Sunshine Bouquets to Brighten Your Day

Welcome back Sunshine ~ Welcome back Spring! 


Flowers have magical effects, okay not really magical but they sure do have positive influence on moods.  Yes it is true, read all about it here.  We can help you bring flowers into your home and not spend a lot to do it.


Sunshine Bouquets for only $7.99.  What is a Sunshine Bouquet you ask?  Well it is 5 stems of beautiful market fresh daisies wrapped in paper and ready to go home with you.


Visiting a friend, have a loved one in the hospital, or just need something to brighten someones day?  The Sunshine Bouquet does it all.


No coupon needed, just come in and ask for a sunshine bouquet today.
1215 E. Pershing Rd
Decatur IL, 62526

Recital Season Begins~

Recitals, oh the joy on all of those little faces.  They work so hard to learn all of the steps, get the timing just right, and make their parents proud.  All year long they practice their twirls.  Then the big night comes and the lights go up, and it's their turn to shine.  What do little girls love almost as much as dancing?  Well flowers of course!  


That is why The Secret Garden specializes in making those little dancing queens smile.  We stock up on multiple colors of pastel roses and flowers to fill a little bouquet just for them.  We showcase our wares every year at The Lincoln Theater when The Dance Centre has their recital.  Here are some shots from our booth last year.  


Our basic presentation bouquets can be custom made just for your little one.  You can choose the colors, the flowers, and let us do the rest.  This year we have added a new gift.  We call her "Tiny Dancer".  She is just $10.00 with a water pick on the bottom or $15.00 in a small glass vase.  You can call and order one and we will get her all made up for the big night.  


We also have stuffed animals, balloons, and much more.  Stop in and see our full selection at: 
1215 E. Pershing Rd. in Decatur.
Or give us a call at: 875-9038 so we can make something just for you.

When April Showers Don't Bring May Flowers

We all know the old saying, April Showers Bring May Flowers. Well what happens when the April showers just won't quit?  The rains in Columbia have been coming down for sometime now, combine that with cooler then normal temperatures and you have the perfect storm.  

About a month ago we started to notice the quality of our Asiatic Lilies was poor.  They were coming in from the suppliers with water spots and brown edges.  We refused some of the shipments and even stopped ordering white Asiatics for a while.  Then we started asking questions.  "What is going on with the lilies?"  We found out then that Columbia was in for a long hard spring.

We order our Mother's Day flowers at the end of March.  So when we placed the order we were not really aware of the issue at hand.  We have been assured that everything that was pre-booked will be in on time and in very good condition.  We have begun receiving a few of our items and so far they are great.  We have ordered in a few things extra just in case some of the other items do not turn out as well as we are hoping for.  We will be on the lookout for any signs of damage long before the flowers make it into any of our arrangements.

What this means to you ~ Please do not delay this year, get your Mother's Day flowers ordered from your florist.  We have been told that getting additional flowers may be difficult.  We want to be sure that your Mom receives the flowers she loves.  If you call the store direct we can talk you through the available flowers and help you custom design the perfect arrangement for your mom.

FTD Living Social Deal: Let Me Save You A Buck

While more than 100K buyers have  snagged FTD.com’s offer on LivingSocial.com for a “get $35 in flowers for $15” coupon, they could have saved a real buck by simply bypassing the deal and ordering straight from the local flower shop who’ll actually make and deliver their Mother’s Day flowers.

The Offer’s Fine Print:  The FTD service fee for flowers for Mother’s Day Weekend is $20.99

Note: This is not a DELIVERY fee. The ‘delivery fee’ (approximatley $7) is bundled into the price of the florist-delivered flowers shown on the site. The $20.99 fee is just for forwarding the order to a local florist.

So your $20 ‘savings’ goes to a $20.99 fee that’s totally avoidable.

Mother’s Day Flower buyers can save that buck ($.99 actually) by simply shopping online, over the phone or in person direct with a local florist where Mom lives. Use Google Places, Yelp or your favorite review site to find a good local flower shop if you don’t know one.

Then you’ll know who’s actually handling their flowers, likely hear if your selection requires substitution, and know who is ultimately accountable to get Mom’s flowers right. No middleman. No delayed communication about where your flowers are.  No totally-avoidable service fee.

So save yourself some real money and order direct from a real local flower shop.

At The Secret Garden you will never be charged a "service fee".  It is our job to service our clients and we do not charge for that.  The only fee you will ever have to pay is our delivery fee.  This covers the cost of our vehicle, driver, and the ever growing cost of gas in the tank.  For local deliveries (in Decatur IL) your fee is just $8.99.

Your Mom will be so proud you REALLY saved and sent her beautiful, fresh flowers for Mother’s Day.

I would like to Thank Flowerchat.com for suppling local florists with this blog post.  Just another way shopping local can save you money!

Teacher Appreciation Week Begins!

Teachers Appreciation Week is May 2nd through May 6th. Teacher Appreciation Day is May 3rd.  This year we make celebrating that special teacher in your life easy.

Let's start with a little history lesson:

According to NEA this is how it all began.

History of National Teacher Day

The origins of National Teacher Day are murky. Around 1944 Arkansas teacher Mattye Whyte Woodridge began corresponding with political and education leaders about the need for a national day to honor teachers. Woodridge wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, who in 1953 persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day.

NEA, along with its Kansas and Indiana state affiliates and the Dodge City (Kan.) Local, lobbied Congress to create a national day to celebrate teachers. Congress declared March 7, 1980 as National Teacher Day for that year only.

NEA and its affiliates continued to observe National Teacher Day in March until 1985, when the NEA Representative Assembly voted to change the event to Tuesday of the first full week of May.

Here are a few of the things we are offering to show your appreciation this week.

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Our famous peal and eat cake is a huge hit with teachers.  We will change out the balloon to say "Thanks!".  It features mini candy bars that can be pealed off and shared with all of the other teachers.  


Price ~ $34.99


You can order this here.

Our "Thanks to You" Mug makes a great gift.  Filled with fresh flowers it is so bright and festive.  Inside are a few pencils and they can use the mug for years to come.  Fits great on a desk too!


Price ~ $42.99


You can order this here.

Balloons!  Our balloon bouquets come attached to a bag of sweet treats.  We have "Thank You" balloons, "Your Appreciated", and more to choose from.  Make your teacher smile this week with a fun balloon bouquet!


Price Starts at ~ $25.50


You can choose a balloon bouquet here.






We all know how hard teachers work all year long.  They play and important part in our lives.  Here is a little poem that says it all.

One Hundred Years From Now

Author: (excerpt from "Within My Power" by Forest Witcraft)

One hundred years from now
It won't matter
What kind of car I drove
What kind of house I lived in
How much money I had in the bank
Nor what my cloths looked like
BUT
The world may be a little better
Because, I was important
In the life of a child.

So take a moment and order a special something for a teacher that has touched your life.  See our selection here. 

Flower of the Month May ~ Lily

Lily is the flower of the month for May.  With so many lilies to choose from you could easily celebrate all month long.  Here are a few of our favorites.

Asiatic Lily ~ Asiatic lilies come in a variety of shades.  White, yellow, pink, orange, and even ones with multiple colors.
We use Asiatic lilies in arrangements every day and we even carry them in our blooming plant section in the spring. Mexican lilies are very similar in look and appearance to the Asiatic and we enjoy them as well.


Fragrance: Depends on the variety, we have had lovely fragrant lilies and some with a very mild to no scent.


If you are looking for plant care tips for Asiatic Lilies you can read all about it on eHow.


Oriental Lily ~ Oriental lilies have a very large bloom, we also refer to these as hybrid lilies.  The Stargazer is probably our favorite of the Orientals.  These are also a favorite of our brides.  The most popular colors are the white and the stargazer shown on the right.  


Fragrance ~ strong, very strong at times.  When we deliver Oriental lilies the van fills with the scent.  You can always tell in our cooler when one is being stored.  We love the scent, but you may want to avoid giving these as a gift to people who have flower allergies. 


Growing these can be more of a challenge then the traditional Asiatic. You can read all about that in this article. 

Alstoemeria ~ Also known as "Peruvian Lily" or "Lily of the Incas".  Often we call these "baby lilies".  When describing them over the phone we will say, "they are like little baby lilies", and they are .  They have beautiful centers that are typically darker then the rest of the bloom.  These we typically use as a filler flower in our arrangements but they can also make a beautiful vase. 


Fragrance: Little to none, so perfect for people who do not care for strong scents. 


Growing instructions can be found at eHow.



You may be thinking ~ "You forgot one" ~ "Where is the Calla Lily?".  Well in all truth Calla Lilies are not really lilies at all.  They are herbaceous flowering plants realated to the caladiums and jack-in-the-pulpits.  Even though we do enjoy them and our brides LOVE them!

What's in Store for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is just around the corner.  The Secret Garden has everything you need to show your appreciation for Mom.  

We work very hard coming up with an exclusive line of floral arrangements for Mother's Day.  These arrangements were named by our Facebook friends, and are true local favorites.  A limited amount of these fresh florals are available so we suggest you place your order early.  You can find our complete selection on our website.  We will also have a variety of vases to choose from if you would like to select the perfect flowers for your Mom.  Not sure what to choose, we would be glad to help!   Does your mom enjoy a touch of high style?  We will have some very nice designer pieces to choose from as well.  Stop in and see our full selection.  

Also for your choosing will be a variety of plants.  We hand select all of our blooming and green plants to insure the quality.  We will have beautiful violets, blooming gardens, as well as dish gardens.  If you don't see something you like simply choose from one of our baskets or ceramic containers and we can custom design something just for your mom.  If she has any questions on the care of her plant we have a blog dedicated to plant care.  We also offer services such as re-potting when the time comes.  Our floral designers are also plant experts and can answer most questions over the phone or in person.  

Custom gift baskets are one of our favorite things.  You will find gift baskets from food to spa available.  Our bath baskets contain fragrant soaps, lotions, and more.  We now offer an herbal line of soaps made right here in Decatur Illinois.  Wiseley Used Herbs is selling her wares right here at The Secret Garden.  We have a few gift baskets made up and ready to go, you can see them here. She will also have her full line available mid May.  If Mom loves chocolate, fruit, or a bit of the gourmet we have you covered.  Simply call us and tell us what she loves and we will design a basket just for her using the freshest product available from our local suppliers.  We love creating these one of a kind treats almost as much as Mom's love getting them.

We also offer a full gift line, from figurines to music boxes you are sure to find something to make Mom smile.  Did you know we ship world wide?  So if mom is far away we can ship your gift for you.  You can select a gift, silk piece, or one of our spa baskets and we can ship them for you.  So across town or across the country we have your Mom covered this Mother's Day.
To wrap it all up we are now offering Leanin' Tree cards.  These cards are made from recycled paper and use soy based inks.  We have a nice selection to choose from too.

Let us be your one stop shop this Mother's Day.  With gas prices on the rise, don't waist money driving all over town.  Stop in today at 1215 E. Pershing Rd. and let us help you choose the perfect gift for your Mom.


Remember not to fall for those ads on TV and radio that make promises that sound too good to be true. We guarantee that your order will be handled with care, with the freshest flowers available, and prompt friendly service.  


We will offer delivery for Mother's Day through Saturday May 7th.  For the last minute shopper we will be open from 10am to 2pm on Sunday May 8th.  We will not offer delivery on Sunday May 8th though so be sure to get your delivery orders placed by Saturday at noon.