How to Place a Flower Order

I know you’re thinking: how hard can it be? And while we take the utmost care to make it easier for you, there have been many times I’ve seen a customer’s eyes roll back in their heads when we ask some of the following questions.

1. What would you like to say on the card: this is the hardest part. If it’s a sympathy we can say otapawy ilm, wds, and with that less if more. Just letting them know you are thinking of them means so much.
2. New relationship.(not sure if you’re are still friends or maybe it’s something more? This is definitely a time to say it with flowers.
3. Thank you: how to be sincere but not mushy. Say Thank you for you kindness and why but again less if more.
4. Love: it sounds self explanatory but how do you say on a 2X3 card all that you feel. Keep it simple and don’t get cheesy.

Our next question usually is: do you have any color preference. This usually represents the occasion the flowers are being sent for or the business or home décor of the recipient.

Another question we ask is your price point. Most people have no idea what flowers cost and while flower prices like gas prices do fluctuate we can be creative to help you stay within a budget. You could go showy which is more flowers, usually long lasting but consisting of more common flowers (generic) or fewer special flowers (select) arranged in an unusual way for the same price.

I advise you not to order online. You end up paying a lot more in service charges and you never know exactly what the arrangement will look like. This past Valentine’s Day, we received an order from an online wire service for a $45 candle in an arrangement going to Morro Bay. However, the woman who placed the order through an online service website had wanted candles and rose petals to go around the hot tub. She also spent $65, not the $45 we were given to complete the order with. Needless to say, she called us in tears the day of for what was a miscommunication on the part of the service site. Shop locally. You get more for your money and you’ll actually know what you’re paying for.

I find that flowers that are in season and arranged in mass are the showiest of all: such as lilies, iris or sunflowers. A lot of our flowers are grown locally since we are on the outskirts of the LA and San Francisco markets. We get a lot of flowers from Salinas and Goleta and our orchids come from Los Osos. While I’m on the subject of orchids, did you know they are hypoallergenic? So, if you are sending to someone who has allergies or the arrangement will be around food, orchids are the way to go. I hope that I’ve helped take some of the guesswork out of when and how to order flowers. My staff and I look forward to helping you in the future.

Tips for the Bride-to-Be

After 24 years in the wedding business, you begin to notice what works and what doesn’t, what is worth the $$$ and what can be eliminated, and what difficulties to avoid. Here is our top 10 list of tips for the bride-to-be.

#10: Do your research before a wedding consultation, but be open to new ideas. Bring photographs, magazine clippings, favorite flowers, color scheme ideas, and anything that you have come up with on your own. But, when you come in, be receptive to new ideas. We love to be creative and it’s that creativity that will help your wedding to be unique and memorable. You may love a certain arrangement in a magazine, but you might love it even more if we alter the flowers ever so slightly. Have a general and pliable outline of what you are looking for as well as a rough budget. We can work with ANY budget, but it helps us to show you what will and what won’t be possible with the amount allocated towards wedding flowers.

#9: Costco and discount bulk flowers may appear inexpensive, but you get what you pay for…. and you often end up spending more when problems arise. I can’t begin to count the number of brides who have come into our shop in tears days before their wedding begging us to find them replacement roses as their Costco floral shipment arrived moldy, limp, and completely dead. The era of costumer service at these companies is gone. Once they ship the product, it is out of their hands. These brides end up paying for the Costco flowers AND the replacements which, due to the late notice, aren’t always the exact flowers they wanted in the first place. Save yourself the heartache and stress and money by shoping locally. You’ll be glad you did.

#8: The wedding professional community is a tight-knit group. Everyone knows everyone else….. for good or bad. I hate to repeat myself, but after 24 years in the business, we know which professionals will work for each bride’s personality, venue, and needs. Let us help find the right match for you–be it a photographer, DJ, rental facility, officiant, venue, caterer, coordinator, etc. Whatever you are looking for, we’ll probably be able to help you find it.

#7: Bring a picture of your dress to the consultation. The dress tells us so much about your wedding’s style.

#6: Look at flowers which are in season for your wedding. You’ll end up spending less and the flowers will be healthier, happier, brighter, stronger, and more beautiful than flowers which are out of season. Don’t know which flowers are in season? Just ask us!

#5: Do you want to be a bride or a worker bee? We’ve seen so many brides try to cut the budget at their weddings by doing their own flowers, cooking their own food, baking their own wedding cake, etc. But, do you really want to spend the entire evening before your wedding with green fingers attempting to put together complicated bouquets and arrangements? Just because Martha Stewart says that floral designing is easy does not mean that it is true. A great deal of work goes into the creation of your bouquets-from processing the flowers upon their arrival, to arranging the flowers, to protecting the flowers with various sealants which ensure that the bouquets will stay fresh through the event– let us help you. Again, we can work around any budget.

#4: For outdoor venues, take into account the possible weather patterns during your wedding season. Who wants to be at a vineyard wedding during the central coast monsoon season? If you are getting married outdoors between December and May, have a back-up plan. Regardless of the time of year, the beach will probably be windy. Rose petals on the sand, while a good idea in theory, most likely won’t stay in a perfect formation. Just be prepared for inclement weather and you won’t be surprised come the day of your wedding.

#3: Even if your groom is not as hyper-organized and planning prone as you, give him one decision which is all his….. then stay out of it. Let him be in charge of picking a caterer, finding tuxes, picking the DJ, or finding a tent for your reception. Your groom will feel included, important, and part of the wedding…. after all, it is his wedding too!

#2: Personal touches make a wedding. Incorporate something unique about you, your groom, and the two of you as a couple. This can be as simple as your cake-topper being a baseball (the couple LOVED baseball and they were going to a big game for their honeymoon), a matchbox car favor (the couple worked on remodeled cars), or, my personal favorite, a self-written and filmed bridal rap music video featuring the bride and groom shown prior to the reception. You can be sure that these small additions will create memories for years to come.

And, the #1 tip for the bride-to-be is: Be flexible and have a sense of humor. Enjoy your day. It will NEVER be exactly as you dreamed, often times it is better. It is the little surprises, the things that you did not plan for, which make your day memorable. You’re getting married. Nothing else should matter. Sure, the party is fun, but in 50 years do you want to remember that you were stressing the whole day about a few raindrops or do you want to remember that it was one of the most exciting days of your life? One of our brides this past week was getting married at a vineyard in the thunderstorm. Instead of fretting over what she couldn’t control, the weather, she just kept laughing during the ceremony as her heels sunk deeper and deeper into the mud. Now, that’s memorable! Better yet, why not buy rainboots and umbrellas for the entire bridal party? Embrace the changes and enjoy your day–no matter what.

Jodi Bloom- Bloom’n'Grow Florist

9955 El Camino Real, Atascadero, CA 93422 805-466-5769

Jodi-isms

The Incomparable Jodi Bloom

Diners are known for their unusual language for placing food orders “Give me two wimpies with a rose pinned on it, then pass me a pink stick and throw some mud on it;” but they aren’t the only ones. At Bloom’n'Grow Florist we have our very own language. It is passed down from generation to generation of Bloom’n'Grow employees. When past employees come to visit, we find that they are still using the same terms and phrases they learned during their days at the shop. We call this language Jodi-ism. Where do these strange words and phrases come from? Everywhere, really… Pop culture, life, and mostly from the strange interiors of Jodi’s brain. What follows is a brief list of words you might hear uttered in the flower shop.

Our favorite florist-turned-linguist

Jodi Bloom: changing lives with her flowers, friendship, and wacky words

Scoash [s-k-oh-sh] (n.)- A small quantity of anything. A little bit. Just a scoash. or We just need to fix it up a scoash and then it will be good as new.

Thinking swiftly (v.)- While this one appears to be straight-forward, it’s not so much the oddity of the statement as the sheer repetition with which you will hear this phrase uttered. Every recount of a solved problem will include the phrase “thinking swiftly.” i.e. A woman came into the shop with her parrot looking for matching hats for herself and the parrot. So, thinking swiftly, I found an adult-sized knit cap which matched a stuffed animal’s cap and I sold her both.

thingy (n.)- no, not thing. thingy. Why say thing when you can say thingy? Hand me that thingy over there, will you?

Foof it (phrase)- to decorate. to make prettier, to add a bit of pizazz and give it that Bloom’n'Grow touch. In the case of a plant order, the customer will pick a plant and we will add cellophane, a bow, leafshine it, and put it in a pot. Foof that then send it out with the next set of deliveries.

Dinkaroo [dink-a-roo] (adj.)- very small. Again, why just say small when you can say something so much more fun! That arrangement looks dinkaroo. Add some bear grass and whip it out. (Coincidentaly, Whip it out is another term you’ll hear often in the shop).

Make it work (phrase)- I believe this phrase entered our vocabulary during the first years of Project Runway. Make it work means just that. Make it work. No matter how bad it seems, make it work. The queen wanted red rose plants and we only have white. Make it work.

Scheduly [s-k-eh-doo-l-i] (n.)- schedule. Again, why say schedule when scheduly sounds so much more interesting. Give me your scheduly so that I can figure out when you’re working next.

You’ll just have to learn to love something else (phrase)- This one is also pretty straight-forward. We all tend to fall in love with certain items in the shop…. vases, containers, stuffed animals…. but eventually these items run out and we can’t always reorder more. I know that you just ran out of the vases you’ve used for the past 20 years. You’ll just have to learn to love something else.

This is just a brief smattering of the terms you will hear upon entering the shop. Don’t be startled; they are just our Jodi-isms.

The one, the only, Jodi Bloom

Now, the next time you stop by and hear Jodi say “Just foof it a scoash, but don’t make it dinkaroo, then put that thingy on the scheduly.” You’ll know what the heck she’s talking about.

Then and Now: A look back on 23 years in Business

23 years ago a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Californian who was uprooted and moved to Pennsylvania, decided to open a flower shop in the effort to share her life with the community, spend time with her newborn (me), and stave off boredom. Looking back, she was utterly successful on all accounts.

Recently, I was rifling around some old photographs and I stumbled upon photos from the shop’s past. My how we have grown. Our first shop was decorated in traditional 1980′s style….. turquoise, peach, and green with lovely neon lights. The epitome of class.

Our Pennsylvania shop during our first Christmas

And, if you didn’t notice, our emblem was a palm tree. Like any truly misplaced California, she didn’t care that there wasn’t a palm tree around for hundreds of miles. Let’s just say that it was clear to any customer that she wasn’t from around there. We brought culture and diversity to the small community though!

Little me and my pram which was later turned into a movable sign

Even back during our first shop, we were very resourceful and thrifty. This sign used to be my pram, but we later converted it by attaching plywood and painting the sign. Waste not!

 

When I turned 3, we moved back to California with all of our family possessions, and several shop display items in tow… including the neon sign you see above. We reopened in the Adobe Plaza… where I spent the bulk of my childhood. The plaza was good to us and we still have customers and friends we met in those first years who come in and reminisce with us. The little shop was the perfect place to grow as a child. It was definitely not as busy as our florist super-store today, so I was able to tap-dance on the linoleum by the front door and help ring-up customers using a blue step stool which we still use at the shop. In fact, I learned to count by counting back change! A few years down the road, we moved to the other end of the adobe plaza and then later expanded to double our original size. We went a bit crazy with the gift items, so we had to keep expanding the shop!

 

It had always been my mother’s dream to own her own building, so when her lease ended at the Adobe Plaza, she took the opportunity to look around and see what her options were. Our family friend who owned Baker’s pharmacy was going out of business and attempting to sell his huge storefront. She jumped at the chance and, in the end, doubled her square-footage yet again. Ironically, we were able to fill up the space!

 If you’ve been in the shop recently, you will barely recognize this building as our shop. Every counter surface and wall has been painted and we no longer have carpeting.

Our Grand Re-opening

Our grand re-opening was a dream come true for my mother…. and things just keep getting better. Thanks for the past 23 years and here’s to 23 more!

The shop today

An Archaeological Dig

Every time I reorganize the gift items in the flower shop, I feel like I’m going on an archaeological dig through my childhood…and not just because of the mulch on the floor. In the Bloom’n'Grow family, we have learned to never throw things away. The most random items can be used as props for fair arrangements or as display items. 3 years ago, when I undertook to paint every surface of the shop and we put mulch on the floor, my mother and I went through our shed and garage and pulled out every random piece of furniture and appliance we could find for use in our gift displays. When I pulled out my old unicycle from when my mom attempted to pass on her amazing unicycling capabilities (yes, you read that correctly, Jodi is a champion unicyclist) and said that I could use it in a display, my mother looked at me like I was crazy. However, I later took that unicycle, an old desk fan, and a few old records, painted them, and created a work of art which is now the centerpiece of our “green room.”

The unicycle was just the beginning of my childhood items being used for display purposes. An item dear to my heart, my red rider wagon, now has its permanent place in a shop display. This wagon was my favorite toy growing up. I would wheel a wagon full of teddy bears around the adobe plaza and use it for my lemonade stand and rose plant sales in the plaza. As the wagon was always associated with the flower shop in my childhood, it seemed only right that it retire to the store rather than rust away in an outdoor shed. Just above the wagon, my father’s fishing creel and old milk scale complete the antique design.

Anyone who knows my family knows that we are very musical. So, it seems correct that some of our family’s musical instruments are on display over our “music gift” area. My brother’s high school trumpet is the centerpiece for this display, surrounded by our family’s old LP’s. Why let these items rot in the closet when they can be out for the world to see?

Continuing our tour of the past, we find my father’s old typewriter which is still in working condition but which fell to disuse when our family obtained their first computer. In this photograph, you also see our family’s scrabble board game. Unfortunately, this game also fell to disuse with our family’s first computer.

Many of our customers remark on the beautiful antique windows which surround the shop. These doors were given to us by a customer and contractor who was tearing down the ABC Church gym and didn’t want these antiques to go to waste. For years, these doors were stored in our garage, not living up to their full potential. The sun streaming through the windows was fading a few of our objects, so we decided to cover our own windows with the antique doors. Functional AND decorative!

A peek inside one of our jewelry cabinets offers a look back at our old family pictures. These black and white photos offer a vintage flair, but they also add a personal touch to our jewelry counter. My grandmother recently came by the shop to visit and after wandering to the jewelry area we heard her exclaim “That’s me!” Turns out that we had used a picture of her as a 4-year-old with her family.

The last item on our tour through the shop’s history is my mother’s old sewing table: an item from our extreme past. This table traveled with us all the way from our first shop in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, some 23 years ago. It took the cross-country trip in a u-haul with the rest of our family possessions, so it is a priceless family heirloom. Many customers have attempted to purchase the table from us, but my mom always has to turn them down. It’s an integral symbol of our past as well as the shop’s.

Other items such as cowboy boots, filing cabinets, old fabric I used during my sewing days, and my own vintage hat stands make it so that everywhere I turn in the store, I’m reminded of many happy memories. I may have grown up in the flower shop, but the flower shop really grew up along with me.

Our House is Always Open…..

I love Christmas

… but even more so during our Christmas Open House. The scent of wassail (similar to apple cider, but with different spices) fills the air and Christmas cookies tantalize our taste buds. The open house is always one of my favorite times of the year. Not only does it mark the beginning of the holiday season at Bloom’n'Grow, but it also ends up becoming our annual “homecoming” party. Customers and friends who we haven’t seen all Summer return to mingle, shop, enjoy the goodies, and partake in the scavenger hunt and other activities. Today was the first day of this year’s open house and it began with a bang. We had so many visitors and old friends stop by to see us! The beginning of the holiday season always makes me think back to my years as Santa’s elf when the shop was in the Adobe Plaza. Each year, I played Jingles the elf. After about 7 seasons as Jingles, my costume became so covered with bells that you could hear me moving from about a mile away. I loved being a part of the Santa Claus experience for countless children. Now that our shop has moved away from the Adobe Plaza, we no longer have a resident Santa Claus; however, we do have several little elves around to help you with your Christmas shopping.

Jodi and Candy- Our little elves here to help you!

The Christmas Open House will continue from November 1st through November 6th. Stop by and see us to become a part of our Holiday tradition!

From our scavenger hunt... find all 12!

It’s not business, it’s personal

You know that old saying: “It’s not personal, it’s business.” If there is one thing I’ve learned after 23 years of watching my mother maintain a small business, it’s that business is nothing but personal. How can it not be? The flower shop was where I did most of my growing up and where we spent (and still spend) most of our waking hours. It was where I housed my hamster colony (complete with a hamster ball so that my hamster could run around the back room) and where I floated in the air, suspended by balloons. (My mom blew up a large balloon bouquet and decided to see if it could lift me in a small basket….. it did and I hovered in the air for quite some time. We have pictures to prove it.) It is where I learned to read, learned to ride a bike, and where I wrote, directed, and starred in my first plays which ended up taking place in the shop’s bathroom. The shop houses a community, a family of employees and customers who have been in our lives since the store first opened. We’ve seen our customers through their prom days, to their weddings, to the birth of their children. We held their hands, comforted, and cried with them over the death of their family members. We rejoiced in their anniversary parties and their renewal of wedding vows. We celebrated their birthdays, graduations, and holidays.

 

The Bloom'n'Grow gang in 2007

 

 

When Bloom'n'Grow moved to 9955 El Camino Real, all those years ago

 

 

At a wedding fair in 2002

 

My mother constantly amazes me at her selflessness and generosity. She works tirelessly to make every bride’s wedding day perfect, fixing any problems which might arise even if it means cutting into her profit margins. She revels in community events, including hosting monthly blood drives. The nurses in the blood drive once told me that our shop was their favorite location because we take such good care of the volunteers and the donors: providing snacks, beverages, and free gifts to all who donate. I once asked her why she opened a flower shop and she answered that she wanted to work at a place where people could always find her, where friends and family could stop by and visit, and where she could help people and add beauty to the world. Sure, the shop has had its ups and its downs. It will never be a multi-million-dollar business venture. It will never be on the fortune five hundred list. But, within our little community, she has made a difference. She made it personal. I could not imagine growing up anyplace else. The flower shop molded me into the person I am more than all my years of education combined. So, thank you Bloom’n'Grow for making me….. me.

 

The Bloom'n'Grow Gang and Alumni in 2006

 

 

The Bloom'n'Grow Gang in 1999

 

What’s That on the Floor?

You’ve passed the shop a million times and never come in. You decide that today is the day you will enter and see what Bloom’n'Grow is all about. You cross the threshold, surprised by the vastness of the building and the overwhelming supply of gift items. Then you feel something squishy underfoot and look down, mouth wide open in surprise. What is that on the floor?

Daily we have new customers asking us just that question. The answer, of course, is mulch and pebbles! We always say that we wanted to bring the outside in and give the shop a garden feel. The strange floor elicits several reactions from customers including disgust “but you can’t vacuum; it’s unsanitary” to excitement “this is the COOLEST thing I’ve ever seen” to confusion “you just put rocks and mulch on top of your carpeting?” to giddy, childlike fascination “I love the crunch and squish under my feet.” All told though, once people get over the initial shock of the floor, they tend to like it and, regardless of how they feel about the floor, they remember it. We are known for it. It is one of our many trademarks.

Many customers ask where the idea for the floor came from. Here’s the answer: years ago, Jodi and I took a family vacation to Hawaii. Our first time away from the flower shop for longer than 2 days. After Jodi’s business separation-anxiety subsided, we enjoyed the trip profusely and even added several new types of sand to Jodi’s famous sand collection (90 bottles and counting…. which are on display at the shop). During a day of shopping and wandering around Malibu, we stumbled into a bathing suit shop whose floor was completely covered with sand. Looking back now, I can’t remember any other store we went into, though I know we went into several. The shop with the sand on the floor turned out to be one of the most memorable places on our trip. Years later, when we purchased our own building for the shop which I renovated and repainted both inside and out, I couldn’t help but remember the shop with the sand. I wanted to do something similar at our shop and decided that black mulch would provide the necessary garden feel. The first year was a bit rough as the mulch tried to settle in. We were constantly on dusting duty, attempting to keep our items free of  the black bark flakes. Luckily, a rancher customer suggested a polymer sealant which she uses on the dirt floors of her ranch. This system worked wonders and saved us several hundred swiffers. Years later, we decided to create a walkway in the high traffic areas out of pebbles. You can literally follow the pebbled pathway around the periphery of our shop.

Even as I sit here and write this, one of our younger customers, a 3-year-old boy, keeps jumping and yelling in delight “rocks! rocks! It’s like we’re outside! This store is the best EVER!!!” My sentiments exactly.

Soy Vey!

The rain is falling, signaling the transition into fall and the holiday season. We’re putting away our bathing suits and pulling out our sweaters… although most of us die-hards are keeping our flip flops on, even in the rain.  The gentle patter of rainfall on the windowpane always makes me want to curl up with a blanket, a cat on my lap, a good book, hot chocolate, and a peppermint scented candle producing soothing holiday scents. Maybe that’s why yesterday I was struck with the need to pour our handmade soy candles for 5 hours straight. Scents such as white chocolate and hazelnut, holiday fig, hot buttered rum, pumpkin pie, apple cinnamon, appleberry, cucumber melon, french vanilla, and others tantalized our nostrils. Even now, just thinking about it, I can smell them. By the end of the day, my hands were dyed every color of the rainbow from the candle dye and wax flakes stuck to my hair, but I successfully created piles of colorful tealights, votives, and large pillars.

Only $.75 each!

These soy candles burn up to 30% longer than regular wax candles, the burn clean, and they smell AMAZING! You simply have to stop by the shop to see them for yourself. They’re an adorable, inexpensive way to bring some autumnal cheer into your home. Plus, burning the pumpkin pie or white chocolate scented candles is a calorie-free way to enjoy a decadent dessert. So, come in and indulge yourself!

Service with a Smile…. and a Hug

The past week has been a spontaneous homecoming party at the flower shop. I am constantly surprised by how many of our customers Jodi, my mother, knows by name and how many of those customers know my complete life story. I sometimes feel like Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. It’s weeks like this which remind me that I was literally raised by a village. These customers saw me tap dancing on the linoleum at the front of the store at the age of ten, collecting aluminum cans for my Earth club at the age of 8, as Jingles the elf at Christmas time, and through the past 6 years of local vocal concerts. I love when people stop by just to say hi; not necessarily because they needed flowers or a gift item, but because they enjoy the company of our employees and they want to be kept up to date with our lives. How many other businesses can say this? Do people go to the grocery store or to big chain stores just to visit the owner? Not usually. We’ve survived many economic ups and downs throughout the life of our business; but, whenever things take a turn for the worst, our customers rally around us, shop locally, and keep us alive. Our business is not just a flower shop. It’s not just a gift shop. It’s an integral part of the community. It’s a meeting place. For some, it’s a therapist’s office. It’s where you can walk in and always receive a smile no matter if you come in the dead of the Summer or during the craziness that is Valentine’s Day. For many of our customers, Bloom’n'Grow is the place to go when you’re looking for a specific item, need inspiration, or just need a hug.

Yesterday, a customer called us in tears trying to locate the number of the person who sent her flowers. The recipient’s daughter passed away 4 years ago to this day and the sender was the deceased’s best friend, sending flowers to cheer her on this difficult anniversary. We found the order and gave her the sender’s phone number so that the two could reconnect. Unfortunately, that number was incorrect and disconnected. So, we called the florist who sent the order; we tried white pages; we even checked facebook to see if the sender was listed there. Finally, after much effort on our part, we were able to give the correct number to the recipient and reunite these two women. In a world that has become increasingly aloof, commercial, and anti-customer service, it’s nice to know that some places still care. We’re here to help…. so, how many we help you?