Internet Security

I just read an article about a New Zealand teen that is suspected of using computers to steal credit card info and it cost unsuspecting people millions of dollars. Read about it here. As President of Visser's Florist, I want to remind you to only shop online with reliable companies. Use a company you have dealt with in the past or that you trust.

Visser's Florist & Greenhouses guarantees a safe shopping experience. We provide you a guaranteed secure way to purchase flowers and gifts online without worrying about credit card safety. Our secure server software by Starfield is the leading industry standard for secure commerce transactions.

Visser's Florist uses the latest encryption technology (128 bit encryption) to insure that no outside parties can view your credit card. It encrypts all of your personal information including credit card number, name, address and phone number, so that it cannot be intercepted and read over the web.

Finally, we promise that we will not sell, rent or give away your email or any of your other information to anyone else. Period. Have a happy and safe holiday.

Christmas Decorating Tips

I just ran across this article by Betty Fleming in the Daily Times with some good basic Christmas decorating tips. Read the whole article here. Some of the tips are:
· If you’re going to buy a real tree, go to a place where you can cut your own. They will last much longer
· If you do buy from a tree lot, cut off a 1” slice from the bottom.
· Before buying a fresh wreath, give it a little shake to see how many needles fall off.
· If you’re going to use ribbon to decorate outside, make sure it’s waterproof.
· Also, don’t use Styrofoam berries outside. Fresh holly is much better.
· Order or buy your decorations from a local flower shop. If someone has sent you flowers during the year and you liked them, that’s a good shop to order from.
Remember, Visser’s is your holiday decorating headquarters. Stop in today and see for yourself.

Florist Detective

It's that time of year again when we like to remember our friends and family with a gift of flowers. It's amazing how you can go a long time without physically seeing a particular friend, but the relationship stays just as strong as ever. Sending flowers is such a wonderful way to say "I still care".

By now you have heard me talk about the virtues of "ordering local". Contact the local flower shop directly, and cut out the middleman who does nothing but diminish the value of your order.

I want to recommend a website that does an outstanding job of explaining what is really going on. It's called Florist Detective and I recommend it highly. Spend a couple of minutes on the site and you will be a more informed flower buyer. Your friends will thank you.

Longer Lasting Flowers from Visser's

Everyone knows that Visser's is famous for long lasting flowers. Well, over the weekend we kicked it up a notch! We installed our recently purchased Dosmatic flower food calibration system. This system automatically mixes the exact amount of flower food in the water every single time. It's a pretty remarkable piece of technology and we are obviously very proud of it.

Test it for yourself. The next time you order flowers from Visser's Florist, see if they don't last even longer than before.

Don't use an online florist?

I came across this blog where the writer seems to say that you should order from one of those "online florists". An online florist usually refers to some guy with an office and a computer that pretends to be a real flower shop.

What really happens is that the online florist takes your order, charges you a big service fee, subtracts a big percentage of the money you spent on your order--and then--sends it to a real florist to make the arrangement and deliver it.

It's far better to cut out the middleman. Go online, find a REAL florist in your area and order from them. If there is any doubt, call the number on the website and ask where they are located.

Christmas at Visser's

"It's the most wonderful time--of the year" Christmas is coming! Once again, Visser's Florist & Greenhouses is decorated to the max. Check out these pictures of the inside of our store.

At Visser's, we've got it all, holiday centerpieces, artificial trees, custom designed silk arrangements, ornaments, spectacular nativity sets and much, much more.

Even though Christmas is still a month away, we've got the spirit. Come in and see for yourself.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Wow! Thanksgiving is almost here. Fortunately, Visser's Florist and Greenhouses is ready. We are loaded with plants, flowers and beautiful centerpieces to make your holiday extra special. Let's face it. Bringing one of our custom centerpieces to Thanksgiving dinner is much less work than cooking up a batch of your semi-famous green bean casserole.

Don't wait. Stop by today and reserve your selection. And remember, we are open until 1:00 on Thanksgiving day for your shopping convenience.

Little Giant Sympathy Spray

Wow! Nancy S., Visser’s Florist's head sympathy designer, has done it again. You all remember the 9 foot extravaganza called the Grand Tribute that Nancy designed for a cathedral. This arrangement is his little brother—the stunning tribute. It’s approximately 7 foot tall and follows a fall color scheme. This is a beautiful memorial when you want to send something really special, but tasteful.

Professional florist for your party

Last weekend, USA Weekend dot com put out an article about holiday entertaining. In it, Linnea Johansson, a New York party planner and author said the following:
“ Flower arrangements can be a total rip-off, Instead, buy one kind of flower, in one color, in bulk. Make your own multiple arrangements,"

Now, if you are one of those rare “Martha Stewart like” people that truly has that artistic flair (and lots of time), you may be able to pull this off. Most people can’t.

Can you save money by buying an armful of the same flower variety and cramming them in a vase? Of course. Will it result in your friends talking bad about you behind your back? Probably.

This is a terrible suggestion that demeans the thousands of floral artists in this country. It is similar to the suggestions to not eat in restaurants because you can cook the food yourself cheaper, or don’t buy art for your walls because a couple of tubes of paint and a blank canvas can be had for less than 20 bucks. You get the idea.

Let me say this, when you come to our flower shop, or any reputable flower shop to have them create the flowers for your party, you are going to trained professionals with the skill and artistry to really make your party a success. So call your local florist, talk to them about your party theme and budget, and sit back and enjoy the party.
Here and here are a couple of other articles on the subject.

Flower Margarita

Talk about a fun flower arrangement. This whimsical arrangement was created by Debbie A., head wedding designer at Visser’s Florist. Designed using beautiful white lilies and mums in a giant glass with faux ice cubes, this would be a perfect arrangement for a company party, a gathering of friends or even a dinner for two. Have it delivered to the restaurant in advance to surprise your date—WOW!

Giant Sympathy Spray

Nancy Sloman, head sympathy flower designer at Visser’s Florist, has done it again. Not long ago a customer asked us to design a sympathy spray for her father’s funeral. The service was going to be in a cathedral, so it really had to be a big piece. Nancy created this 9' arrangement that we now call the Grand Tribute. Here is the picture (by the way, that’s Nancy). Yesterday, another customer came in with a similar request. We showed them the picture and they ordered without hesitation. Could this be the start of a trend?
Good job Nancy!

Flowers in the Morning

A recent study out of Harvard University discovered two things:
1. People tend not to be very positive first thing in the morning (Duh!)
2. Seeing flowers in the morning makes a person happier and more energetic.
So, if you happen to be around someone who is not that energetic and happy in the morning, why not call Visser’s Florist and give that person a new outlook on life?

Local florist not really local

So, the holidays are here and you’ve decided send Grandma flowers. You do the right thing and contact a real flower shop close to her house. You know she will get professionally designed flowers, ready to enjoy. That’s it, right? Well, not exactly.

You need to make sure that the flower shop you are calling is a real flower shop that is actually close to Grandma’s house. The flower industry has a lot of Middlemen pretending to be local flower shops, but they really aren’t. Instead, they are probably just a call center, who will siphon off part of your money, call it a service fee, and then send the order to a real flower shop. The real flower shop gets less money and Grandma gets less flowers. Not a good situation.

What you need to do is find a local flower shop on the internet (eg. “florist in Anaheim”), pick out one that seems to be real, and then call the shop. Make them confirm that they are indeed a real flower shop and that they are actually in the neighborhood. It is worth your time and effort to do this. And Grandma will thank you.

Flowers in a box

The holiday season is almost here. It’s time to remember those friends and relatives that you’ve been meaning to call, but just haven’t gotten around to it. What better way to say “I’m thinking of you” than to send a beautiful arrangement of flowers. Here at Visser’s, we love the holidays and have come up with a simple tip to make your flower buying, and flower receiving, more satisfying.
1. Don’t send flowers in a box (so-called Direct Ship flowers). It seems so easy when you hear about it on the radio—send farm fresh flowers directly to your loved one. You check the website and hey, the prices aren’t that bad. How could this be bad? Well, for one thing, Grandma will have to make her own flower arrangement. That lovely professionally designed arrangement on the website isn’t really what you get. You really get a bunch of flowers stuffed in a box, and you may or may not get a vase. Now if Grandma is really talented, she may be able to turn this stuff into a real arrangement. Then again, maybe not.

Also, the flowers arrive in a Fedx or UPS truck. If the weather is too hot or too cold, you can imagine what your flowers will look like. And, you better hope that your box of flowers wasn’t underneath someone’s new computer, or maybe an exercycle.

Sure, if those things happen, you will get a new box, but that vision of Grandma standing at the door, getting her flower arrangement and thinking fondly of you just went up in smoke. Anyway, check out this video of someone receiving boxed flowers in the middle of winter. Is this really what you had in mind? If not, call your local florist.

How to write a Sympathy Card

Sending sympathy flowers to the family of a deceased person is a very caring and comforting act—whether you send a flower arrangement to the mortuary or a plant to the family’s home. Unfortunately, not everyone knows what to write on the card that goes with the flowers. At Visser’s Florist, we are frequently asked for recommendations about what to say on the enclosure card. Here are a few tips and suggestions to help you out:
· The most important tip is to keep it short and sincere. Don’t go on and on just because you don’t know the exact words to say.
· Be sure to handwrite the card and the envelope. This will convey a better sense of caring than if you use a computer.
· If you know a member of the deceased’s family but not the person that died, address the card to your friend.
· Sign the card clearly. Our flowershop gets lots of calls from grieving families that want to say thank you for the flowers, but can’t make out the name of the sender. Also, include your address if appropriate.
There are usually two or three parts to a well-written sympathy card:
1. Acknowledge the loss and convey your feelings. “We are sorry for John’s passing", "Our thoughts and prayers are with you” or something like that is all you need to say here.
2. Personal Memory. If you knew the deceased, include a short personal memory like “Mary was such a caring person, I will never forget her”. Most sympathy cards do not include this section, so if you don’t have a good personal memory, skip it.
3. Offer assistance. This is a tricky area. If you know the family well, you can say something like “Please call me if you need anything, or just want to talk”. If you do not, I would leave it out.
Finally, do not include any uplifting comments like “you’ll get over it” or “Bill is better off now” or “I know how you feel”. You don’t, and they don’t want to hear it. Also, do not dwell on any details of the death. Discussions of cancer or car accidents have no place here.