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harkins, the florist, Newsletter
Our initial newsletter with the early picture and
history of the building proved to be very popular, so we want to
continue in that vein. There were two earlier incarnations of harkins,
the florist, at 2414 Laurel and 1359 Magazine, but we'll leave those for
another day.
Those who go back to the 1359 Magazine, the shop we candidly described
as "London After the War," are a special group of friends/customers.
When we run a picture from that period you will understand why most
potential customers would not get out of their cars back then, let alone
venture inside.
Tom French is one of those folks with whom we spoke after the last
newsletter. "It was as if you had moved into a palace!," was the way he
described the new location. It was truly unbelievable. We moved from a
place where we had to use umbrellas inside when it rained. We now had
two bathrooms where we had had none. The new place was such a sparkling
renovation it could have well qualified for a glossy magazine shoot.
We need to recognize the woman who made this happen. Beverly Bryant was
a real dynamo on Magazine Street in the mid 1980s. When many white
folks were leery of working for the city's first African American mayor,
Dutch Morial, Beverly relished her job revitalizing Lower Magazine
Street. She was the Fairy Godmother to the merchants. She could grant
loans of, I believe, a maximum of $7,000 to rehab some pretty shabby
buildings. One certainly could not describe Magazine Street, especially
our end, as chi chi back then. The look of Hooter's storefront now is
more the look of our neighborhood back then. Beverly was the cheerleader
leading us on to better times. Remember this was the time of the Oil
Bust and the disappointing World's Fair.
Our building was beautifully renovated building at 1601 Magazine had
stood vacant for over a year. The owner wanted to sell the building for
$300,00 or lease it for $2,500 a month. This being totally out of
reach, we never thought it could become our home. Talking with Beverly
one day, she decided that this would make a great location for our
flower shop. Typical of Beverly's bravado, she schmoozed the owner and
cut a deal whereby we could move in for $900 per month. Yes, it was
like we had died and gone to heaven!
Beverly's story does not have a happy ending, but it is a great measure
of a valiant woman. She contracted terminal cancer, and was terminated
from the job she took after leaving City Hall. With not surprising chutzpah she
set up a hot tamale cart right under the former employer's nose.
There's still a marker reminding those of us who knew her of this
Grande Dame. The second 1400 block of Magazine was the worst of the
worst back then. Not a single house was occupied. Beverly decided that
not only was its renaissance doable, it was essential to the revival of
the neighborhood. Damned if she didn't do it! Check it out the next
time you drive down Magazine. The block ends with the McKendrick-Breaux
B&B. No one in their wildest could have imagined what Beverly brought
about.
Beverly persevered to the end. She helped in sales here at the shop on
holidays, never letting on the struggle for life she was waging. There
was a huge crowd at her funeral at Felicity Methodist Church.
Appropriately, her final ride was in a hearse through the neighborhood.
Beverly is one of so many original characters of this part of "da city"
making it so special. What a great ride it has been these past 30
year. Thanks, Beverly! And thanks to all of you who have supported us.
"What? Me Worry?"
The writer is dating himself with this quote. Only aging Baby Boomers
remember this line from Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine. Worry
does seem rather pervasive these days. Over and over the question is
posed, since we are a small Mom and Pop, "How are you doing?" The
answer is "Tolerably well, thank you." How is that for an old
Southernism?
Yes, we are scrambling to meet the challenges of today's economy. We are
making adjustments to cut costs and maximize efficiency. And, we are
redoubling marketing efforts, this newsletter being one element thereof.
Our website,
www.harkinsneworleans.com
, developed by Peggy during the Katrina hiatus has been a major
part of our staying in relatively good shape. If you have never
visited, take a look when you have time to cruise around a bit. We are,
we believe, duly proud to have this asset.
The other factor giving us security is the fact that the original
harkins, the florist, was founded in 1937, the time of the second dip of
the Great Depression. If a fledgling business could begin and thrive
during those times, so can we. There is a silver lining to hard times
for a florist, we believe. A small ticket luxury item can seem to
survive. A guy may not be able to buy a mink coat for the spouse, but
an arrangement of beautiful flowers is an affordable splurge to get in
the face of shaky times.
While we have seen a decrease in some everyday orders and some
commercial customers have cut back, we have actually seen an uptick in
walk-in, "no reason at all" purchases. So, interestingly, out of
adversity has bloomed (oooh, bad pun!) a growth in a healthy aspect of
our business.
We have often counseled customers who come in to buy flowers to get out
of the proverbial dog house to come in on a good day instead and see the
great effect. Try it! For as little as $2.98 (the same price as in
1979) a bunch of our Friday Flowers (any day of the week) can bring some
cheer to your world.
harkins, the (international!) florist:
What an interesting world it is for us today, in large part because of
the internet. A customer in Melbourne, Australia recently ordered
flowers for a Norwegian funeral at the Seamen's Church. Her Japanese
friend e-mailed a report on the flowers back to Australia:
"I liked yours best, because it was arranged in such a majestic way. It
had the taste of Ikebana. Not just flowers were put together, but it
demonstrated some feeling. I wonder if someone with Ikebana experience
arranged this. The flowers showed heaven, earth and life. At the
center, the greens and flower stems pointed straight into the sky
(heaven) and to the sides, the pretty flowers extended their stems very
elegantly. This is "earth." In between these two formations, there were
beautiful flowers of different colors forming a balance. This
represents life. It was impressive to me."
Flower Care and Handling
Courtesy of our friends at Transflora in Miami, this
feature is aimed at increasing our customers understanding and ability to care for
flowers, one variety at a time. This time we
highlight................
- HYDRANGEAS -
The Hydrangea (“Hortensia”
in Spanish) is a genus of about 75 species of flowering plants
native from eastern Asia and North and South America and has this
amazing but not easy property. The Hydrangea can change its color
on its own from blue to pink and pink to blue naturally,
induced by the environment,
or by the grower.
The color depends
upon the PH level of the soil. Soils with a higher level of acidity
produce hydrangeas that are blue, while soils with a neutral PH
produce very pale, ivory petals. Alkaline soils generally produce
flowers that are pink or purple. Our growers need to be sure about
when and how to do it or they will get problematic colors, sometimes
referred to as “blurple” tones.
Hydrangea means
'water barrel', what it essentially means
is that hydrangeas need lots of water.
The more water they drink the bigger head size they will be. In
today's flower market, hydrangeas have become very special in
wedding work. The massed, spherical form and supple texture of
hydrangea blooms makes them a preferred choice in upscale floral
arrangements.
When you purchase
cut hydrangea blossoms, look for nice tight firm heads. While
ultimately you look for blossoms with no blemishes, there are
usually a couple of the individual petals that will be spotted, this
is normal, these are easily plucked off with no damage to the rest
of the flower. Be sure to recut the stems as soon as possible as
place the flowers in deep, clean water. It's best to ask for water
tubes to be inserted at the florist. Should your hydrangeas have
foliage, it's best to remove most or all of the leaves to allow as
much of the water that the flower will take up, to go to the
blossom. As always, keep your cut flowers out of the sun, away from
heaters and air conditioning ducts, and check the water level daily,
with good care your flowers should perform beautifully.
Floral Design
101
The wonderfully
puffy form of the hydrangea also makes it extremely easy for anyone
to create their own arrangements at home. The flower head will be
the support for the smaller flowers. See our pictures below for a
step-by-step look at how easily a bowlful of tulips can be put
together.
First, fill your
container with water. Here, we've used a simple glass cube vase.
Measure your flower stem against the vase to ensure a good fit. The
stem should go deep enough into the vase so it stays submerged,
while short enough to have the hydrangea blossom sitting securely on
the rim of the vase.
Here
we have the hydrangea blossom settled on the rim of the vase. While
carefully parting the individual blossoms, insert the cut tulip. The
tulip would have also been measured against the vase for an approximate
cut. Tulips continue to grow after they are cut, sometimes up to 2
inches, so we want the blossom of the tulip to rest on the hydrangea
blossom so it won't be too leggy by tomorrow. Should your tulip be too
long after your first cut and insertion, just pull it out, recut and
reinsert.
Continue in this manner until you've inserted all
your flowers. This works wonderfully with mixed flowers from your
garden, they can be totally interspersed, or you could have like
varieties, or colors, grouped for more impact.
Here is the completed
arrangement. Finished in only minutes and the hydrangea did all the work by
holding the flowers just where you'd like them to be. This is beautiful as it
is, but you may add a few sprigs of foliage, some curly willow, or another
complementary flower variety or two. It's fun to experiment!
Our designers would be happy
to help you choose just the right flowers for you to try this with. Tulips will
be in season for a couple more months, but try this design with some eye-popping
gerbera daisies for a different look, or maybe with Stargazer lilies and roses
for lots of scent.
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That's all for this month. We'll be knee
deep in stems getting ready for weddings, Easter and Administrative
Professional's Week in the upcoming weeks, but do stop in and see us. The tulips
continue to shine this month and the colors we've been getting in our novelty
roses are to die for, it really boosts the spirits just to come in for a peek!
January 2009 Newsletter
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