisture on the inside.

1

To make a boutonniere like the one seen here, cut an appropriate length of flat wire and glue a boutonniere magnet to the back. Then, cut a small piece of hydrangea and glue it to the wire using floral adhesive. It may be easier to apply the adhesive, then give it a few moments to “cure” before affixing the flower to the wire. If you work on more than one bout at a time, you can do this assembly line, working on the next piece while you wait for the first one to cure.

2. Add three lengths of any slender green stem and three heads of silver-gray brunia, also with floral adhesive.

2

3. Finally, wrap the boutonniere with beaded wire, twisting it tight in the back to secure it. Trim the excess wire. Finish off the design with a holding spray like Chrysal Professional Glory, which enhances colors and provides a shield that protects against evaporation. Be sure to wait until the spray dries before putting the boutonniere into a plastic baggie and into the cooler.

For detailed information about care and handling products and techniques, check out the series, Handle with Care, free for anyone and posted in PDF format in the Digital Library on the Flowers& website, www.flowersandmagazine.com.

8 www.flowersandmagazine.com

See this

how-to on s

•

For product information, see Where to Buy, page 64.

at Flowers&or go to flowersandmagazine.com.

3

MAY 2017 9

design tech

•j

Floral design by Tim Farrell AIFD, AAF, PFCI

•

Photography by Ron Derhacopian

Detaching & Piercing

t

Detaching, considered as a technique in floral design, is defined as “the process of selectively removing a flower’s petals to give it a new and different shape”—as Tim has done with two of the gerberas in this month’s featured design. It might seem like a strange idea at first—but look at what it does: Fully petaled gerberas would have had too much visual weight if positioned as they are now; they would seem to teeter on top of their long stems. Here, the stems are beautifully revealed, and the progression upward from the gerbera at the base to the top two creates a lovely rhythm and lightness. In the gerberas with petals removed we are better able to see and appreciate the textural quality of the gerbera centers: the stamens with their mix of raspberry red and pollen-tipped gold, and the delicate bowls formed by the slender, overlapping sepals, lightly furred like the gerbera stems. As a side benefit, using this technique might allow you to get value out of a gerbera that was damaged in shipping. Gerberas or any type of daisy might just be perfect for detaching, since the flowers with petals removed tell a story: “She loves me, she loves me not…”

Tim then took a few of the detached petals and bound them with bullion wire to the end of midollino “stems,” creating the look of a new flower or bud. It’s as though the detached petals flew from the gerberas on one side and are now floating downward on the other.

Though not listed or defined in The AIFD Guide to Floral Design, piercing is a technique that has enjoyed a vogue with the popularity of wire and midollino. In adding loops of midollino to his design, Tim cut the ends at a sharp angle and inserted one into each of three Pink Floyd roses, in the very center. The eye follows the line of the midollino to the focal area established by the roses. This design has plenty of motion, interest, color and creativity— a conversation piece for sure!

10 www.flowersandmagazine.com

For product information, see Where to Buy, page 64.

Design techniques from The AIFD Guide to Floral Design, www.aifd.org

What’s Up Downtown?

How downtown flower markets are changing with the times./By Bruce Wright

H

ow often do you get to see flowers up close before you buy them?

Check out new varieties and special seasonal flowers that you might not otherwise know about? Compare the quality and selection of different suppliers? Meet your suppliers face to face, so you can ask them about their practices, hear their recommendations, and talk with them about your own needs and preferences—the best way to develop, over time, a relationship of trust and understanding?

Most florists would probably have to answer, “Not often” or “Never.” Those are among the practical benefits to be had from visiting a downtown flower market. On top of those comes a sheer feast for the senses

21 january 2012 12 www.flowersandmagazine.com

and the experience of flower-business community and camaraderie.

Your local wholesale florist may give you great quality and service.

But nowadays few are really set up to accommodate in-person buyers; the priority is on phone sales and delivery.

Of the great North American downtown flower markets, most if not all got their start in the early 20th century, serving as central locations where local growers could sell both cut flowers and plants. Eventually, wholesalers took on a more prominent role in the markets—but of those that survive today, a number are helped by their vicinity to flower-growing regions on the West Coast.

Supply, a strong, stable, and highly regarded wholesale operation that remains in the area of the former exchange.

The long-term impact of the move remains to be seen, since the New England Flower Exchange opened in Chelsea only on March 1, just as this issue of Flowers& was going to press. The mood at the opening, however, was upbeat, with vendors and buyers praising the natural light that pours through skylights at the new location. It will be more convenient for some, less so for others (buyers south of the city will have farther to go to visit the market). It is smaller—but still touted as “the largest wholesale flower market on the East Coast.”

Wherever they are, the downtown markets face a rising challenge from the growth of online selling, faster and better shipping and delivery service, and—not least—rising property values in urban areas. What follows is a look at just a sampling of the downtown flower markets, large and small, that are finding new ways to compete—or not—in an age of urban renewal and sweeping changes in the ways flowers are bought and sold.

Boston In the vanguard of change is the Boston Flower Exchange, which recently relocated to a 65,000-square-foot facility in Chelsea, northeast and across the Mystic River from Boston proper, and was re-christened the New England Flower Exchange. The move was not entirely voluntary: the l5.6-acre property (nearly 244,000 square feet) that formerly housed the exchange, in Boston’s ethnically diverse South End, was purchased by new owners for development as a tech office campus. Vendor leases ran out at the end of last year, but occupants were given until after Valentine’s Day to move.

Of the dozen vendors in the Boston Flower Exchange, 10 are moving to Chelsea. One is retiring, and another will move next door to Jacobson Floral 22 january 2012

WORKING TOGETHER The Portland, Oregon flower market (top photo, opposite page) is sitting pretty with its own building and a mutually supportive floral community. In season, local growers sell directly to market customers alongside seven wholesale suppliers.

CURB APPEAL In warm weather, vendors in New York City’s flower district along 28th Street display their wares along the sidewalk (as seen at left)—but these days the merchandise looks sparse in comparison to prior years.

Flower sellers are getting crowded out by rising real estate values and residential development.

THE BIG ORANGE Above, Mayesh Wholesale Florist anchors one half of the sprawling downtown Los Angeles flower market, the largest in the country with more than 80 vendors.

MAY 2017 13

What’s Up Downtown?

PAST, PRESENT... San Francisco’s legendary flower market, founded over a century ago, has occupied its current location since 1956. It bursts with the bounty of the Pacific Northwest and its many flower farms—although buyers can also find cut flowers from all over the world here.

The vendors are certainly to be applauded for their commitment to keeping the tradition alive. As the website for the exchange states, “when one door closes, another will open”—but sometimes you have to grab the handle and give it a push. www.newenglandflowerexchange.com Los Angeles If Boston has the largest wholesale market on the East Coast, Los Angeles has the largest in the country. It is actually two markets, housed in buildings on either side of Wall Street in downtown LA, each with about 45 vendors. Back when the LA flower district was getting started, in the 1920s, one was “the Japanese market,” today known as the Southern California Flower Market, west of Wall Street.

The other, on the east side, is called the Los Angeles Flower Market— formerly known as “the American market” in a parlance and division that reflects the anti-Japanese prejudice prevalent before and during World War II. Both markets began as a way for growers to consolidate shipments to points east and north. “Local florists got what was left over,” says Jim Mellano, chief financial officer of Mellano & Company, one of the few remaining flower-district vendors (and the largest of these) who are growers as well as wholesalers.

Today, the flower district still benefits from proximity to growers in central and southern California—but flowers sold in the district also come from around the world, via Miami and the Los Angeles airport.

“It’s the most competitive market in the world, with very low prices,” 14 www.flowersandmagazine.com

says Jim. Before 8:00 a.m. weekdays, only flower-industry professionals are allowed into the two main markets. After that, the public is allowed in, but visitors must purchase a badge or pay a $2 entrance fee and pay tax on their purchases. In recent years, the flower district has sprawled beyond its original boundaries, as flower vendors moved into spaces vacated by former garment factories and a produce market. The vendors in these fringe areas, however, tend to cater to non-florists; retailers mostly shop inside the two main markets.

In many ways, the LA market is doing well. There is a high volume of business. But like other markets, it is threatened by rising real estate values and an aging infrastructure. On the west side of Wall Street, the owners of the Southern California Flower Market—many of them descendants of the founders—have proposed a redevelopment of the space to include a 15-story residential tower and an upgraded market building, with a smaller space for flower vendors on the ground floor, parking and office space above that. The project would require rezoning.

Plans have been submitted to the city for approval. Backers hope construction can start in two years. The current political climate in Los Angeles could well favor such a development, but the impact on those who buy and sell flowers in the market remains unpredictable. www.laflowerdistrict.com New York In contrast to Boston and LA, the New York flower district isn’t housed in just one or two main buildings but comprises a group of vendors in shoulder-to-shoulder storefronts along West 28th Street in Manhattan, between 6th and 7th Avenues, where they have been consolidated since the 1890s. The arrangement lends the district considerable charm in spring and summer, when their wares spill onto the sidewalks in pots, buckets and benches bursting with exotic plants and cut flowers. It may contribute, however, to the failure of the district’s trade group, the Flower Market Association, to find an alternative location

What’s Up Downtown?

or another way to push back against the same forces that are pressing on other downtown markets.

As long ago as the late 1970s, some of the larger wholesalers began to move to the suburbs. Once home to more than 60 flower wholesalers, the district now has less than half that number. In 1995, local zoning was changed to allow for residential as well as commercial use. “A few of the buildings in the district have been completely torn down” and replaced with hotels and high-rise residential towers, says Hewley Helstone of Jamali Floral & Garden Supplies, which occupies a space in the district.

“Some flower sellers are still on 28th Street, but on upper floors. Before, the whole sidewalk would be full of flowers and plants. Now that’s kind of disappeared.”

Efforts to find a new location have been made, but with no success. The difficulty in finding a solution, of course, is the same as the problem: real estate in Manhattan, and even in the city’s outer boroughs, is not to be had at any reasonable price. For those who do business and have customers there, the midtown flower district is home—a home that seems to be slowly vanishing, piece by piece.

...AND FUTURE Above, an architectural rendering of how the San Francisco Flower Mart might look in five years if developers succeed in moving tenants out, then back into a spiffy new multi-use building. It’s one strategy for keeping the flower market downtown while adapting to rising real-estate values.

Portland In Portland, the local flower market is in the enviable position of having already met the challenges of a downtown location by moving to a nearby industrial area—29 years ago. “We began downtown,” says Scott Isensee, general manager of Frank Adams Wholesale Florist and current president of the Portland Flower Market. “But the current location is much better. Portland Flower Market Associates owns the building, which was built specifically for the market.” Not least among the benefits is ample parking.

Like other flower markets, Portland’s got started as an initiative of local growers, represented by the Oregon Flower Growers Association. Today it houses the OFGA office along with seven wholesalers. The growers “still have a nice foothold here,” says Scott. “Individual growers rent booths in the market and sell directly to retail customers. In the summertime, it’s like

San Diego (Carlsbad) Famous for Ecke poinsettias and the Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch—50 acres of blooming ranunculus, farmed by Mellano & Company—San Diego’s North County is one of those coastal areas that provide a prime environment for growing flowers. In the 1980s, growers in this area got together to build a floral trade center in Carlsbad (about 35 miles north of San Diego), on a site donated by the Ecke family.

When it opened, in late 1989, the San Diego International Floral Trade Center included a Dutch-style auction along with wholesale vendors of fresh flowers and floral supplies.

For the auction, the timing wasn’t great. It offered an efficient way to get flowers from local growers onto the market—but this was about the time when imported flowers were taking an ever-larger share of the American market. The auction faltered, then, after just a few years. It had been the

16 www.flowersandmagazine.com

a farmers’ market here”—except that sales are wholesale only. “Everybody goes there to shop first, then to the wholesalers, which is fine—we love supporting our local growers; we don’t want to lose them. We know the value we have there.”

The same cooperative spirit reigns among the wholesalers. “We’re competitors, but friendly competitors,” says Scott. “Being in one building gives us a chance to work together” on projects like design programs, where everyone in the market shares responsibility for the program’s success. “We’re a different bunch here in Portland,” Scott explains. “We’re optimistic for the future”—with good reason. www.pdxflowermarketcom

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What’s Up Downtown?

trade center’s largest tenant. Other vendors in the trade center prospered—but as the city of Carlsbad developed around it, the owners of the property realized they could get much higher rents from a different kind of tenant, says Gene Willis of San Diego Florist Supplies, which became the largest tenant after the auction folded.

In 2014, the first trade center building was converted to office space. Vendors relocated to one of two new venues, both in Carlsbad: the Carlsbad International Floral Trade Center and the Sunroad International Floral Market. Each of these is anchored by well-known suppliers and does substantial business. But the market, of course, was now split. And property values in Carlsbad keep rising. “The center we’re in now will be used for apartments or condos within the next five years,” says Gene. “Everybody’s biding their time.”

They have good reason for doing so. A plan is in the works for a new, mixed-use center, being developed by the Carltas Company—the same company that developed the original San Diego International Floral Trade Center. To be called the North 40 Urban Farm, the new center will be built on the edge of the Flower Fields. It is conceived as a destination replete with retail attractions that share an agricultural theme: “They’ll have a restaurant, a wedding center, a winery, microbreweries,” says Gene; “they’ll press olives and make cheese.” A separate building will house a new floral trade center— still open to the trade only, but profiting from a convenient location (just off the I-5 freeway) and the cachet of its neighbors, appealing to event professionals among others. Projected to come online in 2018, the North 40 sounds like just the kind of creative approach that could succeed by catering to multiple constituencies with a shared interest: growers, wholesalers, florists, and consumers.

San Francisco San Francisco’s Flower Mart, the second-largest in the country, is a beloved city landmark. Grower-owned and over a century old, the mart has long occupied a spacious building at 6th and Brannan Streets in the SoMa (South of Market) district. Its more than 50 vendors offer a lavish and diverse cut-flower inventory enriched with all the bounty of the Pacific Northwest.

But no city has experienced a dizzying rise in property values like San Francisco. With the influx of tech companies, the pressure is on to rezone areas once filled with warehouses and light industry for office, residential and retail use.

Flower Mart tenants were understandably nervous when they first heard about plans to tear down the mart building and rebuild it to accommodate tech offices and “a vibrant public plaza” with retail businesses, along with a renovated facility for the Flower Mart. The timeline for the project is still uncertain, depending on city approval of a new plan for the entire SoMa area.

Representatives of the developer, however (real estate giant Kilroy Realty Corp.), including chairman and CEO John Kilroy, have sought to reassure flower mart stakeholders. If all goes according to plan, they will be moved to a temporary site in late 2018, when construction of the new building begins, and will be welcomed back in mid to late 2021, with long-term leases at affordable rates. The terms were negotiated with help from city politicians and in the aftermath of public protests by fans of the flower mart. It’s a big gamble—but one that could pay big dividends. The biggest? Preserving the rich and beautiful tradition of a downtown flower mart. www.sanfranciscoflowermart.com b

18 www.flowersandmagazine.com

Going, Going, Here to Stay Innovation at the flower auction.

In 1911, around the same time that growers near major urban centers in North America were getting together to create downtown flower markets, Dutch flower growers formed a cooperative and founded an institution that became, for a time, the single most important player in the world of cut flowers: the Dutch flower auction. Today the auctions at Aalsmeer and other locations in the Netherlands are known collectively as Royal FloraHolland. The Dutch auction system has spawned imitators across the globe—some created by emigrant Dutch growers, like the auction in Burnaby (near Vancouver), British Columbia, owned by United Flower Growers, a cooperative of over 80 Canadian growers. Today members of the Royal FloraHolland cooperative are still mostly Dutch, but the number also includes flower growers from Africa, Israel and other places.

The auction did what downtown flower markets did on a larger scale: it created an efficient marketplace where buyers could purchase from a variety of growers, and growers could have access to many buyers at a central distribution point. In addition, FloraHolland also guarantees and facilitates payments—which are often very slow, outside the auction system—and plays a role in defining and regulating quality standards. The auction “clock”—not a timepiece, but a dial with a fast-moving hand that experienced buyers can use to make bids—provides a deft mechanism for

determining a market-set price. The auction does not buy and sell but only facilitates the sale.

The auction system in Holland experienced great export-oriented growth for about 30 years, starting in the late 1960s. It was vital to the success of Dutch growers and traders, making the Netherlands the strongest flower exporter in the world.

In a way, FloraHolland today is a victim of that success. As the cut-flower market has globalized and grown, it makes less and less sense for flowers to travel to the auction for sale before they are shipped elsewhere. High-volume buyers and sellers want to make direct sales at fixed prices. Such sales can also go through the auction—indeed, today more than half of the products sold through the auction are by direct sales, while sales “on the clock” are diminishing. The problem for the auction system is how to remain solvent and relevant when many of its past functions can be duplicated by competitors on the internet.

The task is harder because of the many constituencies served by the auction: small to medium-size Dutch growers, flower farms in Kenya and Ethiopia, big and medium-size buyers. Under new leadership for the past three years, FloraHolland has pursued a policy of innovation in a digital and international direction while cutting costs. It reported overall growth in 2016, with revenues up 5% for the first time in many years, and big changes ahead, with the addition of a 24/7 online transaction platform.

AUCTION INNOVATION, CANADIAN STYLE In British Columbia, the United Flower Growers auction is facing some similar challenges, and coming up with innovative solutions. Started in 1963, the Canadian auction grew rapidly during the 60s, 70s, and 80s, moving twice and expanding in the current location.

Growth began to slow during the 90s and peaked in 2001, according to Bob Pringle, CEO of United Floral Holdings Inc. What happened?

“When a lot of larger customers entered the picture—the Krogers, Home Depots, Walmarts, Costcos—they wanted assured pricing and to purchase 30 january 2012

IN TRANSITION The flower auction at Aalsmeer in the Netherlands is a vast facility with impressive logistics for handling huge volumes of cut flowers (as seen above) that arrive at the auction from growers and are sold and redistributed around the world. In the age of global communications via the internet, more and more flowers are traveling directly from grower to customer, bypassing the auction, which has had to re-evaluate its role in the marketplace. Similar strategic considerations apply to the smaller but still very substantial auction in Burnaby, British Columbia (above left), which was founded on the Dutch model. directly from growers,” Bob explains. “In the early stages, many of those transactions were done through the auction, but as the florist trade has declined and larger retailers have taken a bigger slice, the auction has become smaller—though it still does a healthy business. How we responded was to reorganize ourselves.” In 2015, the auction purchased Kirby Floral, also known as Kirby Signature, a premier wholesale supplier that was in some ways a competitor to the auction.

“We have now essentially two entities, and two ways of purchasing, that complement each other,” Bob continues. The wholesale florist side caters to independent retailers of all kinds, who need specialty items in smaller quantities. On the auction side, buyers can purchase in person, online, or through commissioned buyers, making a direct connection to growers that might not be otherwise practical or possible—just like at downtown markets in the early days, and here and there still today.

One of today’s overarching trends in the floral marketplace is that even as it grows to encompass more kinds of buyers and sellers, those buyers and sellers are continually coming closer together, with shared information and resources in a globalized, digital world. It’s not easy to be all things to all clients and stakeholders—but for any business that’s all about making connections, it might not be a bad thing to try. www.royalfloraholland.com, www.ufgca.com MAY 2017 19

MARKET

The

REPORT

Our annual update on new varieties and developments in the world of cut flowers and potted plants.

By Bruce Wright

12 www.flowersandmagazine.com 20 www.flowersandmagazine.com

MEET AND GREET How do you learn about the latest trends and how to get the best value for your cut-flower dollar (besides reading Flowers& Magazine, that is)? Look for opportunities to meet and talk with flower growers—like at the annual World Floral Expo, held annually in March, with free admission to qualified floral buyers including retail florists and designers. Participation at this year’s expo in Las Vegas was up dramatically, according to Dick van Raamsdonk, president of HPP International Group, which runs the show. “And 90% of our exhibitors are growers, with special flowers from all over the world,” he points out. At the exhibit of Alexandra Farms, a specialist in garden roses including David Austin varieties, posters showed pictures from the farms “because we want people to know right away we’re a grower,” as president Joey Azout explained (seen here with Maria Venegas and Sandy Saenz, both of Alexandra Farms). Free design workshops added to the appeal for retail florists and designers. Other opportunities coming up to meet growers and suppliers include International Floriculture Expo (in Chicago, June 13-15), CalFlowers Fun N Sun (in Carlsbad, California, August 9-12), and Proflora (in Bogotá, Colombia, October 4-7). www. worldfloralexpo.com, www.floriexpo.com, www.cafgs.org, HIGH-TECH HYDRANGEAS Visitors to World Floral Expo not only saw intriguing hydrangea varieties—like Shamrock, Green Gardens, and Rusty Green, all from Colombian grower Valley Springs—but learned about a new kind of packaging, introduced by Chrysal, that allows hydrangeas to be shipped without water bags strapped to the stem ends and to arrive fresher than ever. “The water bags can leak,” says Chrysal’s Dennis Wheeler. “Plus they add weight during shipping and labor at both ends, the grower and the customer, which adds to cost.” Replacing them is something call MHP, for Modified Humidity Packaging, which keeps the flowers from dehydrating without running the risk of botrytis caused by excess moisture.

“We used it for 50% of the product we brought to the show, and it’s working really well,” says Valley Springs’ Mike Henriquez. www.chrysal.com, www.valleysprings.co

MARKET

FROM ALL OVER The FLOWERS Even as the “buy local” and “American Grown” movements gain momentum, the cutflower trade becomes ever more global, with flowers from other countries filling gaps in domestic availability.

Alongside exhibitors from Canada, Colombia, and Ecuador, World Floral Expo showed roses from Ethiopia, Kenya, and as far away as India (which already supplies roses to the US market during peak holiday times). In Iran, it takes almost an entire village to harvest seven-foot whips of flame willow, seen at far right, in season from October through April, for specialty distributor Latitude33. Latitude33 also offers pincushion proteas from the Canary Islands, available from the end of December through late March—just when they are out of season from California—in bright yellow, red, and peach. Meanwhile, consolidated shipments bring in an assortment of exotic items from the wildly divergent climate zones of Peru—coastal, jungle, and high mountain: striped bromeliads, chocolate cordyline, and a type of stick-plant euphorbia native to Peru. www.latitude33flowers.com,

REPORT

SOPHISTICATED MINI MUMS Maybe you don’t think of spray mums as upscale or exclusive— but that’s the target market for these chic little numbers. They’re the latest additions to the sassy line of small-blooming so-called Santini mums. “This is a special collection, launched right here at World Floral Expo,” says Santiago Cock-rada of Colombian grower Liberty Blooms. “We’re a small farm with the capacity to introduce new varieties in small numbers, but very fast, in eight weeks instead of the usual 12,” he explains. Later on, they may go into wider production for supermarket bouquets—by which time Liberty Blooms will have moved on to something even newer. Seen here, clockwise from top left, are Trebol, Yin Yang, Cider, Peridot, and Frenzy Pink. www.libertyblooms.com

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ROSES WITH A CONSCIENCE Another reason to meet growers is to find out how they treat, not only their flowers, but also their employees and the environment. Those who care about social and environmental issues will often proudly volunteer that their flowers come with a fairtrade label. Roses from Ecuadorian grower Agrocoex, for example, have earned the label Fair Trade Certified™, which means the grower participates in a program, audited by an outside party, that ensures sustainable production and fair wages for workers, along with projects and programs that offer them a better way of life. Agrocoex is one of only eight flower farms out of 500 in Ecuador that are so certified, says general manager Diego Espinosa (though others may qualify for other labels). If you wonder whether your customers care about such things (and are willing to pay a little more for them), consider that flowers are all about good feelings. Agrocoex and other fair-trade growers also tend to produce highest-quality flowers, including new varieties like Scarlatta—which Diego thinks just might be the next Freedom—and Pink Mondial, a natural mutation of the market favorite Mondial (a white rose). www.agrocoex.com, www.fairtradeusa.org

MARKET

The

REPORT

A walk-in cooler is more affordable than

The chill factor, as every savvy florist knows, is key to keeping flowers fresh and customers happy. For most florists, there are times when cooler space is at a premium (weddings and holidays come to mind).

A new cooler, however, has always been a major investment.

About ten years ago a small vegetable farmer, Ron Khosla, teamed up with a friend who was an engineer to devise an ingenious solution to this problem: a sophisticated timer and controller that attaches to a conventional, off-the-shelf air conditioner. Together, the air conditioner and the controller, dubbed the CoolBot, are capable of converting an insulated room into a walk-in cooler suitable for perishables—with dramatic savings in the cost of the equipment,

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installation and energy use. The CoolBot is already in wide use, with over 35,000 units sold. Small flower farmers and retail florists are among the happy customers.

The “insulated room” part provided the remaining challenge, however, for many would-be CoolBot users. “A lot of DIY people love it, but others balk at the prospect of building the space or insulating a space they already have,” says John Bergher, vice president of sales and marketing for Store It Cold, LLC, which makes and sells the CoolBot. “That’s why we created the CoolBot Walk-In Cooler System, which provides a turnkey solution that still reflects significant savings over a traditional walk-in cooler.”

The CoolBot Walk-In Cooler System still requires assembly, but it’s quick and easy, John assures, as demonstrated in a

Floral design by David Powers AIFD Photography by Ron Derhacopian

t For product information, see Where to Buy, page 64.

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Head Turners

Make a statement with flowers that command attention.

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Head Turners GOING FOR THE GOLD At left, wire orbs—quickly fashioned in the hand at the end of a long stem—and the muted gold of the Bryant Bowl highlight the rich color at the center of pink-andgold Edith, a David Austin rose.

The looped variegated ti leaves recall a giant bow tied under the bouquet. David made them by securing the tip of each leaf to the base with a UGlu Dash.

SWEET AND LOW At lower left, the wide-lipped Sabine Bowl supports a lavish display of Gerrondo gerberas, Carey David Austin roses, and Limelight anthuriums, with plumosus and Green Wave fern leaves, all held in place with an armature of hot pink aluminum wire.

NEW AGAIN Veronica, craspedia, and daisy mums aren’t new flowers—but you haven’t seen vibrant, sturdy hybrids like these, including Can Can magenta mums with bright green centers.

Cut kalanchoe is an exciting introduction: frilly, long-stemmed and long-lasting. Orange Queen is the variety featured here.

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Head Turners STANDING TALL The fluffy heads, with cushion-shaped flowers and white anthers like candy sprinkles on top, are the first thing most people notice about Scoop scabiosa—but the tall, straight, leafless stems are another attractive feature, nicely emphasized in David’s design at left, where they race up and down between a mound of Candy Scoop at the bottom and a cloud of the same variety at the top. The squared stems echo the lines of the cement cube.

SUNSHINE At right, colorenhanced gypsophila and plumosus in Lemon Yellow underscore the bright, cheery yellow of Goldfish “crispa” tulips (the term denotes petals with a frilly fringe like frayed silk). Dark green nagi foliage at the base provides contrast for the yellow gyp and semi-transparent plumosus, and harmonizes nicely with the natural tulip foliage.

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Head Turners GREEN FLAGS At left, partially stripped stems of sword fern call to the tender green centers of Charity garden roses, a David Austin variety. The hand-tied bouquet is collared with variegated aralia leaves and lily grass and placed in a textured oval vase.

LAVA FLOW Above, Monarch parrot tulips spill from the angled opening of the Studio Glass Vase, their stems supported and stabilized with an orb of copper aluminum wire.

Plumosus fern overhangs the cascade.

FRESH FRILLS At right, Blossom Pink cut kalanchoe rises in a rosy cloud from a collar of butter-and-cream Sensy PiĂąacolada limonium. This combination will makes a bouquet that will last up to three weeks.

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Head Turners A FOUNTAIN, WAVES Color-enhanced curly willow floats on the perimeter of this design, calling to the rich purple of Curly Sue fringed tulips across a frothy ocean of pink. Frosted on the outside, Curly Sue opens to a deeper shade. With their vibrant hue, pink Gerrondo gerberas intensify the delicate mid-pink of Carey, a fragrant David Austin rose with characteristic cupped and quartered blooms.

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Head Turners PEACHES AND CREAM At left, fashionable peachy tints are well represented by Maga Gerrondo gerberas, beautifully combined with Charity David Austin roses. The full, rounded form of Gerrondos is a nice match for garden roses. Alongside Maga, Charity’s pale ballet pink takes on a buttery cast. Green foliage brings out the garden-green stamens that nestle among Charity’s wavy petals.

The Seaside Vase automatically separates the stems, giving each flower head full play.

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Head Turners ABOVE THE CLOUDS At left, White Cloud garden roses combine with frilled white Honeymoon tulips in a hand-tied bouquet collared with White Mist with Shimmer aralia leaves and plumosus fern. The tulip foliage rises above the surface of the bouquet for a lovely effect, along with three stems of plumosus. David trimmed the lowermost fronds to emphasize the horizontal, sheltering aspect of the fern leaves.

WHITE AND GOLD Below, Beatrice David Austin roses glow with a buttery gold.

David has paired them with Limelight anthuriums, including one heart-shaped bloom outlined in pink.

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A PALETTE OF PINKS Three varieties of garden roses encompass a range from softpink, cup-shaped Constance and new hot-pink Capability, both David Austin roses, to cherry-red Princess Kishi, new from Japan. A loose necklace of color-enhanced curly willow, Puckett Pink wth Shimmer, encircles the fragrant profusion.

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Head Turners ROOM TO BLOOM At left, an Oasis Wire Armature, settled on top of the oval Cruz Vase, separates the silky, ruffled blooms of White Rebel parrot tulips, showing each one to advantage even as they open wide. Swirls of lily grass complement the tulip leaves.

YIPES STRIPES At right, Golden Glory solidago and Paintball craspedia in brilliant yellow, plus Sensy Piùacolada limonium and Green Wave Lauae fern, rise in a cheerful, playful planting from a rectangle of soaked floral foam— wrapped in a single broad leaf of Calathea ornata, with its slender stripes. For more about the leaf wrapping see page 51.

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Head Turners LEMON SURPRISE What can you do to complement, but not compete with, sensational upright heliconia like those at left? Surround them at the base with yellow beehive gingers and coral anthuriums—a surprising but effective combination of brights and tints. Colorenhanced plumosus in Lemon Yellow underscores the yellow gingers. Green Wave and sword fern, plus variegated aralia leaves, add their own distinctive touches.

STEPWISE At right, Coral Pride tulips—a blushing pale coral with yellow, lightly fringed edges—gain a slight separation and a framing effect from tiers of folded red ti leaves. This design strategy dramatizes the tulips’ long, straight stems and graceful foliage.

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Head Turners BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP Sturdy and cheerful, varieties of Ornithogalum dubium in the Star series include three sunny yellows: Yellow Star, Prince Star and Queen Star. At left, ornithogalum pairs beautifully with other new varieties from Danziger: Cosmic gypsophila, with its fluffy, bright white flowers, yellow daisy mums, and Sensy Piñacolada limonium, layered with rolled leaves of variegated aspidistra.

SUPER FANCY Candy pink with fringed edges, Queensland double tulips (at upper right) radiate feminine charm. And what well-dressed woman doesn’t love a clever, comment-worthy fashion accessory, like the knotted and woven lily grass accents seen here. The tulip stems are controlled and separated with an Oasis Wire Armature. For howto’s on the woven lily grass, see page 51.

DELICIOUS Danziger, breeder of the delectable Scoop series of scabiosa, keeps coming up with new colors, now a dozen in all.

Making the arrangement at right, David started in the center with Vanilla, then worked his way out and downward with light pink Marshmallow, brighter pink Candy, and along the bottom row, Summer Blackberry, Cherry Vanilla, Blackberry and Strawberry. Get a spoon!

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Head Turners NIGHT AND DAY To dramatize the long, graceful stems of Clearwater tulips (in Sun Valley’s Redwood Grove line of American-grown “French” tulips), with their silky, pure white blooms, David made everything else in the design white, so the stems pop.

The tall Artsi Vase also emphasizes the length of the stems. For a howto on the mechanic that supports the stems inside the vase, see page 51.

DOWN AND UP At right, two different kinds of furry hanging heliconia take center stage. The one on the left is beginning to dry in place; it will last a long time as a semi-dried botanical. The color story these two tell is elaborated with contrasting textures at the base of the design: Cinnamon anthuriums, pinky-beige beehive ginger (Zingiber spectabile, with flowers sprouting from the bracts, as in the yellow variety below), and parrot tulips in brilliant orange, flecked with green and tipped with gold. Crocodile fern supplies a textured backdrop.

MAY 2017 47

Head Turners FRENCH, WITH RUFFLES You may already know Avignon, a classic, long-stemmed (“French�)

Redwood Grove tulip, as a smooth oval, deep orange with a rose glaze. This is Avignon in parrot form, with ruffled petals flecked on the outside with gold and green.

She is perfectly matched with the ruffly foliage of Curly Wave Lauae fern and color-enhanced lily grass.

Plumosus fern makes a soft collar.

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OLD IS NEW In flower breeding and floral designing, a creative eye is constantly making the familiar fresh. What’s more familiar than daisy mums, solidago, kalanchoe, and plumosus?

But when color-enhanced plumosus and brilliant Golden Glory solidago marry with the bright eyes of Atlantis Red and a tuft of cut kalanchoe in warm apricot, all look brand new... and so they are.

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Head Turners TWO TIMERS No, they’re not peonies—they’re double tulips, packed to bursting with white petals outlined in pink. Cleverly named Double Touch, this variety is so “double” that three of the stems in this bouquet have baby side shoots. To separate the round flower heads and maximize their impact, David placed an Oasis Wire Armature inside the clear glass vase and used it to stabilize the stems at the base. Three White Rebel parrot tulips gleam at the heart of the design.

Lily grass complements the natural tulip foliage nicely. b

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How-to tips for

Head Turners YIPES STRIPES, page 41 A block of floral foam, cut to the right size and shape and wrapped in a striped calathea leaf, becomes a self-contained water source—and an eye-catching detail. The wrapping is secured with green bullion wire; it is then pierced on top with a knife to make holes for inserting the flowers and foliage.

NIGHT AND DAY, page 56 A design grid made with decorative wire spares you the trouble of covering wire or foam; it creates a lightweight mechanic and makes it easy for customers to add water mixed with flower food as needed. This one is a simple orb fashioned out of silver aluminum wire and placed inside the vase. White Mist curly willow stems, inserted first, also serve as part of the design grid, supporting and securing the position of softer tulip stems along with color-enhanced aralia leaves (White Mist with Shimmer).

SUPER FANCY, page 45 Here’s a simple accent that can be prepared in advance and added to almost any design. Lay 10 or 12 blades of lily grass on your worktable—half vertical, half horizontal. Weave the centers of the blades together. At first you may need to hold one set of blades down with tape. As you gain in practice, you can do it all with just your hands, and very quickly. Pull the loose blades on the outside of the woven portion down and bind them with dark green chenille stem (which is inconspicuous and sturdy but soft, so it doesn’t cut into the grass). Trim the excess and insert the bound stems loosely into your design; they will last longer than most flowers, even out of water.

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shop profile

•

By Marianne Cotter

A home-town boy makes good— and helps others to succeed.

T

o say that Tim Farrell gets around is to understate the case. As a sought-after industry professional, including fulfilling his duties as a Teleflora Education Specialist, Tim has traveled the globe from the U.S. to Tokyo to Nairobi (where he recently made a presentation to the World Flower Council).

He has been seen arranging flowers for the Pope, the Bush Inauguration and the Academy Awards, and is a regular commentator at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

But the fact is, Tim is a local boy, still living in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania—the same town where he was born and raised.

College took him to nearby Villanova University, where he picked up a part-time job in a flower shop. He “got” the business immediately. “I saw that floral designers take flowers and help one human being express emotion to another human being through those arrangements. That intrigued me,” says Tim, who started by sweeping the floors and cleaning up. “I was lucky in that the owner taught me design and allowed me to experiment,” he recalls. “I moved into the role of designer really quickly.”

So enamored of the business was Tim that he opened Farrell’s Florist in 1983, between his junior and senior years at Villanova. At that time, there were eight other Located in an older part of Drexel Hill, where the bottom level of many buildings is retail and the upper level is apartments, Farrell’s Florist occupies an enviable corner location with lots of windows. Over the course of his career Tim has become recognized worldwide as a speaker and educator on floral design and business.

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•

Photography by William McKeown

florists in Drexel Hill. Today—34 years later—Farrell’s is the only one left standing.

Farrell’s Florist Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania Owner: Tim Farrell AIFD, AAF, PFCI Niche: Everyday, small-town flower shop Number of employees: 5 full time, 5 part time Square footage: 2,000 square feet including the work area www.farrellsflorist.com

A PROGRESSIVE SHOP When he opened his shop, Tim was already on the cutting edge of the business, which gave him an immediate advantage. “We opened as a progressive shop,” Tim explains. “Holland flowers were just starting to get a hold on the American market and we used them. We experimented with many flowers that other shops didn’t have. We also had very strong customer service and follow-through. We invested in a POS system from Teleflora, which gave us a lot of information at our fingertips. We would go the extra distance to find the right flowers and do whatever we could service-wise to make the customer happy—that was our concentration.”

Tim says the demise of the other shops didn’t happen all at once; rather they shut down gradually over the years. “The recession took a few out, but most of it was generational,” he explains. “The town’s original florists were of a more mature generation and the owners didn’t have anyone to take the business forward.”

Farrell’s delivers to most of Delaware County, just outside Philadelphia. “This is a place of many small towns, each with its own zip code,” he explains. “In a city like Phoenix you can drive for hours and still be in Phoenix. Not so here. You drive a little while and you’ve been in four towns. We do go into Philadelphia for special events, but it’s not part of our normal delivery area.”

ACCOUNTING TOOLS THAT WORK An accounting major at Villanova University when he launched the business, Tim was tempted to drop out and run the shop full-time—a move to which his parents strongly objected.

Tim relented and finished his degree, which he has never regretted. His understanding of controlling cost of goods and maintaining balanced books have helped him keep the store on track through many economic ups and downs.

May 2017 53

An example of how Tim incorporates sound accounting practices to drive good business is the Excel-based cost analysis tool he developed for his designers. “I created it with a past employee who really understood Excel,” he explains.

“The way it works is, each of our four design stations has a computer. When a designer is filling a custom order, they actually plug in numbers. First, they enter the dollar figure for the order, and the program subtracts labor costs. Then they enter the dollar figure for the container, and Excel subtracts that. Then they input the number of stems; if they use two roses it subtracts eight dollars. Two stems of mums calculate as two times three dollars. The program continually subtracts items used from a running total.

If the total exceeds the order amount, they either take out flowers or re-price the order. It has proven to be a great tool to keep costs of goods sold under control. We love it.”

This homegrown tool provides multiple benefits to both the business and the customer. “It makes for a very consistent design look,” Tim explains. “One designer may be instinctively generous with what he puts in an arrangement, while another may be skimpy. That kind of inconsistency can set us up for failure in terms of expectations.

Our method is fair; it ensures that we make the money we need to make and that the customer gets the value they paid for.”

Another advantage is if, at any point in time, a customer questions the arrangement or the price, Tim can call up the file and see exactly what went into the arrangement.

TEACHING AND LEARNING As noted, Tim is a frequent speaker at industry events sponsored by everyone from Teleflora to the World Flower Council, to SAF (the Society of American Florists) and AIFD (the American Institute of Floral Designers), of which he is a past president, as well as making presentations for wholesalers to demonstrate new materials.

Tim says he learns as much as he teaches at these events and brings the new ideas back to his own business. “The initial

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assignment is to teach something,” he says, “but I learn something everywhere I go. I might learn a trick from another retailer, I might find a new product that’s available from a wholesaler. So it keeps me up-todate on the trends and what’s going on in the industry.”

Educating consumers is another passion for Tim. In his own shop, he is working to bridge the gap between the more traditional style customers see in magazines and on websites and the more architectural style that Tim favors.

“We are always looking for opportunities to introduce more architectural designs to our customers,” he explains. “If we are donating flowers, we ask the organization to let us pick the style. We create more contemporary and architectural arrangements so people can see the potential of flowers.”

Tim stays active in his own community, which keeps the opportunities coming. “I have served on the board of directors of a local swim club, and on my parish counsel and a home school association when my kids were in school,” he says. “We assist lots of charities by donating or helping these groups source flowers.”

MASTER OF CEREMONIES Another way Tim is able to expand the floral experience of consumers is his participation in the annual Philadelphia Flower Show, the largest such consumer event in the U.S., attracting about a quarter of a million people in the course of a week. It has both landscape and floral sections and Tim has been involved in the floral design segment for many years.

Farrell’s Florist customers walk into a contemporary, light-filled shop of chocolate browns and chartreuse greens. “We have an area where cut flowers are displayed in buckets” (top left, behind the assembled staff), says Tim, “and another area where we keep our plants and planters together.

The front area has permanent flowers and a cooler with fresh flowers and arrangements for sale.”

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His role is as Master of Ceremonies for the week-long series of design competitions called The Designers Studio.

“The designers don’t see the product until they get to the table, and then they have 45 minutes to make the design, after which the audience votes on the winner. My job as host is to talk to the audience while the designers work, teaching about the donated product to give the sponsors recognition, but also to teach the audience about the elements and principles of a good design as well as the skills designers must have. The audience ends up with a better understanding and appreciation of what florists do.”

Each of the Design Studio competitions draws several hundred people. In the span of a week Tim hosts approximately 40 competitions.

A SHOP DESIGNED FOR DESIGNERS About 16 years after opening his shop, Tim was presented with an opportunity to purchase the space next door. “We opened the wall between shops and used the additional square footage entirely as workspace,” he says. “The showroom remained at its original size. So today, of the 2,000 square feet on the retail first floor level, 1,000 square feet is design space.”

Tim took advantage of the opportunity to create optimized workstations for his designers. The result is four permanent design stations equipped with everything a designer needs. “Everything is at the designer’s fingertips, so no time is lost walking around,” Tim says. “We have extra space in other parts of the shop where seasonal designers can work, but these four dedicated design stations allow our staff designers to work comfortably and efficiently.” Tim reports an increase in productivity of more than 20 percent in his staff designers that he attributes to the efficient layout of the workstations.

WORLD CLASS This past September Tim went to Nairobi, Kenya to give a presentation to the World Flower Council, an organization that has members from 36 different countries. The council presents a summit

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in a different host country every year and invites speakers to discuss a specific aspect of floral design.

“My talk was on the subject of rhythm in floral design, which is the direction and pace at which your eye flows through a design,” Tim explains. “For this presentation, I discussed that each person has an internal ‘rhythm’ in the beating of his or her heart.

That beat is dependent on many factors that are influenced by the human experience.

I then matched samplings of music to life events. The result was a presentation that closely connected flowers to emotion— something I am so passionate about!”

Tim also presented a hands-on workshop to 30 students exploring a secondary principle of design, tension. “Tension is when a design looks like a secondary force is working on it,” Tim says. “An example might be when all the flowers look as if they are moving in one direction, as if blown by the wind. Or it may look like the floral materials are dripping out of a container due to the force of gravity.”

Sometimes the best part of traveling and teaching design is coming home. “When I’m in the shop I love being part of the everyday task of filling orders,” he says. “Of course, I still handle all the bill pay, payroll, and all the other issues of running the shop, but when I’m here I like to spend at least part of each the day at the design bench. It is here that I can experiment and create and put into practice some of the great ideas I have learned in my travels.”

AN IDEA THAT STILL WORKS While most of Tim’s business comes in over the phone and Internet, he has never lost sight of the traditional wire-service orders that continue to be a profitable part of his business. “I’m a very firm believer in using a network like Teleflora to ensure my success as a retailer because it can be very profitable. The florist-to-florist services are a big part of my marketing plan. I let the customer know that while I may not make the arrangement myself, I service the order to get it delivered anywhere in the country, and I’m going to take care of

the order. A lot of florists underestimate this facet of the business but it can be a very valuable part of a business plan.”

ANNUAL RECKONING The competitive landscape has changed for better and worse over the years, which has required Tim to be in a constant state of adaptation. For Tim, moving the business forward is not so much a matter of introducing new ideas as it is taking a cold hard look at where the business stands each year—something he advises all florists to do.

“Every florist needs to reevaluate their business annually, considering strengths and weaknesses and then making decisions based on that,” Tim says. “I think you have to constantly evaluate where you can make improvements or what points of business should no longer be a part of your plan because they just don’t work anymore.”

It’s a matter of paying attention to the whole package. You can’t be so concerned about design that you’re not tending the business side. On the other hand, in a creative industry with an aesthetically categorized gift, you can’t just focus on the dollar.

A successful florist needs to understand and manage both sides of the business.

One piece of advice from Tim: “The number one goal you should be working towards when you’re in business is customer loyalty and word-of-mouth recommendations,” he says. “Building a loyal base of customers, who have had such a great experience with your company that they are willing to recommend you to others—that is the key to a successful future!” b When the retail space next door to Farrell’s Florist became available, Tim was able to purchase the space and convert it to workspace with optimized workstations, each with its own phone, computer, water supply, sink, cabinets, and a ten-foot worktable. Designers can look forward into a larger cooler window to see what products are available and have everything else they need at their fingertips at all times.

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Perspective

A Fresh

It’s not often that a brand new international trade fair for flowers and plants emerges on the scene. When it does, it signals a change or trend in the marketplace. The first edition of a new trade fair in China, for example (held in Guangzhou in mid March of this year, organized by HPP Exhibitions) attests to the growing global importance of the Chinese market, which is beginning to influence the directions taken by breeders and growers around the world.

What does it mean that Messe Frankfurt, a powerhouse in the world of international trade fairs, has launched Floradecora—a fair for cut flowers, plants and related merchandise that debuted in January 2017?

Floradecora ran concurrently with Christmasworld, an established fair for holiday and year-round festive decorations, along with two other fairs, for craft items and stationery goods. The new flower fair may be regarded as an extension of Christmasworld, where fresh flowers and plants have long played an important role in the presentation. Now they have their own large exhibit hall—organized in an innovative fashion, such that a visit to this flower fair offers an integrated experience with a unified vision.

Following on the heels of the giant international trade fair for horticulture IPM Essen, Floradecora clearly needed to find its own niche.

One raison d’être for the show is that it offers growers, wholesalers, and other floral suppliers an unprecedented chance to reach the buyers attending Christmasworld, some of whom may be considering bring flowers and plants into their merchandise

Floradecora is the newest global showcase for floral trends and products.

By Bruce Wright

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DESIGNED FOR DISPLAY Floradecora has a presentation and floor plan unlike any other fresh-flower trade show. At this year’s show, the space allotted to each exhibitor was set off in a translucent white tent. In between the exhibits, white display tables offered the opportunity to compare similar products from different suppliers: competing varieties of tulips or gerberas, for example. At the center of the hall was The Farmhouse, a meeting place with a stage for panel discussions and design demonstrations—playfully decorated with oversize flowers and photos. The look and feel is the brainchild of the boutique Dutch design firm, 2dezign, which also created the theme area, Surprise Surprise. www.floradecora.de, www.2dezign.nl

FLOWERTALES How would you like to be offered, once every two months, a group of products, both fresh and hard goods, that are preselected for a well-coordinated merchandising theme (like “Tenderall,” illustrated at left)? Photos and marketing copy are also made available.

You can choose which products suit you and do what you like with them, but you’re given a head start in putting together a lifestyle narrative that will appeal to customers and inspire your own creativity. The FlowerTales program, promoted in Europe by wholesaler Fleurametz, is an intriguing idea that isn’t yet available in North America, but could be if there is

UP WITH PINK Cut-flower breeders and growers are betting on pink, if the display tables at Floradecora are any indication. Among the gorgeous pinks were frosted Chato, topfrilled Mascotte, and shapely Crown of Dynasty (with pointytip petals) tulips, all from tulip specialist Triflor; Pink Heaven, a longiflorum hybrid displayed by the trade group Your Lily; and candy-pink Royal Roza® bouvardia. www.triflor.nl, www.yourlily.com, www.vreekenbouvardia.nl/en

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A Fresh

Perspective

mix for the first time.

The larger trend is the integration of flowers and plants into décor. It’s not just that consumers are buying more flowers and plants for the home—it’s that retailers are showing them how to do it and presenting it all as one buyable package.

That’s something retail florists have been doing all along, of course— especially those who carry other decorative items besides flowers. And since Christmas decorations are obviously big business for florists, Floradecora and Christmasworld together make an even more appealing package for them.

ON TREND Visitors to both shows took inspiration from the trend palettes, graphics and displays that have long been a feature of Christmasworld.

But trends were also evident at Floradecora, among them: • Pastels, especially pink and salmon pink, are on the rise, buoyed by an increasing tolerance for mixing them with brighter tints and muted tones.

Specialty flowers and plants with unexpected features, like double tulips or exotic cacti, are finding favor. Plants and cut flowers are being used together and crossing categories, with cut-flower kalanchoes and begonias joining potted plant material in floral designs.

• Readymades, convenience products, and packaging concepts are playing an ever more important role in floral retailing. While traditional retail florists have always specialized in custom design and might assume that this trend applies only to mass

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marketers, there’s no reason not to take advantage of it with your own distinctive, impulse-buy designs that integrate flowers and plants with chic containers and presentation packaging.

• More than ever, retailers today need to think of not just selling a product, but telling a story—and suppliers are taking it upon themselves to help with that task. Case in point: LG Flowers, an exhibitor at Floradecora that breeds and grows gerberas, also makes gerbera bouquets and presented concepts for packaging and design.

Dümmen Orange, an umbrella company that represents a number of the world’s top flower breeders, likewise promoted display and packaging ideas that could be purchased as a unit. Wholesaler Fleurametz presented an integrated purchasing, marketing and merchandising program called FlowerTales. For more about FlowerTales, see the photo and caption on the previous page.

The larger trend is that suppliers at different points in the chain of distribution are increasingly thinking ahead to how their products will be marketed and sold at the retail level. It’s a trend that can benefit retail florists who take advantage of the ideas and resources made available to them.

Next year’s Floradecora and Christmasworld, along with their companion shows, are scheduled for January 26-29, 2018 in Frankfurt. Find out more at www.floradecora.de.

THE VIRTUAL BOUQUET A new kind of floral software called BloomyPro has fascinating potential for designers and marketers of flower bouquets. It works with a database of over 2,000 flower types—each individual stem photographed in 3D. A designer can search by flower type or by color. Click and drag the flower on your computer screen into your virtual bouquet. Turn the bouquet around or toward you, spread the flowers out or push them together, move a virtual rubber band up and down. Choose a vase or sleeve. Create a collection of virtual bouquets and email them to a customer for feedback. Or, “allow a customer to go on your website, make their own bouquet— selecting from your inventory—and you deliver it,” suggests Cindy Hanauer, who was demonstrating the BloomyPro tool at Floradecora. “It’s a new way to inspire the customer!” www.bloomypro.com/us

ARTISTRY IN FLOWERS AND VESSELS Among the highlights on the show floor were vases and accents (at near right) from Goedegebuure Natural Decorations, a Dutch wholesaler specializing in a raw wood look that was trendy also in the companion fair, Christmasworld. Art-glass vases from Fidrio (middle photo, right) were filled with bouvardia from the specialty grower Vreeken Bouvardia— here, the variety called Coral, with contrasting white petals at the center of each flower.

Another specialty grower is Van der Lugt Lisianthus. Their booth was filled with oval bouquets made with exclusive varieties of extra-double lisianthus. The bouquets themselves were created by a member of the next generation, 16-year-old Tiffany van der Lugt. www.goedegebuure-deco.nl, www.fidrio.nl, www.breekenbouvardia.nl, www.vdlugtlisianthus.nl

SURPRISE SURPRISE Visitors to all four concurrent trade fairs (for flowers, seasonal decorations, paper goods and craft items) reveled in the inspired whimsy of this year’s “special presentation,” appropriately named Surprise Surprise. Walk through the doorway at the top of the stairs and you entered a magical world of flowers, plants, giant animals and animated figurines, all in a palette of punched-up pastels, enlivened with unexpected

100 january 2012

THE PERFECT PACKAGE Combining flowers with other gifts is not a new idea, but the Floxi is a new packaging concept being marketed in Europe by Smithers-Oasis. It comes as a foursided dome with a handle, made of sturdy but flexible coated paper. You open one side of the dome and a floral arrangement is revealed, created in a round plastic design tray with floral foam. The tray is fitted into a low box that also contains a small drawer.

Pull out the drawer and you could find almost any small but precious gift: a gift card, an item of jewelry, a small bottle of perfume, the keys to a new car. So far this product is being sold only in Europe, but the inventor, Geert Maas, is hopeful that it can be introduced to the American market. www.floxi4flowers.de

may 2017 61

industry events For the most recent additions to Teleflora Unit Programs, go to www.MyTeleflora.com and click on Design Education to access the Floral Event Calendar in the Unit Program section.

National and International June 5-June 30, Atlanta, GA FloraMart® (Pete Garcia Company) 2018 Spring/Summer Market (also July 10-21), FloraMart.

Retailers may contact wholesalers for information on the FloraMart sponsorship program. Visit www.floramart.com.

June 13-15, Chicago, IL International Floriculture Expo, McCormick Place. Visit www.floriexpo.com.

October 4-7, Bogotá, Colombia Proflora 2017, Corferias Convention Center. Contact the Association of Colombian Flower Exporters (Asocolflores) at proflora@ asocolflores.org or visit www.proflora.org.co.

October 20-25, Hermanus, South Africa “Master of Masters in Floral Design” Certification Seminar with Gregor Lersch, Bona Dea Private Estate.

Contact Clair Rossiter at manager@ bonadea.co.za or visit www.bonadea.co.za/gregorlersch.html.

October 26-30, San Francisco, CA EMC (European Master Certification) classes (Part 1, North America, West Coast) with Tomas De Bruyne & Hitomi Gilliam, City College of San Francisco. Visit www.emcprogram.com.

July 1-5, Seattle, WA National AIFD Symposium, Sheraton Seattle. Call the American Institute of Floral Designers at 443-966-3850 or visit www.aifd.org.

July 10-21, Atlanta, GA FloraMart® (Pete Garcia Company) 2018 Spring/Summer Market, FloraMart. Retailers may contact wholesalers for information on the FloraMart sponsorship program.

Visit www.floramart.com.

August 3-5, Kamuela, HI

November 2-6 Norwalk, CT EMC (European Master Certification) classes (Part 1, North America, East Coast) with Tomas De Bruyne & Hitomi Gilliam, East Coast Wholesale Flower. Visit www.emcprogram.com.

November 8-10, Vijfhuizen, The Netherlands International Floriculture & Horticulture Trade Fair (IFTF), Expo Haarlemmermeer. Visit www.hpp.nl.

Central Region June 2-4, Milwaukee, WI Teleflora Scholarship Academy (Central Region), “Competition Boot Camp” with Kevin Ylvisaker, Courtyard by Marriott. Contact Lottie McKinnon at 310-966-3591 or lmckinnon@teleflora.com.

July 19, Madison, WI Wisconsin-Upper Michigan Unit, Weddings & Events with Jenny Thomasson, Bill Doran Co. Contact Sharon Spindell-Wojnarowicz at 414-429-9426 or janskids@att.net.

Northeast Region June 6, Farmingdale, NY Big Apple Unit, Summer Profits with Jerome Raska, Black Forest House.

Contact Feldis Florist at 516-747-3330.

June 23-25, Dulles, VA

July 30, Louisville, KY Kentucky State Florists Association, program includes Weddings with Tom Bowling, Holiday Inn. Contact Michael Gaddie at 502-777-8578 or lloydsflorist@aol.com.

August 4-6, Charlotte, NC Teleflora Scholarship Academy (Southeast Region), “Parties that Pop!” with John Hosek, Renaissance Charlotte Suites Hotel. Contact Lottie McKinnon at 310-966-3591 or lmckinnon@teleflora.com.

November 2-6 Norwalk, CT

Teleflora Scholarship Academy (Western Region), “When Words Are Never Enough” with Tom Simmons, Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel. Contact Lottie McKinnon at 310-966-3591 or lmckinnon@teleflora.com.

EMC (European Master Certification) classes (Part 1, North America, East Coast) with Tomas e Bruyne & Hitomi Gilliam, East Coast Wholesale Flower. Visit www.emcprogram.com.

August 9-12, Carlsbad, CA

June 30-July 5, 2018, Washington, DC

Fun ’N Sun Convention, Park Hyatt Aviara Resort. Call CalFlowers (the California Association of Flower Growers and Shippers) at 831-479-4912 or visit www.cafgs.org.

National AIFD Symposium 2018, Washington Marriott Wardman Park.

Call the American Institute of Floral Designers at 443-966-3850 or visit www.aifd.org.

Texas State Florists’ Association, program includes hands-on workshop (7/28) and Celebrations stage program (7/30) with John Hosek, Embassy Suites & Conference Center. Contact Dianna Nordman at 512-834-0361 or txsfa@ sbcglobal.net.

July 6-11, 2019, Las Vegas, NV

July 30, Phoenix, AZ

September 6-9, Palm Beach, FL

National AIFD Symposium 2019, Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.

Call the American Institute of Floral Designers at 443-966-3850 or visit www.aifd.org.

62 www.flowersandmagazine.com

Southeast Region

August 4-6, Franklin, TN

March 12-13, 2018, Washington, DC

SAF Annual Convention, The Breakers. Call the Society of American Florists at 800-336-4743 or visit www.safnow.org.

Arkansas Florists Association, program includes Weddings & Parties with Kevin Ylvisaker, Hot Springs Convention Center. Contact Shane Cranford at 501-372-4747 or scranford@swflorists.com.

Teleflora Scholarship Academy (Northeast Region), “Growing Your Design IQ” with Tim Farrell, Washington Dulles Airport Marriott.

Contact Lottie McKinnon at 310-966-3591 or lmckinnon@teleflora.com.

Hawaii MIDPAC Horticultural Conference & Expo, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. Call Judy Schilling at Hawaii Export Nursery Association in Hilo at 808-969-2088, visit www.hena.org, or email info@hena.org.

Congressional Action Days 2018.

Conference hotel: Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City, Arlington, VA. Call the Society of American Florists at 800-336-4743 or visit www.safnow.org.

August 18, Hot Springs, AR

South Central Region July 28-30, San Marcos, TX

Arizona State Florist Association, Summer Parties with Kevin Ylvisaker, Black Canyon Conference Center.

Contact Brian Vetter at (602) 9089024 or bvetter.aifd@yahoo.com.

Tennessee State Florists’ Association Convention and Expo, Marriott Hotel Cool Springs. Visit www.tnsfa.com.

Western Region September 8-10, Los Angeles, CA

September 24, Burnaby, BC United Floral Inc., program includes Christmas Designs with Tim Farrell.

Contact Tony Graaf at tgraaf@unitedfloral.ca.

October 1, Denver, CO Rocky Mountain Unit, Creative Everyday with Hitomi Gilliam, DWF. Contact Sandi Yoshihara-Sniff at 800-665-0771 or Ssniff6956@msn.com.

October 26-30, San Francisco, CA EMC (European Master Certification) classes (Part 1, North America, West Coast) with Tomas De Bruyne & Hitomi Gilliam, City College. Visit www.emcprogram.com.

MAY 2017 63

where to buy

pg 38 For more information on merchandise featured in Flowers&, contact the supplier directly. Direct links to most suppliers can be found on the Flowers& website, www.flowersandmagazine.com.

Use the links under “Advertisers in This Issue” or the link to our searchable, online Buyers’ Guide at the top of the Flowers& home page.

O N THE C OVER

Coral Pride tulips, Sun Valley Farms.

Red ti leaves, Wm. F. Puckett.

F O C U S O N DE S I G N , page 8

Professional Glory, Chrysal.

DE S I G N TE C H , page 10

Tapered Vase in Raspberry, Container Source.

HEAD TUR N ER S , pages 26-51

Fresh flowers and foliage throughout from the following suppliers: Garden roses including Mayra’s Bridal Pink, Princess Kishi, White Cloud, and the David Austin varieties Charity (on page 32), Capability, and Constance, Alexandra Farms.

Cosmic™ gypsophila, Sensy™ Pinacolada limonium (L. sinensis),

64 www.flowersandmagazine.com

pg 28 scabiosa in the Scoop™ series, chrysanthemums, cut kalanchoe, ornithogalum, Paintball™ craspedia, veronica, and Golden Glory™ solidago, from Israeli breeder Danziger via Galleria Farms.

Tropical flowers and foliage including anthuriums; upright and hanging heliconia; pincushion proteas, calathea leaves, crocodile fern (Microsorum musifolium ‘Crocodyllus’), and Green Wave Lauae fern, Green Point.

David Austin garden roses including Charity (on page 36), Beatrice, Carey, and Edith, and Gerrondo gerberas, Green Valley.

Parrot, crispa, Redwood Grove, and other special tulips, Sun Valley.

Fresh foliage including aralia and aspidistra leaves, variegated flax, lily grass, nagi, foxtail fern, plumosus fern, tree fern, sword fern, red ti leaves, plus Gilded magnolia and monstera leaves and color-enhanced (some with Shimmer) curly willow, lily grass, plumosus, and gypsophila, Wm. F. Puckett.

GOING FOR THE GOLD, page 28

FRESH FRILLS, page 33

Cement Fishbowl Vase, Jamali.

A FOUNTAIN, WAVES, page 34-35

La Vista whitewashed ceramic bowl, Accent Décor.

PEACHES AND CREAM, page 36

Seaside Vase, Accent Décor.

A FINE LINE, page 37

Urban Earth Weathered Slate Round Pot, Syndicate Sales.

ABOVE THE CLOUDS, page 38

Adair Vase, Accent Décor.

WHITE AND GOLD, STANDING TALL, page 30

pg 30

Cement cube, Jamali.

A PALETTE OF PINKS,

SUNSHINE,

Cobblestone Vase, Syndicate Sales.

Urban Earth Weathered Slate Planter, Syndicate Sales.

SWEET AND LOW,

GREEN FLAGS,

Sabine Bowl, Accent Décor.

Cruz Vase, Accent Décor.

NEW AGAIN,

LAVA FLOW,

Birch box lined with zinc, Accent Décor.

Studio Glass, Accent Décor.

page 29

page 39

page 31

Bryant Bowl, Accent Décor.

page 28

page 38

Lita Compote, Accent Décor.

page 32

page 33

pg 39

pg 33 ROOM TO BLOOM,

NIGHT AND DAY,

Cruz Vase, Accent Décor.

Artsi Vase, Accent Décor.

page 40

F e at u r e d Suppliers

page 46

YIPES STRIPES, page 41

Plate Glass Planter, Accent Décor.

LEMON SURPRISE, page 42

Urban Earth Weathered Brown Square, Syndicate Sales.

pg 48 FRENCH, WITH RUFFLES, page 48

Eclipse Vase, Syndicate Sales.

OLD IS NEW, page 49

Glass cube, Teleflora.

TWO TIMERS,

pg 44

page 50

Cement and Glass Terrarium, Syndicate Sales.

BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP, page 44

Urban Wave Bowl, Syndicate Sales.

SUPER FANCY, page 45

Gold-banded Jasmine Vase, Accent décor.

DELICIOUS, page 45

Lita Compote, Accent Décor.

DOWN AND UP, page 47

pg 47

Urban Earth Weathered Brown Square and Vase, Syndicate Sales.

pg 50

Accent Décor, Inc. Call 770-346-0707 or visit www.accentdecor.com.

Alexandra Farms.

Call 305-528-3657 or visit www.alexandrafarms.com.

Chrysal Americas.

Call 800-247-9725 or visit www.chrysalusa.com .

Container Source.

Call 800-499-6128 or visit www.containersource.com.

Danziger Flower Farm.

Visit www.danziger.co.il.

Galleria Farms.

Call 800-383-2939 or visit www.galleriafarms.com.

Green Point Nurseries.

Call 800-717-4456 or visit www.greenpointnursery.com.

Green Valley Floral.

Call 800-228-1255 or visit www.greenvalleyfloral.com.

Jamali Garden and Floral Supply.

Call 212-979-0108 or visit www.jamaligarden.com.

Sun Valley Group.

Call 800-747-0396 or visit www.thesunvalleygroup.com.

Syndicate Sales.

Call 800-428-0515 or visit www.syndicatesales.com.

Teleflora.

Call 800-333-0205 or visit themarket.myteleflora.com.

Wm. F. Puckett.

Call 800-426-3376 or visit www.puckettfern.com.

MAY 2017 65

wholesaler connection

emporium accessories

Flowers& magazine distributors Arizona Phoenix The Roy Houff Company

Louisiana Lafayette Louisiana Wholesale Florists

Washington Tacoma Washington Floral Service

California Fresno Designer Flower Center Inglewood American Magazines & Books Sacramento Flora Fresh San Diego San Diego Florist Supplies Santa Rosa Sequoia Floral International

Massachusetts Boston Jacobson Floral Supply

canada burnaby, bc United Floral Inc.

Michigan Warren Nordlie, Inc.

malaysia selangor Worldwide Floral Services

Minnesota Minneapolis Koehler and Dramm

singapore Worldwide Floral Services

Florida PENSACOLA American Floral Wholesale of Pensacola Carlstedt’s, LLC

missouri st louis LaSalle Wholesale Florist

Georgia omega Hornbuckle Wholesale Florist hawaii honolulu Flora-Dec Sales Illinois Chicago The Roy Houff Company Milan Bonnett Wholesale Florist Normal The Roy Houff Company Wheeling The Roy Houff Company Kansas wichita Valley Floral Company Kentucky Louisville The Roy Houff Company

66 www.flowersandmagazine.com

New York Campbell Hall Alders Wholesale Florist Ohio dayton Nordlie, Inc. North Canton Canton Wholesale Floral OREGON PORTLAND Floral Design Institute SOUTH DAKOTA SIOUX FALLS North American Wholesale Florist, Inc. Tennessee Nashville The Roy Houff Company

Attention

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Flowers& Subscribers!

Virginia Norfolk The Roy Houff Company Richmond The Roy Houff Company

Visit us online for a taste of Flowers& quality. flowersandmagazine.com

Did you know you can read past and current issues online?

Find out how!

Go to the digital library link at www.flowersandmagazine.com

advertiser links c o n s u m e r EDUCATION

Advertisers’ websites are hyperlinked on the Flowers& website. Go to www.flowersandmagazine.com and click on “Advertisers in This Issue.”

Accent Décor, Inc.

5

770-346-0707 www.accentdecor.com Alexandra Farms

E M PLOY M ENT Florasearch, Inc.

In our third decade of performing confidential key employee searches for the floriculture industry and allied trades worldwide. Retained basis only. Candi­date contact welcome, confidential, and always free.

1740 Lake Markham Rd., Sanford, FL 32771 Phone: (407) 320-8177 / Fax: (407) 320-8083 E-mail: search@florasearch.com Website: http://www.florasearch.com

equipment Refrigerators For Flowers

11

305-528-3657 www.alexandrafarms.com American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD)

21

410-752-3318 www.aifd.org CoolBot 1

888-871-5723 www.storeitcold.com Dollar Tree Direct INSIDE FRONT COVER

877-530-TREE (8733) www.dollartree.com/floral/559/index.cat Floral Deliver Ease

61

877-740-3273 www.floraldeliverease.com

Combo walkins, storage, reach-ins 800-729-5964 www.flotaire.com

schools

Florigene Flowers INSIDE BACK COVER

954-438-9892 www.florigene.com Green Point Nurseries

6

800-717-4456 www.greenpointnursery.com International Floriculture Expo (IFE)

23

207-842-5508 www.floriexpo.com Kay Berry

63

800-426-1932 www.kayberry.com Pete Garcia Company

BACK COVER

800-241-3733 www.floramart.com Seminole 6

800-638-3378 www.seminoleds.com Smithers-Oasis 3

800-321-8286 www.oasisfloral.com The Sun Valley Group

7

800-747-0396 www.tsvg.com Teleflora

15, 25

800-333-0205 www.myteleflora.com Wm. F. Puckett, Inc.

17

800-426-3376 www.puckettfern.com World Flower Council

63

954-444-6445 www.worldflowercouncil.org

MAY 2017 67

what’s in store VROOM VROOM Teleflora’s ’65 Ford Mustang is a great way to bring out the kid in anyone, even grumpy old Dad. The mini muscle car, in poppy red with hand-glazed, hand-painted details, will be promoted with a colorful bouquet on Father’s Day, but it looks great filled with hardy succulents too. Call 800-333-0205 or visit www.MyTeleflora.com.

LARGER THAN LIFE Floral photomurals, printed on high-quality paper in exquisite detail, are available in a wide selection from German printer Komar Products KG, a specialist in wall designs with exports to over 100 countries around the world. Visit www.komar.de.

68 www.flowersandmagazine.com

LET CHURCH BELLS RING The Chrysal Event and Wedding Flower Kit was designed to give florists, event planners and even your DIY brides everything needed for flower prep. It includes a thorn and stem stripper, Professional Glory finishing spray, Chrysal Leafshine, and Full Bloom Flower Food Solution, designed to enhance color, size, scent and full development of blooms. Call 800-247-9725 or visit www.chrysalflowerfood.com.

Featured in the design above: Moonburst and Moonstrike (launched 2017 in USA)

For more information, please contact Cory Sanchez at csanchez@florigene.com Monica Useche at museche@florigene.com Or, you can ask your local wholesaler for details and availabilty. Please visit our website www.florigene.com.