Toys for Tots

The Marine Toys for Tots box is now up in the store. Bring in new unwrapped toys and WBCB local radio station will come and collect them to help with the program. Over the 59 years of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines have distributed more than 370 million toys to more than 173 million needy children. This charitable endeavor has made U.S. Marines the unchallenged leaders in looking after needy children at Christmas.

To kick off the program for 2008 at our location, Paul Baroli (the Big Kahuna) and WBCB 1490 AM will be broadcasting from Flowers by Jennie Lynne on Wednesday, Novemeber 26th from 3-5pm. The first person to bring an unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots box during Paul's program will get a free centerpiece for their Thanksgiving table. WBCB has been teamed up with Toys for Tots for 6 years - Flowers by Jennie Lynne has been a drop off point for the past 3 years.

Faith, Trust and a Little Bit of Pixie Dust

We are so very excited here at Jennie Lynne's. Recently Teleflora created a flower arrangement for girls and the "young at heart". They partnered with Walt Disney's release on October 28th 2008 of the new DVD movie Tinker Bell. Tinker Bell has always been a favorite in our house. She represents both the young, playful spirit; and yet she has a streak of naughty that comes out every once in a while. There are even Tinker Bell fan clubs to check out, make your own fairy, travel to Pixie Hollow such as tinksnook.com and tinkfanatic.com

The arrangement is designed in a lavender or pink blush glass cube with a collar of lavender tulle. Hydrangea, lavender roses, lime green button poms and deep purple statice are grouped in the vase. Tinkerbell is a keepsake figurine which comes with a stand for display after you have taken the arrangement apart.

Some other interesting information about the Tinkerbell movie:

* They will premiere the film on the Disney Channel in November.


* If you purchase the Walt Disney Pictures Tinkerbell DVD or BlueRay and the Teleflora Tinkerbell Arrangement you can receive a Rebate from Teleflora. Now that is a win-win situation!

* There is also a weekly DVD Giveaway on Radio Disney.

Lower Bucks Chamber of Commerce turns 50!

Flowers By Jennie Lynne was proud to attend the recent Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce 50th Anniversary Gala, which was held at the beautiful Jericho National Golf Club in New Hope, PA. Over 200 Chamber of Commerce Members were in attendance. The evening was filled with fabulous food, music, dancing - and, of course, FLOWERS!

The evening began with a sumptuous cocktail and hor's d'ouevres hour. Flowers By Jennie Lynne crafted whimsical floral decorations in glass votive cups with gold wire loops and white dendrobium orchid blooms to set the stage for a golden event.

The Chamber of Commerce recognized their 50 year members as well as the past presidents of the Chamber with corsages and boutonnieres from Flowers By Jennie Lynne. We were proud to donate both raised and lowered centerpieces for each banquet table designed with white dendrobium orchids and gold berries with gold and pearl wire collars as the base armature for each arrangement.
Two large, contemporary floral sculptures decorated the lobby and second floor landing and were comprised of an armature base of gold painted curly willow branches and filled with more dendrobium orchids, white calla lilies, and gold berries.

Flowers By Jennie Lynne has been a proud member of the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce since 1991. It is an honor to be a part of a group of local businesses made up of people that take pride in our community. We are definitely looking forward to the next 50 years! Happy 50th Anniversary!

Thompson Candle Company - New!!

Due to the recent closing of Alene's Candle and Crafts we had been approached by some customers to carry wax crumbles for tart burners. One of our employees found that Thompson Candle Super Scented Wax Crumbles is a high quality and long lasting fragrance. We are now proud to be carrying the Wax Crumbles and through the fall and winter season the scents will permeate the store. Today we tested Apple Dumpling - I was surprised, the scent carried outside the store. Our selection of fragrances include Grandma's Cookies, Balsam and Berries, Evergreen Wreath, Harvest Spice and 5 other scents. The bags hold 6 ounces of wax crumbles - enough for many nights of simmering in the burner and retail for $6.95. If you are in the Fairless Hills neighborhood - stop by and test some scents.

Hitomi Gilliam at Dillon's Floral Open House

Sunday September 14th, Kelly and Heather traveled to Dillon's Floral Corporation in Bloomsburg, Pa for their 34th Annual Open House. Part of their open house is to feature a well known designer and educator in the floral industry. Hitomi Gilliam, AIFD was the Educator for the day. She shared for 5 1/2 hours in three segments encouraging the floral industry to set themselves apart from the mass marketer and grocery stores. Hitomi is currently an educator, coach, designer, event planner, creative director and a driving force in the floral industry. She also won the prestigious AIFD (American Institute of Floral Design) Design Influence Award - she is only 1 of 5 who have received this award. The photo to the right is a picture of Hitomi (left) and Kelly Buck (right) on the stage at the design show.

Her designs were inspirational taking their cues from the fall and winter seasons. Natural color schemes and solid color blocking is setting the trend in the fall with accents of orange. For the Christmas and winter season lime green is making its way into the lime light! The color creates a wonderful contrast with the traditional red and adds lightness to the deep greens of pines and fir foliage that is popular from December to January. On the left is a close up picture of a garland that she created for a mantle.

The arrangement by Hitomi Gilliam in the picture at the right is a large 4 foot piece in red and gold designed in a 6" ceramic container. It was created in silk to be offered in the silent auction later in the afternoon. The leaves and berries sparkled with glitter under the lights. The armature was formed from tall gold stems with the berries and branches intertwined and tied into place for stability.

We were able to browse Dillon's floral and supply departments and purchase new products as well as ate a delicious lunch in their working greenhouse filled with tropical and blooming plants. A friend in the floral industry who recently moved to the Pocono Lake area (not far from Dillon's) joined us at lunch. The employees at Dillon's were helpful and offered us suggestions throughout the day.

Although Dillon's was a 2 1/2 hour drive from Fairless Hills - it was well worth the trip. We were not the only crazy florist traveling on a Sunday, there were over 200 florists from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Maryland. This will be something to visit again next year. The more design shows and floral educators we can learn from the further we can strive with our design skills and talents.

Dinner Impossible and Teleflora

Michael Symon and Dinner Impossible were asked to prepare a Mother's Day picnic for 150 mom and their families - a total of 500 people. Because Mother's Day celebrated it's 100th anniversary in 2008, Teleflora's Marie Ackerman AIFD, PFCI, AAF collaborated with Michael Symon to provide floral decorating and event planning tips.

Marie Ackerman, AIFD, PFCI, AAF, of Oklahoma City, OK is a former retail florist who is currently a sought-after motivational speaker and educator. She has managed the Teleflora Education Center in Oklahoma City for the last 22 years. Heather Towne of Flowers by Jennie Lynne won a scholarship to the Teleflora Education Center in Oklahoma City, Ok and studied under Marie Ackerman in August 2007 during a Business Success Summit.

Dinner Impossible's Mother's Day Madness. Catch Marie and Michael's episode this Wednesday September 10th, 2008 at 10pm eastern time on the TV Food Network Channel.

Here are additional air times:
Sep 10, 2008 10:00 PM ET/PT

Sep 10, 2008 1:00 AM ET/PT
Sep 20, 2008 3:00 PM ET/PT
Sep 20, 2008 10:00 PM ET/PT
Sep 20, 2008 1:00 AM ET/PT
Sep 21, 2008 11:00 PM ET/PT
Sep 21, 2008 2:00 AM ET/PT

The Language of Flowers

Customers are always asking what is the meaning behind a specific flower. There are some generic meanings such as, red roses stand for love and white for purity - hence the popularity of red roses for Valentine's day and white roses heavily used in bridal bouquets. But the meaning go deeper than that. A red rose can also mean passion, victory, desire, joy, charm and pride; while a white roses can also conjure the thoughts of beauty, innocence, I am worthy of you and respect. So much to say with one flower!

Centuries ago dating back to the Victorian Era flowers were given as tokens or gifts using the flowers as the symbols or code to a message for the recipient. A young lady certainly would know what her suitor meant when he sent a bouquet of tulips, rosemary and astilbe - which stands for consuming love, your presence revives me, and I'll be waiting. How breath-taking is that! If only young men were that creative in this day and age.

On the other hand if your date has offended you, a bouquet or posey of yellow carnations, purple roses and scots thistle - sets the tone of: rejection, sorrow and retaliation. One better beware!

We keep a list of the common roses meaning at the flower shop, stop by or call anytime. But if you'd like more information on the meaning behind more flowers than just roses, here is some research material for you. One author: Geraldine Adamich Laufer has done extensive research on the topic. Her book entitled Tussie-Mussies: The Language of Flowers captures the essence of floral symbols with large photos of poseys and their meanings, as well as an "Index of Sentiments".

Society of American Florists has also posted an abbreviated list of common flowers readily available at your local flower shops. Follow this link to their Flower Library.

Be Prepared-Know What to Bring to Your Bridal Consultation

If you're like most brides, you're excited, but overwhelmed about your upcoming wedding and
the seemingly endless details that go along with it. Your wedding professionals should make your decision making easier. The best way that you can help them is by being prepared at your initial consultation.

Your wedding floral consultation should be scheduled approximately 3-6 months before your wedding. If your wedding is on the weekend of a floral holiday (i.e. Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Christmas) or national holiday (i.e. Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day), you should definitely meet with your florist as early as possible, hopefully 9-12 months prior to your wedding date. As with most details of your wedding, earlier is always better. Most florists will only accept a limited number of weddings per weekend, so that they can give your wedding the attention it deserves.

To make your floral consultation go quicker and smoother, you should bring with you:

• A swatch or swatches of your bridal party color scheme, if available
• Any photographs or pictures of bouquets from magazines or websites that depict flowers or the style of bouquets or centerpieces that appeal to you
• A written list of all corsages and boutonnieres for family members or assitants in the ceremony
• Names and contact information for your ceremony and reception locations

Trust your floral consultant to suggest flowers and combinations that will complement your color scheme and the style of your wedding. When you are prepared, planning your wedding will be so much easier for you.

Local Flowers are in Abundance

With so many flowers available year round sometimes it is hard to decide which one to choose. August is the best time to select from locally grown flowers. In the summer our local crops are ready for harvest and we are able to sell locally grown flowers. We still carry floral varieties such as stock and snapdragons from California, roses and chrysanthemums from Columbia and bulb flowers from Holland, but it is nice to be able to support regional farmers.

The local blossoms spend less time traveling to Fairless Hills, Pa. They do not need to be held in airports or in customs, or travel hundreds of miles by tractor trailer from Miami where the flower brokers are located. They arrive in our wholesalers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey by the afternoon and are made available the very next morning. Now that is fresh flowers! Local flowers are reminiscent of wildflowers, some are bold, while others are wispy. They add character to any loose bouquet or vase arrangement.

Keep your eyes open for these local flowers: ageratum, amaranthus, black eyed susan, celosia (or coxcomb), dahlias, gomphrenia, gladiolus in all shades and colors, grasses in assorted textures and hues, hydrangea, marigolds, millet, mint, queen anne's lace, snapdragons, sunflowers, tansy, yarrow, and zinnias.

Stop by Flowers by Jennie Lynne or check out our website: http://www.flowersbyjennielynne.com/ to see the local flowers available today.

Bloomin' Vacation!

Summer is the time that we are all thinking about vacation. Have you ever thought about having a fresh flower bouquet in your vacation home or hotel room? Let's be honest. Most of us give flowers to others but rarely feel comfortable spending that extra money on flowers for ourselves. Your vacation is the time to splurge on yourself!

"The SAF/FPO Alliance partnered with Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, to explore the effects of flowers in the home environment on well-being. The four-month behavioral research study concluded that people feel more compassionate toward others, have less worry and anxiety, and feel less depressed when fresh cut flowers are present in the home." From "The Home Ecology of Flowers" at www.safnow.org
The study goes on to say that people who lived with fresh flowers in their home for less than one week felt less negative.

Let a bright bouquet of gerbera daisies or roses greet you as you enter your beach house or your hotel room after a long day. This year, try something different. Treat yourself for a change! You've worked hard all year. You deserve it!

Make Someone Smile

This year Flowers by Jennie Lynne will be participating for the second year in Teleflora's Make Someone Smile Week 2008. The Penn Jersey Teleflora Unit will be gathering and creating over 600 arrangements to deliver in the Philadelphia, South Jersey and Allentown areas. Approximately 15 florists will be volunteering this year in our area.

This is a great opportunity for us to give back to the community in which we live and serve. This year we will be delivering over 100 Be Happy Mugs to Statesman Nursing Home 2629 Trenton Road Levittown, PA 19056 on July 23, 2008. Kelly will be arriving around noon with the arrangements.

If you have a loved one at Statesman we'd love to see you there. You could share in the Smile parade as we call it! We will be posting in the next week or so some of the pictures that were taken while we were visiting.

Tie Dye Roses

Flowers by Jennie Lynne now carries Rainbow Roses (aka. Disco Roses or Happy Roses). Even the names are fun! We ordered these multi-colored roses at the end of April of this year just to check them out because they are so intriguing. Each petal is a different color - right down to the center of the roses! Believe me we took one apart to check it out. The process starts in Holland, each rose is stem injected with dye and allowed to suck up the dye through its capillaries - if you turn one over you can see the color dots in a perfect circle around the stem. The leaves and even the new shoots are tainted with the dye - just amazing. A Rainbow Rose actually starts off as a creamy Vendella Rose - which are large headed sturdy stemmed roses with a high petal count. We decided they were too cool to just have once in a while. So check them out in person at our store in the Queen Anne Plaza, 519 S. Oxford Valley Road, Fairless Hills, Pa or order on line.