Peonies are HOT HOT HOT

Peonies are one of the most popular flowers for weddings today.
The Peony has been a popular flowers as far back as the 12 century in China and Japan.
The plant has been used as medical treatments for bad dreams to pain relief.
Even today research goes on in the medicinal uses of Peonies.



It has been said that peony plants were often included as part of a dowry settlement amongst the wealthy elite of Chinese society during the Tang Dynasty.

Mischievous nymphs were said to hide in the petals of the Peony thus causing this magnificent flower to be given the meaning of Shame or Bashfulness in the Language of Flowers. It was named after Paeon, a physician to the gods, who obtained the plant on Mount Olympus from the mother of Apollo. Once planted the Peony likes to be left alone and punishes those who try to move it by not flowering again for several years. Once established, however, it produces splendid blooms each year for decades (Taken from The Language of Flowers, edited by Sheila Pickles, 1990).

Tampa Mother's Day Treasure in a Box Bouquet

Tampa Mother's Day 2011 Flower Special
Apple Blossoms Floral Designs
has coupled up with
David Alexander Jewelers.

To bring you this beautiful Sterling Heart Necklace
Perfect for Mom.

Just think of the surprise on her face when she opens the box to
find another box with a beautiful Sterling heart necklace
that will bring her many years of joy.

Priced at 99.95 + Delivery
Tampa Local Floral Delivery Only.

How to order Flowers anywhere and Get what you Want

Today more and more people are using the internet to order their flowers. There is a right and wrong way. First of all the wrong way is simple. Don't pick and click. You never know if you are at an actual florists website. This is what happens. First the florist you thought you were contacting is actually something called an Order Gatherer, OG for short. The OG collects orders and sends them to a local florist. They don't really care what florist it might be nor the quality of florist it might be. The OG first of all takes a percentage of your order right off the bat. Now they are giving the receiving florist less money to fill the order. At the receiving florist they are going to take the deliver charge out of the money they were given by the OG. Now you may have spent $60.00 on the flowers you ordered, but now you are down to less than $40.00 for the receiving florist to create that $60.00 arrangement you thought you ordered. If the OG does this all day and takes 500 orders they made close to $6000.00 just for taking the orders and doing nothing but forwarding them to a receiving florist. OG go and buy domain names and phone numbers all over the country. We florist have been fighting these guys for years. They even take adds out in the Yellow Pages making it look as though they are a local florist you are calling. You may be calling a phone bank in any state or any country for that matter. We florists end up doing all the work and making less of a profit and working harder just to make ends meet. In all this is putting many flower shops out of business.

We florists have done away with our floral wire flower sending services because it is better for us to help our customers to get what they want from a local reputable florist. Many florist just call a florist of our choice and order direct from a local florist where we give them a credit card so they get 100% of the order and you get 100% of the value. Many florist may charge a nominal fee of $2.00 to $5.00 to handle this service for you. I know for me it may take several calls to local florists until I find exactly what my customer is looking for.

To make things even easier I suggest that the customer Google's florist with the zip code (Example: Florist 33609) to find a local florist and call directly and see what they have to offer. Many times you will find that they may have a special that day. Maybe something you might not of thought of sending, but being on special you get a better value. If there is something in particular you are looking for such as an orchid plant and the florist you are calling may not carry orchid plants. Ask them if they know of or would recommend another florist in the town that might specialize in orchids. You'll be surprised when they take the time to help you out. We get calls for certain items which we don't carry, but we know of other businesses in the area that carry these items. I'm never afraid to direct a customer to another florist or business if I can't help them. Statistics show that the customer you helped will nine chances out of ten call you first when they are in need of flowers in my town the next time.

Another thing to do when ordering is to make some suggestions of flowers you would like, but allow them to create something called a designers choice arrangement. You will be quite surprised at what your friend or loved one will get. Designers are just that. They are professionals trained in the floral field and if you allow them to use their creativity you will be overwhelmed by getting something unique. You may want to specify you want a vase or possibly a decorative container, or even tell them to put the money into the flowers and not the container.

Long story short. PICK UP THE PHONE!!!!! Today we rely way to much on the pick and click websites. Just because you picked a particular arrangement it's not always what you get. Look at the fine print that says "Substitutions may be made depending on flower availability." Call the florist and get more, along with a personal touch.

Valentine's Day Flowers in Tampa

Attention MEN!

Do you give her the same ole thing every Valentine's Day?

Come on you know what I mean.

The same dozen red roses you gave her last year?

Studies have shown that women want something different. Roses are becoming a thing of the past when it comes to Valentine's Day. A woman likes to be surprised, so why not surprise her with a bouquet of flowers that expresses your thoughts of her. Select flowers that remind you of her. It may be an over flowing Victorian design of Garden Roses, Lilies, Tulips, and Peonies or a Tropical arrangement of Birds of Paradise and Orchids. She will see that you took time to put some thought into sending her flowers. Better yet take her home a Romantic European hand tied Bouquet. Something that will totally blow her mind and delivered to her by you. How Eco-Friendly is that?

Yes, it is easy to just say "Give me a dozen red roses.", but does that really covey what you feel about her?

This year take the plunge and give her something from the heart and mix it up a bit. You will find that she will love it. Take it from me after 30 years as a florist I know.

Visit us at http://www.appleblossomstampa.com

Tampa Florist recieves Award

Tampa, FL – January 26, 2011 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Apple Blossoms Floral Designs has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding Florist!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

Apple Blossoms Floral Designs stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Apple Blossoms Floral Designs for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that Apple Blossoms Floral Designs is among the very best Wedding Florist within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/apple-blossoms-floral-designs-gifts-tampa/c00ceac820789a0d.html .

For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.



About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire.com, the nation's leading technology company serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 local wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives local businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. Businesses that join the WeddingWire Network appear on WeddingWire.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), ProjectWedding.com and Weddingbee.com (both part of eHarmony), and Celebrations.com (part of the 1-800-Flowers family of brands, NASDAQ: FLWS).

The Lady Bug of Tampa

From the conception of Apple Blossoms Floral Designs here in Tampa we wanted to find a signature for all our arrangements. One day I stumbled across these lovely Lady Bugs. I wasn't sure if anyone would notice, but they have. Here is a note we received this week from one of our recipients of our flowers.

Hi Scott!
We spoke once a few months ago when I ordered flowers for a local friend.

I received my third maybe fourth floral arrangement from Apple Blossoms last week... It is over the top...as always! However I have to tell you... I was so disappointed because there was no ladybug...anywhere.
A few days after I received the flowers my little granddaughter, Madison came over and asked... “Mimi are these ladybug flowers?” I had to say “No sweetie...this one doesn’t have a lady bug” only to hear her disappointed “ahhh”. An hour or so later I heard a cry of glee from my front room...I ran in to see what was going on...
you can never tell with a 4 year old ... and she excitedly exclaimed... “I found her! I found her”. I am thinking ...what in the world? as she shouts... “THE LADYBUG THE LADYBUG! SHE IS RIGHT THERE!”
Needless to say it was a moment in time... Thank you for not only creating amazing floral designs but for
also creating a magical moment for a beautiful 4 year old and her Mimi. :)

I don’t have any idea how I missed it but I am glad I did.

Blessings to you and your team!

Destination Wedding on St. Petersburg Beach

Natalie & Graeme
November 7, 2010
Location: The Grand Plaza, St. Petersburg Beach, Florida

This Fabulous Couple came all the way from Scotland to
exchange their vows. The weather was quite blustery and down right cold.
I believe to them it was not much different that a spring day in Scotland.
The Brides and Bridemaids bouquets consisted of Antique Blue Hydrangea, Blue Thistle, and Garden Roses.
The Groom and Groomsmen boutonnieres were of the traditional Blue Thistle.
The beach ceremony was conducted by Lauren Otten Byers of "I Do Weddings".
The Reception was held in the Terrace Ball Room at the Grand Plaza.

All our Best Wishes to Natalie & Graeme.