Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our friends and customers. May your day be jolly and bright!

Honeysuckle Pink the Color of 2011

This week, Pantone, the authority on telling the world what the new, hot color will be, declared Honeysuckle to the the Color of the Year for 2011. With characteristics that make it "courageous, confident, vital", they said this reddish-pink color is bold, and its vitality will help folks meet the challenges of everyday life.


“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits,” explains Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute. She adds that this color may stir a nostalgia for the memories of springs and summers past. There’s that word “nostalgia” again—a big trend in general for 2011.

So, look for Honeysuckle to be hot in clothing, interior design, fresh flowers and even exterior bedding plants, like petunias and geraniums during Spring of 2011.

DO's and DON'T's of Poinsettia Care

DO place your plant in indirect sunlight for at least six hours per day. If direct sun can't be avoided, diffuse the light with a shade or sheer curtain.
DO provide room temperatures between 68 - 70° F. Generally speaking, if you are comfortable, so is your poinsettia.
DO water your plant when the soil feels dry to the touch.
DO use a large, roomy shopping bag to protect your plant when transporting it.
DO fertilize your plant AFTER THE BLOOMING SEASON with a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer.
DON'T place plants near cold drafts or excessive heat. Avoid placing plants near appliances, fireplaces or ventilating ducts.
DON'T expose plants to temperatures below 50° F. Poinsettias are sensitive to cold, so avoid placing them outside during the winter months.
DON'T overwater your plant, or allow it to sit in standing water. Always remove a plant from any decorative container before watering, and allow the water to drain completely.
DON'T expose your plant to chilling winds when transporting it.
DON'T fertilize your plant when it is in bloom.

What's Your Point?

My point (poinsettia) is pink! Waukesha Floral has been nursing a beautiful crop of poinsettia plants since September, and now they are officially ready to be transplanted to your home, office, or given as a fabulous gift.

Featured are two different types of poinsettias. "Marble" features soft ivory brachts with pink centers. "Christmas Rose" has tight, twisty brachts that remind you of a garden rose. Sizes range from small, 1-stem plants to really big 4-stem plants. We also have a limited quantity of hanging baskets.

Get out of the cold and visit the greenhouse this season! We are open Monday-Saturday 8-5 and Sunday 10-4.

First Prize Float!

Waukesha Floral is pleased and proud to announce that our float won first place in the business division of the city's holiday parade! We hope you enjoyed it and the dancing poinsettias.

Shown on our float is our jolly elf and delivery person, Mike Vitale.

Stop at the greenhouse and see our beautiful poinsettias in person. Don't forget - free holiday photos with the poinsettias will be this Saturday and Sunday from 12 - 3. Again, Art's Cameras will be shooting the pictures and offering holiday greeting cards. Suggested donation is an item for the Waukesha Food Pantry. Barrels will be located at Waukesha Floral.

Christmas Parade

Don't forget to look for the Waukesha Floral dancing poinsettias in this year's city parade; Sunday Nov. 21st. Kick off your holiday season with this festive, light-filled celebration down our main street. Our dancing poinsettias will be local Catholic Memorial High School students who are earning a donation to their school by helping us out. See you there!

Flowers After Hours

For those of you who attended our Ladies Night, Howl at the Moon event, you know we held a raffle for a private shopping and design evening. Here are a couple pictures of our winner and her friends with the flowers they designed and took with them. They were also able to shop privately just before our holiday open house and shared a few snacks with us. We were delighted to host such gracious ladies who contributed to The Optimist Club at St. Norbert College for this raffle. They will also receive front row tickets for next year's Ladies' Night event!

Speaking of raffles, the door prize winners at the Sparkle & Shine Holiday Open House have been picked. Winners include Arlene Franklin - $75 gift card; Judy Donovan - poinsettia plant and Beth LaChance - 2 jolly elves. Thank you to everyone who attended, watched our design shows and ate a few cookies. It's the best weekend for all of us at Waukesha Floral to get into the holiday spirit!

Sparkle & Shine Holiday Open House This Weekend!

Get your home ready for the holiday season at Waukesha Floral & Greenhouse’s “Sparkle & Shine” Holiday Open House on Saturday, November 6 (8 am - 5 pm) and Sunday, November 7 (10 am – 4 pm). Waukesha Floral & Greenhouse is located at 319 S. Prairie Ave., just north of Sunset Dr. on Prairie Ave. in Waukesha.

Enjoy FREE design shows, door prizes, storewide discounts, children’s craft area, refreshments and more. Bring along a non-perishable food item to help the Waukesha County Food Pantry stock its shelves for the holiday season.

FREE SEMINARS:
"Holiday Glitz”
10 am Saturday & 1 pm Sunday
Glittery, shiny, sparkling holiday designs play the starring role in this showcase of outstanding permanent floral decorations.
“Ornamental Impact”
11:30 am Saturday & 3 pm Sunday
Round shiny orbs or spiky sputniks, ornaments are the feature of this demonstration. Our designers show you there’s more to an ornament than just a pretty tree bauble!
“Season of Style”
1 pm Saturday & 11 am Sunday
What’s on Santa’s runway show this year? Colors like Peacock, Merlot, Key Lime and Cinnamon Stick! Untraditional? Yes. Beautiful? Definitely.
“Welcome Home”
3 pm Saturday
Inviting designs to set the tone for the exterior of your home, condo or apartment. Make
the best first impression with our easy, beautiful designs.

Join us for 15% savings off all regularly priced merchandise, a great sale table, refreshments, kids' crafts, door prizes and samples. See you Saturday and Sunday!

Spin a Web!

Here's a cute and not too spooky idea from Teleflora for Halloween. The ceramic pumpkin has removable jack o'lantern face stickers so after Halloween, you can use this pumpkin for a Thanksgiving centerpiece. It would also cheer up someone under the weather this week, or the person you know that is really into Halloween!

We have these arrangements and more available at Waukesha Floral. Give us a call or log on to our website - click on Order Flowers and the Dove Teleflora logo.

Villa Terrace Wedding Pictures

Here are some pictures from a pretty wedding Waukesha Floral designed for a few weeks back. The hydrangea topiaries used outdoors and the soft peach and white hydrangea centerpieces made an elegant statement. The Milwaukee lakefront made a beautiful backdrop for a lovely day.

Howlin' at the Moon on Ladies Night!

Thank you to all the wonderful women who attended our 2nd Annual Ladies Night on Friday evening. We hope you had a howlin' good time! We'd also like to thank our partners, Tammy Ehlert (Mary Kay), Therapeutic Touch Massage, Rich's House of Cakes and Miche Bags for being present and treating us well! And thank you to the ladies who sponsored our raffle to benefit The Optimist Club of St. Norbert College. You helped raise $214 for the benefit of children's education. Here are just a few pictures of the night, including Goodwill Volunteers' show, The Allure of the Little Black Dress. We hope you enjoyed seeing fashions through the years, along with our designers' creative flower arrangements to go with each dress. Mark your calendars for Oct. 7, 2011... next year's Howl at the Moon!

I do! I do!

This time of the year is a glorious time to celebrate marriage! Here are pictures of bouquets and the Grand Ballroom of The Country Springs Hotel from a recent wedding designed by Denise.

Fall!

Here in the flower shop, we have a wonderful selection of fresh and permanent decorations for the season, as well as spicy candles and hardy outdoor mums. Stop by and see us soon!

Here are a few pictures from a recent wedding held at Boerner Botanical Gardens. The theme was definitely white, with spectacular cloud of babies' breath at the reception, and white rose orbs and floating candles in vases to outline the aisle.

2nd Annual Ladies Night - Howl at the Moon Sale

Just announced! Our 2nd Annual Ladies' Night will be Friday, October 8 6-9 pm at Waukesha Floral & Greenhouse:

Come join the twilight party at Waukesha Floral! Gather your girlfriends and celebrate the “Little Black Dress”!
6 pm Doors Open
6 pm Tammy Ehrett, Independent Mary Kay Sales Director shares great
lipstick and hand moisturizing tips.
6 pm Lisa and Bonnie of Therapeutic Touch, Brookfield will provide free
chair massages.
7 pm Goodwill Industries presents “The Allure of the Little Black Dress”
This lighthearted and entertaining fashion show features a nostalgic trip
back in time to look at the evolution of evening apparel and accessories
from 1890 through 1980. The designers at Waukesha Floral will present
decade-appropriate flowers for each of the 27 evening gowns. This will
be a fun-filled show you won’t want to miss (and you may learn some-
thing new!)
After: Shopping Time! 15% off all regularly priced Fall merchandise plus a
super sale table that will make you Howl at the Moon!

We'll have great refreshments from our newest local baker - Rich's House of Cakes http://www.richscakes.com/.

Please RSVP and let us know you are coming:

• 
  
  Email jane@waukeshafloral.com;


• 
  
  Call Waukesha Floral at 262-542-8152 or


• 
  
  Stop by Waukesha Floral during business hours

Get into the spirit of the evening by joining the Waukesha Floral ladies and wearing black!

In the Swing of Flowers at the PGA

• What required:
  *225 Arrangements
• *Flowers from Keeau, Hawaii
• *Orchids from Miami, Florida
• *1,870 delivery miles
• *Two cases of local artichokes
• *A van of rented tropical plants
• *180 Ti leaves....?
• Answer: The PGA Golf Tournament held at Whistling Straits!

Here are just a few pictures of some of the flowers Waukesha Floral designed for the big golf show in August. We love to design for events, both large and small... and we travel! Having a party? Give Waukesha Floral a call!

Fun at the Fair

We had a blast at the State Fair horticulture building last week! Audience participation helped create the cow we named "Starbucks" because she was made with white mums and coffee grounds, Rosebowl-style. Denise made this little pink piggy "Squealy" from pink button mums.

Thank you to everyone who stopped, listened and helped by showing their creative abilities. Only 360 days until next year's Fair!

See us Today at the State Fair!

That's right, from noon until 2 pm, Denise and Marty will be presenting a program on The Rose Bowl. Denise designed for the big parade two years ago, and will share her experiences and create a Rose Bowl-like floral display using a Wisconsin dairy cow form, in keeping with the spirit of State Fair. If you need to get out of the heat, amuse yourself and maybe learn a few things, stop by Wisconsin State Fair Horticulture Building today between 12-2.

More Beauty!

This European bridge is wearing a perky necklace of pink posies. Flowers really enhance our homes and public spaces, and it's nice to see cities that value plantings. Public horticulture is really public art for all of us. Every time I go through downtown Waukesha, I enjoy the beautiful pink petunias. I'm glad the Business Improvement District plants and maintains them for us. Thank you, Waukesha BID District.

Beautiful Geraniums in France

Marty and I just returned from a lovely vacation. We sailed down the Rhine River for 7 days last week, and of course we took flower pictures! Here is a picture of me standing next to a street planting in Strasbourg, France. The beautiful pink and white cascading flowers are ivy geraniums with some upright geraniums planted at the top of the pots. We noticed some of the containers in the cities had water tubes for automatic watering, but many must have been watered by hand. The flowers there are certainly beautiful, and enhance the cities and neighborhoods so much.

I'll post more once the jet lag subsides!

Still Here!

The rummage sale still has some incredible finds, like this tall, hand-painted stool. Purple violets decorate the top of this lovely furniture piece, great for sitting upon or perching a plant upon. It's just $35. Rummage continues through Saturday!

Rummageland Continues On!

Our indoor rummage sale continues this week. Here are a few holiday items for sale. Just think, you could adorn your fireplace mantel in santa or snowman silhouettes for a few bucks! And isn't this glass ghost precious? He is missing a few fingers but that may just add to his charm. Rummage will be open until 5 every day this week through Saturday!

Alice in Rummageland is On!

Our semi-annual rummage sale is on now through July 24th. Here are two "live" pictures from the greenhouse. Just imagine, you could own Watering Can Man for $25 or this great sofa table for $35. So fall down the rabbit hole into the world of rummage in our greenhouse... rain or shine. We have lots of items... candles, jewelry, holiday, pictures, pillows, purses, home decor, scratch & dents, plants, pottery... everything just gets curiouser and curiouser! Prices range from 10 cents and up.

And, say the secret words "Mad Hatter" for 10% off anything regularly priced in store.

We'll be here from 8 until 5 Monday through Saturday, so come on in. You'll find some great things!

Clearing out the Greenhouse!

It's time for us to clear out the greenhouse! Waukesha Floral has the best buys of the year on annuals right now:

• 4" Pots of Annuals: $1
• Hanging Baskets: $7.50
• Perennials: 33% Off
• Moss Hanging Baskets: $15
• Grasses in pots: $2

Also, our semi-annual rummage sale is due to begin this Saturday July 17 through the following week. There are lots of treasures to find!

Refrigeration: The Florist's Behind-The-Scenes Tool

July is wedding and party season! Just like people, flowers need to be kept cool and hydrated during the warm months. Certain flowers such as Hydrangea and Gardenia can start to fade quickly in the heat. That's why we take extra care with the flowers for your very important occasions, keeping them comfortable in our large walk-in coolers, and even adding refrigerator gel-packs to boxes with bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres. There's always something keeping cool in our big refrigerators... sometimes flowers, sometimes the delivery person!

Gorgeous in Green

This past Saturday was a beautiful day for a wedding. Our Design Manager, Denise had four weddings to design for; each different and each lovely. I chose two pictures from her "green" wedding to show you. One is a long rectangular vase of gorgeous bright green spider mums; the other shows curly willow in a lacy cylindrical vase with green hydrangea and hanging tealights. Green linens complimented the flowers. Gorgeous!

Christmas in June?

Yes friends, today, June 15th, 2010 we received our first shipment of Christmas goodies for the year! As I open the boxes I see many of the old friends that Jane and I ordered back in January. I'm not attaching a picture because I don't want you to see me shed a tear. That's a tear of joy, at least that's what I'm telling myself! Merry Christmas and I'll keep you posted on the progress.
Until next time,
Marty Loppnow
Vice President
Waukesha Floral & Greenhouse, Inc.
www.waukeshafloral.com

A Wedding in Lovely Lavender

Here are some pictures of lovely lavender decorations from a wedding this past weekend... featuring lavender orbs of roses with pearls, lavender netting with silver accents on the head table and outdoor aisle decorations in a beautiful garden setting.

Meet JoAnn!

JoAnn is one of many talented and hard working designers here at Waukesha Floral. She works with us seasonally, since she is a "snow bird" in the colder season and likes to fly south for winter. JoAnn is a very talented designer who loves working with our customers. The favorite part of her job is receiving compliments on her work from satisfied customers, as well as sharing laughs with her co-workers. JoAnn is always a breath of sunshine and a real treat to work with. We are so happy she chose to work at Waukesha Floral!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Waukesha Floral salutes all veterans and the men and women who are in service to our country today... thank you!!

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional time to plant outdoors... the weather is warm and the soil temperature is perfect. Here are a few of our favorite flowers in red, white and blue. Red geraniums are great for hot, sunny locations, white petunias attract hummingbirds with their sweet scent, and blue trailing Lobelia are self-cleaning and will provide blue beauty all summer.

Feel free to stop by... we'll be around Sunday and Monday 9-3 each day and would love to hear about your garden!

Enjoy the weekend!