Holiday 2012 Retrospective

As we prepare for one of our busiest days here at Best Wishes Floral (Valentine's), here's a quick document of what we were up to in the 2012 holiday season.  It was an adventure setting up our newly remodeled space for Christmas and Hanukkah, playing with all the new ways we can use our ceiling, for example.

These hanging lanterns with their nice glass cylinder vases inside have all kinds of possibilities for home decor.  Either hung from the ceiling or placed on a shelf or table, you'll have all kinds of fun filling them with interesting textures and shapes.  Here, we've strung some Christmas lights through them and filled them with brightly colored wire balls and then adorned them with this great natural-looking snowy garland.

Mark models our fun light-up headbands and Undercover Santa glasses.  These are certainly a way to brighten your holiday gathering.  When you're tired of decorating the tree, decorate your head!

This was a simple artificial arrangement we put together for a customer who wanted to use some of the beautiful light-up birch branches we carry.  A festive look that lights up the often very dark winter nights.

This arrangement went to one of our weekly standing orders, and this is what it looked like after a week!  Evergreens paired with green hydrangea, red alstroemeria, silver seeded eucalyptus, some leucadendron, and red curly ting stuck through shiny green wire balls.

Another of our weekly standing order, this one shot on location at Doolittle's Woodfire Grill in Golden Valley.  Besides the incredible food and great service, its worth the weekly trip alone to check out our flowers next to the host stand!  This is giant purple kale, purple stock, yellow lily, and Peruvian star alstroemeria, accented with curly willow.

This was a trio of table arrangements for a holiday party.  Each was complimentary and unique, bringing a bright festive feel with the gold Italian ruscus, and fresh white freesia, heather, and snapdragons.

For one of our lucky customers that receives a weekly flower bouquet.  A bubble bowl with river rocks, hydrangea, hot pink spray roses, yellow gerbera, dark brown myrtle and those beautiful coral colored succulent flower spikes.  This is simple but has lots of visual interest to enjoy.

This arrangement had almost a desert/southwest flair with the cactus-like evergreens accenting the Douglas fir, fresh hydrangea and carnations.  Very unique and long lasting.

A wreath with matching garland for the mantle.

Weddings and Weddings

We offer a variety of options for weddings, from bouquets and personal flowers to decorations and centerpieces; we love working with brides and their loved ones who help them plan their special day, and we make sure to make each couple unique and special.  At Best Wishes, you'll receive personalized care for every detail of your event, and we are happy to work in any budget.

Fresh greens and tulle make a simple pew decoration.

Gerbera daisies in sunny tones bring bright colors to the ceremonial white.

Personal flowers, individually wrapped and labeled and designed to match the entire wedding.

This is a bridal bouquet from a different wedding, very unique tropical flowers made a splashy look.

Working delicate white feathers into the mix of tropical bird of paradise, orchid stems, white anthurium, and white fuji mums, accented with succulents, eucalyptus and green hanging amaranthus.

Matching bouquets for the maids of honor.

While We Were Remodeling...

Even with all the remodeling going on, and getting ready for the fall/holiday season, we had lots of stuff going on here at Best Wishes, from weddings to funerals and events of all kinds.  Here's some fun sunflower arrangements we made for an event at the Governor's Mansion in St. Paul.

Sunflower, hydrangea, snapdragon, a pink rose and some purple bullet allium in a cube vase make a nice colorful accent for the center of the table.

A larger arrangement for the buffet table.

Wedding cake flowers with white roses, craspedia, and dahlias.

Need centerpieces?  This is what 60 look like, all loaded into the van for delivery!

A unique bridal bouquet close-up, with lavender, purple stock, allium, roses, leucodendron, and seeded eucalyptus. 

A close up of a pew decoration for the same wedding, playing of the theme of white roses, leucodendron, and pretty purple shades of stock.

A vased arrangement for a funeral service.

Another funeral service, this plant basket with spathiphyllum , african violet, ivy, also has fresh-cut button mums, monte casino asters, and liatris to make a very beautiful combination.

This colorful mix featuring our locally-grown Len Busch red roses would be great for an anniversary, birthday, or on a buffet table at your next event.

One of our customers wanted to give plants as a housewarming gift, but had a few napkins she wanted us to incorporate.  We put them together to make an elegant gift I'm sure made a good impression.

A large easel spray for a funeral service.

Personal flowers for a wedding.  The theme for these was classic sophistication with a touch of glam, with preserved maple leaves, and those great Len Busch roses.

Mother's Day Is Here!

The excitement is palpable, the air is thick with anticipation, the shop is stuffed to the brim with flowers... it's about to be MOTHERS' DAY!!  We all have mothers in our lives, and many people know many moms:  wives, daughters, grandmothers, and friends who deserve a bit of recognition for the hard work and love they give to their families.  We are just so excited to help you make her day special because really, what's better than fresh flowers and a hug?

This arrangement above, and the two at the top are examples of fun, springy fresh flowers that Mom will adore.  A colorful and fragrant mix of lilies, gerbera and pom daisies, iris, roses, tulips, alstroemeria, spider mums, stock, and waxflower bring spring into the home.  Don't know what everything is called?  Don't worry, we love to help!

Super cute daisy basket on the left or simple yet colorful tulip bunch tied with a bow on the right?  Flip a coin, you can't go wrong here.

Our designer Remy loves to make these topiary-like creations;  alstroemeria bunched and tied in raffia and decked at the base with greens and that awesome magenta heather.

One lucky mom out there is getting this huge arrangement of 2 dozen roses!  Very special.  Let's hope its not one for each kid!

Don't worry, this isn't an arrangement, its how we're keeping these incredible orchid stems to use in your order.  Phew!

Let's talk plants.  Sometimes people like to go for blooming plants because they last as long as you take care of them.  With our advice and pro tips, that will be easy!  Above are 4" and 6" azaleas that are looking just awesome!

In the center here is 6" kalanchoe in a bright magenta hue, and in front are these really cool double gloxinia I picked up today.  Most of these plants are going to have different bloom color and basket style options in stock, and we're always happy to swap things around to get just what you're looking for.

Adorned with colorful twigs and butterflies, these blooming gerbera plants are a great choice.

Or put the same gerbera plant in a euro garden basket with other green plants, and we have another great look.  There's a few more plant baskets to check out in the shop right now, so don't miss out!

A cactus garden can sometimes have a kitschy connotation, but we've been making super fun and unique succulent gardens with a much more elegant feel.  This one is getting sent out to a hospital on delivery this week, but there's more where that came from!   Succulents are great plants for less experienced caretakers, since they're used to surviving a massive drought (oops I forgot to water) or the blazing sun.

More succulent gardens, these two make a fun pair.

Ok, wow, I tried to get a photo of these massive orchid plants we have in the shop right now, and they completely outgrew my photo staging area.  This maroon colored intergenerational orchid in the front is nearly four feet tall!  We just started to carry orchid potting mix and bloom booster as well, so we'll get you on the track to orchid professional in no time.

These ready-to-go hanging planters with a variety of blooming plants are perfect for decorating mom's patio.  

Don't forget that as well as fresh flowers and plants, we have all sorts of gifts for mom and year-round.  From cards and candles, to decor, teddy bears, chocolate, silk flowers, and lights to this cool hanging succulent garden made with faux plants that even the most inept gardener couldn't kill, we have just what you're looking for.  Happy Mother's Day, see you soon!