Mother's Day is upon
us!
As in recent months, we
are saying the cube is the way to go!! These wonderfully lush designs are
not as large, overall, as a traditional vase design, however their appeal
makes up for stature. They have been likened to eating the heart out of the
watermelon. We've taken out the heavy greens and the stems and have artfully
clustered what you want...the blossoms!
See our designs online at
www.harkinsneworleans.com or
pass by at 1601 Magazine St. and we'll help you find just the right gift for
Mom!!
In The Beginning...
This month we take you back to the very
beginning of harkins, the florist of louisiana,
inc. At some point in mid-1979 John Harkins had a surprising idea. His
career as a teacher and counselor obviously over, not wanting to go back to
school to train for another career and not wanting to leave the heart of New
Orleans, there was a shocking determination. He would do what he always
said he would never do: return to the flower business!
He had grown up with the family's flower shops
in Jackson, MS from the 1940s to 1963 when he headed off to college. Of the
various endeavors his parents had there, retail flower shops (up to six at
one time), a growing operation of 20 greenhouses (to supply most of the
flowers they sold), a landscaping business (doing post World War II
government contracts over several states) and a plant farm (to service the
landscaping), he chose the retail shops as a place to hang out. "That's the
area that was air-conditioned!," he admits candidly.
Working flower holidays and Summers while
growing up, he developed the skills of a designer along with handling
sales. He was fortunate to work with Mada Hewitt, the
grande dame of floriculture in Jackson in the
mid 20th century.
While attending L.S.U. he unknowingly added to
his future career ability by working part time for his uncle, Bob Harkins
Flowers, the premier florist in Baton Rouge at the time.
So, after a 10 year hiatus from flowers during
which he was a teacher and counselor, the Fall of 1979 saw him incorporating
harkins, the florist of louisiana, inc. The early
months of the endeavor were at his apartment at 2414 Laurel Street in the
Irish Channel. The owner's car was traded for a stick shift van, and the
business was off and running ever so slowly.
Fortunately, the endeavor began during the cool
months so the bathroom window was opened hopefully
to bring the the temperature down in the makeshift cooler. Much thought went
into maximizing purchases to cover orders while minimizing losses. It wasn't
unusual for the stock in those days to be two or three bunches of flowers.
Many hot dogs were consumed.
The business got started on orders through wire
services from out of town, the Harkins name being well known across the
country. Little did they know what this newest Harkins shop looked like!
For the most part, orders were taken and filled during the day and delivered
at night. When it was necessary to do a daytime delivery, call-forwarding
came into play with the owner's friend, Zetta
Hearin, playing the role of an assistant.
In the Spring of 1980 the business moved to 1359
Magazine Street in the just emerging Coliseum Square area. The building was
aptly called "London After the War." A picture from those days hanging in
today's shop testifies to the difficult early days. More next month...
harkins, the florist Goes Green...
Picking up on another florist's idea reported in
a trade journal, a recycling offer is being offered now. For a trade-in
of three used florist's vases, a bunch of flowers
will be given. Many people have those vases stuck away in cabinets serving
no good use. It seems wrong to throw them away, but what use do they serve?
Here's a chance to recycle them and bring some cheer to your home at the
same time.
Fathers' Day Approacheth...
As we prepare for the third biggest flower
holiday of the year, Mothers' Day, we are planning to honor Dads as well
when their day comes in June. The idea, conceived by Trinity Church's
Stewardship Director, Maria Elliott, is to stage a benefit promoting Mobile
Loaves and Fishes. The program has been supported in the past by an annual
evening at Byblos with a percentage of proceeds going to this great
post-Katrina cause. We plan to give it a different twist promoting "Flowers
for Fathers," again with a percentage being donated. More details will
follow next month.
Care and handling of......
-
RANUNCULUS –
This particular flower
comes in a wide range of colors (White, yellow, pink, gold, orange, red and
mixed color flowers) and because they belong to
ranunculaceae as well as anemones, some of their features are similar to
anemones.
The Latin word
ranunculus means “little frog”, and used in naming these flowers probably
refers to the swampy places in which they usually grow.
A ranunculus can last over
a week, making them an ideal choice for cut flower
bouquets. Even after the petals fall from a Ranunculus outside, it is
very amusing to watch the fuzzy black center continue to elongate.
Remember,
we always need to have a clean container with fresh water and flower
preservative to take good care of our fresh cut flowers. Every 3-4 days we
need to cut our flowers in a diagonal direction with a sharp knife and
remove any foliage that will fall below the water line to revitalize our
flowers and help them last longer. When taking flowers
home from the florist, remember to never leave the flowers in a closed car
for any period of time. Keep flowers away from direct
sunlight and enjoy them!
Here in the
shop we continue to receive beautiful tulips several times a week, along
with some of the other special spring flowers such as iris, anemones,
baronia heather and at times saracena! Give us a call or pass by and see
what we have that's new and exciting!
If you've
missed or misplaced an issue or two, here are the links to our archives:
January 2009
March 2009
April 2009
