Traditionally Memorial Day is a time to reflect and honor those we have loved and lost.

At Blossom Town we offers a service that will help you do just this. We deliver memorial flowers to cemeteries within a 30 mile radius.  Floral and memorial options include:

• a greenhouse planter
• cut flowers in an urn
• silk flowers

We consider this an honor and do take the time to clean around the stone and if requested, take a picture and send it to you.

We would like to share very special thank you to those who serve and protect us, especially this Memorial Day.

Register for drawings for Gift Certificates, enjoy Refreshments and we will be introducing New Varieties along all of our Green House flowers, plants, succulents, vegetables, herbs and more!

See you at the Green House this Sunday!

Mother’s Day – Sunday, May 12th

We’re in full bloom!!  The greenhouse is bursting with color…stop by, you won’t be disappointed!  You’ll find lots of ideas for mom!  Our hanging baskets are stunning this year, and we have a great variety of pre-made containers in all price ranges including succulent bowls and herb gardens.  Plus, our cooler is full of amazing cut flowers too!

It’s prime season of beauty for lilies, delphinium, larkspur, stock, Gerbera daisies, snap dragons, irises , tulips….yes , I could keep listing!!  Oh, don’t forget to check out our gift items including bird baths to jewelry – so many things that shout “I love you mom, you’re the best!”.

Find the perfect gift at Blossom Town

• Fresh Cut Flowers
• Unique Gift Shop Items
• Hanging Baskets
• Annuals and Perennials
• Glazed Pottery
• Gift Certificates (you can even purchase online!)

Stop in today or call 507-637-2943 to place your order for delivery!

Fresh Tomato Basil Salad

Ingredients:
Fresh heirloom or homegrown tomatoes, sliced (3-4 depending on size)
Fresh sweet basil, strip leaves from stems (about 1 cup, chopped and loosely packed)
Fresh mozzarella (1 lb., sliced into 1/4 inch slices)
Olive oil (approximately 1/3 cup)
Salt (to taste)
Fresh cracked pepper (to taste)

How to Serve:

Overlap a slice of tomato, a slice of mozzarella around your serving plate. Just slightly overlap each item. Chop fresh basil and sprinkle over the top.

Drizzle olive oil (or your favorite dipping oil) over the tomatoes, basil and cheese evenly. Salt and pepper to taste.

Best flavor when allowed to sit for 20-30 minutes and then served at room temperature.

What’s your favorite way to cook with basil?  Leave a comment below! – Becky

We hope you have a great Easter!

LIGHT
These plants do best in bright, indirect light

WATER
Easter lilies do best in moderately moist soil. Water them thoroughly when the soil surface is dry to the touch. Do not allow the plants to stand in water.

TEMPERATURE
Display the plants in rooms that are kept at 65 F to 70 F during the day and 50 F to 60 F at night. Avoid placing the plants near drafts or heat sources. Easter lilies can be stored from three to five days at 33 F to 35 F; extended storage can cause leaf yellowing. After removing the plants from coolers, allow them to warm up overnight in 55 F rooms. Water the plants with lukewarm water (100 F to 110 F) after they are removed from coolers.

HUMIDITY
Mist the leaves occasionally.

REBLOOMING
After flowering, keep the plants in well-lit locations and continue watering them as the foliage matures. In late spring, plant Easter lilies in the garden. They may reflower later in the summer, but most likely, new blooms won’t appear until the following summer.

CAUTION
Lilies’ pollen can stain clothing and furniture. To protect against staining, remove the yellow anthers (pollen-bearing pods) found in the center of each flower as soon as each bloom opens.

More about the Easter Lily

BOTANICAL NAME
Lilium longiflorum
(LIL-ee-um lawn-ji-FLOR-um)

COMMON NAMES
Easter lily, Trumpet lily, Bermuda lily

DESCRIPTION
This bulb plant, with its white, trumpet-shaped blooms, is a traditional symbol of Easter. The stems can grow to 3 feet high and carry three to eight flowers each, on average. The blooms are 5 to 7 inches long. The fragrance is moderately sweet.

COLOR
White.

DECORATIVE LIFE
These plants usually bloom for one to two weeks.

AVAILABILITY
Easter lilies are available primarily in the spring. Bulbs are harvested in the fall and shipped to commercial greenhouses, where they are planted in pots and forced, under controlled conditions, to bloom for the Easter holiday.

WHAT’S IN A NAME
The name “longiflorum” means “long flowers.” It is the Latin form of the Greek “leiron” (used by the ancient Greek philosopher and botanist Theophrastus for the Madonna lily,
L. candidum).

FAMILY
These plants are members of the Liliaceae family. Common relatives include Fritillaria, Gloriosa, hyacinth, lily-of-the-valley and tulip.

HOME SWEET HOME
Easter lilies are native to the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan.

HISTORY
U.S. production of Easter lilies began when Louis Houghton, a World War I soldier, brought a suitcase full of hybrid lily bulbs to Oregon in 1919 and distributed them to horticultural friends and neighbors.

Source: Super Floral Retailing

THANK YOUR for the Nominations!!

What a wonderful response we have had to our ‘Signs of Spring’ promotion!  A big thank you to all of you who took time to nominate someone- we love it that there are so many people that care enough about others to take the time out of their busy day-it gives us goose bumps!!

This week we will be delivering 5 bouquets to the ‘lucky’ randomly picked people.  We will notify the person that nominated them in advance.

Thanks again for helping us spread some ‘signs of spring’!

Congratulations to our recipients and a special thank you for the nominations!
Char Burgemeister nominated by Jeanne Goblirsch
Jen Otto nominated by Lisa Hildebrandt
Jolene Allen nominated by Christina Elberling
Darlene Kuehn nominated by Jane Magers
Susan Tholkes nominated by Lindsey Malecek

We want to share our excitement!!

It’s that time of year at Blossom Town that we are surrounded by signs of Spring. In our greenhouse cutting and seeding are already underway! The flower shop and gift areas are bursting as well with the bright fun colors that announce the new cheerful season. With the arrival of tulips and irises in our flower cooler we would like to share this fun with our customers.

Nominate Someone Special

Between February 15, 2013 and March 15th, 2013 you can nominate someone in need of ‘cheering up’ or simply a sign that Spring is coming sooner than later!!

Five recipients will be randomly selected to receive a bouquet of flowers in March.  Help us share signs of spring!

Complete the form below to nominate that special someone.  We will announce the winners after March 15th! ** Nominees must be within our delivery area.

Ready for the big game this weekend?  Hosting a party?  Need a fun recipe idea?

We just had to share this delicious recipe for Gazpacho Dip, packed with our favorite; vegetables!

Gazpacho Dip

3 tomatoes, diced

3 avocados, pitted and diced

4 green onions, thinly sliced

4 oz can diced green chilies

3 T. olive oil

1 1/2 t. cider vinegar

1 t. garlic salt

1 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Combine first four ingredients in a bowl; set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients; drizzle over tomatoes mixture and toss gently.

Cover & chill.

Serve with lime-flavored white corn tortilla chips…awesome!! (and healthy!)

The Language of flowers was a Victorian-era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages, allowing individuals to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken. –Wikipedia

To this day we use flowers to communicate feelings and messages.  In reality, there are no rules to what flower represents a purpose for giving; it’s the sentiment and thought that represents each occasion.  Sometimes a specific flower or color will trigger a memory, special event or personal meaning.  Others love to send flowers specifically for their language or meaning.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you might expect that red roses imply romance and love, pink roses as an expression of admiration, and yellow roses stand for friendship and devotion.  But with the wide variety of flowers and colors available, different flowers represent different forms of affection and messages.   Just a few of our favorite flowers listed below offer a floral language or meaning for all occasions including birthdays, weddings, funerals, graduation and just because.

Flowers and Their Meanings

ALSTROEMERIA flower is symbolic of wealth, prosperity and fortune. It is also the flower of friendship

CARNATION symbolizes pride and beauty. A red carnation symbolizes love, pride and admiration; a pink carnation symbolizes the love of a woman or a mother; a purple carnation symbolizes capriciousness; while a white carnation symbolizes innocence and pure love.

DAISY symbolizes innocence and purity. It conveys loyal love.

GERBERA DAISY specifically conveys cheerfulness.

IRIS symbolizes eloquence. Purple iris is symbolic of wisdom and compliments. Blue iris symbolizes faith and hope. Yellow iris symbolizes passion while white iris symbolizes purity.

LILY symbolizes purity and refined beauty. White lily symbolizes modesty and virginity, orange lily symbolizes passion, yellow lily symbolizes gaiety.

ORCHID is a symbol of the exotic beauty. It symbolizes refinement, thoughtfulness and mature charm. It also symbolizes proud and glorious femininity.

STOCK  symbolizes lasting beauty and a happy life. It is indicative of bonds of affection and is symbolic of promptness.

TULIP signifies a declaration of love. It also symbolizes fame and perfect love

ROSES….

Red Roses: A red rose is an unmistakable expression of love. Red roses convey deep emotions – be it love, longing or desire. Red Roses can also be used to convey respect, admiration or devotion. A deep red rose can be used to convey heartfelt regret and sorrow. The number of red roses has special romantic meanings associated with them. 12 red roses is the most popular of all which conveys “Be mine” and “I love you”

White Roses: White is the color of purity, chastity and innocence. White flowers are generally associated with new beginnings and make an ideal accompaniment to a first-time bride walking down the aisle.

Yellow Roses: Yellow roses are an expression of exuberance. Yellow roses evoke sunny feelings of joy, warmth and welcome. They are symbols of friendship and caring. The yellow rose, like the other roses, does not carry an undertone of romance. It indicates purely platonic emotions.

Pink Roses: There are a lot of variations of the pink rose. Over all, pink roses are used to convey gentle emotions such as admiration, joy and gratitude. Light pink rose blooms are indicative of sweetness and innocence. Deep pink rose blooms convey deep gratitude and appreciation. Pink roses also connote elegance and grace.

Orange Roses: While a yellow rose reminds us of the sun, an orange rose reminds us of a fiery blaze. These fiery blooms signify passion and energy. Orange roses can be used to express intense desire, pride and fervor. They also convey a sense of fascination. These flowers rival only the red roses as messengers of passion in romance.

Lavender Roses: A Lavender rose like its color conveys enchantment. It also expresses “love at first sight”. Darker shades of lavender roses (close to purple) convey a sense of regal majesty and splendor. These roses are used to express fascination and adoration.

Mixed Roses: By mixing rose blooms of different colors purposefully, you can create a bouquet of emotions. For example, a bouquet of red and white roses would mean I love you intensely and my intentions are honorable. A random mix of roses would convey mixed feelings or send a message: “I don’t know what my feelings are yet but I sure do like you enough to send you roses.”

For more flower meanings, visit the The Old Farmers Almanac, Click Here.

Our florists will help you determine what flowers and colors go well together and represent just what you want to say.  Have a favorite flower?  Pair it with others to send a special message and make a unique display for those receiving!

Source: The Flower Expert – (http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/aboutflowers/flower-meanings)

Valentine’s Day is Thursday, February 14^th!! 

Our talented designers create unique arrangements in specialty vases and containers.  Roses are beautiful, but here are some ideas to mix it up a bit and really impress her:

• Colored roses – hot pink, pink, lavender, orange, yellow … these unique colored roses are simply stunning!
• Lilies, tulips, mums, snapdragons, daisies, carnations, delphinium, asters, larkspur, iris  – our cooler will be filled with an amazing selection!!
• It doesn’t have to be red and pink – is her favorite color orange or lime green?  We can make it happen!

Want something “out-of-the-ordinary”?

Blossom Town has a great selection of blooming plants – choose from azaleas, orchids, calla lilies, tulips, anthuriums, cyclamens – all blooms that she’ll enjoy for weeks!!

Want to make it extra special? 

We can add Valentine candy, balloons, stuffed animals and even jewelry!  Let’s make Valentine’s 2013 one she’ll never forget!

Our Delivery Promotion is Back!!

Yes, you loved it – and she loved receiving flowers even more!  We will offer Free Delivery for Valentine orders on Tuesday (12^th) and Wednesday (13^th) in Redwood Falls, MN.  Delivery to outside of Redwood Falls is available at a reduced rate.

Extended Holiday Hours

February 13^th and 14^th Blossom Town will be open till 6pm.

When it comes from Blossom Town she knows you care!

Order Your Valentine Bouquet Today!

View a few of our bouquet options below!  Contact us for current availability of specific flowers, due to the high demand of the Valentine holiday.

Click on the photos to enlarge and call us with the number of the bouquet you love!