Earth Day at Butterbee Farm

Last Wednesday, Team LoCoFlo spent the morning volunteering at Butterbee Farm for Earth Day.

 

Laura Beth and Jascha, the wonderful farmers and Butterbee, made it super fun by planning “Farm Olympics”. Teams competed in three competitive rounds: precision planting, speed weeding and feats of brawn.

Carling and Irene were “Team Age Advantaged” since they are MUCH younger and more able bodied than their old, decrepit bosses.

Eric and I competed together and frankly didn’t do as we could have due to Eric’s laying around on the job.

Jascha worked with our new friend Lydia, a brand new flower farmer out in Chestertown.

We were judged by Laura Beth, Jascha and Maya Kosok, farmer extraordinaire from Hillen Homestead (and mom to our two littlest farm helpers).

It was a sunny day for planting chamomile, weeding beds and moving rocks. More than that, it was time well spent with our team and our friends. Working in the dirt, sharing a meal, taking pictures, laughing a lot…the most fun! It’s exciting to think that we’ll be using that chamomile in bouquets in just a few short months!

Everything we do at LoCoFlo depends on our amazing growers. Volunteering at the farm is just a small way for us to let them know that we are super grateful to them for all they do! Thank you Butterbee Farm and Hillen Homestead! You make Buying Local so much fun!

Thanks to Jascha Owens at Butterbee for some of the sweet pics!

Buy Local for Valentine’s Day Bmore!

We’re so excited for Valentine’s Day this year! After last year’s V-Day blizzard, we are looking forward to sunny skies this year! (here’s hoping anyway!)

This year we are excited to be offering wrapped bouquets, small, medium and large arrangements, local gift baskets, gift certificates and CSA subscriptions. Whew! so many great options!

I know a lot people are curious about what kind of local flowers could possibly be available in February. There are SO many beautiful flowers and branches available! We’ll be using willows, flowering branches, evergreens,  tulips, snapdragons, paper whites, calla lilies, anemones, sweet william, lilies, carnations and more! We’ll be sourcing flowers for Valentine’s Day from plantmasters in Montgomery County, Wollam Gardens in Virginia, Seaberry Farm on the Eastern Shore, Hendricks Flowers in Lititz PA Locust Point Flowers in Elkton and Flowers by Bauers in Baltimore County.

We will be offering delivery on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you’d prefer to come pick your flowers up, we’ll be offering pick ups on Friday between 10-6 and Saturday between 9-4pm. PLEASE order ahead and schedule a time for pick up. We cannot guarantee we’ll have extra flowers for walk-ins without pre-orders.

We’re super excited to tell you about our V-Day partnerships this year! On Valentine’s Day, from 9-1pm (or until we sell out), Irene will be over at Dooby’s in Mt Vernon selling wrapped bouquets.  Be sure to get there early for Dooby’s delish breakfast and some beautiful local blooms!

Over at the LoCoFlo studio we’ll be having a One Stop V-Day Pop-Up Shop with our friends from Pure Chocolate by Jinji. Pick up your (pre-ordered) locally grown flowers and organic chocolates all in one spot! We’ll be opening at 9am. Jinji will be at the studio until noon.

Buy Local this V-day Bmore! Looking forward to seeing you on the LOVEliest day of the year!

CSA 2014 : Week 2

The hot weather had arrived just in time for the longest day of year!

This week’s CSA bouquets are filled with

• Purple Campanula (bell like flowers)
• Dahlias (red in this photo, some people got orange or pink)
• Yellow Yarrow (be sure to smell this one! it’s got a really unique scent!)
• Orange Asclepius (this is one of my favorite Summer flowers)
• Sunflowers
• Safflower (the green “flowers”. They are still in the bud stage which we love. It may bloom orange).

Last week we met Capital Flower Growers and Seaberry Farm on the blog. The provided some of your flowers this week too.

The campanula, yarrow, dahlias and sunflowers came from Capital Flower Growers and the Safflower came from Seaberry Farm.

This week your Asclepius came from our friends at Plant Masters down in Gaithersburg.

Husband and wife farmers, Carol and Leon Carrier have been farming for over 30 years. They grow flowers and plants and can be found at The Montgomery Farm Women's Cooperative Market year 'round and The Olney Farm Market (Sun 9-1 @ MGH grounds 5/9-11/7) and The Potomac Farmer's Market (Falls & Democracy,Thurs. 2-6)

Leon and Carol are always so generous with their flower knowledge. We love working with them!

Now that the weather is getting hot, be sure to keep your flowers in a cool spot out of direct sunlight. Keep them filled with water (add water every day) and change the water every other day.

Enjoy the flowers! Happy Summer!

Changing the World: One Happy Client at at Time

I received a note this week from one of our corporate clients at the University of Maryland. This client has worked with us off and on over the past 5 years. He’s ordered from us  for corporate events as well as coming to a few our past design classes. I was truly touched by his simple, but heartfelt note because it proved that we are making a difference in the floral industry…one happy client at at a time.

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for our growers who take such care to grow beautiful, long lasting flowers for our clients, for our team who take such care to create beautiful, interesting arrangements for each client – large or small and for our clients for sharing their stories with us.  For all the local flower skeptics out there…this one’s for you.

Dear Ellen,

You've totally spoiled me when it comes to flowers.

I used to be skeptical about the quality and diverse selection of flowers that could come from a local radius here on the mid-Atlantic/East coast. But after taking several workshops and ordering several decorative arrangements for work...I’m 100% sold on Local!

For quick one-off events, I'll get a vase or two of flowers from the shop down the road from the office, or in an instance today, I used a gift card for a few blooms...just because! I had a major event last Friday and my consultant brought in their preferred flower vendor. And I know the passion and care for their work (the local shop and this designer) is there; but I’ve been disappointed. The quality and ‘showmanship’ pales in contrast to what comes from your shop. Sure some big tropical blooms provided a splash and the colors were completely uniform, but at the end of the day, I felt they were a little, less than.

The quality of the product and design coming from you and your team, and the quality of the flowers we get to use in your classes are top notch by comparison.

So, for what it’s worth…THANK YOU!

Buying Local, Making a Difference

Those of you who know us, know we talk A LOT about importance of buying local. The reality is, it’s not just talk. As a small business, we are committed to spending the dollars our clients give us in a way that supports our local growers and our local community.

We wanted to share with you some analysis on our spending this year.

Local Growers: We spent 49% of our income last year on buying flowers, foliage, branches and plants from local farmers. (up from 38% last year!) We purchased flowers from 21 flower farms this year (up from 17 last year)

We’re especially proud to say that 2% of our farm dollars went to farmers inside BALTIMORE CITY! While this may not seem significant…it’s HUGE! This is the first year we have ever had flower farmers inside Baltimore City. Thanks you to all of our growers! We hope to give you even more business in 2014!

Locally owned, small businesses: 19% of our total income was spent on small, locally owned businesses. Using our hard earned dollars in our own community is important to us. We love our local business partners including Carma’s, CVP, Charm City Cook, Kinderhook, Chesapeake Wine Company, the Food Market, Apothecary Wellness and many many more.

Local Designer: 15% of our total income went to pay our amazing TEAM! Our designers and delivery helpers are locavores themselves that love Baltimore and love to support local business.

Chain Stores in our Neighborhood: 12% of our income was spent at chain stores in our neighborhood. While these businesses (Waverly Giant,  Waverly Ace,  Govans Carroll Fuel etc) are not locally owned, they are located in our community and employ local folks.

Non-local business: The last 4% of our income was spent at non-local businesses. Most of this money was spent on vases, our new wreath maker and other floral supplies.

Buying local is an important way to show support for your neighbors and your community. As a small Baltimore business, Local Color Flowers will continue to buy local, support small businesses and farms, employ local designers and strive to make an even more positive impact on our community. 2014 is going to be awesome!

Who Loves You?

Valentine’s Day stops for no snow storm!

We shoveled out way out of the house.

Then we started walking down York Road.

Our team shoveled, drove, walked…

And we made it…just in time… for our first Valentine’s Day pick up of the day!

And if this smile wasn’t enough reason to get here….he brought us treats! Seriously AMAZING CLIENTS!!!

LoCoFlo Loves you Baltimore! Happy V-day!

Tulips For Valentine’s Day!

By Irene Donnelly

Valentine's Day is a day of constant motion and excitement in the floral industry.  We happily assist droves of semi-panicked lovers trying to piece together last minute gifts… all in the name romance.  As floral designers we are eager to help everyone find the perfect gesture of love for their Valentine.  For me, I tend to like helping the inexperienced, the procrastinator and the perplexed with their orders the best.  These giddy, mostly new lovers tend to be adorably refreshing and thoughtful.

Of course, not everyone is last minute and inexperienced.  There happens to be a minority of wise, generally older, married individuals who pre-order flowers for pick up or delivery a week or so in advance.  These people seem to realize the significance of the sentiment and have learned the tricks of the trade. Many have burned by long lines, florists running out of flowers and the overall mayhem of V-day shopping.  That being said, I don't want to scare anyone away from facing a floral shop on Valentine's Day, it's really not that bad but it does help to be prepared.

The panic that sets in seems to revolve around not knowing what to buy.  Take my advice. Think about your Valentine.  Are they classic? Earthy? Modern?  Trendy?  Etc.  A good floral designer will be able to execute any adjective into flowers.  Trust the designers and if you're really smart preorder! (order here).

When in doubt…locally grown tulips are sure to please. 

A short history on Tulips:  Second behind roses as the most popular V-day bouquet, tulips are clean, fresh and classy.  They originated as a wild flower in Turkey and were often adorned in Turkish turbans, hence their name. (not because they looked like "Two Lips." )

The bulbs made their way to the Netherlands over four hundred years ago, where they became such a commodity they ended up being an extremely profitable investment opportunity and everyone wanted in.  "Tulip Mania," as it was called, had many of the Dutch buying bulbs in hopes of finding a desirable genetic mutation coupled with a big cash pay out. It was a gamble to grow tulips that had a new trait unique from existing tulips.  If a Dutchman did happen to spring up the next big thing, well…they got sticking rich.  But as we know, playing the stinking rich game doesn't pay off in the long run and usually crashes an economy. It eventually did. 

At Local Color Flowers we will have tulips from Van Dyke Brothers Farm in New Jersey.  While they are the farthest farm from the shop that we buy flowers from, they are still comparatively local when you think about the greater scheme of valentine's day flowers.   (114 miles) In addition to tulips, we'll have the usual hyper local magic we normally have this time of year including snapdragons, paperwhites, flowering branches and locally grown evergreens.

We will have bouquets of tulips (and other local goodness) ready to "grab and go" at three locations on Valentine’s Day :

The Quintessential Gentlemen located downtown at 31 South Calvert Street from 11am-2pm

Chesapeake Wine Company at the Can Company in Canton from 11 until …the sell out!

Our  shop in Charles Village all day until 7pm. We’re located at 3100 Brentwood Ave. PLEASE call before you come by to make sure we can accommodate your request!

Wondering what the most remarkable and distinguishing fact about the Tulip is? It continues to grow once it's been cut from the bulb.  

That means long after you give your tulips as a gift, your lover will be able to watch these flowers grow taller and taller and higher still.  Other flowers may open and change but no others will grow as dramatically tall.  Isn't that a nice symbolic sentiment to give to your Valentine?  That your love grows?

THANK YOU Farmhouse Flowers

On Wednesday, we got a call from our friend Dave Dowling, from Farmhouse Flowers explaining to us, that after 20 years of growing flowers, he was closing his business. Dave’s nephew, who owned the land Dave farmed, had defaulted on a loan, and despite working hard to find a solution, the land was sold at auction this week. There was crying and…some more crying and sadness and worry and of course gratitude.

Farming is hard and often unpredictable-weather, land, money, staff. For many, the rewards are worth it. I’m reminded today, as I am most days, how important buying local is- not just as lip service to what some see as a trend—but as a way of building community-as a way of building a life.

Today, everyone at Local Color Flowers would like to thank Dave Dowling for the amazing contributions he has made to our industry, to our community and to our lives.

THANK YOU for supporting the idea of Local Color Flowers from the beginning. Back in 2008, it might have seemed crazy to think that a small floral design shop in Baltimore could sell 100% local flowers. But you listened, you encouraged, you taught, you believed.

THANK YOU for being a leader in the cut flower industry for the past 20 years. Your passion, commitment and expertise is evident in everything you do. From lobbying congress, sharing resources at the Maryland Cut Flower Growers meeting, leading tours of the farm, and being a true icon within the ASCFG.

THANK YOU  for growing our flowers. For the past 6 years we have been so fortunate to go to the farm, week after week after week to pick the most beautiful flowers four our clients. Flowers that got saved and cut just for us. Thank you for helping to start Capital Flower Growers, which, after many years of lobbying, finally brought Montgomery County and Virginia flowers right into Baltimore. Thank you for all the beauty you brought to so many people.

  

THANK YOU for texting, calling, emailing when we have problems, questions, sad news, exciting news, broken coolers,  some variety of flower we can’t identify and flower orders…always flower orders.

Most importantly, THANK YOU for the positive impact you’ve had on our lives so far. Your friendship and mentorship has helped to mold who we are as a business.

  

We love you Dave! We know that this is the beginning of a new chapter and we can’t wait to see what’s to come.

Local Love for Valentine’s Day!

Love is the flower that is never out of season.

-Anonymous

Valentine’s Day! The day to say I LOVE YOU to the people that mean the most to you! One way to say I LOVE  YOU is with flowers…beautiful, locally grown, flowers!

At Local Color Flowers, 100% of our flowers, foliage, and branches are grown on farms within 110 miles of Baltimore. We don’t offer roses shipped from South America, or orchids flown in from the tropics. We offer the best of what our region has to offer on the date you order!

Despite the cold weather this year, we’re so excited to be offering Valentine’s Day arrangements filled with tulips, paperwhites, anemones, snapdragons, stock, lilies, pussy willows, curly willows, quince, succulents, foliage and lots of other surprises!

Check our order page for details. We’re offering single arrangements, wrapped bouquets, local gift baskets, subscriptions, our local flower CSA and gift certificates for upcoming design classes.

Delivery is available in Baltimore City and pick-ups at our studio in Charles Village will be available from 8am-7pm! Order early!

Email us at ellen@locoflo.com with any questions!

Makers Alley 2013

By Carling A.W. Elder

On December 14th, 2013, Local Color Flowers hosted the first ever Makers Alley - A Pop-Up Gift Market at our studio, and it was a great success!

Waaay back in the summer, as we began planning for the holiday season, the LoCoFlo crew started daydreaming about hosting a small, intimate, fun, & friendly holiday market in our studio. As we brainstormed, we grew more and more excited about the idea of a holiday market where it would be really easy (and fun) for our friends, families, and communities to purchase locally made gifts for the holidays. We decided there really was a need for a gift market where you could buy handmade food and crafts before the holidays, and so, Makers Alley was born!

The first step was to invite some of Local Color Flowers’ talented friends and partners to participate. Luckily, Rat Czar, Priya Means Love, Charm City Cook, Kinderhook Snacks, Snark Machine, Two Back Flats, and Highway to Hill responded to our invite and said they would love to join our vendor list. Needless to say, we were thrilled to have each of these amazing people and their products at Makers Alley!

The weather for the day of Makers Alley was predicted to be snow and “ice pellets.” Luckily, the snow held off and the “ice pellets” were remarkably absent. Precisely at 10 AM,  guests started streaming into our studio to shop at Makers Alley. The guests sampled Charm City Cook’s silky caramel sauce, pinned Two Back Flats’ fascinators to their heads, chose a Locoflo wreath for their door, grabbed Rat Czar’s BALT bumper stickers for their friends, munched on Kinderhook Snacks' savory cheese stamps, spritzed Priya Means Love’s fragrant perfume on their wrists, modeled Snark Machine’s colorful rubber band necklaces, delighted at Highway to Hill’s witty graphic prints, and shopped and visited!

One of the best things about Makers Alley was the feeling of support for all the vendors from everyone who chose to shop at Makers Alley. Deciding to spend your money locally isn’t always an easy choice, but it’s an incredibly impactful one. It was humbling to see so many impactful and conscious choices being made at Makers Alley by both guests and vendors alike.