Florists know that no party is complete without flowers. The United States Constitution turned 225 years old. Ask any Ron Paul fan and you know that the Constitution is the umbrella of our society, protecting every citizen within its words. On September 17th, 2012 dozens of florists collaborated on a once in a lifetime floral design to honor and celebrate the birthday of the document.
Philadelphia florists Bill Schaffer, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, and Kristine Kratt, AIFD, PFCI, have a reverence for history, inspired by their hometown. They spearheaded the idea of celebrating the 225th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution with an unforgettable floral display. Schaffer and Kratt rallied florists all over the world to help with the project. From 46 states, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom florists became 'the stars' of the monumental floral display. The florist volunteers created red, white and blue stars using botanicals and other fibers and shipped them to Schaffer and Kratt at Schaffer Designs in Philadelphia. These stars are designed to hang under a 12 foot by 16 foot umbrella shaped canopy on the lawn of the U.S. Constitution Center for one day only on September 17th, 2012.
The striking bouquet included eighty starts, suspended spheres of flowers and a perimeter of flowers surrounded the structure. Flowers included were carnations, hydrangeas, larkspur and carnations. Bravo to Delaware Valley Wholesale flowers for donating the flowers. Kudos to Smithers-Oasis and Floracraft for their donations of hard goods. Schaffer gave a conservative estimate of $20,000 of creative and material costs, which were donated by the floral industry's elite forward thinkers.
To get a more detailed look at one of the stars, check out the star of Alice Waterous, AIFD, CF, PFCI, from Michigan. She made this star with seeds “to represent the seeds the Founding Fathers planted for our country to bloom,” she said.
The face of the second most bill in our currency, the $20 bill; Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson was tough as nails. He even fought in duels to the death. Jackson believed in small government and expanded the power of the presidency. Unlike many Presidents in history, Jackson was able to pay off the national debt, the only time in U.S. history this has been accomplished. 
Tampa, FL - August 30th, 2012: at the Republican National Convention, Mitt Romney recognized the local florist in his speech accepting the Republican nomination for President. 
At 1pm on Saturday, September 8th, 2012 - Exotic Flowers favorite author Suzie Canale will be signing and reading from her latest children's book, '
Suzie Hearl Canale grew up in Andover and is a graduate of Salem State College. She began writing after a twenty-five year career in the wholesale floral industry in Boston, where she was inspired by flowers named after child-friendly foods. She developed The Beantown Tales, a series of books geared towards educating children to make positive changes within our society. Suzie’s books have received the 2011 Green Difference Book Award by the Massachusetts Green Schools Organization, as well as Honorable Mentions in the 2011 New England Book Festival, 2012 New York Book Festival, and the 2012 Hollywood Book Festival. Canale recently published "Walking Down the Cobblestone Aisles of Boston" in electronic form. As she continues her career writing career, she also keeps busy raising her two sons and volunteering for the Mass Bay American Red Cross chapter as a member of the Disaster Relief division.
peace keeper, international relations stalwart, ended the Korean War, created the Interstate Highway system, balanced the budget, maintained prosperity, drank gin and tonics, avid golfer and baseball fan and he even made his own bbq sauce.
Trust buster, conservationist, man of character. Refused to let his infirmaties control his life. Even had the 'Teddy Bear' named after him.
' Rawhide', 'Dutch' call him what you want. Reagan has been canonized and vilified. What remains is that he is still spoken highly of by many. He ended the cold war, restored our military and gave America back its pride.
