Green Florist

Naturally you would think that a florist would be a green company but that is not necessarily the case. A flower shop can easily be a very wasteful place if a few steps are not taken to prevent it.
The biggest way that a florist can be environmentally friendly is to recycle. Every day flowers are shipped all over the world in cardboard boxes. On an average day your local flower shop will get two to three boxes of flowers in. By the end of the week you are looking at ten to fifteen boxes. This number is significantly higher on holidays. Each box also has news paper inside to help protect the flowers. If someone doesn’t separate these recyclables out they just end up in the trash with all of the stems and old flowers. At Payne and Morrison Florists in Phoenix we have had a system in place for many years to help this process. We have a cardboard table out back that all boxes are stacked on. These boxes are broken down and put into a recycle dumpster that we pay for. We also have paper only cans by the flower receiving station, and by the office. All of the shipping news paper, office paper and the paper that plants come wrapped in goes into these trash cans to be recycled. Another thing that can be recycled by a florist is glass. Not just broken glass in the shop, but good vases as well. If a guy buys his wife flowers for their anniversary, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and her birthday, that is a minimum of four vases a year. This doesn’t sound like a problem at first but in just a few years and you end up with a couple of cabinets full of vases. A lot of people bring their vases back in so that we can reuse them. A few regular customers will bring them in a box at a time.
We are also looking into new ways to help us be just a little more green. New types of floral foam and other products that we use in the store are coming out to help us with this. We recently had a power regulator installed to help save energy at the store. This regulator should help the store run more efficiently, especially our coolers with summer just around the corner.

Please visit our website at www.payneandmorrison.com .

Corsage

We are a local Phoenix florist that has several high schools around us. This makes our Prom season last for a few weeks. I remember when just thinking of this time of year made our designers’ fingers hurt. Corsages have come a long way since then.
The corsage was originally a single flower or large cluster of flowers worn on the waist, shoulder or the bodice of a dress. Today they are worn on the wrist, ankle, on a finger, in the hair or attached to a dress. Actually the only limit to a corsage is imagination. Gone are the days that Prom season would bring the same style of corsage over and over again with different flower and ribbon combinations. The new styles and accessories that have come out are making corsages a whole new art form.
Flowers are always increasing in availability and variety and this bodes well for corsage making. Many flowers were too big for a corsage or just big enough for one flower and not much else. Over the years mini flowers have added to the variety of corsages. Everyone knows about mini-carnations, and mini-roses but the mini-gerbera daisy, a flower that can be found in almost any color, even two tones have become very popular over the last few years. Although they are not flowers, bamboo, bear grass, berries, and even herbs are fresh products that are being used very creatively in corsage making. Going into your local florist is the best way to see what creative piece they can come up with to satisfy your need.
In the last few years, there have been a lot of new products created to add to the design of a corsage. One of the biggest trends is how you wear the corsage. It can be worn on a two inch wide pearl bracelet, on a silver or gold wire necklace or ring, attached to the dress or even stuck directly to your body. With a designer that has jewelry making background the possibilities are endless. There are also small accessories that can be added to corsages these days. From feathers to rhinestones, from designer lace to fiber optic tipped strings that come in any color.
Imagine going to your prom with your favorite flower in your hair lit up by pin points of light that match your dress. A delicate silk choker with that same flower in the middle; spiraling down your arm is a slim silver wire with more flowers that have small rhinestones that also match your dress. To top it off you have a small anklet of flowers that match your shoes to a tee. For less than you spent on your dress, your floral works of art would have everyone admiring you on the dance floor.Please visit us at www.payneandmorrison.com .

Prom Night

Today Prom Night is a high-dollar event with live bands and the newest fashions displayed, all held at a premier location. It seems like proms keep getting bigger and more elaborate over the years but they are really just getting back to the roots of Prom Night.
Prom is originally from Europe where it is known as the Promenade Ball. Every year there would be a ball held just for teens. In a prominent ball room all of the young people from wealthy families would parade in while being formally announced to the room. This ball was an opportunity for a young person to declare they were of a dating age and show themselves off for the night. The young women would buy new gowns of the latest fashion and the young men would be in formal dress of the times with the newest accessories on display. There would be live music that they would dance to throughout the night while they got to know each other. Families that were close to being affluent but not quite there yet would use this opportunity to introduce their child to other teens that they would not meet other wise. The Promenade was a very important, highly anticipated event.
In early America, the tradition was carried over on a smaller scale. It was a formal event that left out many teens that came from families with less means. These families that were left out started to hold their own version of the Promenade. They would organize formal tea parties at the local high school or college. The teens would be invited and would be told to wear their Sunday best. They would wear a simple corsage like they would to church. There was no big production, no fancy establishment, or expensive clothes. This simple event spread all over the country. Soon, every year at the local school the Prom was held in the gymnasium or even cafeteria.
After WWII when more Americans were enjoying a booming economy, the Prom started to evolve once again. One teen girl after another started to buy the new dresses for the annual dance. Soon it became the norm again to out and buy the hottest fashions by big name designers. Today, there is a planning committee that comes up with a theme, finds a hot spot in town to hold the Prom, and if they are lucky, hire the band. Young women have makeup and hair professionally done. The corsage and boutonniere are custom designed to match the dress and tuxedo. The Prom is once again the major event it was as the Promenade Ball.
For the latest floral fashions please visit our website http://www.payneandmorrison.com/ .

The Easter Lily

The Lilium Longiflorum, Bermuda Lily, or as you probably know it, the Easter Lily is the purest symbol of Easter that you can find. When spring rolls around we are bombarded with the symbolism of Easter. The bunnies, colored eggs, baskets and candy are everywhere for a couple of weeks but the Easter Lily, which ironically gets the least amount of promotion, best represents the spirit of Easter.
The bunny gets the most face time these days but few people could tell you why. The goddess Eostre, who represented fertility, new beginnings and springtime was said to have a pet rabbit that laid colored eggs. In the 1700’s the Germans brought their tradition of Oschter Hawes to America. Kids would make homemade nests to put in the house. If they were good, a hare would leave them colored eggs in their nests. These symbols have taken root in Easter, a springtime holiday that stands for resurrection because they have that common link of spring and rebirth. Over the years candy companies have gotten into the mix by taking these symbols of bunnies and eggs and making chocolate rabbits, and sugar eggs. Today we are left with baskets nested with candy and the center piece of the bunny. After we are finished taking out all the candy we go on the highlight of the day, the Easter egg hunt. I love all of these things about Easter but the real meaning is distorted along the way.
The one symbol that is deeply rooted in the true spirit of this holy day is the Easter Lily. This lily is originaly from Ryukyu Island in Japan. It was brought to us in the U.S. by WWI soldier Louis Houghton in 1919. He brought a suitcase of them home and just gave them away. Thankfully for us today he gave them out on the Oregon coast, a great place to grow them. When WWII dragged the U.S. into the fight we stopped buying Easter Lilies from Japan. So almost overnight, the Easter Lily industry in America was born as the result of two wars.
The Easter Lily starts out as a hard bulb that gets buried in the ground to remain dormant until the season is right for it to sprout. It grows strait up towards heaven and finally blooms into a pure white trumpet. The Easter Lily stands for purity, hope, life, and virtue. What could be a better symbol for Easter? So make sure this spring you give some Easter Lilies to go with all the baskets, candy and eggs. Remember there is only about a two week period to buy this precious symbol of purity, life and hope.
Please visit us online at www.payneandmorrison.com .