Facebook 1000 Fans

Just the other day we hit a HUGE milestone on Facebook.  And who do we have to thank for that?  Well you of course!  Our fans.  Because of you we have hit one of our goals for 2012.  

So What's In it For You?  

For the rest of 2012 you will save 10% off any regular price purchase just by letting us know you are a Facebook fan!  

So make that holiday list and come on in and see us, call us up, or visit us online.  

Coupon Code: FBFAN12

*Not valid on sales, specials, 5 friday, or with any other coupon or offer. 

Help us Help Decatur

2 CANS

+ 10 Dollars

_____________

12 Roses

September 5th - October 5th we will be hosting our 2nd annual 2+10=12 event.

We will collect non-parishable food items for The WSOY Food Drive being held on October 5th, 2012.  For your assistance we would like to offer you this amazing deal.

Bring in 2 cans of food and $10 and you will walk away with 12 roses.

Bring in 4 cans and $20 and get 24 Roses

Bring in 10 cans and $50 and walk away with 60 Roses... yeah you get the picture.

Help us stock the local food banks in time for the long winter ahead.  To find out more about the WSOY food drive and how you can help go here.

Colors will vary by week but here is a sample of what you can expect.

Last year we collected a little over 200lbs of food.  You can read all about that here.  This year our goal is 500lbs!  Help us fill this window! 

The fine print ~ Dozen roses are wrapped in paper. Greenery, Vases, Baby's Breath, and more is available at an additional charge.  Sorry no delivery is available on the $10 special.

Not valid with ANY other offer, discount, or promotion.

Thank you in advance for helping us help Decatur!

Weekly Special Save on Gifts

August 27th To September 1st 

Save 25% on all Gifts

Do you have any birthdays, anniversaries, or do you just need a gift for a friend?  Stop in and browse our gift selection this week and save!

We have great home decor items to treat yourself with too.

1215 E. Pershing Rd.

Simple Saying Signs BOGO Event

August 20th - August 25th 

Simple Sayings Signs Buy one Get one 50% off!

These adorable wooden signs can sit on the shelf or hang on the wall.  They make great gifts.  Stop in and see our selection.  Over 20 styles to choose from.

The Secret Garden 1215 E. Pershing Rd.

Want to see next week's special?  HERE it is.

*Fine Print ~ Cannot be combined with any other offer, discount, or promotion.  Valid in store only. 

30% Off Silk Decor

August 13th - August 18th 

30% off

All Silk Items

Wreaths, Swags, & More

Choose from a wide selection of wreaths, swags, silk decor pieces, grave saddles, and more.  All pre-made silks are included in the sale.

The Secret Garden 1215 E. Pershing Rd.

Want to see next week's special?  HERE it is.

*Fine Print ~ Cannot be combined with any other offer, discount, or promotion.  Valid in store only.  Not valid on custom work.

Dozen Roses Special

Due to the overwhelming response of our $15.99 rose special we are extending our offer!

Yes it's true!  We are extending our rose offer through the end of August... and maybe even through September.  As long as you all keep on buying, we will keep on selling.

Remember folks these are wrapped and ready for grab and go customers.  This offer is not valid for delivery.  We cannot arrange them for this price but we will be glad to sell you a vase and you can. 

Stop in and see us ~ 1215 E. Pershing Rd.  Grab a dozen for yourself.  Make your day! 

Introducing Water Recycling

As we all know this summer has been long, hot, and DRY.  With that combination the shortage of water is a pressing issue in our city.  With the restrictions on watering that go into effect on August 9th more plants will feel the pinch.  We don't want you to have to say goodbye to your beautiful blooms and we are here to help.  

As you may know every week we clean our flower coolers and that means lots of buckets of water to dump.  So we started thinking... what if we could put all of this water to good use.  We normally dump it out the back to water our grass and clean under our cooler (lots of leaves get stuck under there and we have to wash them out).  Instead of doing that for the next few months, we would rather give it away to a good home.  

This water is perfectly usable to water plants, flowers, and gardens.  It even has flower food in it so it may boost the growth too.  Win win!!  This water IS NOT FOR HUMAN OR PET CONSUMPTION.  It has plant food and plant waist in it and is not safe to drink.  

This is how it works.  

• Water can be picked up on Saturday afternoons between 11am and 2pm at 1215 E. Pershing Rd. in Decatur IL.
• BYOB ~ Bring your own bucket or gallon jugs.  We don't care :)
• We will distribute the water until it's gone.  Then we will post on facebook so you don't waist a trip.

Be sure to grab a bucket or a jug and swing by.  Help us recycle this water.  Waist not want not after all.  See you this weekend!  

BUY 2 GET 1 FREE Garden Flags

August 6th - August 11th 

Buy 2 Garden Flags Get one FREE

All of our Garden flags are $12.99 

Choose from any of our flags and stands for this great deal.

Over a dozen styles to choose from.

Hurry in or best selection

The Secret Garden 1215 E. Pershing Rd.

Want to see next week's special?  HERE it is.

*Fine Print ~ Cannot be combined with any other offer, discount, or promotion.  Valid in store only.

August ~ A Month of Savings

We all know it's been a hot one this summer.  Power bills are rising, food costs going up, and don't even get us started on gas prices.  

The Secret Garden is going to help you make it through.  How?  By offering a month of savings!  Do you have any Birthdays, Anniversaries, or other celebrations you need a gift for?  We can help. 

What about Christmas ~ It's less than 150 days away.  It's time to start getting some gifts for under that tree.

Why not do it now, when you can save!!

The Secret Garden

1215 E. Pershing Rd.

Decatur Illinois

217-875-9038

Buy 2 Garden Flags Get 1 FREE All Flags & Stands Valid in store only Offer good 8-6-2011 - 8-11-2011 Can not be combined with any other discount or offer.	30% off All Silk Items Wreaths, Swags, & More Valid in store only Offer good 8-13-2011 - 8-18-2011 Can not be combined with any other discount or offer.  Excludes custom work.
Simple Sayings Buy One Get One 50% OFF Valid in store only Offer good 8-20-2011 - 8-25-2011 Can not be combined with any other discount or offer.	25% OFF Any Gift Item Valid in store only Offer good 8-27-2011 - 9-01-2011 Can not be combined with any other discount or offer.

We invite you to share these great offers with your friends and family.  Stop in and visit us to see our full selection of gifts & silks.

The Secret Garden ~ The gift shop with the flower shop attached!

Valid in store only.  Coupon need not be presented to receive discount.  Not valid with any other offer or discount.  

Want a printable version? HERE it is.

So come on in while the savings are good! We would love to see you.

Free Flower Day ~

Okay gang ~ if you have not heard we are pushing to 1000 fans on our Facebook page.  We know you "like" us, now it's time to tell your friends! 
When we reach 1000 fans we will host a FREE FLOWER DAY here at the shop. So how can you make this happen?  It's easy!

1. Make sure you are a fan ~ Visit our Facebook page and make sure it says "liked"
2. Follow THIS LINK to the page shown above ~ click the blue fShare button and a box will pop up.  Invite your friends to like our page.  Tell them about us and why you "like" us.  If you want mention our fun contests & games.  I bet if you mention a Free Flower day they will come on over to check it out!
3. While you are at that page be sure to enter to win our Arrangement of the Month for a Year.  Even if you are already on our mailing list you need to fill out this form.  We promise you will not get double mail.  This is the ONLY list we will choose a name from for this contest.
4. Be sure to remind your friends when we remind you.  That way we can get to the 1k goal faster.  The faster we hit our goal, the faster you will see your free flowers!
5. Watch our page for the Free Flower day announcement.  Where else would we break the news but Facebook :)

Thank you in advance for helping us reach our goal.  Thank you even more for being a fan in the first place.  We couldn't do it without all of you!

Symptoms of too much Pinterest

Some will tell you it's the best thing in the world.  Others will tell you that it's a total time sucker and a waste of energy.  We will tell you ~ Everything in moderation.

Pinterest is an amazing resource, but just like any social media site you need to limit exposure.  Symptoms of Pinterest overload include:

• Seeing wedding cakes when you close your eyes.
• Saying, "must pin that" over and over when walking through your home
• Starting every sentence with, "I saw the cutest thing on Pinterest".
• Spending hours in Hobby Lobby buying supplies for things you have seen on Pinterest.
• Planning a wedding for yourself, or others, that are already married.

These are just a few of the things to watch out for when using Pinterest.

Other then those, have fun and happy Pinning!

While over at Pinterest be sure to check out our boards ~

3rd Annual Clearance Sale Continues

Okay gang, it's that time again!  Time for one of The Secret Garden's BIG SALES.  Around here we run our clearance sale a little different then most shops.  We do not do big red lines and all that jazz.  Our staff selects regular price merchandise from around the shop and plops it on one of our tables.  As merchandise sells from the table we select more merchandise from around the shop to take it's place.

Here is what the tables looked like at the start of the sale ~ 

We have already added new product to the tables and it's now 40% off!

Here is the schedule for our sale ~ 

30% off - 2nd - 7th

40% off - 9th - 14th

50% off 16th - 21st

75% off 23rd - 28th 

Don't miss out.  Check back often for new merchandise.  And whatever you do, don't wait until the end ~ What you have your eye on may be long gone by then!

See you at our 3rd Annual Clearance Sale ~ 1215 E. Pershing Rd.

June is National Rose Month

It's true, June is National Rose Month!  Did you know that the Rose is even our national flower emblem.  Roses have been loved and cherished for centuries.  Here are a few fun facts about roses from Wikipedia.

"A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and northwest Africa. Species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and fragrance. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach 7 meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses."

All month long we will be sharing rose facts, pictures, and more on our Facebook page on on twitter.  We are also offering some amazing specials all month long!


Kicking everything off will be our $5 Friday on June 1st ~ 5 Roses wrapped and ready for just $5!  But we are not going to stop there....


For the entire month of June we are offering 1 Dozen Roses for just $15.99!  We will have so many colors to choose from and they are yours for the choosing.  Grab a dozen for that someone special, your friend that could use a smile, or just to treat yourself.  At just $15.99 you just can't miss the chance to enjoy these timeless flowers.  


Stop in and see us at 1215 E. Pershing Rd and take time to smell the roses today! 

Memorial Day Flowers

This Memorial Day, The Secret Garden is participating in the MemoriaI Day Flowers program. Across the United States, 120 retail florists will hand out roses to visitors at their local cemeteries. At Arlington National Cemetery 50,000 roses and 1,000 bouquets will be given out.

We will hand out 400 roses at Graceland Cemetery. Each visitor will receive two roses; one to place on the headstone and another to take home in memory.

We will be at Graceland on Saturday from 9am - 11am and will have roses for the first 50 visitors that day.

On Monday we will be at Graceland from 9am - 12pm and will have roses for the first 150 visitors that day.

We will be setting up close to the Boy Scouts.  When you pick up your flag from them be sure to pick up your roses from us.

We will also have roses at the shop (1215 E. Pershing Rd.) from 9am - 2pm on Monday for the first 25 people to come in to the shop.

We will notify everyone on Facebook when we are out of roses so be sure to check the page if you are coming late in the day.  We do not expect them to last long.

We would like to extend a Thank You to those that made this all possible.  The fine growers at Rosaprima for their generous donation of these beautiful roses.  Air Condition Roses in Pana for receiving them for us and getting them safely to our shop.  And Graceland Cemetery for allowing us to be part of their Memorial Day Celebration.

Now a little back story.  About 6 months ago I noticed a post on one of my favorite florists sites.  It was about Memorial Day Flowers and what they were wanting to do.  I quickly responded that our shop would love to take part.  I was excited to get the call that we had been excepted into the program.  To me this is just a small thing we can do to honor those who have given all for our country.  Not only that but I believe that flowers play a large part in the grieving process.  For all of the people honoring loved ones this weekend I hope that this will help ease their pain and make their day just a little easier.  That is what I really love about the program.  The fact that they not only get to place a flower on the grave of a loved one but that they also get to take one home to have just a little comfort on such a difficult day. 

DIY Weddings ~ One designers story.

We love our DIY brides, we truly do.  They come in with so much energy and so many great ideas.  It's fun to sit and talk to them about their plans, their needs, their wants, and their big day.  We love helping them save money by ordering in bulk, seeing their eyes light up when they come in to pick up their flowers.  But every time we help one, in the back of my mind I worry for them.  I worry that they will become overwhelmed, that it will not come together as easy as they thought, that they will miss out on enjoying their big day, and most of all that they will regret it. 


I had a wedding last week, Bridal bouquet, 3 bridesmaids, 4 corsages, 7 boutonnieres, and one piece for the head table.  Her bouquets were petite, nothing overwhelmingly large or frilly.  Very simple, elegant, and not difficult to put together.  But even though it was not an over the top wedding with a ton of centerpieces, tons of flowers, and lots of extras it was time consuming.  It took me about 7 hours to complete this wedding, and if Sheryl would not have created  the head table piece it would have come close to about 8 hours.  I am not a slow designer and the bouquets came together quickly.  I did wait on some other clients, answer a few business calls, post a few things on facebook, took time to eat lunch, handled a few walk in sales people, and took a few trips to the cooler.  That is nothing compared to the craziness that is all around a bride on her wedding day.


As a bride you have to attend to all of the little details.  The last minute changes, the family coming in from out of town, last minute calls to your other vendors to make sure everything is just right, and not to mention you still have to get gussied up and walk down the isle.  Now add to that the stress of creating your own wedding.


Flowers come in flawed, some colors will not be exactly what you picked, some stems may be broken, some may not want to open on time, and some may not come in at all.  Not to mention the gathering of supplies, processing all of the flowers when they come in, and all of the little bumps in the road that will come your way.  


I do not want to sound like I am discouraging anyone from creating their own big day.  I am not, if you have the talent or know someone who does go for it.  But just know that it's not always as easy as it looks.  


Here is one brides story, she is a floral designer with years of experience.  She made the choice to be a DIY bride, a choice she now regrets. 


Read her story here.

Up in the Air over Helium

Helium, how we love thee.  You fill our balloons for parties, birthdays, and special events that are close to our heart.  Balloons show someone's love for another, that they are another year older, or make someone who is under the weather feel so much better.  But one day you will be gone and balloons as we know them will never be the same.

Yes it is true.  Helium is a non-renewable resource and one day it will be gone.  We all know that helium is used for balloons, but did you know that their are many other uses for helium?  

Helium's single largest use is in cryogenics to cool super magnets used in MRI machines and nuclear reactors. It is also used for welding.  So what makes helium so great?  It is the second lightest gas, surpassed only by hydrogen.  It also has a super low boiling and melting point that makes it perfect for cooling those super magnets in MRI machines.

So where does helium come from?  Helium is a natural by-product of mining for natural gas.  Once upon a time the gas was captured when released and stored.  Around World War I and II, the US government saw that helium would come in very handy to the war efforts.  It stockpiled a very large amount of helium, the largest supply in the world.  Because of all the extra helium, we understand that the US is no longer capturing Helium like it used to.  In 1996 the government decided to sell most of the stock pile.  The problem is that they wanted to sell as much as possible, as quick as possible and did not adjust to the fair market price.  This means a lot of helium flooded the market at rock bottom prices.  Now that supply is running low and the market price is being adjusted at a super fast rate.  According to some of our florist friends around the country some have seen a 2x to 3x cost per tank of helium.  A tank that might normally have cost around $85 back in 1996 is now selling for as high as $325!  WOW, put that in your balloon and float it!  

Now before you panic, this shortage has not hit our town as of yet.  We have talked to our supplier on several occasions and he assures us that he has plenty to keep us supplied for the foreseeable future.  So Decatur will still have balloons and we can all still have great parties.  I have heard reports of shortages from all over the country, some florists are being told that there is none and that they should not hold their breaths for that to change anytime soon.  

There may come a time when collection resumes and everything goes back to some kind of normal.  Most speculate that helium still has another 100 year run, but not at the prices we have seen.  Medical and industrial use will take precedent over the balloon industry and only those that can afford it will have it.  I for one do not look forward to the day that balloons will cost $100 each, and that will be long after we can afford to buy the tanks to fill the balloons we love so much.  

Bold in Gold

This weekends wedding was one that we just adore.  It has some personal touches that make it a one of a kind and that is just what we strive for here at The Secret Garden. 

We'll start with the bridal bouquet ~ The bride brought us this fan and wanted us to create something that would accent it.  We choose white hydrangea, a single white rose, white spray roses and some blue delphinium to match the bridesmaids dresses.  She wanted a small cascade style and this fit the bill.  The springeri with blue delphinium was perfect for a petite cascade.   Everything is touched up with gold glitter, it may be hard to see in the picture but boy did it sparkle! 

Now the Bridesmaids ~ The gold foliage in the back was part of a silk rose we had for the holidays.  The bride fell in love with the texture and the color.  We paired that with cream hydrangea, cream roses, and cream spray roses.  We finished it off with touches of gold glitter spray to really make it pop!

For the Grooms & his Guys ~ The groom we took some gold sticks and curled them for an extra accent.  Gold Baby's Breath and Springerie to match the brides cascade.  For the groomsman and dads we used an ivory rose with gold baby's breath.  For the little ring bearer we took a cluster of delphinium and a touch of gold.  Perfect!

For the Moms ~ Gold ribbon with small spray roses.  Can't let the Mom's miss out on the gold bling that everyone else is enjoying.  Love this wired ribbon because it makes a statement.

For the altar of the church we selected a blending of the bridal bouquet.  You see the gold sticks here again to give it the pops of gold.  White hydrangea, white roses, white spray roses, and blue delphinium.  This piece will also double as the centerpiece on the head table at the reception.  We kept it low so that the guests can get a good look at the bride and groom.

Spotlight on Education

Here is a very proud co-owner of our little shop accepting his ICPF certificate at the ISFA spring conference.  Our very own Michael Barrett is now an Illinois Certified Professional Florist.  For those of you keeping score at home that gives The Secret Garden 3 ICPF florists and 1 Certified Balloonist!

We believe that being certified sets us apart from our competition.  It lets people know that we are experts in our field and that we can be trusted with their floral purchases.  

At The Secret Garden we also believe that attending classes and workshops is an important part of being a florist.  Just a few weeks ago we attended the ISFA florist convention in Springfield Illinois.  We took part in hands on classes, marketing workshops, and design shows.  Here are some shots of the guys and gals hard at work on a design during a workshop.

Carol working hard on her beautiful piece.  She is experimenting with new beading techniques.

 \

Believe it or not this was Amy's first time designing on her own.  She did an amazing job, even the instructors thought so!

 Michael practicing his new ICPF skills!

Smile Sheryl, yours look GREAT!  

All in all we had a great time with our teacher Jeff Corbin!  He got the blood flowing with his energetic attitude and lead us on a designing adventure.  

Now we get to put those new skills to use.  Look for a design similar to this one in April as our Arrangement of the Month!

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly baby photo books are the perfect way to preserve your baby's precious moments.

Illinois State Convention 2012

Each spring we travel to Springfield Illinois to attend the Illinois State Florist Association Convention.  This year we of course picked up some amazing inspiration!  Here is a slideshow showing some of the great things we saw!

And to end our weekend we saw an amazing show by Hitomi Gilliam you can see this album here.

We came home with loads of new ideas.  We enjoy meeting with other florists, sharing ideas, and being inspired!  

The Name Game

The Name Game

The Secret Garden introduces The Name Game!  This is a new twist on an old favorite that we have played here before.  Here is how we play:

• Every morning we will announce two names, one male & one female.  
• Anyone with that name has until 5pm to come into the shop and pick up their prize.  
• We will tell you that morning what the prize will be. 

The twist is this is for Facebook fans only.  We will no longer be putting the names on the sign out front.  Only people who "like" our page will be able to see the names we choose.  This is just another little perk you will get for following The Secret Garden on Facebook. 

We invite you to share our page with your friends and family.  If you see a name you recognize tell them to get over to The Secret Garden and pick up their gift!  We would love for you to share our page with them so they can join in on the fun too!

So let the games begin!