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Frequently Asked Questions - Flowers by the Bucketful
• How do I get started placing an order? Start by listing all your designs and plan an average number of stems you need. Plan the number of buckets and colors as well as greenery. Fill out the online form or call Susan. Make sure to plan a pick up time and mail the 1/2 deposit check, to get your order placed. - if you are not getting designs : order here • How many stems? and what is in a bucket? We start with at least 7 bunches, which means ~70 stems. We make every effort to offer a pleasing mix of bright 'garden flowers'. The bucket will include filler, focal and line flowers for arranging. All our best flowers go to our wedding clients. We have flower availability charts, listing flowers by color, and the weeks they are generally available. See our website- www.shady-grove-gardens.com/availability-charts-by-color.html www.shady-grove-gardens.com/our-seasonal-flowers.html And while you don’t get to choose exact flowers, you can see all the flowers we are working from. • Why should I order your locally grown buckets of flowers instead of from a big company? We are professional flower farmers. Not only do we offer a unique mix of lovely garden and wildflowers. We promise they will be perfectly fresh, and well hydrated. You don't need to learn flowers to order from us. You can order a mix or by specific color. We work very hard to make you happy and your day perfect. Our flowers offer you the unique style and feel of the mountains. You will not get this anywhere else. • How many Quart mason jars will one bucket make? It depends on the fullness of your arrangement. But we usually say 5-7 mason jars with a regular mouth jar opening. For bud vases, it's best to practice with a few flowers. Don't forget to plan your greenery if you are using some. • I really want a professional to design my Bridal Bouquet, do I need another florist? No, Susan can design beautiful bouquets for you call for a consult. (we like to keep the over-all minimum @$250 including any buckets you order) Use this link to start your order: •Is there a minimum number of buckets I need to order? No, just one full bucket of any type. Please order by full buckets. You can say, 1/2 blue and 1/2 white, for example. How long will they last? Down in water, in a cool spot, these flowers will last 4-10 days, depending on the variety. We find wilting occurs when they are put in the sun or out of water. Most of these 'garden wildflowers' do not like to be in floral foam. Plan to arrange in vases of water or shortly before the wedding. • When can I pick up the buckets of flowers? Anytime you need them. Most brides pick up on Thursday or Friday. All pickups are 9AM- 6PM. (we provide some pickups on Saturday, these are most often for Sunday weddings) How far are you from Boone? We are 10 miles from downtown Boone, straight out Hwy. 421 north. Please see the map and address on our website. • How many vases will they make? Impossible to say, all vases are different and many brides use numerous sizes. My suggestion is to practice a bit. This will also give you a feel for how much time to allow for arranging. • What do I need to arrange the flowers? Helpers, plenty of space, funnel, pitcher, strong garden clippers!! Someone to strip the leaves, gloves, time, something to transport the vases in, such as a boxes with packing materials. Remember, we have curvy roads. Plenty of room in that car. • How do I care for the arranged flowers? All flowers use the most water the first 24 hours. Arranged or not, check your water levels, spread out the flowers and fill the vases up. Store them in a cool spot whenever possible. Like all flowers, wind and sun will make them wilt. Do not let the photographer lay them out in the sun. Do not expect the flowers to look perfect after an hour of early photos. Maybe plan on a 2nd Bridal Bouquet if you are doing lots of photos beforehand during summer weather. • Where is the best place to keep them, I don't have a cooler? An air-conditioned room, without the air directly on the flowers. Out of the sun and heat. Not in a hot car, an open pickup, or a beer cooler. NO Food/drink coolers- it's too easy to damage your flowers there.! Who should I send to pick the flowers up? Anyone with plenty of room in their car. This is when SUV's come in handy. I often meet Moms and Dads. Make sure to check the water level when you get to where you are going. The pickup person is usually in charge of final payments as well as the cash bucket deposit. Again, it’s so much easier on the flowers if there are not 6 relatives sharing the vehicle • Is there greenery in the buckets? No, not unless you request it. We use mostly non-traditional evergreen type greenery. You can order a $80 bucket of just greenery. We sell some items by the bunch too. Make sure to tell us if you want dark leaf, lime or silver leaf foliage. You will need strong garden clippers. • I need specific colors, how does that work? You may order any color or colors you need as long as we grow it. These buckets are $95 each. This allows us the time to choose, maybe even plant, just the right flowers and colors for your wedding. We welcome color swatches or photos of the colors you want. • Why are the May & October -mixed buckets more? Many of these seasonal flowers are grown in our greenhouse requiring months of extra care. This is labor intensive. These buckets often include speciality spring bulbs such as tulips, anemones and ranunculus. The higher price also allows us to order flowers if the weather does not co-operate or we are short on your colors. • What if I need more flowers? We often have other flowers cut on Friday. You can shop from any that aren't promised, straight out of our cooler. We sell these by the bunch. Bring extra, clean buckets. (our main flower farm in not here at the cooler, so we are unable to cut for you last minute) • I feel like I need a consult. If you don't see the answers here or elsewhere on our website call me @ 828-297-4098. Otherwise, a standard sit-down consult will be $50/hour if we are not already designing flower arrangements for you. • How does it work with the bucket deposit? We charge a refundable $5 cash deposit for each of our buckets. They should be returned within a week or two; clean and not broken of course. We return to you all of the deposit. Please understand we can not put this on a credit card without charging a usage fee. Another $10. Otherwise, we are losing money on this service. Plan on this separate cash expense/deposit. • Can I just bring my own buckets? Yes, of course. Bring 2-3 gallon CLEAN buckets. Wastepaper baskets work too. The dollar store usually has some cheap ones. I repeat, clean buckets that hold water. Your flowers will last so much longer.... so no ash buckets, tar buckets, concrete buckets , mud or horse buckets. Plan to bring a few extra buckets. We will spread them out for you. I think I want some roses or a few more traditional flowers, maybe eucalyptus garland? We will be happy to order what ever you need. There are some basic minimums. Orders are by the bunch. 5-10-25 stems. • How do I order those ? We are now using an online form, you are also welcome to call and place an order. Send by mail a retainer check for 1/2 the expected amount, make sure the Bride’s name and date are on your check. How soon do I need to order? To insure you get on our calendar for your color needs, ASAP . You’re are not on the calendar until we received your deposit. • What is the deposit to order flowers? For buckets or designs it is 1/2 of the expected total. For buckets only, the remaining may be paid on the day of pickup. Cash, credit card - no out of state checks, the day of please. • Do you take credit cards? We do. We prefer checks for the deposit and credit cards for the balance. Cash is welcome too. This saves everyone a little money. • Can I wait to order a few weeks from the wedding? Not a good idea, sometimes we have a very big wedding order to fill. We hate to say no. (since we are growers the earlier the better, we may plant just for your wedding) • Do you have anything very simple, maybe a Package I can order? Yes, we now have a package of bouquets and personal flowers that includes one mixed flower bucket and one greenery bucket. You can also add to the basic package. www.shady-grove-gardens.com/wedding_package.html • Wow, I didn't realize there was so much to it. Can I really make this work? Yes, just plan plenty of time and space, get that manicure afterward. Grab someone with an artist flare and don't forget to cut down/up the taller flowers to fit into your vases or jars. • Other things to consider? Plan your pickup time to allow several hours to put together your flower arrangements. Storage, transport to the venue, transport after the wedding, setting up in wind or sun? No hot cars, or too cold coolers. Order a few extra stems for back ups. Practice ahead of time. • If this seems like too much, we can arrange flowers for you. Keep the flowers cool, and down in the water especially after transport. Check the water level upon arrival and again after 24 hours. Fill your vases up so they don’t run out of water after you arrange them. Funnels, towels pitchers, and clippers are very handy! www.shady-grove-gardens.com/how-to-order.html this page also has a map to Shady Grove Gardens Thanks for you interest. Susan and Brent |
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