Mayesh Cooler Picks: April

Spring has sprung! Well, in some places at least – what’s up with all this rain and snow in so many parts of the country?! Whether you’re in a rainy or a sunny climate right now, here are some of our beautiful wholesale flowers in lovely spring color palettes to brighten your day! We’ll be posting them on Pinterest so head on over there to pin any palettes you’re inspired by.

CREPE

top | white ranunculus, blush snowberries, Bridal Veil garden spray rose

middle | Lux Ariadne butterfly ranunculus, flannel flower, peach foxglove

bottom | white lilac, blush astilbe, white snowberry

MERLOT

top | Cerinthe, Eze ranunculus, fritillaria persica

middle | Grand Jubilee garden rose, pink jasmine, Roseanne lisianthus

bottom | plum hellebores, copper extasis carnation, mixed succulents

PUNCH

top | Picotee ranunculus, fuschia lace garden spray rose, Miyabe garden rose

middle | purple foxglove, Grevillea Johnsonii, hot pink sweet peas

bottom | coral double French tulips, Charlotte ranunculus, Theseus butterfly ranunculus

SHERBERT

top | coral ranunculus, Beatrice garden rose, Libretto parrot tulip

middle | Beehive ginger, Juliane garden spray rose, peach hyacinth

bottom | Vuvuzela garden rose, Buttery gerondo gerber, Queensland tulip

Mornings with Mayesh: April 2018

We covered some great content during Aprils’s Mornings with Mayesh show. During Part I, Dave, Shelley, and I talk about some of the amazing products that are available now and answered your flower questions. The discussion included: exciting filler flowers, Flannel Flower, using Pieris Japonica in bouquets, greens/pods for boho weddings, attaching/installing flowers to a tree, tools to help book wedding clients, and more.

For the second half of the show (Part II), our special guest, Alison Ellis of Real Flower Business, joined us to discuss minimums – how to set them, when to raise them & more. Enjoy and keep on scrolling down for the show notes.

Here are the podcast replays – Part I and Part II:

PART I SHOW NOTES

FLOWER QUESTIONS

What is exciting in the world of flowers?

• Latest flower 411: https://www.mayesh.com/flower-411-april-2018/
• Monthly availability list: https://www.mayesh.com/flower-availability/ 
• It’s a heat wave out there! And we’ve got some hot stuff to show you today!
• Domestic Snowball viburnum from Oregon has arrived and is in Mayesh coolers across the country. A big fluffy fun filler or focal flower BUT it won’t be around long so grab it while it’s hot!
• Californian Boronia has just come into season and it is truly a super fragrant pop of hot pink color that everyone loves.
• Giant coxcomb celosia from Holland is back in abundance and comes in all the bright jewel tones we love. Just look at the size of these guys.
• Domestic Lilac is making it’s short but sweet debut available now from California and will bloom its way north along the west coast for the next few weeks.
• Dicentra or Bleeding hearts are Dutch Imports right now but look at how cute this is…

• From Penny – What are some new awesome different fillers that is not gyp??
  • It is easy to get in a rut using the same flowers as fillers but there are a lot of options both old and new available now.
  • Some old fave’s are asters like solidago and montecasino but thanks to growers hybridizing larger varieties we have these giant mardi gras asters and golden glory solidago which look like they are on steroids.
  • Check out this twist on queen annes lace, chocolate lace, it goes from cream to mauve to brown tones.
  • When you think of snowberries you usually think fall BUT these beauties are seasonal in Chile and being imported to us right now.
  • Astilbe is super popular right now, as is astrantia. Both are delicate with a feminine vibe that goes perfectly in wedding work.
  • California riceflower is blooming now and a perfect pop of color.
  • Last but not least, Thlaspi aka Penny Crest… I thought I’d finish with this cool textural Penny Crest to thank Penny for asking some great questions for the show this week! A relative to the Mustard family, it was introduced to the United states in the 1700’s and is found in almost every state.
  •  I also love Boronia heather, wax flower calycinia and eriosteman and pieris japonica.
• From Penny – We are losing our gerbera daisy growers to another crop…. is the future of the gerbera going to be all imports??? 
  • It’s not just gerberas! Our ever-evolving political climate is making it more and more difficult for some local growers to stay lucrative without changing their business models. It is unfortunate that a lot of what used to be domestic crops are now being grown in other countries where the overhead is lower. The plus side is a more consistent year-round supply and a huge increase in novelty colors and varieties for our market in the USA.

• From Jayme: My question is regarding Flannel flower, does Mayesh ever have them? Do they import from Australia?
  • DAVE: Flannel flower or Actinotus is available sporadically throughout the year. Mayesh imports this flower from Japan via the Naniwa flower auction starting in early December through Early May. Last year it was also sourced through the Dutch auction in Aalsmeer in May & June then again in September & October. As with any novelty flowers, Flannel flowers availability is inconsistent making them a true gem when they are available.
  • Shelley: Fun fact: this flower is also known as Edelweiss and is native to Austria…if you remember The Sound of Music this is the little flower the song references..Woops I stand corrected. Flannel flower: Acitnotus helianthi are Flannel Flower or sometimes called Australian Edelweiss is a different genus than Austrian Edelweiss which is Leontopodium. My apologies for the misinformation! We are getting that now and it is coming from Japan.
    

FLOWER CARE

• • From Kristina: Do you know how Pieris Japonica holds up in bouquets and is it available right now?
    • Dave: Pieris goes in and out of season depending on country of origin throughout the year. They tend to shed once the blooms are fully open. A cool use for these is when they are harvested in bud form eliminating the shedding effect. Their natural blooming season varies from year to year based on weather & temperature. This year we saw good production February through April. It will gap for a bit and then we will start to get it in budded form from New Zealand around June. Sporadic production will continue July through October.
    • Shelley: yes it does and it is a beautiful textural accent.

FLOWER DESIGN

• From Penny: Are you finding more different greens/pods for trending boho weddings??
  • Shelley: yes, actually drieds have made a big comeback for weddings and we are seeing more of our florists buy product to save and dry. Seed pods from Eucalyptus, scabiosa pods, even dried poppy pods. Tumbleweeds, dried palm branches and lots of unusual seed pods like old man’s beard are fun alternatives

• From Rebecca: What are your tips for doing flower application directly on an element like a tree?
  • Shelley: First of all, always make sure you have permission from the venue to decorate the tree. I find doing the least invasive techniques work the best.Hanging a garland by using zip ties or using a decorative ribbon to hand a wreath or cage also works. you should never nail into a tree unless the venue already has one in place

FLOWER BUSINESS

• From Summer: What are your favorite “tools” for booking potential bridal clients?  
  • Shelley: Nothing beats good word of mouth and referrals but sometimes that just doesn’t get you enough business when you are new. I always connect with venues and send an arrangement and card and ask for an appointment with the banquet manager. Let them know you are interested in their business. Churches are also a good place to get your foot in the door. Most have a preferred vendors list. I good church coordinator on your side can net you a ton of referrals. As always you will have to put yourself out there as there is competition in your demographic. But being persistent will pay off. Asked to be invited to any meet and greets or bridal shows that these venues may have.If you already have spoken to a bride and would like to book her business, ALWAYS answer emails and follow up quickly with a proposal. I have booked many weddings just because I followed through with the client and showed them I wanted their business. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard from brides who made their first appointment with me just because I responded to their initial inquiry…so many florists have auto-response set emails or don’t reply at all. If you want the business, show them! And while we are on the subject of auto-response emails like” thank you for your inquiry but we are currently out working on a wedding or we are traveling” or whatever your excuse is, and you are just too busy to answer..it is a little frustrating to potential clients. Get thee an assistant or intern to promptly respond to emails. You will come off as professional and on it! This is so refreshing to a bride, especially when she has received several of these replies already.  this alone may be a deciding factor for her..because she knows you are attentive from the get-go and won’t be receiving these the entire time you are working with her.
  • Yvonne:
    • Curate (formerly known as StemCounter) is a great tool. Find out more here.
    • Here’s the florist app blog article. It’s older but still a great reference tool.

Part II

SPECIAL GUEST – ALISON ELLIS

Alison Ellis is a floral designer & educator that teaches florists how to embrace the business side of the business so they can make more money and take control of their future. She’s been working in the floral industry for 24 years; after spending 8 years training in half a dozen flowers shops, she opened a home-based floral business in 2002, which focuses almost exclusively on weddings.

Alison’s business tips & teachings can be found at realflowerbusiness.com, which is listed in the top 40 of the “Best Flower Blogs on the Planet”. She’s been featured on FlirtyFleurs.com and is currently a regular business contributor to Florists’ Review Magazine.

She has a wealth of knowledge to share with you and I’m so happy to have her on today’s show!

• Questions from Arbella: I know you got started with several restaurant accounts. How did that work? Did you have 2 sets of bud vases that you would just switch out? Or did you design on site during times the restaurant wasn’t open? And do you have any tips on how you built those relationships?
• Question from Carie: Lately I have had more brides wanting me to do a mock-up of their wedding flowers so they will be able to see what they will look like prior to the wedding.  When I tell them that I charge for this service they are appalled and decide against it. I haven’t lost any clients over this yet, but wondered how other florists handle these type of people and are there florists out there that do this for free??  
• Why should florists set a minimum?
• If they’re just starting out, should you start with a minimum?
• How do you determine what you minimum should be?
• When should you raise your minimum?
• Should you post your minimum on your website?

Where can everyone find out more about you and Real Flower business?  https://realflowerbusiness.com/

If you think of new questions, you can post them in the comments here or use the contact form to send them to Yvonne.

Be sure to mark your calendar for April 24th at 10 am EST for a special Mornings with Mayesh featuring Gretchen Sell from Design Master.

April’s Featured Mayesh Luxe Blooms

This month we have new Mayesh Luxe Blooms, both local and Dutch! See what beautiful blooms we’re offering below, and check with your sales rep for availability at your location!

And don’t forget to check out this month’s new wholesale flowers with our most recent Flower 411!

APRIL FEATURED MAYESH LUXE BLOOMS

Local Riceflower

Local Double Freesia

Local Foxglove

Local Viburnum

Dutch Fritillaria

Dutch Coxcomb

Mayesh in Spanish: Mediterranean Arrangement

En este episodio de Mayesh Floral Design en español, Veronica Cicero de Anthology Co., crea un exuberante arreglo inspirado en el Mediterráneo. Usando una mezcla de lo usual y lo inusual, aprendemos a crear un arreglo de urna usando una alternativa a la espuma floral. ¡Esperamos que disfrutes!

English:
In this episode of Mayesh Floral Design en español, Veronica Cicero of Anthology Co., creates a lush arrangement inspired by the Mediterranean. Using a mix of usual and unusual, we learn to create an urn arrangement using an alternative to floral foam. We hope you enjoy!

Video & Photography: Talewind Visuals

Flower 411: April 2018

Spring is in full effect, which means we have some great new wholesale flowers available this month! Check out the latest product availability below, courtesy of our fantastic Purchasing team!

JUST STARTING

Amaranthus upright gold

Boronia – only available for a few weeks

Craspedia – local

Coxcomb – Dutch

Delphinium Hybrid – local – white is limited

Geum Mango – limited

Hydrangea Paniculata – antique

Lisianthus – local – limited (pink and purple)

Nerines – import

Peony – local – extremely limited

Pennycress – local

Poppy Pods

Riceflower

Spirea Grefsheim – local

Stephanotis – local just starting – very limited

Viburnum Snowball – local

AVAILABLE

Alchemilla Mollis – import

Allium – import & Japanese

Amaranthus hanging

Amaryllis – import

Anemone – local

Artichokes – all size and colors

Aster Matsumoto

Begonia leaves

Bells of Ireland – local

Birds of Paradise – local

Bouvardia – import

Bupluerum

Campanula – import

Chamomile/Matricaria/Feverfew

Clematis – Dutch – no white

Cornflower blue

Cosmos Chocolate – import

Cymbidium – large or mini

Dianthus Green Trick or Green Ball – local and import

Dianthus Gypsy – all colors

Dahlias – Greenhouse dahlias from our year round dahlia growers now available.  Basic Colors, Burgundy, red, light pink, pink, hot pink, purple (dark lavender-lagoon), limited orange, white, Café au Lait still gapping – a few stems only here or there

Ball Dahlias – done for the season

Euphorbia Dogeye

Euphorbia Wolfenii

Eremurus – import

Freesia regular – local

Freesia – local – $$$$

Fritilaria – all flavors

Gardenias

Genestra white – local

Gloriosa short – Dutch

Gloriosa long – Dutch or Japanese

Gomphrena

Gerbera – Canada and local

Heleborus – import

Hyacinth – import and local

Hyacinth – Muscari blue or white – import

Hydrangea – import

Iris

Kalanchoe – local

Kale – large, frilly – local

Kangaroo Paw – import

Larkspur

Leucojum – local and import

Lilac – local – very limited, especially white

Lilac – import

Limonium – import

Lisianthus all colors – import

Lisianthus – local – just starting

Lily of the Valley – import only – $$$$

Manzanita natural and sandblasted

Magnolia – local (California and Florida)

Nandina

Orlaya

Ornithogalum – white, yellow, orange – import

Ornithogalum Arabicum – import

Passion vine foliage

Peony – local – just starting, extremely limited

Peony – import – small headed and expensive

Pepperberry hanging w/ berries

Pepperberry upright

Pieris Japonica buds

Phlox – import

Poppy Icelandic assorted – import and local

Poppy Icelandic solid colors (open cut) – $$$$$$

Privett black berries

Protea King pink

Protea Pink Ice

Pincushion Protea (Leucospermum) – orange, yellow – local

Pincushion Protea Hybrids

Pussy Willow fantail

Pussy Willow French

Ranunculus – Dutch and Japanese

Ranunculus Butterfly – import and local – no white being commercially grown

Ranunculus – local

Scabiosa – annual colors, scoops – Dutch

Scabiosa – Japanese – $$$

Scabiosa Pods – import

Scented Geranium – no novelty for at east a month (rose, var. rose, Atomic Snowflake, Charity)

Snowberry

Spirea – Japanese – limited – $$$$$$$$

Spirea Grefsheim – local

Statice – no peach

Sunflower black center

Sweet Pea – import (not Japanese)

Trachelium – import

Tulips – Dutch or local

Tweedia – local or import

Veronica – import

Viburnum Snowball – import

Viburnum Tinus – import

Waxflower – local

LIMITED

Agonis

Blossom (blooming branches) – cherry

Brunia silver – $$$$$

Crocosmia Pods – import – $$$$

Delphinium Belladonna white

Eucalyptus Gunni

Eucalyptus small leaf (Moon Lagoon, Gumdrop, Parvifolia, Bonsai)

Gomphrena white

Grevelia Flowering – import – $$$

Jasmine vine flowering – fading fast

Lepto – not all colors available

Limonium – local- very limited

Lisianthus – local

Papyrus Lions Head – advance notice required

Protea white – very limited

Ranunculus Hybrid – local – almost finished

Scabiosa white perennial – local

Stephanotis – import Dutch only and local just starting

FINISHED/NOT AVAILABLE

Acacia Pearl foliage

Anemone – Japanese

Asclepias pods (Moby Dick)

Bear Grass – super length – only available in summer now

Blackberries – import

Blossom (blooming branches) – Quince, Peach, Forsythia

Calicarpa – Beauty Berry

Chamomile yellow daisy – no one grows this anymore

Clematis – local – grower has severe damage, will not cut any for all of 2018

Cosmos pinks and whites

Cotinus blooming

Cotinus foliage

Crocosmia flower

Explosion Grass

Fruiting Branch Persimmons

Fruiting Branch Pomegranate

Ginger Beehive

Godetia

Grevillea Asplendifolia – Magnolia type

Heather hot pink

Heather white

Honey Suckle

Hydrangea – local

Hydrangea Lacecap

Hydrangea Peegee

Kumquats – restricted movement from the Department of Agriculture – not available until further notice

Lace Flower

Laurel variegated foliage

Leucadendron Jester

Lunaria – finished for the season

Millets

Nigella – finished until spring crop starts

Oregano Kents Beauty and Hopley’s pink

Pampas Grass

Pieris Japonica flowering

Protea Blushing Bride

Protea King white

Rose Hips

Southern Smilax

Stephanotis vines

Sterling Range Heather

Strawflower

Sunflower mini black center

Sweet Pea – Japanese

Tallowberry

Thryptomene/Calycina – import

Viburnum Tinus

Apply for Memorial Day Flowers 2018!

The Memorial Day Flowers event is upon us, and we have committed once again to supplying thirty (30) Memorial Day Flower kits! This is a wonderful program that we love to participate in with our customers to recognize the men and women who have served our country.

Please fill out the form if you are interested in receiving a flower kit (250 roses, handouts, and a banner). If selected, you will be charged $40 and will also need to send in pictures of your Memorial Day activities.

Filling out the form is NOT a guarantee to receive a Memorial Day Flowers kit. You will receive an email from Mayesh marketing confirming your participation.

UPDATE: Wow, you guys are amazing! We had over 40 responses yesterday, so I am closing the form down while we go through the applicants. I will send out an update if we still have room or can handle a few more. Stay tuned! 

There are several ways to use the roses you will receive within your communities:

• Contact your local cemetery and set up a table to distribute roses to visitors. Each visitor will be given two stems of roses: one to place on a headstone and one to take home in remembrance of a friend or relative. Optionally, you could provide a service for families that are unable to visit by sending a digital picture of the rose lying on the headstone.
• Distribute roses at your local Memorial Day parade or ceremony.
• Place a sign at your shop offering a free Memorial Day Rose to anyone who comes in on the preceding Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Participating in the Memorial Day Flowers “Florists & Community” program is an excellent way to connect with your community and honor those who served. A single rose, placed on a headstone, is a floral expression of appreciation.

Here are some of our favorite images from last year’s event, and check out the full 2017 recap here!

Why You Should be Using Instagram Stories

So you’re on Instagram, but so are 700 million other people, with 25 million of those being businesses. How can you make yourself stand out in a sea of literally millions of other Instagrammers? (Yes, it’s a word, we checked. Merriam-Webster is more than likely adding it to the dictionary as you read this.) One word: Stories. You’ve most likely watched Instagram Stories from some of your favorite ‘grammers, be it other florists, bloggers or friends. And you’ve probably loved them, right? Instagram Stories are a great way to not only be seen on Instagram, but to connect more personally with clients as well.

According to Instagram, one-third of the most viewed Stories on the platform are from businesses – a huge number when you consider business profiles only make up about 28% of the total users on Instagram. And even better news, two-thirds of visits to business profiles are users that don’t already follow that business on Instagram. With 300 million Instagram users viewing Stories daily, that’s a lot of opportunities to get your content before the eyes of potential customers, and current customers that you want to keep coming back for more of your floral magic.

We know, we know, we’re total data geeks and we just threw a lot of numbers at you! But aside from all of the technological reasons (changing algorithms, engagement, etc.) there are so many other ways and reasons to be using Stories for your business. So now that you’re on board, we want to share some of the different ways you can use them to your benefit and achieve the engagement you need to run a successful business in the age of Social Media!

One of our most asked questions when it comes to Instagram is whether or not to share BTS (behind-the-scenes) and personal images on your business feed. Well, when answering that question, there are many things to consider. The Instagram feed has now become your portfolio… brides will scroll through yours and decide within SECONDS if they like your work and want to reach out to you. And with all of the beautifully curated feeds out there, you do want to compete with those and make sure yours is consistent and representative of your brand. However, with all of those beautifully curated feeds, how do YOU stand out? To a potential bride or customer who doesn’t necessarily look at flowers and weddings all day, it can be overwhelming to differentiate between all the pretty! Well, Stories are a great way to set yourself apart and show the world a little bit about the designer behind the flowers.

I don’t know about you, but when the time comes for me to choose all of the vendors for my wedding, I not only want to love their work, but I want to love them. Stories is a space to share your personality – if you’re a big goofball in real life, show us! Are you witty and sarcastic and have an opinion on just about everything? You bet there’s going to be someone out there who connects with that. Instagram users and potential clients love seeing little pieces of your life outside of work – it helps them feel like they know you even if in reality, you’ve never met.

Stories are also a great place to share some BTS of your day-to-day life as a florist… the “ugly” stuff. We know that gorgeous centerpiece on that carefully curated tablescape didn’t just appear… show us how it got there! The process can be just as interesting for your clients or fellow vendors, and as an added bonus, it shows them just how much hard work goes into being a florist, something people don’t always realize! On top of potential clients, this is also a great way to network and connect with other vendors in the industry, making “Instagram friends” if you will, who want to work with you in the future and will direct their clients to you. Win-win!

Okay, so let’s quickly recap the WHY’S of using Stories:

1. To show off that sparkling (or goofy) personality of yours
2. To show your process and a little BTS of your life as a florist
3. To increase engagement on your content
4. To network with industry vendors

So now that you have a little more insight into some of the benefits of using Stories, here are some tips, tricks and how-to’s to achieving that.

Instagram Live

Going live can be super intimidating, but Instagram has made it so easy that it’s really not that big of a deal! We’ve seen florists use Live videos in a number of ways… from live design demonstrations to Q+A’s (both personal and business related), Live stories are a great way to interact in real time and allow your followers to ask questions for you to answer right then and there. If you’re not already following Ponderosa & Thyme, she uses Instagram Live all the time and is one of our favorites to tune into.

Links

If your Instagram is a business account (which it should be) one of our most utilized features is the good ‘ole “Swipe Up!” for links. Whether you want to share new content you’ve posted to your blog or website, or you just want to direct customers/brides to your contact page, this feature is exclusive to business profiles and sees really high engagement. When we started linking our new blog posts on Stories, we saw a huge increase in link opens and people reading and commenting on our blogs, and it makes complete sense with how convenient it is – a simple swipe and they’re right where you want them.

Polls

In the most general sense, polls can be a great way to find out WHAT your followers are interested in seeing. If you’re still struggling with determining what to post on your feed and/or Stories, do a little crowdsourcing!

Polls can also be used as fun little ways to interact with your followers, even if you’re not *really* looking for an answer. For example, posting two arrangements and asking them which they like best. Or maybe you DO want an answer! Your followers’ input could be just what you need to answer the important questions in life…. like blush vs. millennial pink 😉

Story Highlights

It’s both a blessing and a curse that Stories only last 24 hours… but that all changed when Instagram introduced Highlights. If you went on an Insta-Rant (not yet a word, but it probably should be) about pricing and you want everyone to hear what you had to say, make it a Highlight! You can really use them for anything – a portfolio of your best work, a BTS of an event from start to finish, upcoming events or workshops – and you can add to individual highlights even after you’ve already posted the original one. If you need a little inspiration, Shean Strong has some great ones – from “Five Fun Facts” to our personal favorite, “Driving with Shean,” the possibilities are endless.

Fight the Algorithm

We’ve all heard about the changing algorithms, and because of them you might sometimes notice less engagement (likes & comments) on your posts. One way to help guide followers to new posts on your feed is to use Stories! Many bloggers & Influencers do this by screenshotting their feed and literally just saying “NEW POST!” as a way to direct them there and increase engagement. And in doing research for this blog, we learned that there might be some new features on the way to make sharing new posts even easier… stay tuned!

Insights & Tutorials

We’ve talked a lot about engagement and insights and all this technical stuff – but what does it all mean?! To find out how to analyze all this data, check out this article from Social Media Examiner… they can explain things a bit better than we can 😉

And if you’re looking for some more technical help on how to use all of the great (and constantly evolving) features, check out these two helpful visual guides to help you master your Insta-Story game!

The Preview App: New Features Instagram 2018

Hootsuite: How to Use Instagram Stories

If you weren’t already using Stories, we hope you’ve convinced you by now! If you have any questions or comments, or have discovered another creative use of them, share with us in the Comments below!

Mayesh Design Star: Ceremony Arch

Featuring Japanese flowers from Naniwa Flower Auction, Kaylee designs a beautiful floral arch. The structure is created using a lovely arch from Danner & Soli, which she attached foam cages using zip ties before placing the flowers into place. Archways are perfect for setting the tone of a truly romantic wedding ceremony and this design surely accomplishes that in spades!

Featured flowers: spirea, ranunculus, butterfly ranunculus, acacia foliage, eucalyptus, and roses.

Host: Kaylee Young, Flourish by Kay
Flower Sponsor: Naniwa Flower Auction
Videographer: Logan Martin, Talewind Visuals
Photographer: Maria Lamb Photography
Arch: Danner & Soli
Model: Autumn Johnson

Here are the products/quantities used — aka, the flower recipe:

• 8 bunch acacia foliage
• 40 stems spray rose
• 70 stems spirea
• 3 bunches eucalyptus
• 20 stems sweet pea
• 10 stems tulips
• 10 stem cappuccino roses
• 50 stem quicksand roses
• 2 bunches (40 stems) Japanese Ranunculus

This is how much product it took to cover the front half of the arch, so if Kaylee was creating this same arch for a wedding, she would use double the amount of product to make sure that it was completely covered all the way around.

Also, this arch took Kaylee 3 hours to make by herself. However, if she was designing a similar arch for a wedding, she would have people helping, and would expect to get it done in under 2 hours.

After watching the video, keep scrolling for all of the gorgeous pictures – perfect for pinning!

The Floral Podcasts You Should be Listening to Right Now

Podcasts are all the rage right now. They’re informative, educational, and even fun – what’s not to love? Plus, you can find a podcast on pretty much any topic that interests you. As “experts” in the floral industry, we get asked all the time what floral podcasts we listen to. So we decided to pull together a list of some great podcasts about the floral industry – from wedding flowers, to interviews with top florists, to marketing your floral business, to growing your own flowers, and everything in-between.

Check out some of our favorite floral podcasts below, and let us know what podcasts you’re loving right now in the comments!

Team Flower

Listen as we talk with influential florists, growers and flower industry professionals. Be notified when new podcast episodes are released and receive fun video tutorials when you sign up for our Pen Pal Club for free at www.teamflower.org

Also available on iTunes, Google Play Music, and Stitcher.

Botanical Brouhaha

Amy McGee of Botanical Brouhaha and Maria Maxit of Maxit Flower Design co-host a podcast for the floral industry, where you can hear floral industry friends sharing their stories and discussing anything and everything related to the flower business.

Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.

She Creates Business

How to start a wedding planning business? How do I market my wedding business? Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Maybe you’re wondering if you’re the only one who still has questions about starting, growing and scaling your wedding business. I’m here to tell you, you’re absolutely not alone. Every Tuesday & Thursday, She Creates Business, a Podcast for Wedding Pros interviews women entrepreneurs just like you. We share personal stories, business-building strategies, marketing tips, how to use social media in your wedding business & more. From wedding planners to florists, from venue owners to calligraphers and beyond, no topic is off limits. Join us for community and conversation!

Also available on iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher and Spotify.

Slow Flowers

SLOW FLOWERS is about making a conscious, sustainable choice in how you choose flowers. The podcast introduces listeners to the leading voices in the SLOW FLOWERS movement, from the field to the vase. Meet American flower farmers, eco-couture floral designers, innovative Do-It-Yourself designers and pioneering farmer-florists. Debra Prinzing, the leading advocate for American Grown flowers, hosts the conversation and encourages you to join the creative community.

Also available on iTunes.

Weddings-Ish With Jove

A podcast on all things weddings-ish including a special guest each episode! Brooklyn based wedding planner and designer Jove Meyer will share wedding planning tips and trends and dish on all things wedding-ish! Each episode we will cover a different aspect of wedding planning (budget, flowers, food, music, etc.) and feature a special wedding industry guest! You will laugh, learn and fall in love with wedding planning!

Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.

And of course, don’t forget…

Mornings with Mayesh

Each month, Yvonne Ashton and her flower friends get together to chat about flowers and floral design, answering your questions, discussing top social media news, and interviewing special guests to help keep you inspired! If you are a floral professional be sure to subscribe to this podcast.

Also available on iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher and Spotify.

Mayesh Luxe Blooms Grower Feature: Montana Lisianthus

Many of you already know about our line of Mayesh Luxe Blooms and have hopefully had the chance to work with some of them! But what makes our Luxe Blooms so special? There is so much that goes into growing these gorgeous flowers with longer stems, bigger heads, and other unique features, so we thought you’d enjoy learning a bit more about the growers behind our Luxe Blooms. This month we’re starting with one of our Dutch lisianthus growers, Montana Lisianthus!

ABOUT THE GROWER

Montana Lisianthus is a greenhouse-nursery located in Poeldijk/Westland, between the sea and Flora Holland. Back in the 1990’s Frank van Holst, once a crop advisor for Rockwool, had a dream: to start his own greenhouse-nursery. He had gotten his growers-nose (greenthumb) from his parents, and after he had finished University and advised other growers, he decided that, most of all, he wanted to own his own greenhouse… but not by himself. So he found himself a nice, spontaneous, handsome young flower girl from a grower family with, according to his own dad, golden hands: Corine van den Berg. She turned out to be the love of his life, and that is where it all began!

They bought some land in Poeldijk at the Casembrootlaan, and worked very hard together with the family. They named the company Montana… an elegant (almost Spanish) translation of his girl’s last name: Mountain. They started out growing on rockwool; what a challenge! It turned out that the sensitive roots of the Lisianthus couldn’t resist this way of cultivation. The fertile loam soil which belongs to the greenhouse was a much better choice for the Lisianthus. 

After seven and a half yeas of hard work, a new glasshouse was built, and yet another seven and a half years later, they purchased some land from their neighbors, doubling the company! Fittingly, a double Lisianthus variety had been added to the assortment.

Around 2000, when everybody in “Lisianthus-land” grew the common Lisianthus varieties of those days, Montana discovered a new variety: Rosita.

Today, Frank and Corine grow twenty of the most exclusive and extraordinary varieties of Lisianthus, and they love nothing more than sharing their greenhouse and babies (the flowers) with contagious enthusiasm and passion.

Montana Lisianthus specializes in working very closely with the breeder, and simultaneously thinking two steps ahead. In this way very special varieties of promising Lisianthus are selected at an early stage and developed in their own in-house nursery.

Frank and Corine love to develop extraordinary varieties and do not avoid ones that are difficult to grow. Together with the breeder they will fight to get the impossible done and create the most exceptional Lisianthus, especially for you.

The result: Lisianthus that knocks you off your feet!

FEATURED PRODUCTS

Roseanne Black Pearl

Roseanne Deep Brown (Bordeaux)

Roseanne Green

This variety of Lisianthus is very different than the common varieties of Lisianthus; they have entirely hard petals and when you feel the flowers, it seems as though they are a wax flower! They have very intense colors: wine red, apple-green and deep dark purple/black.

Lisianthus is usually only available in pastel colors, so these deep, intense colors are outstanding.

• Vase Life: Strong vase life, colors will fade away in your living room, giving you the ultimate feeling

• Seasonality: All our varieties are available every day, year around

• How they’re Grown: It is very difficult the make the seed of this variety. When you take a closer look at the flower you will see there is no stamp in it, so the breeder is not able to put the pollen on the stamp to make the seed. So he has to do a trick to get the seed out of it which usually works.

This is the reason…

in a field of The Rosanne Deep Brown, there are different pink varieties in between,

in a field with Rosanne Green there are yellow varieties growing and

in a field with Rosanne Black Pearl there are Blue flowers blooming. It is a funny sight to see.

If you are interested in this amazing product from Montana Lisianthus, then be sure to connect with your Mayesh rep!

The Ultimate Flower Guide

Do you want 12 months of flower availability lists at your fingertips together in one place? The be sure to download our Seasonal Product Availability Guide!

Great to use for wedding & event consultations, planning product palettes for everyday designs, and new employees as a reference.

DOWNLOAD GUIDE HERE