The Health Benefits of Flowers

Most people enjoy flowers in any way, shape, or form they can get them. Aside from being pretty, plants have many benefits for a person’s overall health and well-being. Summer is a great time for change, so why not spruce up for house or office with a few more plants. Here are just a few health benefits of having fresh-cut flowers part of your everyday life:

Emotional Health Improvement
Receiving flowers, whether they are sent from another person or you bought them for yourself, can give you an immediate mood boost. A bouquet of flowers is a sign that someone cares for you, and being well-thought of can do a lot for a person’s well-being. A pretty flower bouquet with bright colors and a soothing scent can brighten a room and your mood at the same time.

Aid in Memory and Concentration
Many people have a moment where they completely lose their train of thought. Keeping plants in indoor spaces may help with concentration and memory; plants oxygenate the air, boosting your brain cells and making you feel more like your best self. You can opt for a bouquet, or go for a longer-lasting plant, such as Teleflora’s Peaceful Zen Garden, a combination of bamboo and easy-to-care-for succulents in a brown bamboo container. These plants only need water once a week and grow quickly, making them entertaining, as well as good for supercharging your brain. 

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Aid in Relaxation
There is a reason so many stressed-out people turn to gardening to combat the blues; not only is the experience of growing things cathartic, but floral scents can do a lot to lower stress. Bring home a sachet of something soothing like lavender or chamomile and feel your troubles melt away. Even a fresh sprig of rosemary may help with headaches and tension. Before you know it, you will find yourself feeling like your best self.

Feel Better Faster
There is a reason people give flowers as gifts to patients in the hospital; yes, it’s a nice thing to do, but it may also help a patient heal faster. Frequently, hospitals include access to green space for recovering patients because simply looking at plants every day helps stressed people feel more relaxed. A relaxed person in the hospital typically heals faster than someone who is stressed out. Give a sick friend a major boost with a bouquet like Teleflora’s Make a Wish, a combination of multi-colored daisies, purple asters and red and orange carnations topped off with a bow. They will feel better in more ways than one.

You can find many soothing scents and beautiful bouquets Teleflora.com, so try a few out and see what works best for you!

Make Someone Smile Week 2016

This year marks the 16th annual Make Someone Smile Week at Teleflora. Last year through this initiative, we delivered over 25,000 Be Happy Bouquets to people who deserved a little something extra to smile about. This happy face mug filled with white and yellow daisies combined with yellow roses makes for a perfect surprise. We’re expecting to cheer up even more people this year once the celebrations get underway. Why? Because here at Teleflora, we love making people smile!

Here are a few ways that you can make your loved ones (or strangers) smile this week:

Send An Unexpected Flower Bouquet

Do you have a friend who’s just been through a breakup? Have a Be Happy Bouquet delivered to her apartment. Is your husband feeling restless at work? Send a Be Happy Bouquet to the office for him. These cute arrangements are sure to put a smile on anyone’s face, especially when they’re a surprise. If you aren’t able to send flowers, you can even send a simple “thinking of you” greeting card to your friends or family back home who you haven’t seen in awhile. The smallest gesture to let someone know that he or she is on your mind can be all it takes to make a smile.

Tell Someone How Much You Care

If you feel like your love has been going unspoken recently, it might be time to say how you are feeling. While you might think it is obvious how you feel, it can never hurt to remind that special someone out loud. Nobody ever gets tired of hearing that they’re loved or appreciated. Whether you say it to your partner when you wake up in the morning, or give your parents a call to tell them how great they are, make a point to verbally express those little feelings that are always considered common knowledge. Trust us, they’ll love to hear it.

Smile at a Stranger

A smile is the best thing you can catch from someone else. According to Psychology Today, a smile is actually contagious. When someone flashes you their pearly whites, in most cases, you automatically smile back at him or her. A small gesture like smiling at someone at work or on the train can brighten up a stranger’s mood. This is because smiling activates feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine, endorphins and serotonin in the brain. So go ahead, smile at everyone this week. Even if people think you’re being weird, they’ll get over it as soon as they try it and their smile starts sending happy messages to their brain.

Pass Out Compliments

Many people are hesitant to say something nice to someone they don’t know very well. However, have you ever been annoyed or put off by someone complimenting you? Didn’t think so! If you think your coworker did a good job on his presentation, tell him! If you think the woman in line in front of you is wearing a cute pair of shoes, let her know that you like them. Too often we spend our day in our own heads, only acknowledging the people we have to talk to. Not only will shelling out some compliments give you an excuse to interact, but you’ll also brighten up someone else’s day.

Check out our 2012 Make Someone Smile Week video to show how our local florists participate!

These are only a few ways to spread happiness this week. If you have some ideas, let us know! And don’t forget, you never know who might be falling in love with your smile…so show it off this week.

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Create Instagram-Worthy Flower Bouquets

Gorgeous floral arrangements can do wonders to a room, giving it an ethereal vibe. But why limit the enjoyment to just you and the people who live in your house? We can help you get picture-picture flower arrangements, whether you are having them delivered or making them yourself, so that every Instagram post is a surefire double-tap.

Here are some tips to making your arrangements as aesthetically pleasing as possible and a few tricks on how to get swoon-worthy photos of them:

Think of your color palette and texture
Unless you’re using a floral pattern that necessitates stems of the same length, vary the length to add some texture. Before you start cutting, get an idea of how you want to arrange your flowers and play with different heights by either laying them out on the table or collecting them in your hand. Then you can start cutting the stems on an angle and filling in your bouquet. Consider choosing a few focal point flowers to stand above the rest of the arrangement. These are considered “hero blooms,” and should be arranged in odd numbers.

When shopping for flowers, it’s important to choose the right color combinations in order to create an arrangement that really pops. There are a few ways to do this and the color wheel from Color Matters can be a lot of help. The types of color combinations include:

• Monochromatic: Monochromatic flower schemes use multiple shades of a single color. Save 15% OFF sitewide with code at Teleflora. Offer valid through July 31.2016. 
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• Analogous: Analogous flower schemes use colors located next to each other on the color wheel – such as all warm colors or all cool colors. 
• Complementary: Complementary color flower schemes use colors completely opposite of each other on the color wheel, allowing for “pops” of color.
• Triadic: Triadic flower schemes include three colors, equally spaced from each other on the color wheel.

Many people are hesitant to add greenery to their arrangements. However, it’s a great option to fill in gaps, give the arrangement some depth, and even add its own beauty to the display. Try adding some nontraditional greenery, like rosemary or even eucalyptus leaves. Once you begin adding green to your arrangements and embracing the stems, you’ll wonder why you were ever turned off by the idea.

Unique Flower Vases
While a classic vase is always a good way to go, that’s not your only option when it comes to housing your floral arrangement. If it is small, try using a vintage tea set as your vase, with a large bouquet in the teapot and smaller, individual flowers trimmed to fit in the tea cups. Here are some other kitschy and quirky ideas for arranging your flowers in a nontraditional way:

• Old metal buckets, watering cans or paint cans are great for an outdoor floral arrangement on your porch or in your backyard.
• Mason or jam jars give off a carefree, country vibe. This is perfect if you want your home to have some Southern charm!
• An old milkshake glass will have a retro feel that’ll look great as a centerpiece on your dining room table.

Camera Tricks for Instagram
Snapping a photo of your flowers doesn’t come without it’s challenges. We’ve all seen a cringe-worthy grainy or over-filtered photo pop up on our Insta feeds. You know you don’t want to garner that type of reaction from your followers. Luckily, there are plenty of simple camera tricks that’ll allow you to get the best possible photos of your flowers. Here’s what to remember:

• Don’t use the flash from your phone. If possible, set your arrangement near a window so you can illuminate the photo with natural light. Learn My Shot states that the best times of day for natural light are the morning, before noon and and in the early evening.
• Don’t panic if you can’t fit the entire bouquet or arrangement into the picture. In fact, taking a photo of a portion of the arrangement can actually turn out even better, giving it more of an artistic feel than a promotional one.
• Unless you’re trying to show off the vase as well, take your photo from a slight upward angle so the focus is on the flowers. Not too high up, though! You still want to show the base of the vase.

Arranging flowers is always a lot of fun, but it’s even more exciting when your social media circle can see the fruits of your labor.

How to Build A Summer Garden

Whether you want to have access to your own gorgeous flowers every day or just want a pleasant reason to get outside and tend to your plants, flower beds are a great option. While flower gardens take some work to start, they’re relatively low maintenance throughout the summer months. Here are a few tips for getting your garden started:

Choosing A Garden Location
In order for your garden to flourish, you have to plant in the proper location in your yard. Flowers require different amounts of sun, so check out your flowers’ preferences before you start any planting. If your yard gets sun all day, then make sure you pick out flowers that can tolerate that much sunlight. If your garden location is more shaded, there are plenty of plant options that will flourish in the shade. If you want to go the extra mile, plant some shade loving veggies and really give your green thumb a test. It’s also handy to plant your garden in a location your hose can reach to make watering easy during the hot summer days.

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Prep Your Garden Soil
Be sure the soil in your future flower bed isn’t too sticky or sandy so your flower’s roots are able to absorb moisture and drain properly. To prepare the soil, add a couple inches of organic matter to the space you want to become your garden. Try some lawn clippings, compost or old leaves and till it into your soil. You want to make sure the soil is moist enough to form a ball in your first but falls apart if you drop it. Digging when the dirt is too dry or wet can ruin the structure, and it won’t be a good enough conductor of moisture to nourish your plant’s roots.

The Difference Between Perennials and Annuals
When shopping for flowers to plant, pay attention to whether they are perennials or annuals. Each type has its own benefits, but it’s best for a gardener to know what to expect from his or her plants. They each require different types of care as well.

• Perennials: Perennials are best for people who don’t want to spend a whole lot of time tending to their flowers. Their root system stays alive through the off-season, and they grow back every year with little maintenance. However, perennials tend to have a much shorter bloom period than annuals do and may not even bloom the first year that you plant them because they’re getting established in the soil in the garden.
• Annuals: Annuals need a bit more care than perennials do. They may require you to water, fertilize and sheer them more frequently. However, they usually stay in bloom all summer, as true fruits of your labor. They also work very well in pots if you don’t have enough space to plant a full garden.

Use Plants or Seeds for Your Garden?
There’s no shame in planting flowers that have already grown! Not only does this allow you to bask in fully bloomed foliage all summer long, but it’s also less time-consuming than nursing plants from little seeds. However, if you want that sense of pride that comes along with seeing the entire cycle of a plant’s life, you can purchase seeds at your local farmer’s market or nursery. Just be sure to closely follow your seed’s instructions to ensure the flowers bloom successfully. If you’re planting your entire garden from scratch, never let your seedlings dry out. Water them every day, unless it rains.

If maintaining a garden is too much or you just don’t have the space, check out Teleflora’s bestselling plants or zen succulents! You can easily create a low maintenance indoor garden to suffice your nature needs.

Top Summer Wedding Flower Trends for 2016

Wedding season is in full swing and with weddings, come flowers. While many people believe that flowers and floral arrangements are timeless, flowers go through trends just like everything else. From style to color palettes, here are some of the hottest flower trends of 2016’s wedding season for you to give a try. 

Exclusively for NEW customers: Save 20% OFF sitewide with Teleflora coupon code. Offer valid through 7/31/2016.

Keep Flowers Seasonal
One of the best parts of having a summer wedding, is having a vast selection of summer blooms available to you that aren’t around the rest of the year. They are bright, fun, and unique, making for interesting bouquets all around. Here are some of the most popular summer flowers to consider using:
•Gloriosa daisies and lilies.
•Dahlias
•Marigolds
•Beardtongues
•Peonies
•Daffodils.
•Plumerias
•Lavender
•Sunflowers
•Aster
•Hibiscus
•Wildflowers

Vary Your Flowers
While a bouquet or centerpiece of a single type of flower can certainly look elegant, that trend has been set aside this season in favor of large bouquets, made up of a variety of flower types. This is especially popular in summer and fall weddings, when wildflowers are at their peak. If you aren’t a fan of wildflowers but still want an eclectic mix of flowers, Teleflora’s Smile for Me summer bouquet is made up of a variety flowers in different colors with unique textures. With its pops of fun and excitement, it is like a summer’s day in a vase.

Incorporating Greenery Into Bouquets
There is so much gorgeous greenery out there that it would be a shame to keep it out of your bouquets. You may be asking yourself why you would ever add greens to your flower bouquet. Aside from just adding complementary colors that accentuate your beautiful blooms, it also adds fullness and complexity to your flower bouquet. Just be sure to not replace the flowers in your arrangement with greenery. You want it to be an addition to your beautiful flower arrangement, not all greens and a few flowers. Think about adding some fern leaves or even a couple of succulents into your bridal bouquet this summer.

Large, Whimsical Wedding Bouquets
Speaking of not wanting your bouquet to look too uptight, large “natural” bouquets are the trend of the season. The greenery included in the bouquets makes it easy for you to have a large, cascading armload of flowers that looks like you picked it in a field on your way to the wedding. This style of bouquet is elegant, whimsical and a fun alternative to the classic rose bouquet. This trend makes it easy to play with different flowers without requiring the arrangement to look extremely neat and tidy if that that’s not your style. Like a summer’s night, these bouquets are carefree and effortlessly beautiful and will be sure to impress all of your guests. This beachy summer bouquet is everything a wild heart could ever dream of.

Mix and Match Wedding Centerpieces
Sometimes, a couple can’t decide on one cohesive centerpiece to use on every table in their reception. There’s no need! It’s becoming increasingly popular for wedding receptions to have an array of different floral centerpieces, giving the room a bright and cheery atmosphere. There’s no need for your floral arrangements to be matchy-matchy with your wedding colors. If you prefer warm tones while your husband-to-be prefers cool ones, incorporate them both! You don’t want arrangements that are going to completely clash with one another, but it’s completely acceptable to play around with different styles. Make a new theme for every table and create the centerpieces of your dreams.

Exotic Wedding Flower Arrangements

Teleflora’s Gardens of the World Collection is a great example of bringing something exotic to your wedding. Use some bamboo or orchids in your reception centerpieces or have your bridesmaids carry flowers with tropical pops of colors. You don’t have to make your entire wedding a theme, but using the flowers to bring a little something different to your aesthetic can make a statement without going over the top. Rose bouquets will never go out of style, but if you want to be different than don’t be afraid to go with something crazy or out of the ordinary. It’s important to feel like your personality is brought out on your big day.

Accent Wedding Flowers
Similar to an accent nail on your wedding manicure, accent flowers are an exciting pop of something different in your bouquet. This could be a few large burgundy flowers in your bouquet of blush peonies or some tropical looking hibiscus flowers in your subdued centerpiece. You could get really wild with it and incorporate accent fruits or berries into your bouquet instead of accent flowers. You can be creative when you are adding accents to your bouquet and test out a few different options before settling. There are no rules and each season will present you with new things to try.

Handmade Flower Wedding Decorations
DIY flower decor is becoming more and more popular. Maybe it’s the inception of Pinterest, or the fact that flowers are likely the most expensive aspect of a wedding – people want to do as much as they can on their own. Whatever the reason, homemade centerpieces, flower curtains, and even flower crowns for the bridal party are becoming common staples of wedding decor. A floral wall or curtain is much cheaper to make than to rent a wedding photo booth, and the pictures will turn out gorgeous! As long as you are good at your homemade projects, your wedding decor can look just as good as a professional’s. Plus it adds something a little extra special since you are putting your own personal touches on your big day.

Trends come and go, and the 2016 summer wedding trends is all about bringing your own personal style out. Whether you are designing it yourself or working with a florist, let your imagination come to life and watch how your floral arrangements unfold.

Teleflora Blog: Alternative 4th of July Party Themes

As Independence Day approaches, you are likely planning a party. If a traditional 4th of July barbecue isn’t your thing, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate. Here are a few alternatives to the typical red, white and blue shindig that we think could be equally, if not more fun:

Film Fest
Cinephiles, here’s the chance to turn your home into the Deli from When Harry Met Sally. Serve guests popcorn or movie-themed food, like dates from Indiana Jones, lobsters from Annie Hall, or ratatouille from, well Ratatouille. Then, instead of battling crowds to go to see the fireworks when it gets dark, set up a projector with an old favorite movie and curl up in the back yard. Every movie is better under the starry night sky and it’ll be a 4th of July you never forget.

Happy Birthday America!

Since Independence Day is the anniversary of the country, what better way to celebrate than with a birthday party? Sing Happy Birthday while serving cake and ice cream, play party games like having guests try to name all 50 states in 5 minutes, or have a contest to see who has visited the most American landmarks. To add a few final touches to the event, set up patriotic flowers such as Teleflora’s ’65 Ford Mustang Bouquet. This bouquet is a combination of red carnations, white chrysanthemums, blue delphiniums and yellow alstroemeria in a ceramic mustang collectible keepsake. After all, nothing says Happy Birthday America like a quintessential American automobile. Use Teleflora Coupon Code for 20% OFF Deal of the Day! Never miss such a chance! Valid until July 31.2016!

WWII USO Show

Celebrate this great nation by transforming your home into the Hollywood Canteen. Don your nylons and your best ’40s dress, pin up your curls, and touch up the red lipstick because it’s time to put on a show! You can collect donations from your guests for a worthy cause while screening ’40s films like Casablancaand The Best Years of Our Lives in the background. Start the night with a classy dinner to make the evening a whole affair. You can play the Andrews Sisters and Glenn Miller during dinner and practice your swing dancing as the fireworks go off. It’s a recipe for a perfect evening.

Thanksgiving in July
Break out the cranberries: here is a way to celebrate Thanksgiving with the people you actually like! Kick off the holidays six months early, and try out your recipes at this Fourth of July party instead. Decorate the table with an arrangement like Teleflora’s Fall Blush Bouquet; a combination of orange bi-color roses, lilies, yellow alstroemeria, and orange carnations will set the scene for this pretend fall meal. Eat food, give thanks and watch fireworks, what could be better than that?

Historical Milestones
If you want to do something completely different this year, use July 4th to revel in other historical moments in history. July 4th is also the day that Lewis Carroll first told the story of Alice in Wonderland, Robert E. Lee withdrew from Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and Providence, Rhode Island was founded, to name just a few historical moments. Revel in all history this year and play games like bingo or host a costume contest. You are still honoring America but taking a road down America’s memory lane.

Alternahistory
What if Kennedy wasn’t shot, or Nixon had won in his place? What if William Henry Harrison had worn a coat at his inauguration? Dare to imagine with Alternahistory, and have friends come up with strange versions of parallel American universes. This will challenge not only your history knowledge, but also get your creative juices flowing in a healthy, competitive way. In the end, the best alternate reality wins and you can come up with a prize of choice.

4th of July weekend is rich in history, but that doesn’t mean you have to do the same exact thing every year if you don’t want to. Try out a few of these alternatives and let us know what you think!

Tips for Sending Flowers to the Hospital

Whether you are sending a loved one flowers to wish them well during a tough time or because of good news, here are a few things to consider before you send a vase of flowers to the hospital:

Check with the Hospital
Some parts of hospitals, such as intensive care, do not allow flower arrangements due to patient immune sensitivity. Before you do anything, call the hospital and see if patients in that area can receive flowers, and ask for details about delivery. The hospital staff may also have suggestions for good floral choices or tips on how to get things delivered if you cannot bring them in person.

Opt for Scent-Free
Hospitals have a lot going on, and while it can be tempting to send something that will smell great, there are considerations. It’s possible that the person staying in the hospital has to share a room with someone who doesn’t enjoy heavy scents, and there is also a good chance that something heavily scented will clash horribly in a room scoured with antiseptics. Send a cheerful arrangement but avoid arrangements that are too aromatic. Teleflora’s Upsy Daisy bouquet is the perfect addition to a hospital room. White and yellow daisies are mixed in a yellow vase that is sure to cheer anyone up. Daisies have little scent but , which will keep everyone happy.

Bigger Isn’t Always Better
Flowers and plants are good for people staying in the hospital; they can accelerate healing and improve patient morale. However, hospital rooms have limited space, so as nice as a bouquet the size of a person is, send something small that can fit easily on a nightstand. It will be easier to enjoy, and when it’s time to go home, the patient can transport it without too much trouble.

Prevent the Sneezing
Just because someone has an allergy doesn’t mean he or she can’t enjoy flowers. There are plenty of options for people who cannot tolerate pollen. Consider getting arrangements of roses, or opt for something leafy, like bamboo. Teleflora’s Good Luck Bamboo is an excellent option for the pollen-averse. Long stalks of bamboo are suspended by white stones in a square bamboo container. A gift of bamboo is also considered good luck, so they are not only beautiful, but they also may speed up recovery time as well.

 There are many things to consider before sending flowers to a hospital, but perhaps the most important thing is to check and make sure the person in the hospital wants flowers. Once you find out that, you can find beautiful arrangements at Teleflora.com to match your loved one’s personality. Save 20% OFF on the July 4th Flowers with Teleflora coupon code 2016 Offer valid through 7/4/2016.