Exotic Flowers in Boston

The Candy Roses of Cape Care is the third installment in The Beantown Tales: Green Series where a group of six cousins rally together to save a magical beach's candy sprouting roses from extinction. Growing every sweet treat imaginable from lollipops to gummy bears, the team must work fast to clean up their sandy shores before pollution threatens to halt the production of an enchanted potion produced by the sea. Keeping in theme with the prequels, The Land of Chocolate Cosmos (winner of the 2011 Green Difference Book by the Massachusetts Green Schools Org and 2011 Honorable Mention by the New England Book Festival) and The Popcorn Hydrangea of Poppingtom, Suzie Canale, the author educates while empowering readers to make key changes within their communities. This book tantalizes tummies with yummy imagery nestled in fantastical worlds. Suzie is also an Exotic Flowers' blogger and our poet in residence.

A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball… A quick read, kind of like a good short story; vintage Grisham. Cannot wait for the movie.

 On vacation but feel like you should be building your business ? Marketing guru, Lou Imbriano sets forth an ideal blue print for growing your business. Many of Lou's ideas are cost effective and easy to implement right away. 

No mystery why this novel remains a best seller. Now in paperback, you have no excuse but to pick up a copy. This is one of the best books I have read in years. If you enjoy baseball and have always wanted to find a great novel, you cannot miss with this book.

Micah Solomon's latest book really hits the mark. He lays a great foundation of customer service applications in the first seven chapters. With real world companies used as models, Micah provides a foundation that businesses of all sizes can implement.
Great takeaways include the importance of a company culture and showing how it really defines your business. Micah's book addresses an important need of creating on line loyalty. This question is asked by brick and mortar stores every day. Micah really understands the importance of quick response, anticipating a client's needs and the need for standards.
From his principles of on line self service to his theme of 'let customers hear from you before they have to ask for anything themselves.' This book will remain on my shelf as a reference/ customer service text book for years to come.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a web presence of any type, no matter how big or small.

: Transportation...

"Two such as you with such a master speed cannot be parted nor be swept away from one another once you are agreed that life is only life forevermore together wing to wing and oar to oar"~ Robert Frost

The type of transportation that you choose depends on several aspects of your wedding planning including the couple's personality, location and time of year.  The exit of the bride and groom from their ceremony and reception is often a memorable one for all in attendance, giving importance to the issue of selecting mobility that reflects both the essence of your matrimonial gathering as well as the symbolism unique to the two people starting their journey together.  Another factor to be aware of  is New England's predisposition to temperamental weather patterns, which although adored for her changing face throughout the year, can sometimes be unpredictable when it comes to precipitation and temperature changes.  Coupes reciting their "I do's" within the Boston area should always take into consideration this safety factor as well as choosing a desired means.  By referring to the following guidelines, you will find that this city offers an extensive array of solutions perfect for whisking the new "Mr. and Mrs." off onto their new adventure. 

The Limousine~ The limousine is a classic choice, assuring passengers a safe yet luxurious ride to each destination.  Generally equipped with mini bars, adjustable temperature controls, moon roofs, comfortable seating and a driver, this type of transportation is the best option for most newlyweds.  Not only is the limo appropriate for anytime of the year, it is also reliable for any type of New England weather forecast.  Although ancient lure believes that rain is a sure sign of good luck on a wedding day, the bride who is stuck in a sudden downpour without a roof overhead might disagree!

Horse Drawn Carriages~ Horse drawn carriages provide a romantic exit within a fashionable elegance and historic grace.  Appropriate for those travelling short distances during the more temperate times of the year, the bride and groom will enjoy a relaxing and soothing ride in the back of a coach, comforted by blankets, champagne and the exquisite views provided by the surrounding scenery.  This type of transportation is particularly sensational for countryside or metropolis located affairs.

Classic Cars~ For the past several years, the popularity of classic cars within event planning have grown considerably, appealing to those looking to shake up the wheels of their wedding.  Rolls Royce's, Bentleys, Mustangs, Corvettes, and Model T's  are both stylish and fun for a fast getaway to the honeymoon.  Bon Voyage decor such as streamers, "Just Married" signs and strung cans looks particularly adorable when trailing the tail lights of one of these beauties.

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• With the current rainy weather in Boston, now is a great time to do some weeding. Weeds come out of the ground a lot easier when they are hydrated. Drier weeds tend to grasp onto the ground making it much more difficult to pull out.
• Incorporate easy care vegetable plants and herbs into your Boston landscape. Nestle your rosemary, thyme and beans amongst your day lilies. This combination gives you a nice textured garden while also bearing delicious additions to your meals. Plant some thyme along your walk way. Fragrant herbs are a great addition to roast chicken, are resilient against footsteps and many will return next spring, (perennials).
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• If you are stretched on time and enjoy flowers in your garden like most Bostonians, then seek out easy care annuals like coleus, impatiens and begonias. These easy care annuals provide instant color, just ask for regular watering and little maintenance. These annuals will bloom in your garden until late October.
• If your tomato plants are now planted and outside, do not forget to stake them or even better put tomato cages on them now. You do not want to wait until they are too big.
• Container gardens; probably the best investment you can make if you live and work in Boston. A mixed pot of annuals on your front steps not only increases your home's appearance but makes a huge difference for your neighbors as well.
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"In all of the wedding cake, hope is the sweetest of plums."
~Douglas Jerrold

It is the pinnacle of the wedding planning process, one which you must denote serious thought and scrutiny to. What size, shape, style, variety, and color will justly represent your affair? Should there be icing replicas of the bride and groom? Should the design use sugar or real flowers such as gerberas, roses or chocolate cosmos for decoration?  Perhaps the couple is looking for an altogether different theme such as seashells? Is the white vanilla frosting the ultimate in taste tantalization or is the dark chocolate mousse the fork-full that will make your guests melt in their seats? How about the question of buffering your budget by making it yourself or splurging on one of Boston’s award winning bakeries? Have you guessed what this mouth watering bridal task is? Planning your wedding cake of course!

One important issue which is critical towards completing this mission successfully is to solidify a set budget of expense for this sweet desert. Wedding cakes can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand depending on the bakery making it wise to do a fair amount of investigating before committing to a vendor.  If this is an area where you are willing to tighten the belt buckle in regards to expenses, there are numerous recipes for making your own cake with step by step directions on baking and decorating. One resource worth checking out in your local library is the  book, “Wedding Cakes That You Can Make: Designing Baking, and Decorating the Perfect Wedding Cake” by Dede Wilson. Not only are you given clever baking tips, but you are also shown explicit directions on baking, decorating and icing. A second useful resource are specialty wedding sites such as allrecipes.com or lovetoknow weddings which give easy and descriptive recipes for just about any cake imaginable.  If you are interested in previewing your "sweet" ideas, visit Designed by the Bride which allow visitors to design a "virtual" cake to encourage creative thinking within this area.

If your baking skills are somewhat challenged and you own oven mitts which are for display only, consider Konditor Meister of Braintree, Ma or Montillio's of Quincy, Ma to fulfill all of your wedding desert needs. Holding a long standing reputation for their decadent wedding cakes, these ingenious bakers can pretty much replicate any idea, object or theme into edible bridal art. Beach themed weddings can be represented with sand dollar or starfish pieces added to their cakes as well as a sugar constructed sand castles.  Outdoorsy couples can serve guests a forest inspired desert incorporating pine trees or mountain landscapes into the design while the history lovers can marvel at a reconstruction of famous Bostonian landmarks such as the Freedom Trail, the Boston Public Garden or even Paul Revere's house. Taking a picture with you for model purposes is a helpful tip and try to remain open to options suggested to you by the professionals. The possibilities are endless so let your "sweet tooth" creativity run wild. Have fun with this project and indulge in the romance of a scrumptious wedding cake!

At Exotic Flowers in Boston, we actively contribute to floral associations. We are members of FTD, Teleflora and the Society of American Florists, (SAF). We exchance ideas with our colleagues and are always looking to learn so that we may remain Boston's Premier Florist.

Recently, Exotic Flowers and myself were featured in Bloomnet Magazine floriology. Below is the article in its entirety written by Fred Russell in April 2012 edition.

From Facebook to Twitter and everything in between Rick Canale is LinkedIn to everything social.

Rick of Exotic Flowers inBostonis a third generation florist and an industry leader in using social media to help promote his business. Growing up in theBostonarea Rick would help out his parents Sonny and Marie doing a little bit of everything. After attendingBostonCollegeas Liberal Arts major in the early 90’s, Rick went to work full time at the family business that started over 50 years ago.

“Most of our marketing is reinforcing our current clientele”, says Rick. “We combine an aggressive direct mail marketing plan and mix in social media to remain relevant and top of mind”, he adds. Rick sees his new customers result mostly from referral business and a lot from local search engines like Google, Yelp and Foursquare. Because Rick looks at his current customers as an avenue for getting new ones he consistently targets them on different platforms to stay relevant and keep people talking about them.

When it comes to social media Rick was an early adapter and could foresee the movement coming quickly. “You have to collect ‘likes’ on your Facebook page like baseball cards”, says Rick. Between his Facebook friends and Twitter followers Rick has well over 1,000 contacts. This is a lot of potential consumers at your fingertips that can be easily reached at a moments notice. Rick is also very active on his blog (http://blog.exoticflowers.com/) which attracts 6,000 unique visitors a month and tries to reach out to his customers via a social avenue three to five times a week. “I write about everything; from social issues, what’s going on inBoston, baseball or top five movies of the week”, says Rick. “You don’t always want to make it about you and be to self serving, you just want to be out there so people see your name”. Rick likens it to a Presidential Campaign, “it’s all about shaking hands and kissing babies!”

Rick also monitors closely what people are saying about his shop. He uses Hubspot (www.hubspot) to monitor activity. He gets a notification that his shop name is being mentioned somewhere. “I jump right in and answer questions, talk about the shop and they’re floored to get that quick reaction”. He also monitors what his contemporaries are blogging and follows them on Twitter. “You can always learn from what other people are doing and see if I’m missing anything. I also find a lot of inspiration by looking at what my peers are doing”.

One of the things Rick has asked himself is how do you keep your website and social customer’s loyal? “When we get a first time order on a website order we send the customer a hand written note thanking them for our business”. Rick also sends a personal business card, not just one with the store name to give it a more personal touch. Rick also stays away from discounting and feels it’s unnecessary because they always have great products and are always competitively priced and once you discount your customers will expect it. “There’s no way I’m going to compete with someone selling $9.99 rose and that’s not what we’re about.

Rick plans on continuing to use social media in his marketing plan and thinks Twitter is still in its beginning is about to boom. Rick suggests the Twitter community is just another form of blogging and a great way to catch a customer’s attention with a quick, catchy message. As far as another recent social phenomena—Pinterest, Rick compares it to a coffee table book. “Everybody loves coffee table books, but how often do you read them?” With the recent fascination Rick will observe it’s progress and develop a presence down the road.

Be sure to follow Rick on Twitter @RickCanale!

Owner: Rick Canale

Shop: Exotic Flowers

Location:Boston,Mass.

Employees: 10 full time

Established: 1957

 Having been a Boston florist for more than seventy five years, Exotic Flowers has seen our share of mistakes and mishaps. We have made some errors along the way and have witnessed some of the best ecuadorian roses wilt without explanation. As a top florist in Boston, we have a responsibility to our clients. If things go wrong, we make them right. When people buy flowers, they are often sending their emotions.

 At Exotic Flowers in Boston, we send thousands of our orders around the world. We have a great list of florists who we send flowers to for our clients. These florists practice the same customer service skills as Exotic Flowers and send similar outstanding flowers arrangements as well. These florists like Exotic Flowers are in high demand and sell out fast. Sometimes like Valentine's Day and Mother's Day we use other flower shops to get your last minute orders out. Sometimes these shops mess up.

For example, we recently used a flower shop in Lithonia, Georgia. We were assured by the owner Victoria that our delivery was in good hands. Guess what ? Victoria messed up and lost the order and the delivery did not get made. Everyone makes mistakes, but owning up to them is key to making things right. Victoria was truly sorry, but had no clue how to make things right. Victoria should have offered a new arrangement at no charge. Alas she did not. At Exotic Flowers, we stepped up; refunded the customer, paid for the price of replacement and sent the sender a box of Godiva of chocolates. It was not in the name of saving the customer, but in the name of doing the right thing.

The sender even kindly sent this note us: "Thank you for your courtesy. My mother was really pleased to receive her flowers. They are beautiful. 

You are very much appreciated. And you have our continued support. 

Regards

Elizabeth"

Sometimes our staff may be rushed and under stress and may be referred to as The Surly Florists in Boston. Everything we do at Exotic Flowers is about doing what is right. We are a member of the community. 

This Mother's Day the FTD Mercury Man has hit the streets to share the joy of receiving flowers and to remind Bostonians that nothing beats the power of receiving fresh flowers from your local Boston florist. 

We have heard some interesting feedback regarding the Mercury Man's costumer and choice of being unshaven. Here are some of the comments from clients.

"If Mercury was a god then why doesn't he shave ?"

" Why a padded muscle suit ? "

" Kind of creepy having a guy in a giant banana hammock giving out flowers in the park."

Check out the commercial and let us know your thoughts.

 Mother's Day is loaded with traditions. Many children, spouses and friends enjoy lavishing their moms with flowers, greeting cards and breakfast in bed. Mother's Day sees a huge surge in phone calls as well as greeting cards being sent. At Exotic Flowers in Boston, Mother's Day is our busiest week of the year. Second only to Valentine's Day as our busiest day, Mother's Day in Boston has our phones ringing off the hook. 

Along with flower deliveries, we get many request for the tradition of wearing a carnation on Mother's Day. Tradition dictates that you wear or carry a white carnation if your mother is deceased and if your mother is alive then you wear a red or colorful carnation. Many churches in the Boston area will give out red and white carnations to their congregations on this day. Other Boston churches will also honor all living mothers with a corsage to wear on that day. Of course no one wore a better red carnation than Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando in Guys 'n Dolls. 

Another popular Boston tradition for Mother's Day has been Lilac Sunday at Arnold Arboretum. This fragrant purple event brings in visitors from all over New England. Weather permitting, this is a must see event and if you're visiting the Arboretum, why not stop at Exotic Flowers flagship florist and garden center at 609 American Legion Highway in Roslindale ?

Even Major League Baseball shows its respect for Mother's Day with its pink bats, cleats, wrist bands and base jewels. They have been using these bats since 2006 and then they auction them off with proceeds benefiting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Organization.

So whether you send flowers, make dinner, go to a ball game make sure to take care of every mom in your life. It's the least you can do. Thank her.