Say it All With Flowers!

Not only roses convey the Meaning of Love. Many other beautiful flowers have significant relevance and have been used to communicate feelings of love throughout the ages. So why not personally select something different to send to that special someone this year?

Consider these romantic alternatives:

Red Carnation: Aching heart, Admiration
Gerbera: You are the sunshine of my life 
Holly: domestic happiness
Lilac: First Love
Lily: Purity
Orchid: Delicate Beauty
Red Tulip: Declaration of Love
Yellow Tulip: Hopelessly in Love

Not sure or looking say something else? Just ask. The staff at Bergeron's can help you select a thoughtful and unique gift to show how much you care. You really can say it all with flowers!

How to Send Bereavment Flowers

When you receive news that someone has died it is customary to send flowers for the funeral. Funeral flowers are a touching way to share your sadness and grief with those who have recently suffered a loss. There are many different types of funeral arrangements, and different cultures have very different positions on funeral flowers, so your best option is to talk to someone close to the bereaved if you aren't sure about their specific customs.

Funeral arrangements were traditionally made up of white flowers but it is also common to see a mix of flowers and colors. Some types of flowers used in sympathy work are lilies, calla lilies, roses and dianthus (carnations) but it is perfectly acceptable to send another type of flower. If you know what the person's favorite flower was, it is a nice gesture to send a personalized floral arrangement, one including his or her favorite flowers or colors, or an arrangement that incorporates his or her favorite things (golf, gardening, favorite location, for example).

One of the first and most common questions after deciding to send funeral flowers is where should the flowers go? While many people choose to send the flowers to the funeral home for the viewing or church for the service, the attached cards are not often seen by the family. Sending flowers to the family's home is also an excellent option. Also, often a gift of a potted plant is even more appreciated than cut flowers, which fade and die over time. The potted plant can later be placed in a memorial garden or even planted on the grave site.

It is most important to remember when purchasing funeral flowers that you want to bring comfort to the mourners, so make sure that your choice is something that will bring them comfort. If you are unsure, the staff at Bergeron's is, of course, always available to help you make a selection.

Ordering from a Local Florist: What to Expect

When it comes to ordering flowers, many consumers go to websites such as 1800Flowers or Teleflora. These sites seem quick and easy and seem to display a lot of different arrangement options to view. However, these orders are sent to shops who sign up to receive them. Often times the florist who actually receives and completes the order does not even have the flowers or vases shown in the pictures!

Also, have you ever noticed that after you select the arrangement, only then do you have the option of  choosing the size of the arrangement you have chosen? This is because the picture shown is usually the price of a small arrangement and does not include size upgrades or your delivery charge. By the time you reach your final check-out, your total will probably increase $20 or more.

So… what is the alternative?  Call Bergerons of course!  Our process is a lot faster and much more personal. We keep all of your information, including past orders, and can pull it up in our secure database as soon as you call. We can discuss exactly what you want and tell you exactly what we have available to create a special arrangement for you. Once we get all your information and collect payment, your order simply prints out in the back of the shop and is ready for creation!

Real Florist vs. Phone Booth Order Gatherer

Okay, for the past couple of weeks, I've found myself explaining to customers the difference between sending flowers from a real "brick and mortar" florist and calling a "phone booth" florist.

What is the difference? I think the best description and information to figure out the difference comes from www.floristdetective.com, which gives consumer Information about alleged deceptive and misleading florist advertising and marketing practices.

Basically, you call one of these "phone booth" listings and they take your order, keep a percentage and then send an order to a "real" florist to fill and deliver. We are given the percentage of the order and expected to fill it to full value. For years, local florists have subscribed to wire services to be able to help their customers by finding shops in other areas when they needed to send a gift to another town or state. Now, with the internet, our customers have the ability to find local florists to where they want to send on their own using such sites as locateaflowershop.com or localflowershop.com.

Don't get me wrong, we love to help our customers and still send wires daily for them. Some of you like getting credit toward your flower buyer club account, and not having to spend the time finding a shop. We are happy to do it. That is why we have a wire service fee instead of taking the fee out of the amount we are trying to send to the other shop to fill the order. We want you to get what you pay for.

So, call us or use the search sites that I mentioned above. Either way, you will always have your order go to a "real" florist. In these economic times, we need to make sure our money is used in the best way possible. We are here to help. Feel free to comment or even call us to find out more information!

Have a great week...and Happy New Year!