Come Pin With Us!

Currently we have over 1400 pins on almost 90 boards!  We use our Pintrest to inspire ourselves and others.  We have pictures of past weddings, boards for wedding inspiration, Pins for future brides, Homecoming/Prom ideas, and so much more!  If you are looking for some Pinspiration join us and make sure to follow our boards.  We would love to see what inspires you!

Find us HERE!

Sending Flowers to The Hospital

Looking to make someone feel better faster?  Flowers are the way to go.  Over the years many studies have been conducted and flowers have been found to aid in the healing process.  

Here are a few things to know when sending flowers to the hospital.

What to tell your florist ~ Full name of recipient, Name of Hospital, Room Number, and any known restrictions.  

• Full name - The full name of the person the flowers are being delivered too may sound like a given.  But the fact is, some people are sending to a friend or relative of a friend and may not know this information.  To make sure they find the right person it's best to have the full name of the recipient available to your florist.  
• Name of Hospital - Many town have more than one hospital, big cities can have dozens.  Be sure you know the name of the hospital and the division of that hospital if it has many branches.  Some hospitals may have a heart and lung center, a cancer center, or a children's hospital.  It's best to know which location the flowers are to be delivered too.  An address to that facility would also aid the florist in delivery.
• Room Number - Many hospitals will not give out room numbers because of privacy laws.  If the patient signs the privacy statement then the room number can not be disclosed, they are unable to even tell us if the person is a patient.  If you are able to get the room number for the patient it will help in the delivery process.
• Restrictions - Some patients that have allergies, or have undergone certain procedures are not able to have flowers in their room.  Normally the flowers can be held at the nurses station for the patient until they can have them.  On other occasions family members will take them home to enjoy them until the patient is released.  We have found that ICU patients normally are not allowed flowers.  The rooms are small and the doctors and nurses need room to move around the equipment.

Other things to consider ~ 

• Release Date- New mother's are released from the hospital soon after delivery.  It's best to order flowers for delivery as soon as the Mom is admitted.  This way the flowers can be delivered before the Mom and new baby are released to go home.
• Same Day Surgery - Some same day surgery patients may never get a room of their own.  Without a room number flowers can go undelivered.  If the recipient is having same day surgery it may be best to send flowers directly to their home.
• Delivery Times - Hospitals normally have specific times that flowers can be delivered.  Our local hospitals, here in Decatur, use a volunteer system to take flowers to the rooms.  If possible order flowers the day before you would like them delivered to be sure your florist does not miss cut off times.

To order flowers for delivery in Decatur Illinois see our website here.  We can help make someones day brighter! 

Our Favorite Fall Flowers

Sunflowers ~ One of our favorite flowers for late summer and early fall.  They come in so many varieties and sizes you never know what will come through our doors.  We love the died ones, deep reds and oranges.  We love the dark eyes (pictured here) and light eyes too.  One of our favorite sunflower arrangements can be found here.

Solidago ~ This makes for a great filler flower in fall arrangements.  It has small tight blooms and it looks amazing with fall colors.  We enjoy working with solidago and adding it to baskets and vases.  We also do a lot of wedding work with these blissful blooms.  Solidago is also available in tinted colors like red and orange.  What fun!

Mums ~ Fall wouldn't be Fall without Mums!  We enjoy all of the many colors available to us all season long.  Deep burgundy's, rich oranges, vivid yellows, and bold purples.  So many different options when creating in floral design.  From weddings to sympathy tributes fall mums play a big role.  We will have these beautiful blooms available all fall long, and you may even find them on our $5 Friday special!  

Circus Roses ~ These may be available all year long, but our favorite season to use them is FALL.  The rich yellow with burgundy edging is perfect in fall designs.  We like to mix them in vases, baskets, and of course wedding bouquets.  To see them in action in a wedding bouquet check out bride Michelle's bouquet on Pintrest. 


So now you know some of our favorite fall flowers, what are some of yours?  We would love to hear from you.  Just leave a comment in the section below.  Also be sure to see our website to see what all we are creating with these beautiful blooms!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Why Our Flowers Last So Long

We get asked all the time, "How do you make your flowers last so long?".  Our customers rave over our flowers and how long they last in their arrangements.  We have even had some say they have lasted over 2 weeks.  Now that is amazing for fresh cut some may say.  We say, not if you know how to care for them!


We are clean freaks when it comes to our coolers.  Every week we take everything out of our coolers.  Inspect each bloom for quality, and cut every stem.  We then place it in flower solution that fights bacteria and gives the flowers the sweet sugar they crave.

(This is our cutter ready for all of those flower stems.  Note ~ It's always best to cut under water when trimming flowers)

Now it's time for the cleaning of our cooler.  We take everything out and use hot bleach water to kill any bacteria that may be forming.  Bacteria spreads QUICK in a cool dark place and that is what our cooler becomes every night.  

So after every bloom is inspected & all of our flowers have the food they need we get ready to fill the cooler back up.  We take pride in the care we give to our flowers.  We hope you enjoy the extra time you get to spend with them!

A Look Back on 2011

Another year has passed us by.  We can't believe it is already 2012!  And we know this year is going to be another amazing one.  


We want to start by thanking all of you.  Our friends, fans, clients, and family.  Without your support we could not do what we love every day.  You have helped make 2011 a very successful year.  We had an increase in our sales over 2010 and have seen so many new clients because of the great things all of you are saying about us.  Here is just a little run down on some of the memorable times in 2011.


January ~ January is always our month of planning and preparation.  We clean, organize, inventory, and plan for the upcoming year.  


February ~ The month of love.  Hundreds of lucky guys and gals received flowers & gifts from The Secret Garden this past year.  Here are some of our designs that you all helped us name last year.


March ~ Spring arrives and so did our new monthly feature that you all have enjoyed so much.  We started an "arrangement of the month" and we have had our fans name each one!  It has been as much fun for us as it has for all of the people who have come up with some very creative names.  


April ~ April showers and some amazing spring product hits the shelves.  


May ~ Mother's Day!  One of our favorite months because the weather is warmer and we can start enjoying time outside.  


June, July, & August ~ The slower months of summer, but weddings heat up!  Here are some of the great weddings we created for brides last year. 


September ~ Autumn starts to take over and the colors of fall bloom all around us.  Fall colors are amazing to work with and we just love it!


October ~ We participated in the WSOY food drive this year and it was an amazing success.  With all of our friends & fans supporting the community it warmed our hearts! 


November ~ Thanksgiving flowers filled the shop.  We saw so many of our friends and clients stop in to help us celebrate Small Business Saturday.  It was our first year to combine our Open House with Small Business Saturday and it will be the start of a great tradition! 


December ~ Christmas at The Secret Garden!  Our Top 10 List was the focus of our Christmas time celebrations this year and it was so much fun.  


So that wraps up another fantastic year at The Secret Garden!  Here comes 2012 and here's to making it the best one yet!

Being Independent

As many of you already know we are no longer a member of Teleflora, or any other "wire" service.  We are 100% independent and we love it!


One of the things we used to love about being a member of Teleflora (and let me tell you things we loved were few and far between) was our website.  They would update it, create the banners, change the product, and we just had to sit back and wait for orders to come in.  That was all well and good but we had no creative control over it.  We may not like the designs, color choices, or containers they were featuring.  So we started adding our own product.  It didn't take us long to see that people were choosing our unique designs over the other designs offered.


So now we are free, free to do what we want, free to create our own designs, free to choose the flowers, containers, and more.  Let me tell you, we LOVE being free.


Here is what we have created for this Holiday.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it all.

Fall goes 40% off Today

All of our Fall Merchandise is now 40% off!  Take a look at our virtual tour then stop on in and pick up what you need.


1215 E. Pershing Rd.

Excludes fresh flowers & plants.  

Small Business Saturday

We are proud to be taking part in Small Business Saturday.  This is the 2nd annual Small Business Saturday sponsored by American Express.  You can see more about it here.  

As a small business owner we know that Black Friday belongs to the big box stores.  They have LONG hours and HUGE discounts on their door busters.  But this year we hope that you will join us for the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  

We will be offering you a chance to relax and enjoy the sounds and scents of the season.  You will find samples of gourmet coffee, treats from Wild Flour Bakery, and the scents of pine and fresh flowers.

• $5.00 off of every $25.00 you spend
• Free Gift with every purchase
• Door Prizes
• Exclusive Preview of our Top 10
• And So much More!

Small businesses are the backbone of the economy.  They donate to your schools, organizations, and give back to the community.  Take this opportunity to show your support for the small business all over Decatur. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

We will be closed on Friday the 25th to prepare for Small Business Saturday.

Flower of the Month Chrysanthemum

The flower of the month of November is the Chrysanthemum. There are hundreds of species of chrysanthemums, from the button mum to the daisy we love them all.  Here is a little history about this versatile flower.


Chrysanthemums can trace there history all the way back to 15th century (BC) in China.  It started as a flowering herb, but now it's so much more.  The Chrysanthemum even became the "official seal" of the emperor of Japan in the 8th century.  The original color was golden, now it has so many different shades, shapes, and variations.


Chrysanthemum blooms are divided into 13 different bloom forms by the US National Chrysanthemum Society, Inc., which is in keeping with the international classification system. The bloom forms are defined by the way in which the ray and disk florets are arranged.

Chrysanthemum blooms are composed of many individual flowers (florets), each one capable of producing a seed. The disk florets are in the center of the bloom head, and the ray florets are on the perimeter. The ray florets are considered imperfect flowers, as they only possess the female productive organs, while the disk florets are considered perfect flowers as they possess both male and female reproductive organs.

Irregular Incurve: These are the giants of the chrysanthemum world. Quite often disbudded to create a single giant bloom (ogiku), the disk florets are completely concealed, while the ray florets curve inwardly to conceal the disk and also hang down to create a 'skirt'.

Reflex: The disk florets are concealed and the ray florets reflex outwards to create a mop like appearance.

Regular Incurve: Similar to the irregular incurves, only usually smaller blooms, with nearly perfect globular form. Disk florets are completely concealed. They used to be called 'Chinese'.

Decorative: Similar to reflex blooms without the mop like appearance. Disk florets are completely concealed, ray florets usually don't radiate at more than a 90 degree angle to the stem.

Intermediate Incurve: These blooms are in-between the Irregular and Regular incurves in both size and form. They usually have broader florets and a more loosely composed bloom. Again, the disk florets are completely concealed.

Pompon: *Note the spelling, it is not pompom. The blooms are fully double, of small size, and almost completely globular in form.

Single/Semi-Double: These blooms have completely exposed disk florets, with between 1 and 7 rows of ray florets, usually radiating at not more than a 90 degree angle to the stem.

Anemone: The disk florets are prominently featured, quite often raised and overshadowing the ray florets.

Spoon: The disk florets are visible and the long tubular ray florets are spatulate.

Quill: The disk florets are completely concealed, and the ray florets are tube like.

Spider: The disk florets are completely concealed, and the ray florets are tube like with hooked or barbed ends, hanging loosely around the stem.

Brush & Thistle: The disk florets may be visible. The ray florets are often tube like, and project all around the flower head, or project parallel to the stem.

Exotic: These blooms defy classification as they possess the attributes of more than one of the other twelve bloom types.

Thank you Wikipedia for this information.

We use Chrysanthemums in our work just about every day.  They add color, texture, and they last for a long time.  We even have a "sunshine bouquet" that is made up of chrysanthemums and it sells for just $4.99. 

Here are a few things we have made using chrysanthemums, you can see the variation in not only the color but the textures as well.

October Flower of The Month Marigold

Marigolds have a special place in my heart.  When I was growing up my Grandma had a lovely path of marigolds all along her sidewalk.  Every fall when they would go to seed, we would pick them all and store them to plant in the spring.  This was one of my favorite things to do with my Grandma.  We would talk and laugh while we picked the seeds.  So this month I was excited to see that the Marigold was the flower of the month.

Marigolds have four species:

African (Tagets erecta)

Triploids Hybrid (Tagetes erecta with Tagetes Patula)

Single (Tagetes Tenuifolia)

French (Tagetes Patula)

Marigolds come in so many colors they are sure to brighten any flower bed.  You can find them in yellows, oranges, red, maroon, and cream.  They make a great edger, like my Grandma used to do, or you can plant entire beds of them.  They grow great in pots too so you can plant them and give them as a fall gift.  

As the buds start to fade, pinch them off and save the seeds for the next year.  They like moist, well drained, soil.  They grow best in a sunny area so avoid planting them under trees or in shaded areas.

Re-Grand Opening

The painting is done, the new signs are being hung, and we are getting ready to share our new look with you.  We are planning a Re-Grand Opening Open House for July 28th - July 30th.  Here are some of the things you will see at our open house:


Tasty Treats ~ Lemonade will be served every day, along with some tasty treats!
Savings ~ You can pop one of our balloons and save 10% to 25% off of your purchase!
Hands on Classes ~ We will have free hands on classes during the open house. 
Give Away ~ We will have a drawing to enter to win a fab prize!  
Sensce ~ On Saturday Shawna Brunner will have a Sesce display.  You can come in and see the summer burners and sample the summer scents.


Those are just a few things we have planned for you!  Mark your calendars now, you don't want to miss out on the fun.  Check out our Facebook page to keep up on all of the fun!

Our Little Future Florist

It's summer and school is out.  Every now and then our kids stop into the flower shop and say hello.  A few weeks ago our youngest, Warren, stopped by to say hello.  The first thing he wanted to do was make something.  Wow!  He picked his container and I showed him some flowers in the cooler he could use.  I cut the foam and put it in the cube and he did the rest.  I must say he has a pretty good eye for design for a 6 year old.  His colors are nice and blend well, he has the ones in the back raised so they can be seen.  He even added in some filler (the baby's breath in the back).  He looks so proud.  Maybe one day he will be running the show and carrying on our dream.

Flower of the Month for June ~ The Rose

The flower for the month of June is the Rose!  If this is your birth month you are one lucky soul.  We love roses here at The Secret Garden.  With so many colors to choose from and so many sizes how can you not love them?!  We have wrote several articles all about roses, here are a few.

How to keep and care for your roses

Arranging half a dozen roses in a vase

So many of our arrangements have roses in them, it is the number one requested flower we sell.  We sell them one by one or even 50 at a time.  One of the most memorable arrangements we made was for a 50th anniversary, and it featured 50 long stem red roses.  Want to see a picture? Sure you do, check it out here.  

Roses also win the hearts of brides.  So many of our bouquets have roses in them.  Some may say it's because of the meaning of roses, or the great colors they come in.  We like to believe that it is because of their beauty.  

Meet one of our favorite roses: The Rainbow Rose.  In the Decatur area we are THE place to find these beautiful blooms.  Stop in and marvel at it's beauty.

May News You Can Use

Another month is past and this year seems to be moving in warp speed. I just can't believe it's time for Mother's Day already! It seems like we were just planning for Valentine's Day.

I hope that you are enjoying the warmer temperatures and sunny skies. After the rains in April we deserve a bit of sunshine.

~Lori Barrett & The Secret Garden Staff

May Flower of The Month ~ The Lily

With so many beautiful Lilies to choose from it would be easy to celebrate this flower all month long! Beautiful Asiatic lilies, Oriental lilies, and Alstroemeria lilies. We wrote an entire blog article about the different types of lilies, and even included growing tips. So this May be sure to take time and stop and smell the lilies. You will enjoy the scents and sights along the way. Oh and we're sure Mom would love to see Lilies in her Mother's Day flowers.

Sunshine Bouquets are Back~

Yes it's that time again. Back by popular demand are our beautiful sunshine bouquets. All spring and summer long you can stop in and pick up a bouquet of sunshine. You will receive 5 stems of brightly colored daisies, and/or daisy poms. These are all market fresh and will last and last.
Your price just $7.99. They make a great gift for anyone who needs a bit of sunshine!

Memorial Day Tributes

Memorial Day is just around the corner. It is a day to honor our loved ones who have passed on. Bringing flowers to the grave to pay tribute to them is one way to do this. At The Secret Garden we offer a variety of memorials and tributes. We have created an album that showcases some of these items.


We can also custom design a tribute for you. Just let our designers know what you prefer and they can custom design something just for you.

Recital Season Begins

We love to see all of the tiny dancers perform. They work so hard to make the day of the big performance perfect. So it comes as no surprise that flowers are tops on the gift giving list. 

We can create a beautiful bouquet for your little performer. You can come in and see what we have to offer. We invite you to create your own bouquet to present to her that day. Pick their favorite color, flower, or both. We will do the rest. Also be sure to ask us about our Tiny Dancer, shown on the right hand side.  You can read an article all about it here.

We hope you have enjoyed this months lesson.  Please stop in and visit us soon.  1215 E. Pershing Rd. or check us out online at secretgardendecatur.com

It's A Circus

 Hello everyone!  We just wanted to take a moment and tell you about what's going on around here.  We have been hard at work recently with promotions, blogging, facebooking, and of course filling orders.
 Here is a brief rundown on the new blog layout.  The tabs at the top of the blog will now direct you to useful links.
Buy Flowers: Takes you to our website so you can order flowers, plants, and other great gifts for friends and family.
Our eBay Store: Takes you to our online gift store.  Where you can see a sampling of our gift items, purchase them, and ship them across the globe.  You can also purchase these items for pick up at our shop.
Facebook Friends: This will take you to our facebook page.  You can see lots of great information and share your stories with us.  "Like" our page and you will receive special facebook discounts, advanced notices of sales, and so much more!
Our Creations: This is a blog exclusive for our creations, our designers, and our inspiration.  We will post some of most popular designs, best loved, and of course our favorites.
Promotions: Takes you to our blog on upcoming events and sales.  Not only in our store but around the community.  If you have an event coming up be sure to let us know so we can add it to the list at the bottom of the page.
Care & Handling: Great tips on caring for fresh flowers as well as plants.  See all of our great resource links on the side.  We will post questions and answers as well some tips.  Check here when you have a question on flower care.
Family: A little about the Barrett family.  We will share our stories and a little about our life with you!


That is just a quick overview of our new blog.  If you like what we have done here please hit the follow link so you are always kept up to date.