This article was featured in the 6/18/14 The SAF Wednesday Ebrief

By Mary Westbrook

Exotic Flowers in Boston recently launched its “Cooperstown Collection”— a partnership with The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. Owner Rick Canale, who has also been the official florist for the Red Sox, said sports tie-ins, done well, have lots of marketing potential.

Bloggers in the U.K. are giving a red card to a supermarket chain that tried to capitalize on World Cup fever with a special bouquet — but at least one sports-savvy florist in Boston said the idea has the potential to hit plenty of marketing goaaals. 

Calling the “Come On, England” bouquet concept “painful,” several bloggers put the red and white carnation design, sold at Morrisons grocery stores, at the top of their “worst” lists for World Cup tie-ins. 

“Suddenly, a [groveling] apology from the other half for their latest screw-up just isn’t as gratifying as it used to be,” according to EuroSport. “Alternatively, it’s a rather backhanded way for a guy to [apologize] in advance for spending the next month doing nothing but watching football marathons and angrily debating contentious decisions on social media.” 

The chain also rain afoul of customers in Scotland, who successfully petitioned the stores there to stop playing an endless loop of England-related soccer — er, football —songs. 

Good intentions, lousy promotion? Not so fast, said Rick Canale of Exotic Flowers in Boston, who suggested the bloggers and writers are probably overreacting, and misinterpreting the grocers’ intentions. “I bet [Morrisons] did not sell the bouquet as an apology theme,” he said. “That would be floral suicide.” (At press time, EBrief editors had not been able to obtain the original marketing materials.) 

Canale should know. Exotic Flowers was the official florist of the Boston Red Sox from 2007 to 2009 and won SAF’s Floral Management Marketer of the Year title in 2008. He recently partnered with The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., to launch his new “Cooperstown Collection,” which coincides with the museum’s 75th anniversary. 

Canale said hitching your shop to a sports team or event can be marketing gold, but “it’s all about the approach.” In other words, never market a sports-themed design as an apology, but instead, promote it as a party idea or team-spirited host and hostess gift. When you do that well, you turn a non-floral event into an opportunity for your shop. 

“Believe me, if I liked soccer, I would be pitching World Cup bouquets here, too,” Canale said. “You have to capitalize on the success of special events. [For example], every Election Day, we launch an Election Day category on our website and then rebrand the same category for Veteran’s Day.” 

Father's Day is all about treating dad to a special day. Create your own memories with your dad, your kids' dad or even someone who is just like a dad. Boston has some exciting and fun things to do. Many of these venues are tailor made for dad. From history buffs to sports fans, here are the staff at Exotic Flowers' top things to do on Father's Day in the Boston area.

Zip across Boston Harbor at 40 miles per hour. Codzilla is a forty minute thrill ride across the ocean. High energy sounds of ACDC enhance the ride. Share this exciting ride with your dad. Create a lasting memory and start your own Father's Day tradition.

Take a walk into Fenway Park this father's day. Every Father's Day, the Red Sox allow a stroll around the warning track, admission is free. I know we are getting a little tired of the same old, same old from the Red Sox. But if you have not tried this, why not check it out this year. Jerry Remy's around the corner is also offering some great Father's Day specials. 

You know Dad loves the History Channel. Why not take him to the real life History Channel ? The USS Constitution is a living breathing museum. In celebration of its role in the War of 1812, celebrate its centennial and Father's Day with a visit to Old Ironsides.

Okay, I know it's not in Boston. If you're like me, you consider Foxboro a town in Rhode Island. But Dad loves football and the Patriots. Why not take him to luch at Patriot Place. While you're there, he can visit the Bass Pro Shop and visit some really cool football memorabilia at the Hall at Patriot Place. Maybe even get dad a new Tim Tebow jersey while he is there.

These are just a couple of our favorite spots. Of course, a few of our honorable mentions include Battle Ship Cove in Fall River (a real life Military Channel); Butcher Boy in North Andover for a the griller in your life, he will thank you; or take a ride to Mystic, CT and check out their awesome aquarium.

At Exotic Flowers, we believe in education and all its benefits to society. I am a Boston educated florist. My K1 and K2 years were spent at the Haley School on American Legion Highway in Roslindale. I spent grades one through six at the Sacred Heart School in Roslindale where I had four nuns and received a sound foundation of parochial teaching. In the seventh grade, my future began and my enlightenment and enrichment through high school came from the esteemed Roxbury Latin School in West Roxbury. In 1993, I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College in Chestnut Hill.

Along my educational journey, I learned and yearned to learn more. I still do. I take courses, I read books, magazines, on line guides and technical guides. My life is wrapped in learning and always will be. Part of my zest for knowledge is the reward program. My parents and teachers at a young age would reward me for effort and hard work. These rewards have carried over to my professional life where Exotic Flowers rewards me and my staff for our our hard work success.

During this 2014 graduate season, reward your students with flowers and balloons from Boston's Premier Florist. Whether your student is a graduate of pre-school where a pink rose does the trick or graduates Harvard Summa Cum Laude where a dozen yellow roses might be better. Show your students how much you value education and nurture their knowledge.

“If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people” - Chinese Proverb

At Exotic Flowers in Boston, we embrace the holidays as a way to create memories and celebrate traditions. Flowers are always a big part of your celebrations, thank you. Memorial Day is a time for celebrating.

Read on for blogger and Boston flower buyer Jon Bornstein's take on grilling versus barbecuing.

So you think you know food, huh? Pride yourself on being able to differentiate between a Rib Eye and a Porterhouse? Aioli and Au Jus? Focaccia and fiddlehead? Impressive. Now that you’ve humbled me as an American and a food buff, maybe you can answer my favorite question on the cusp of the first long weekend of the summer – what’s the difference between grilling and barbeque?

This quandary has been on my mind as we roll into Memorial Day, a time that signifies many things to those of us fortunate enough to celebrate it. Perhaps most importantly, it is a time for us to reflect upon the sacrifices of our fellow Americans who have fallen in service to our country. Memorial Day also serves as the harbinger for a number of lesser events commonly associated with the warmer New England months. Academicians and their charges view the weekend as the beginning of summer break. Cinephiles welcome it as the start of the “tent pole” popcorn flick season (although the starting date for that seems to creep back earlier and earlier each year). Food-obsessed types like myself embrace it as open season on the outdoor grill.

Not that we diehards stop working our Webers when the weather turns cold and unpleasant. Working the grill is a year-round event for us. But the most glorious time to work the smoky hot space that a full grill top creates is when the thermometer heads north of 70 degrees and the icy sweat coming off a cold bottle of beer can cut a refreshing swath across your forehead.

So I repeat – do you know the difference between grilling and barbeque? I thought I did. Well, I pretty much did. But a recent demonstration at Le Cordon Blue institute in Cambridge by one of their talented chefs/instructors brought it all home for me, so let me do the same for you, just in case your sitting there wondering why I keep asking such an obvious question.

Grilling involves cooking something (be it meat, fish, chicken, or vegetable) by applying direct heat via flame, to the foodstuff in question through a grate. The significance of this is that most of us refer to this act as barbecuing, or having a barbecue, and as you will see, it’s not.

Barbeque is the process of slowly cooking food by applying heat indirectly via burning wood. This process can take up to 18 hours, and imbues the food in question with a smoky flavor and juicy tenderness as the long cooking time breaks down the fats and other components of the meat. Barbecue is truly an American style of cooking, and the way it varies from region to region is part of what makes it special.

Wherever you happen to be chowing down on ‘cue, be it somewhere in Texas, Memphis, the Carolinas, St. Louis, or Kansas City, you will be treated to completely different styles of eats. The sauce might be based around tomato, vinegar, or mustard. You might be eating beef brisket, pork ribs, or shoulder. Your meat may even have been seasoned with a dry rub and served with sauce on the side as opposed to being slathered by sauce directly.

The previously mentioned regions of the US view barbeque in the Northeast using the same lens that we New Englanders view college sports with – sure we’ve got it, and some of it is pretty damn good, but we don’t take it nearly as seriously as the rest of the country. And for a long time, they were right. But ‘cue is trending in this part of the country, and if you don’t believe me, ask anyone who’s been to The Smoke Shop at the Seaport or Sweet Cheeks in the Fenway. These places are popping up all over, and people who are serious about their smoke are putting them on the map.

Two favorite long time denizens of the Boston area that I love who’ve been banging out quality ‘cue for quite some time. Any one of these three can walk you through all the styles I previously mentioned to satisfy both your intellectual curiosity and your hankering for something sweet, tender, and smoky.

1)      RedBones has been a fixture in Somerville’s eclectic Davis Square since 1987. Pumping out authentic bbq of all styles including jerk, the menu covers meat, chicken, fish, and vegetarian options, with numerous tasty sides and a handful of desserts to go with the two dozen microbrews on tap. Did I mention they also have a food truck?

2)      Blue Ribbon Barbeque is a multi-location operation whose longevity I’m not entirely sure of, but like Redbones, they do offer a variety of regional barbeque styles for your smoky flavor cravings. They do a nice job, and they’ve got four “Best of Boston’s” to prove it.

So do your patriotic duty this upcoming holiday weekend, and indulge in a truly American pastime by enjoying our native cuisine at one of the fine institutions listed above, or somewhere else you’ve been meaning to check out. And once you’ve done that, please don’t forget to report back! Did I mention this would also be a good opportunity to send flowers to someone you love?

 Follow Me On Twitter @Zucrow

In Flanders Fields by Col. John McCrae, WWI Veteran

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The First Official Memorial Day
May 30, 1868
Do you celebrate Memorial Day? In 1868, Commander in Chief John A. Logan of the grand Army of the Republic issued what was called General Order Number 11, designating May 30 as a memorial day. He declared it to be "for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land."

In 2014, we often celebrate Memorial Day with cookouts and baseball games. As a local florist in Boston, Exotic Flowers and Lombardi Florist on American Legion Highway are surrounded by cemeteries; Saint Michael's Cemetery, Forest Hills Cemetery, Mount Hope Cemetery, Mount Calvary Cemetery, New Calvary Cemetery, Oak Lawn Cemetery. Fresh flowers and live blooming plants are an ideal way to show your deceased loved ones how much you miss you them.

At Exotic Flowers, we always suggest outdoor blooming plants like geraniums, marigolds and petunias. These plants require less care than other items and will often remain on the grave until Father's Day. If a local Boston cemetery allows planting, the Exotic Flowers staff will suggest planting your geranium so that your plant can flourish through the summer.

Fresh flowers for the graves are nice, but will often only last one day. Exotic Flowers in Boston carries disposable containers that stake into the ground. These aluminum can vases hold water and retail for only five dollars. Carnations are a great choice, because they even look alive when they are dead.

May is the height of school activities and celebrations. We celebrate graduations, achievements, academic awards and our high schoolers often attend their first prom.

So many youngsters are so busy with school, sports, theatre and friends that preparing for their prom is like taking another course. You have to order prom tickets, get a dress or tuxedo, ensure a safe ride and of course plan for an after prom party. One of the last minute items often overlooked are flowers.

Exotic Flowers design studio in Roslindale and all of our Boston floral designers have been making prom corsages and boutonnieres for a combined work knowledge of over 100 years. Our local Boston flower designers have made the traidtional to the unusual.

Most popular these days are rose boutonnieres for the gentleman and rose wrist corsages for the ladies. Whether your prom is at Catholic Memorial, West Roxbury High School or Latin Academy, the staff at Exotic Flowers wants to be a special part of your prom.

Quick tips for quick ordering:

• order early
• know the dress color
• corsages in the Boston area for schools like Boston Latin, Milton High School, Roxbury Latin and other Boston schools are pretty much $25
• rose boutonnieres are $8
• roses, roses, don't get fancy. roses photograph well, are trendy and offer no unwelcome surprises.

At Exotic Flowers in Boston and Lombardi Florist in Roslindale, we often say ' every day is Mother's Day.' This statement may seem trite, but it is on point. Every day is Mother's Day. Mother's Day may be celebrated on the second Sunday of May, but Mother's Day should be celebrated every day.

What better to show your mom, grandmother or anyone you call 'mom' how much you appreciate them than fresh flowers from Exotic Flowers, Boston's Premier Florist.

Mother's Day at Exotic Flowers in Boston begins weeks in advance. The vases for Mother's day floral arrangements arrived weeks ago. The packaging and direct mail pieces were designed months ago. The outdoor garden plants were seeded locally in Boston's inner city in January. Every day from May 1st through May 11th, cut flowers will be arriving from Ecuador, Maine, New Jersey, Costa Rica, Columbia, California and Holland. We are floral importers. Every one of the fresh cut flowers in our Boston floral design studio has been hand selected and tested to exceed the needs of all our New England flower buyers and recipients.

This year (2014) entrust your Mother's Day flowers to your local Boston florist. We have been a family owned and operated florist for over 75 years. Do not leave your Mother's Day order to chance. She is too important. Flowers should not be left at a doorstop in a cardboard box. Her flowers should arrive artfully arranged and hand delivered.

Having worked in a Boston flower shop for more than thirty years, I am proud to share my experience in how to go about being a florist. I always joke that my first job was cleaning geraniums in the Lombardi Florist greenhouses in Roslindale when I was six years old. But you'd be amazed that creating amazing weddings and stunning florals starts at the bottom. My father has been an established florist in Boston for more than sixty years. His best advice has always been, 'never hire anyone who cannot sweep the floor,'.

 I strongly suggest starting at the bottom, sweeping floors, cleaning roses, assisting flower delivery drivers. Start as an intern or apprentice in any flower shop. Whether you are in a Boston florist or New York city flower shop, never lose sight that the basics are so important to provide with you a solid foundation for your career choice as a florist. I also believe that your career path as a florist should begin in a flower shop and not in someone's garage or design studio.

I am not knocking the design studio florist. As a matter of fact, some of the most elaborate floral displays and wedding flowers are created in these flower design warehouses. I suggest working in a flower shop because you will be a witness to all types of clients and their unique requests. 

In a flower shop, you will learn how to wrap flowers, make corsages, design funeral tributes like rosaries, crosses and heart shapes of flowers. The more every day requests you fill for a client, the greater your skill set will be. You will also be forced to think on your feet when dealing with rushed and demanding clients on the retail sales floor of the flower shop.

Turnover in a flower shop is generally pretty high. New associates often have no idea that the job is so physically and mentally demanding. What the floral apprentice must learn is that paying your dues, working for little starting pay and working holidays can lead to a great career. As florists, we make a difference in people's lives. Florists share emotions. When someone dies, when someone is born, married, sad, celebrating a birthday, falling in love; your local florist becomes a part of your life.

If you cannot wait any longer and your visits to Craig's List are just let down for job openings then get on Twitter and follow @GetFloralJobs. Recently, they posted a job link for a florist in Boston. Check out these requirements, do you have what it takes ?

Ability to work well in fast-paced environment
Completing tasks in an efficient manner
Pleasant manner and outstanding customer service skills
Ability to work well with others as well as independently.
High level of enthusiasm and self-motivation

Team members manage the following responsibilities on a daily basis:
Provide excellent service to customers
Assist clients with product selection
Flower Preparation and Processing
Floral Design
Ability to take phone orders.
Making impressive outdoor displays daily

Please send your availability include hours, from Monday-Sunday. Candidate must be able to work 30-40 hours/wk including at least 1 weekend day.