Don't Forget Dad ~ Father's Day is June 19th

So it's true, Dads love flowers too!  They also LOVE snacks, gifts, and plants.  So this Father's Day why not "pop" into see us.

Dad's Tool Box ~ This tool box is loaded full of snacks!  Chips, candy bars, and more fill this plastic tool box to the rim.  It is all wrapped up and tied with a bow.  The tool box can be used after all of the yummy snacks are gone.  This is a gift that will keep on giving for years to come.


Price $34.99

This dish garden is extra special with it's hidden surprises.  On one of the plants is a grass hopper, under one is a cute little frog, and it even has a fishing hole.  The fishing hole has a couple of little stick poles and rocks in the bottom.  A sign that reads "no fishing" is next to the fishing hole.  Five starter plants fill this ceramic dish.  Perfect for the office or home because of its size.


Price $42.99

This summertime arrangment features Gerbera Daisies, Fuji Mums, and Alstroemeria Lilies.  Touches of tree fern, sprengeri fern, and willow branches create a summer feel.  A little butterfly is attached to the willow for a fun wildflower look.  The vase colors are perfect for summer as well, we will choose from orange, green, pink, and purple.


Price: $45.99

See our other gift here at the shop.  Picture frames, money clips, key chains, mugs, and more.  We are ready for Father's Day ~ Are you???

Stop in and visit us this week ~ 1215 E. Pershing Rd
Give us a call ~ 875-9038
Or see what else we have to offer online.

The Rising Cost of Delivery

Just the other day we had a call from a very nice lady.  She wanted to send flowers to her daughter that lives here in town.  We told her that would not be a problem and we would be glad to help pick out the perfect gift.  She asked, "What do you charge for delivery?"  We stated our local delivery price of $8.99.  She then let me know that she had no problem paying good money for flowers but refused to pay that for delivery.  We hate to loose business, it's just not good to turn folks away.  In this case we had no choice, in order to keep our business running, delivery is something we must charge for.  So here is a little run down on why we charge what we charge.

We cover over 884 square miles of delivery area.  We deliver to Moweaqua, Dalton City, LaPlace, Blue Mound, Maroa, and even Illiopolis.  This is a very large delivery area.  We have a really nice formula that we plug in all of our information into and it spits us out a nice figure for delivery charges.  It takes into account:

Drivers Salary (no matter how hard we try, the van just refuses to drive itself).

Insurance

Price Per Gallon - Miles Per Gallon

Vehicle Costs ~ Oil changes, new tires, brakes, and so on.

Vehicles worth and resale value (remember they are not worth as much the second they roll off that lot).

So when you figure a trip to say Illiopolis, you not only have to figure the gas prices you also have to figure out the salary you are paying the person behind the wheel.  Being a small shop we may even have to wait to deliver other orders until the van returns.  Or in some cases we will send out a second vehicle for in town deliveries.  The cost increases when you are using more then one driver and vehicle.  

This all being said, and probably boring you to death.  We take a long hard look at how we charge for things.  It would be easy to offer "free" delivery, but this would effect the cost of our other products.  That "free" has to be made up somewhere.  We believe that the cost of the things you purchase from us should not be inflated to cover delivery costs and the likes. 

We love delivering!  It is the best part of our day to see the big smiles and hear the compliments when someone receives our flowers.  Delivery is a convenience.  You do not have to take time out of your busy day, use your gas, and take your lunch hour to run flowers to your loved one.  Let us do that for you, it is our job and we enjoy it so much.  

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

Why are Roses so Expensive at Valentine's Day?

This is a question we will answer over and over again this Valentine's Day:
"Why are roses so expensive??"
The simple answer we give to most is, "supply and demand, we pay more at Valentine's Day so the customer has to pay more."  In truth the answer goes far beyond that.  It starts at the grower way back in November and December and it rolls forward to Valentine's Day and even a few weeks beyond.  

True long stem roses, like we sell at The Secret Garden, take 6 to 8 weeks to grow.  This means that production of Valentine's roses starts in late November and early December down in Equador. 
Because of this they trim the November and December crops early, creating a shortage that starts in those months and prices start to rise.


Now florists start to plan how many roses they want to have on hand and start sending orders into their suppliers.  The suppliers tell their suppliers, and those suppliers tell the growers.  The growers look at the crop growing and set a price based on the demand for the product.  Because roses are perishable and cannot be kept on hand for long periods of time it makes the supply harder to maintain.  

You also have to factor in the growing conditions for the roses, the days are shorter and the temperatures are cooler.  This puts more energy into caring for the roses and making sure they are ready for the final cut before the big day arrives.





Now we get into the fun world of transportation.  The large supply of roses has to be moved into the parts of the world that demand the roses.  This requires more trucks, more drivers, and of course more gas.  Then when they arrive at the wholesalers it requires more people to process the flowers, sort the roses for delivery to the florists, and transport them to the locations.  As a florist we need to have more people on staff to handle the demand as well.  More people to answer the phone, design the arrangements, and of course deliver them to you.


You add all of this together and it's the perfect storm for increased prices.


But do not fret.  You can send your love beautiful flowers on Valentine's Day without breaking the bank.  Ask your florist for a mixed bouquet, add just a few roses to it if you like.  Maybe look for designs that feature spray roses, then you can have a larger amount of "roses" without the higher cost.  You may also want to go with her favorite color or flower and have your florist create a beautiful bouquet that is one of a kind.  


If you do decide to go with roses, get the most for your money by providing the proper care after the roses arrive.  This will insure that you are enjoying the roses for days to come after the holiday. 


We hope that this little article will help explain those higher prices you are bound to pay this Valentine's Day.  Remember to order your roses early, we recommend at least a week in advance.  This will guarantee fresh roses delivered to the one you love on that special day!