The Winnipeg Florist Blog

Free Flowers for Our 300th Winnipeg Twitter Follower!

2010-02-11T02:50:00Z

Just a quick update to our endeavors into social media. As we approached 300 followers on Twitter last week, we threw out a quick Tweet letting everyone on Twitter know that we were giving away a free gift to our 300th follower!

The lucky winner was @Brenelz of the Winnipeg Web Design Company Brenelz Web Solutions. In a slight wrinkle, due to the contest only being open to Winnipeg residents, @Brenelz graciously offered his prize to the next lucky follower.

The 301st follower was @ChrisDca of the highly rated Winnipeg News Blog ChrisD.ca.

While we didn't tell anyone what the prize was at the time, but the next day we sent out a fantastic premium hand tied bouquet for the winner. This is a quick on the fly shot of the arrangement.

From our Twitter Feed:

From Us:
Here's a quick snapshot of what we sent to our 300th Twitter follower last week! http://tweetphoto.com/10801460 @Chrisdca we hope you likey!

From @ChrisDca:
@WinnipegFlorist Thanks. The person I sent the flowers to absolutely loved them!

We're glad they loved them Chris! Thanks to all of our Twitter and Blog followers! We hope to year from you soon!

Oh, and by the way, in case you forgot... We want to be your go to Winnipeg Florists for Valentine's Day this year!

Be a Superhero This Valentines!

2010-01-09T23:12:00Z

You may not think there is anything interesting about delivering flowers on Valentine's Day, but there are some VERY INTERESTING things about the reactions we see when delivering flowers on this particular holiday.

Valentine's Week is a great time to bring her out of the doldrums and you have the opportunity to make her the envy of the office!

How often do we get the opportunity to surprise our loved one's at work?

I have been delivering flowers on Valentine's Day for over 10 years and I have to tell you, the most fantastic reaction we get is when we deliver flowers to a woman's place of work. Have you ever heard of the term "Groundhogging"?

Groundhogging is the phenomenon that happens in an office environment when something out of the ordinary happens during the day. It is identified by heads popping over the top of cubicles, or out of the doors of offices. Flowers being delivered is often one of those occasions!

As florists, we always hope that the reaction of the recipient of our products is a positive one. I have always enjoyed seeing the smiles and wonderful excited reactions of the recipient when we deliver flowers to the office environment.

Added to the positive reaction is the envy factor in the work environment. While not one of our best emotions as human beings, it is still something we can use as men to work our way into the hearts of our loved ones.

This post is about being a Superhero, and Dragonfly Flowers can help you out in that regard!

So we are looking for a positive reaction. With Valentine's Day on a Sunday this year, it makes it difficult to get the absolute most out of your flower delivery. This is why we are suggesting and promoting Valentine's Day flower deliveries on Thursday and Friday before the long weekend.

Order Early to Have a Chance to Win a $100 Gift Certificate from Adam and Eve Spa!

To sweeten the pot, we are offering entry into a draw for a $100 gift certificate to the Adam and Eve Spa at 1305 Leila Avenue for all orders placed prior to February 10th. Your spa gift certificate with be delivered with your flower order free of charge, and will add an extra WOW factor to your Valentine's Day order!

While it's up to you to make the commitment, Dragonfly Flowers is here to help you BE A SUPER HERO this Valentine's Day. We will be open extended hours on February 13th and 14th for last minute orders, but we encourage you to take advantage of the WOW at the OFFICE and place your orders to be delivered early in the week and get a chance to win the Adam and Eve spa package!

Valentines Discount Code: SUPERHERO will run from now until January 31st and will save you 15% off our best Valentine's Day prices in-store or online. Order now to take advantage of this offer and opportunity to win from your City Wide Winnipeg Florists, Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips.

Changes Coming to Dragonfly Flowers in 2010

2010-01-05T12:50:00Z

Welcome to The Winnipeg Florist Blog for 2010!

First, we'd like to thank all of our local and out of town flower customers for making Dragonfly Flowers your preferred Winnipeg Florists. 2009 was a great year for us, and we were so happy to be able to provide the gift of flowers to so many people for all of your special occasions throughout the year.

We had some changes in the store during the year, including a much needed store-front makeover in the spring. It's great that we have been able to provide more appealing environment for our walk in customers to enjoy.

We are going to try to blog a little more consistently in 2010. Here are a few of the upcoming blog topics:

- New Flower Designer Profile: Deborah
- Watch for our New Flower Delivery Vehicle Around Winnipeg
- The New Dragonfly Points Program: Earn Points Towards Free Flowers with Every Purchase
- Valentine's Day in Winnipeg: Surprise Her Early with Flowers Sent to the Office

We look forward to seeing you in 2010!

New Deisgner's Choce Options at DragonflyFlowers.net

2009-11-04T15:21:00Z

We have just added an exciting new option to our online ordering site at www.dragonflyflowers.net! By finding Dragonfly Flowers online, you have already made a great choice in selecting a Winnipeg Florist, but what if you can't decide on what you want to send?

The new Designers Choice option on our site has been re-vamped to include some great features for ordering your flowers. This popular option is one of the best ways to order flowers online or over the phone for a variety of reasons. The arrangements are designed with your recipient in mind and only the best seasonal flowers are chosen for your customized order. Here are a few screen shots of what you'll see on thenew page on the website.

Select Designers Choice

One of the things that was missing from our original designers choiceoption was the ability to provide us with some important recipientinformation during the ordering process. When our designers talk toyou on the phone, they will typically ask a series of questionsregarding the occasion, who the order is for, and what type of stylethey would like.

Select the Occasion

Above is the starting point for creating your custom Designers Choiceorder. You can select from several options, starting with someinformation about the occasion, including Anniversary, Birthday,Graduation, Business Gift, Congratulations, Get Well, I'm Sorry, JustBecause, Romance, Baby, Sympathy, and Thank You,. Of course if thatdoesn't meet your criteria, you can select other and tell us about theoccasion in the Special Instructions area.

Select the Recipient

After selecting the appropriate occasion, you can then move on to therecipient information, where you can input who it's for. This fieldincludes, Female, Male, Child, Family or Couple.

Add Special Instructions

You can then move on to any special instructions you may have for us. This area could include further occasion and recipient information, oranything you might like to add to create the perfect flowerarrangement. You can also specify that we include certain types offlowers, greens, or the type of vase you would prefer.

We hope that our online customers will find this new tool useful for sending flowers in Winnipeg!

Save on Thanksgiving Flowers from Dragonfly Flowers

2009-09-30T15:43:00Z

Just sending out a quick note to all our blog subscribers and Winnipeg flower buyers.

Dragonfly is offering a 10% discount on all online flower arrangements between now and Thanksgiving.

Please feel free to check out our wonderful selection of flowers for Thanksgiving online.

As always, same day flower delivery is available! We look forward to hearing from you.
Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

I Assure You: We're OPEN!

2009-09-25T23:34:00Z

HI All! I called the store today, and after dialing the number 3 or 4 times and getting an "out of service" message 3 or 4 times, I started to get worried. It turns out that we had been waiting for our new phone service provider to come in for several months, and they finally made it today.

Unfortunately, the communication between the old service and the new service was sorely lacking, and before we were up and running on the new service, ALL OF OUR SERVICES were canceled by the old service! This included not only the phones, but our internet connection, credit card and debit processing as well.

Thankfully we are back up and running, and it is business ~~as usual~~. Scratch that, business is better than ever! This change includes a new phone system that will allow us to serve all our customers better overall, and we are excited that we were finally able to get this change made.

Anyway, this reminded me of the move Clerks where, when the guy couldn't open the front door, because someone jammed gum in the lock, he used a sheet and shoe polish to create the sign pictured above. Well, we don't have gum in the locks, and we are still Winnipeg Florists for All Occasions and are open to serve!

See You at Twestival Winnipeg!

2009-09-10T15:34:00Z

Dragonfly Flowers is proud to support Twestival Winnipeg on September 12th, 2009. As part of Twestival Local 2009, the Winnipeg Twestival is a way to bring Winnipeg Tweeters together and support a local charity.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Siloam Mission, which provides many needed services to Winnipeg's homeless community.

"Siloam Mission is the connecting point between the compassionate and Winnipeg's less fortunate."

This years event looks like it will be a really great time, and we hope to see a lot of Winnipeg Twitter folk out and about on Saturday!

Come on out to the event! (You may just win some flowers!)

Follow us on Twitter: @WinnipegFlorist

New Vase Recycling Program at Dragonfly Flowers

2009-09-05T05:59:00Z

Dragonfly Flowers has been providing Winnipeg and the surrounding areas with fresh cut flowers for over 5 years. During this time, we have sent thoughts and feelings through flowers to thousands of Winnipeg families. More often than not, those flowers are delivered in a glass vase. Many of our customers are repeat customers who visit us or order online many times throughout the year, and the question is often asked of us:

What should I do with all these flower vases?

We have the solution!

September marks the beginning of Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips Vase Recycling Program.

We decided to provide a recycling outlet for those vases, and while we help the environment, we can also help you reduce your clutter! This program is part of our ongoing efforts to become a Green Florist, and do our part for the community and the environment on a daily basis.

How it Works:

Very simply, just bring in your unwanted vases, and we will do one of the following with them:

- Quality vases that meet our standard for re-use will be re-used in the store.

- Ones that we can't re-use will be donated to the Salvation Army or Canadian Diabetes

- Damaged vases will be sent to the appropriate recycling centers.

There are a lot of great reasons to recycle glass products:

Glass recycling is good for the environment..

Glass recycling is sustainable

Glass recycling is efficient..

Glass recycling conserves natural resources.

Glass recycling saves energy.

Recycled glass is useful.

Here are a few more resources we found about Glass Recycling that you might be interested in:

We also found a bunch of other florists who are also providing their customers with Vase Recycling Program:

What's Next?

We will keep you updated through The Winnipeg Florist Blog about how the program is going and about some upcoming events we have planned to go along with this new initiative.

Keep an eye out as we develop this program into something really special as we will be running a few programs throughout the next year, including "Flowers for Vases" and "Vases for Charity".

Winnipeg Summer Weddings 2009

2009-08-09T22:53:00Z

It’s August, and we are well into Wedding season at Dragonfly Flowers. We’d like to send out a warm Thank-You to all of our summer brides, and we hope that the weather man was good to you on your special day!

Those of you who live here will be all too familiar with the weather picture here in Winnipeg over the last couple of months. It’s been bleak to say the least!

When is our summer going to get here!

Perhaps it is about to arrive. The Winnipeg forecast for this next week looks just about as good as it can get for us, so I hope everyone gets out there to enjoy it, because it may be fleeting.

We still have some wedding dates available for the fall and into 2010, so please don’t hesitate to give us a call and book an appointment for all your wedding flower needs.

Here's hoping that the rest of the summer in Winnipeg is sunny and warm.

(We deserve it!)

Feel Good Friday!

2009-07-23T00:40:00Z

Hi Everyone! Today's post has nothing to do with flowers, but I thought I would share some awesome videos that a couple of florists recently posted on a florists forum we frequent.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Seven Oaks General Hospital: Well Wishes

2009-07-09T16:04:00Z

Today I was researching some of the local organizations around Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips, and came across a program from Seven Oaks General Hospital that I thought was really cool. They call it "Well Wishes".

In a nutshell, its a quick internet based form where you add your name, some patient information, and a message to any patient in the hospital. The message is then delivered by one of the many great volunteers to your friend or family member, free of charge.

How it Works

"Seven Oaks Hospital Volunteers deliver “Well Wishes” to patients on adaily basis (excluding weekends and holidays). Submit the informationbelow and our volunteers will receive the printed e-mail and handdeliver it to the patient. The system is designed for well wishes only.We cannot send outgoing replies from patients. E-mails intended toconduct personal business, containing questionable content orbusiness/vendor solicitations will be deleted from the system. Sendyour love through the Seven Oaks General Hospital “Well Wishes”program, and let your loved one know you are thinking about them."

Of course, there are a few rules, but overall I think its a great idea! Some times you don't have the time to make it to the hospital for frequent visits, you have already ordered flower delivery to Seven Oaks Hospital, or you just want to get a quick note off to wish someone well and brighten their day. if you got really creative, you could do a treasure hunt, I spy with my little eye, riddles, puzzles; all kinds of great stuff if you put your mind to it!

Ordering Last Minute Flowers

2009-06-27T13:09:00Z

The retail flower industry in Canada has just completed Grad Week. This is typically a great time for florists to show off their skills and create some wonderful corsages and boutineers for impending graduates an their dates.

As with any special occasion, it's best to order your flowers and requested design at least a week prior to the event. During busy times such as Grad, Mother's Day, or Valentines Day, it gives your florist the opportunity to plan for your event flowers and be sure that they have both the product and the available staff on hand to create something wonderful for you.

Of course we don't always have the opportunity to plan ahead and make prior arrangements for the events that happen in our life, or sometimes we just plain forget!

Your local Retail Florists have a variety of ways to make sure that you can get the product you need and have it in your hands in a timely manner.

- Staff up during busy times to make sure we have designers available
- Keep a few of these items in the cooler - ready to go when you walk in
- Provide expedited priority delivery when you have little time
- Realize that things don't always go as planned and make sure that
we are there for you when you need us most!

When searching for flowers in Winnipeg, Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips is here for you! For those who find this blog from out of town, always make sure you are dealing with a real local professional florist, and not one of the national providers.

You will be glad you did!

The Florist Blog - We're Back!

2009-05-21T13:50:00Z

Hello everyone!

I finally had a chance to log into The Florist Blog today and saw that it has been 67 days since our last blog post! That is unacceptable by any standards I can think of!

A lot has been going on at Dragonfly Flowers. We just finished the holiday season which includes, Valentine's Day, Easter, Administrative Professionals Week, and Mother's Day. Our little shop has seen some fantastic growth, thanks to every one of our great customers, in Winnipeg and abroad for making Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips your preferred Winnipeg Florist!

Some changes have happened during the past little while. We are still working on completing our store branding initiatives, we have painted the store, and soon we will have our new signage up on both the store-front and on the street pylon, which we have never had before.

Stay tuned, I hope to blog about it all in the coming weeks!

Some Real Florist's Perspectives on Long Stem Roses

2009-03-15T14:32:00Z

I have been wondering lately if the average consumer really has any idea how long a "Long Stem" rose actually is. When searching the internet for long stem roses, I have found that it is very unlikely that you will actually find a web site that describes them properly, or actually sells what a Real Retail Florist would define as a long stemmed rose. A good friend and colleague of ours, Catherine Hillen Rulloda of Anaheim Florist, Avante Gardens has been blogging about roses for some time and has some great descriptions and images on her web site, like the one below.

You can obviously see that Avante Gardens has incredibly beautiful designs, but what is really great about this image, is that it shows the consumer a wonderful array of rose designs and you can really see what actually defines a long stem rose.

Here is a sample of the choices that Retail Florists and drop ship flower providers have from the growers and wholesalers.

Rose Assorted 30cm
Rose Assorted 40cm
Rose Assorted 50cm
Rose Assorted 60cm
Rose Assorted 70cm

Hmmmm. So, which one is the long stem rose? The chart below, again provided by Anaheim Florist, Avante Gardens, tells us about the length of the stem, and the size of the buds.

You can see that there is definitely some vast differences in both the size and perceived quality of roses. Those huge buds that everyone loves to see come from true Premium Long Stem Roses. When searching for Long Stem Roses online, you will find that even the mighty Google can't seem get it right. As always, it is best to find a Floral Professional, wherever you are, or wherever you are sending flowers to.

There are so many great local florists out there like Avante Gardens, and your local retail florist can definitely provide you with the answers you need to make the right decision on your roses, and can help you find the right roses and a great design for whatever occasion you have.

A New Rose for Dragonfly Flowers

2009-03-06T16:34:00Z

A few months ago, Dragonfly Flowers was blessed by the opportunity to hire one of Winnipeg's most experienced freelance Floral Designers.

Rosalyn came to us with 30 years of Floral Design experience, and has worked in several Winnipeg Flower Shops during that time. She brought with her not only this great industry experience, but also a wonderful attitude, great customer service skills, and has added her very well rounded career experience to the team.

I asked Rosalyn what she loves about designing flowers, and why she has stayed in this industry for so long.

"I love working with flowers, because there is always something different and something new to work with. Some people might ask how I could do this for so long, but having been in this industry so long, I have seen many changes, in both the industry and the way flowers are designed. With continued training and watching the current floral design trends, I have been able to recreate my design techniques many times during my career. So, it never gets boring."

"In addition to all that, designing flowers just makes me happy!"

Although you can see she is a little camera shy, you can see Rosalyn's creativity and passion for flowers in the store, or anytime you have flowers delivered by Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips.

We would like to formally welcome Rosalyn to the team and wish her the very best success with Dragonfly Flowers.

Last Minute Valentine's Day Shoppers Welcome!

2009-02-14T05:22:00Z

So. It's Friday night, and Valentine's Day is tomorrow. You forgot to get something! I have been there and done that. (Not since I married a florist, but that's another story)

If your sweetie is in Winnipeg, we have everything you need for that last minute Valentine's Day Gift! We are getting fresh Roses tomorrow, and have the cooler JAM PACKED with great stuff!

Check it out!

Just click or call! We can set you up with something truly unforgettable!

Some Valenines Day Online Flowers Shopping Tips

2009-02-07T19:42:00Z

Valentine's Day is almost upon us. As a florist, and those of you who have stood in line at the flower shop on Valentine's Day, we know that this is one of the biggest shopping days of the year for the retail flower business. It is also one of the biggest weeks for ordering flowers online, with the exception of Mother's Day week.

If you have been reading our blog for a while, you have definitely seen some of the potential pitfalls that you can encounter when ordering flowers online. In this changing economy, as a Real Local Florist, we feel that it's our duty to educate the public a little on how to get the best bang for your buck on Valentine's Day!

There are a few key things that you can watch out for this week when you are considering your flower purchase online:

1. What kind of product or message do you want to send?
2. Who am I really dealing with for my online purchase?
3. Am I really getting value for what I am sending by using an Order Gatherer, like FTD or Teleflora.

Last page of the shopping cart - extra fees are applied...

Teleflora.com......$12.99

1800-Flowers......$13.99

FTD.com......$12.99

The owners of Flowers-Insolita in Huntington, New York put together a great blog explaining it in detail

When you buy direct from local florists you receive a superior product & pay a lot less!

If you are in the market for flowers from Winnipeg to Anaheim, or Penticton to New York, hands down, the best value for your money will always come from ordering your flowers direct from the florist.

When searching for a Florist in Winnipeg, Manitoba, always search for Dragonfly Flowers!

A New Brand for Winnipeg Flowers Has Emerged!

2009-01-23T13:25:00Z

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, we thought this would be a great time to release our new branding and logo.

Look for the purple Dragonfly on all your gift arrangements, and you will know that they were provided with care and affection by Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips.

We have also updated our orders page to be www.dragonflyflowers.net. Same great products, and same great service.

Flowers are Still the Number One Gift for Valentine's Week

2009-01-17T23:32:00Z

Flowers have been the number one gift for Valentine's Day for a very long time, and are still at the front of most Men's minds in 2009. There are many meanings of different kinds of flowers, and your Winnipeg Florist will have a wide selection available right up until the last minute.

We thought we could offer a few tips for ordering flowers on Valentine's.

1. Send Early:
You may have noticed that we are calling it Valentine's Week. With Valentine's Day falling on a Saturday, some of the punch of sending flowers can be lost. One of the things that women REALLY like is the envy factor. This really does work. After delivering flowers to office buildings, hospitals, schools and many more work-place locations, it really does give your loved one a boost when they receive flowers at their place of business. When they come to the front counter to get them, they strut and smile because it was THEM who got flowers. So, hence Valentine's Week. Here is your opportunity to be a real hero and wow her during the week, and then wow her again on the weekend! Another great reason to send early, is that some florists out there are putting up special offers for delivery during the week before Valentine's. Check with the florist in the city you are sending to, and you might be surprised at how much you save!

2. Include an Enclosure Card:
This little personal touch is the key to your continued romantic success! The personalized enclosure card can either float you high, or sink you low. Adding the right personal touch is so important and let's her know exactly how you feel.

3. Order Early:
Whether ordering in Winnipeg, or for any other city, you will find great deals leading up to the week of Valentine's Day. Dragonfly Flowers is offering 15% off all pre-orders for delivery any time up to and including Valentine's Day, and anytime after. But the offer expires on February 6th!

Next Post: Enclosure Card Suggestions

Blog Networks Top Result for "Florist"!

2008-12-27T02:45:00Z

Ok, so now it's called NetworkedBlogs... I just got on here, and they have already changed the name!

Anyway, we have the Number 1 spot for the search term "Florist"! (Very exciting)

Networked Blogs "Florist" Search

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our excellent readership (of 13 readers) for making this possible. I'd like to thank Facebook Apps and all their subsidiaries, and of course my wife Buffie, who is the heart and soul of our little Winnipeg Flower Shop.

Hee hee...

If you would like to help us keep our #1 position, please feel free to Join Our Blog Network!

PS: Hey Google! We are also the ONLY RESULT on NetWorkedBlogs for Winnipeg Florist!