Unique Floral Arrangements

Sometimes a colorful flower bouquet is not necessarily the best way to add class to a room. The 'floral arrangement' shown on this kitchen island seems to be the perfect elegant touch.

This is the kitchen in the Sowden House at 5121 Franklin Avenue. The house is now for sale and the price is not disclosed. It was built in 1926 by architect Lloyd Wright (Frank Lloyd Wright's son).

The house is still available as a filming location and has appeared in LA Confidential and in The Aviator.

Update March 20th: The Sowden House is the filming location for this season's America's Next Top Model.

Local Flower Shops in Los Angeles

Are you looking for a directory of flower shops in Los Angeles?
It's not easy to find real directories online that list only actual Los Angeles flower shops and don't include all the fake listings which are actually online affiliate programs.

The 'fake listings' include 'internet florists' and 'virtual florists' who sell pictures of flowers as opposed to real flowers and then broker their sales to real florists.

Here are the best directories for finding real and professional florists who actually stock fresh flowers for pick up or local delivery in Los Angeles. I found this info via The Florist Detectives.

Yahoo's DMOZ directory has a listing of Los Angeles Florists here.
This directory is free for florists to submit their listings but it is edited by real people and they check for the validity of the listings. It has sixty five florists listed for Los Angeles.


The Society of American Florists is North America's largest independent floral association. Their directory includes 36 florists in Los Angeles. Go to this page and type in Los Angeles, California to see their directory.

See also the five Los Angeles florists I'd personally recommend listed on the sidebar on the right here.


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The above art print is "Vivid Life II" by Warren Cullar

Send Flowers to Boost Your Career

Have you ever considered sending flowers along with your resume in order to get the dream job?

Raymond Ridder sent flowers to help him get his first job as an intern with the Los Angeles Lakers. He says nobody was looking at his resume, so he decided to send it with flowers;

"It got to the point where I would call a florist in the Inglewood area, send a resume to a florist, and then have the florist send a big plant or some flowers to Josh at the Forum," where the Lakers used to play, he said. "... I figured if I did something out of the ordinary and had them deliver a bouquet of flowers or a big plant to his office, he was going to see (the resume)."

That's how he got the public relations internship with the Los Angeles Lakers sixteen years ago. Today he is the executive director of public relations for the Warriors.

Check out the interesting story about Ridder's career and recent personal tragedies at ContraCostaTimes.com


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The above art print is Fiori by Fernando Botero.

Wedding Floral Designer Job in Los Angeles

Are you a floral designer in need of a job in Los Angeles? I spotted this ad today on Craigslist. If you are experienced with wedding floral designs and good with consulting brides about their floral arrangements, this could be interesting experience:

"Hello,

I'm currently in need of a floral assistant with experience with flowers. More specifically I'm looking for someone who can have consultations with future brides and grooms and "sell" them their dream wedding.

As for pay, you will receive a percentage of each wedding you book as well as a consultation fee. There will also be the possibility of additional wedding work on the actual wedding day.

If you are interested, please email me with your resume, relative experience, your availability for an interview and a current photo.

Thanks!"

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The above art print is "Wedding" by Bruce Curtis.

Affordable Floral Centerpieces in Los Angeles

If you are getting married this year and are looking for affordable floral centerpieces, check out Pebbles and Petals Designs in Los Angeles.

Their website has a gallery of over fifty beautiful and inexpensive floral centerpiece designs. Most of these floral arrangements are composed with hand selected silk flowers. The pebbles add a Zen aesthetic.

Pebbles and Petals caters to all events and every budget. They also offer event consulting and planning services.

Wedding Flower Centerpieces

If you're looking for ideas for your wedding reception table floral centerpieces, check out the Hidden Garden Floral Design website for some very inspiring floral arrangement ideas for your centerpiece.

The Hidden Garden is located at 11054 Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.

Flower Power Condoms

Men sometimes buy flowers for women in the hope that they might receive a thank-you via good bed games. If you are one of these guys and you also have a sense of realism humor, you might try including one of these Flower Power Pops Condomsin your next flower bouquet gift. It makes everything so much more straight-forward and out in the open. I think it might get a good laugh anyway.

These condoms meet FDA standards for the prevention of pregnancy and STDs. They are available in singles and hand packed bags of 4, 12, and 24.

How Much to Send Roses on Valentine's Day?

What's the average cost of a dozen roses on Valentine's Day?

Expect to pay between $70 to $90 for a dozen long-stem roses today and tomorrow.

The average price paid during the few days surrounding Valentine's Day was $72 last year according to the Society of American Florists.

How much do sales of roses go up in the typical flower shop around Valentine's? Park Florist in Lakewood say they typically sell two or three dozen roses on an average day. But on the day before Valentine's and on Valentine's day itself, this goes up to one hundred dozen per day.

Park Florist is located at 11455 Carson Street, Lakewood.

The above bouquet is their "Forever in Love" and currently costs $79.99 with vase included. Delivery is an additional $9.99.

Source: PressTelegram.com

Sending Flowers - Pest Free Delivery

The roses you buy are likely to have traveled far to get to your local florist. Over three quarters of the cut flowers bought in the U.S. are imported.

The top three imported cut flowers are roses, carnations and chrysanthemums. Miami, Los Angeles and New York are the top three ports that receive these flower shipments. Here the customs officials are kept busy inspecting the flowers for bugs and pests. Whether it is roses from Columbia or rare orchids from Thailand, these people carefully inspect them before they end up at your florist, grocery store or sidewalk stand. In 2005 more than 6,000 actionable insects or pests were intercepted at the port of Miami.

Source: USA : CBP makes pest free flowers delivery

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The above print is 'American Classic Rose' by Debra Lake

Flower Market in Los Angeles and California

Los Angeles county is the sixth top producer of flowers and nursery products in California. San Diego is the top county in California, and in fact, it leads all the counties in the entire United States. They produce five times as much as Los Angeles county.

There are about 3,800 retailers in California whose key products are nursery and/or floral products. But this doesn't include an additional 3,500 incidental retailers who have multiple product lines including floral products. These include Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target and the supermarket chains.

Total retail florist sales in California will likely be at least 1.2 billion dollars this year. (Actual figures for 2001 were $988 million).

Of all the flowers produced in California, about forty percent are shipped to other States and less than one percent are exported to other countries.

The U.S. as a whole now imports three quarters of all cut flowers consumed. The two main exporters of cut flowers into the United States are Columbia and Ecuador.

Source: These are 2002 industry numbers from an informative profile by Hoy Carman.

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The above fine art print is 'Valley Of Sunflowers' by Richard Leblanc

Valentine's Day Roses by Rita Flora

You can't go wrong ordering your Valentine's Day Flowers from Rita Flora at 468 S La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. The bouquet shown here is "First Love". Twelve roses in a vase is $125.00 not including tax and delivery charges.

Rita Flora has gained a lot of avid and loyal customers since this flower shop opened twenty years ago.

Flower Delivery in Los Angeles

Flower delivery is a valued skill on Valentine's Day. If you're looking for some extra cash there are a lot of Los Angeles florists who want to talk to you right now. Problem is, it seems that at least in one case the going rate is only eight dollars per delivery and you need your own car, gas and cell phone to boot.

Here's a couple of ad examples I spotted at Craigslist.org:

Delivery Drivers Needed for Valentine's Day!!!

Looking for drivers to help deliver flowers & arrangements with their own cars on Tuesday, Feb 14th.

Hours approx 8am-4pm.

The shop is located in Beverly Hills.
All deliveries should be in the LA Basin and will be grouped by area.
Pay is $8 cash per delivery that INCLUDES gas & wages.
Expect 20-30 deliveries for the day.

Drivers must have;
* Own car in good, working order (no open-back pickups).
* Operating cell phone.
* Valid U.S. driver's license.
* Own insurance.

**************

High-End Flower shop need sharp, accurate attention to detail, Part time Designer's & Delivery Drivers, for valentine's day week.
( Experienced Designers Please )
Los Angeles experience is preferred for Drivers. Must be familar with LA, Westside, Beverly Hills, & the canyons. Must Know how to read a Thomas Guide!
Part time driver positions are available for more long term.
Delivery Vans provided.-- Dates will be discussed-- ( Drivers) $100.00 per day.Monday & Tuesday -- February 13&14 start @ 6am.
( Designers Pay TBD) Saturday, Sunday, Monday & Tuesday 11,12,13,&14 Contact Joseph for more details-- 310.854.3544

* Job location is West Hollywood
* This is a part-time job.

Sending Organic Roses for Valentine's Day

Have you considered buying organic roses for your sweetie on Valentine's Day? It's the right thing to do, especially if your lover understands the importance of organic foods and environmental conservation. Check out the selection available at the Organic Bouquet. This innovative flower company is located at 242 Redwood Highway, Mill Valley in California.

The pic shown here is a dozen classic long-stem red organic roses. They are guaranteed to last at least seven days from the time of delivery. The cost is only $39.99 and includes the vase and chocolates if you order now, before the big Valentine's rush.

Valentine's Day Roses: Red, Pink and White

One of the most prestigious florists in Los Angeles is Mark's Garden. They are located at 13838 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks.

The photo here is their 'Valentine's Day Roses' bouquet. The two dozen red, pink and white roses signify love, happiness and purity. The 'frozen glass' vase is tied with an elegant heart decorated ribbon. Together with the vase, this order will cost you $90.00. Fed Ex delivery is an additional $19.99. (Check out their other beautiful flower arrangments here.)

Mark's Garden is no longer available just to Los Angeles residents. They have recently started a new service (marksflowers.com) whereby you can choose to send their flower arrangements to most major cities in the United States.

Online Flowers Are a Billion Dollar Market

Ever wonder why trying to find a local independent florist in Los Angeles (or any other city for that matter) can be such a frustrating experience? There are a lot of people competing for your online orders these days.

It's too early for the 2005 figures to be in, but we can safely say that online floral sales are now at least a one billion dollar market annually. Online floral sales were about $950 million in 2004. This was an eighteen percent increase over 2003.

There are some big players competing for your online floral buying. The leading ones include FTD, ProFlowers, 1-800-Flowers, and TeleFlora. Hallmark is also getting into this market in a big way. I hope to look at some of these companies in detail in future posts.

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The art print above is 'Fiori' by Fernando Botero

Jacob Maarse Florists in Los Angeles

One of the high-end places to buy roses in Los Angeles for Valentine's Day is Jacob Maarse Florists. They become incredibly busy during this time and their website recommends you order two weeks in advance if possible.

They have two locations. Their Los Angeles Flower Shop is at 545 South Figueroa Street and their Pasadena Flower Shop is at 655 East Green Street.

Jacob Maarse Florists was founded 30 years ago. Maarse came from a family of flower growers in Holland. They now employ sixty people. The second store was opened in downtown Los Angeles in 1996. Not many other florists can say they grow their own roses. Maarse grows roses in his three acre garden and these are used in many of the floral arrangments. Jacob Maarse roses grace the Rose Court of Pasadena's Tournament of Roses Parade every year.

Valentine's Day Gifts for Your Florist Lover

There are a few dozen thousand of us out there whose sweethearts work in flower shops. Valentine's Day is a madhouse for them and it's likely that the last romantic thing they want when they finally do get off work is a dozen red roses. So the thorny question is, what to get for your flower-loving florist valentine?

Here are a couple of ideas:

This is the 'flower power' ladies watch by Tissot. It's a beautiful accessory and would probably be valued by anyone who works with flowers or owns a flower store.




A less expensive gift would be this funky flower power belt. Each leather flower is attached to a metal loop that attaches to the next flower, so it lays nicely over your clothes. The closure is adjustable so it will fit many sizes; from 29 to 41 inches. This fun and funky flower belt costs about $30.00 and would likely be a great conversation hit at work not to mention that it's very attractive to boot.

Sending Flowers for Same Day Delivery?

Are you thinking of ordering your Valentine's gift of flowers on February 14th for same day delivery? If you consider ordering a week ahead you may save yourself 25% or more depending on where you order your flowers from online.

There were 180 million roses (or more accurately; stems) produced for Valentine's Day in 2005. Just think of how busy the florists and delivery people will be on February 14th!

The above floral arrangement is 'Treasure of Love' designed by Adam's Apple Florist & Design Studio. It consists of a dozen gorgeous roses along with hydranges and stargazer lilies displayed in a beautiful treasure box. The cost is $249.00. Adam's Apple is located at 18013 Ventura Boulevard, Encino.

Flowers, Valentine's and the Male Mind

Here's a funny ad campaign by the Flowers and Plants Association in the UK.

I'd say this campaign will be quite effective in persuading women to buy their own flowers.

And if you really don't want to buy your own flowers: an idea might be to leave this image on your computer screen where your sweetie is sure to see it. In fact the FPA has gone one step further and developed a screensaver just for this purpose.

Women Buy Flowers on Valentine's Day

More cut flowers are sold for Valentine's Day than any other holiday. But it might surprise you to know that women buy over one third of all flower orders sold around the Valentine's Day holiday.

And whereas 85% of purchases by men on this holiday occasion are for their wives or significant others, women purchase flowers more often for their mothers than for their husbands or boyfriends (32 percent versus 24 percent). And of all women buying flowers on this occasion, about 22 percent are buying them just for themselves. The two other most common recipients from female buyers are daughters and friends.

Source: Society of American Florists and IPSOS FloralTrends, 2005.

The above art print is 'Heart of Rose' by J.A. Kraulis.

Valentine's Day Bloom for 1-800 Flowers

How many roses do you think will be ordered from 1-800-Flowers.Com in mid February?

Last year the company had record sales on Valentine's Day. They received over 950,000 orders over the Valentine's holiday shopping period. In addition to flowers, they sold a lot of other stuff including plush stuffed animals, Godiva chocolates, baked gifts and popcorn.

1-800-Flowers got their start in 1976 when their current CEO, Jim McCann, opened his first store in the New York metropolitan area. He went on to build it into a chain of 14 stores before buying the 1-800-Flowers number. Their first web site was started up in 1995.

Their fulfillment system now includes about 1,500 florists around the United States including 35 company-owned stores and about 85 franchised stores. They have their own distribution and warehouse facilities and have invested heavily in registred trademarks including the following;

BLOOMLINK
BLOOMNET
800-BASKETS
800-CANDIES
800-FLORIST
800-FLOWERS
800-GOODIES
800-GROWERS
800-LAS-FLORES
1-888-FLOWERS
1-800-FLEURISTE
1-800-GIFT HOUSE
BALLOON BOUTIQUE
BIRTHDAY FLOWER CAKE
CONROY'S CONROY'S FLOWERS
CONROY'S 1-800-FLOWERS
FLORAMINDER
FLORA PLENTY
FLORA SEASONS
FLORAVISION
FRESH TALK
FRESH THOUGHTS
FRESHNESS CARE SYSTEM
GIFT CONCIERGE
JUST CALL OUR NAME
PLOW & HEARTH
THE WORLD'S NEIGHBORHOOD FLORIST
TELEWAY

The above bouquet is "Reflections of Love" and sells for $59.99 at 1-800-Flowers.Com.

Valentine's Day Flowers and Dinner

When you are in the throes of a new romance, it's wonderful to receive flowers and be taken out for dinner on Valentine's day.

Personally though, I've been married for five years now. I still love to get flowers for Valentine's, but I'm no longer into going out for dinner on the 14th of February.

A friend of ours owns a restaurant and I thought it summed it up when she once commented that Valentine's Day at the restaurant usually has a somewhat uncomfortable, awkward atmosphere. So many new couples, so many expectations.

Now a private little room for two (as pictured above) would be something else entirely...

The photo above is "Dinner for Two". It's part of the portfolio available for viewing at The Hidden Garden. The Hidden Garden Floral Design is located in West Los Angeles. Check out their site for gorgeous floral arrangements.