A Tropical Wedding Wednesday

It’s Wedding Wednesday!! This week’s bouquet takes us to a tropical paradise! It’s certainly not for the traditional bride, but if you’re into contemporary design, exotic flair and brilliant color then this is the bouquet for you!

Spirals of lucky bamboo trumpet from the center of the bouquet and are surrounded by birds of paradise, ginger, craspedia balls, solidego and statice. The bouquet is finished with a collar of rolled ti leaves and the gathered stems are wrapped tightly with a bit of raffia.

The brides and grooms that we meet are as diverse as the flowers they choose! Congratulations to the happy couple!

If you’re in the Philadelphia region give us a call to schedule your wedding consultation at 800-887-4013.

Flowers make the moment… Let us make a moment for you, at Stein Your Florist Co.

Birds of Paradise

Craspedia Balls

Ginger

Spiral Lucky Bamboo

Solidego

Statice

Ti Leaves

Red Roses on Wedding Wednesday

It's wedding Wednesday again and this week's bridal bouquet is simple, sweet and full of romance. Red roses are the ultimate symbol of passionate affection. They're classically romantic and absolutely perfect for a walk down the aisle to say "I do."

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!

Wedding Wednesday

A bridal cascade of purple and lavender
blooms by Stein Your Florist Co.

Here comes the bride!! 

Being in the floral business since 1887 we have seen more happy couples than we can count! From traditional to contemporary and everything in between we have designed custom bouquets for a myriad of wedding styles and themes.

Today is, what we like to call, Wedding Wednesday and our bouquet of the week is this bridal cascade of purple and lavender blooms. The bouquet features lavender roses with accents of purple larkspur, lavender lisianthus, purple statice, novi belgi asters, and white Queen Anne’s lace.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Lavender Roses

Purple Larkspur

Lisianthus

For the Love of Cats

Shop Cat Poly on the Green Roof at Stein Your Florist Co.

We love our furry feline friends! They are wonderful companions without the over neediness of their canine counterparts. Our shop cats, Cat and Poly, make our work days a joy and remind us to play, stretch, relax, gaze out the window and enjoy the occasional catnap or two.

Gerbera daisies are non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Cats are the furry part of our families that make our houses homes. They tend to be curious, eager to take a nibble or two (or many many more) on that beautiful bouquet of flowers your beau just brought you, so it is important that when you’re enjoying your flowers and plants they can be enjoyed by your kitties too!

Carnations are toxic to dogs and cats,
but they make a lovely collar.

Roses are non-toxic to cats and dogs.

So how will you know if a particular plant or flower is potentially toxic? Thanks to the internet we can check these things out in a flash! We recommend starting with the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center website where you can find a searchable list of both toxic and non-toxic plants for both cats and dogs. It’s best to know the scientific name as well as the common name of the plants or flowers when doing your pet homework, since sometimes multiple plants with different characteristics may share the same common name.

Coxcomb are non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Many plants that your cats may munch of will cause nothing worse than a little digestive upset, but some may cause more serious health issues. Some common flowers and plants that are toxic to both cats and dogs are:  aloe, amaryllis, azaleas, baby’s breath, begonias, bird of paradise, and tulips. Members of the Lilium genus, including asiatic, casablanca, Easter, and stargazer lilies, can cause serious kidney problems (and possibly even death) if ingested by cats.

Phillip is ready for date night with
his top hat and non-toxic rose.

So what is a pet friendly bouquet? A bouquet consisting of plants and flowers that are not considered to be toxic to pets (primarily cats and dogs) of course. Flowers such as roses, African daisies, orchids and most ferns and plants such as bromeliads, African violets and Christmas cactus are non-toxic (although any ingested plant material might occasionally cause mild upset) and would be suitable as to have in households with pets.

Here is a brief list of "pet friendly" flowers and plants courtesy of Dr. Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, Vice President and Medical Director of the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.

·        Common Name | Scientific name

·         African daisy | Arctotis stoechadifolia

·         African violet | Saintpaulia spp.

·         Alyssum | Allysum spp.

·         Bachelors buttons | Centaureaa cyanus

·         Begonia | Begonia spp.

·         Celosia | Celosia spp.

·         Common Snapdragon | Antirrhinum majus

·         Easter Daisy | Townsendia sevicea

·         Orchids | Barbrodia, Sophronitis, etc.

·         Peruvian lily, Brazilian lily | Alstroemeria spp. (Not a true lily, so it’s a great alternative!)

·         Rose | Rosa spp.

Chrysanthemums are toxic to dogs and cats,
but ok for stuffed dinosaurs.

So love your cats and your flowers too! Be sure to seek out or create “pet friendly” bouquets and plants when looking for something special for yourself or when sending a gift to a pet owner. Call us at 800-887-4013 and we can help you in your cat friendly quest. Meow!

Cecilia is catching up on some of her cat reading.

Dean Cat is ordering flowers online from his favorite florist,
Stein Your Florist Co.!

  

Roes and orchids are feline friendly, but avoid chrysanthemums.

These kitties love flowers. Roses and liatris are thier friends, but avoid tasting
the chrysanthemums, solidego, and delphinium.

Paintings of flowers are always feline friendly!

Flower photos are always safe too!

Psychic cat Cecilia sees bad things in your pet's future if they much on
these blooms! Avoid hydrangea and carnations around your cats and dogs.

Penelope is pleased that she's safe to sample these rose petals.

Avoid stock, aka gillyflower, around your cats and dogs.
Find more cats on our Facebook page!

Look, but don't much on chrysanthemums, calla lilies, and carnations you curious cats!
The orchids are pet friendly.

Mom, may I taste the roses?
Yes you may, roses are feline friendly.

Orchids look like a tasty snack... they are pet friendly after all.

Zinnias are pet friendly!

Look, but don't taste the Lucky Bamboo samurai cat,
they are toxic.

Rose Petals are pet friendly!

Feiline Fred isn't too sure about this bouquet...
Some of the flowers are pet friendly, some are not.
Call us at 800-887-4013 and we can help you create an
arrangement that is perfect for pets!

A collar of daisies is all the rage in feline fashion, but they are for
looking, not eating, as they are toxic to dogs and cats.

The Dog Days of Summer

Great Dane Elliott enjoying a wee bouquet of blooms.

It’s hot. The sun beats down from a cloudless sky through stagnant humid air, falling upon human, animal, plant and the inanimate alike. The streets absorb the heat to the point that the tar becomes almost fluid and if a car drove by it would surely find itself stuck. As you stand stationary you feel beads of sweat form and roll down your face and back; any movement would surely cause a sweat so profuse it would seep through your clothes leaving you wet, embarrassed and somehow even hotter still. The air is so thick you could practically chew on it if it wasn’t choking you. Vision clouding waves of heat fall into view, distorting the landscape of motionless blades of grass and unmoving trees full and heavy with summer’s bounty. Squirrels, birds, feral cats and that fat backyard groundhog you nicknamed Sebastian long for any kind relief as they struggle just to breathe, and you swear they somehow know about air conditioning and are jealous when they see humans retreat indoors with their beloved chosen pets. The sun is a relentless furnace with no breeze to calm its fiery breath. It’s just... So. Damn. Hot. These are the dog days of summer.

Poodle Winston couldn't be happier with his yellow ranunculus!

We are in the thick of it! The Old Farmer's Almanac lists the traditional period of the Dog Days as the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11. We thought the best way to pass this time would be to pair some of our favorite pooches with pretty petals!

Miniature poodle Sherman is celebrating with flowers!

The Romans referred to the dog days as diēs caniculārēs and associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major or Great Dog.

Layla enjoyed her visit to Steins!

The Ancient Greeks thought that Sirius's emanations could affect dogs adversely, making them behave abnormally during the "dog days," the hottest days of the summer. Their excessive panting in hot weather was thought to place them at risk of desiccation and disease.

Those cats are interfering with my flowers!

According to Brady’s Clavis Calendaria, 1813, the Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, among other diseases, burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies."

If you can tolerate an outdoor picnic during the dog days 
of summer, don't forget to pack your poodle!

Here at Stein Your Florist we have a mixed bag of feelings about the Dog Days of Summer… Some of us love it, enjoying every second they can in the heat, reveling in a visit to the beach, basking in the sun’s rays and holding joyous backyard barbecues full of levity and fireworks…

Leo loves his rainbow roses!

Others not so much, longing for the days of winter, stating “those snowstorms weren’t so bad,” lamenting over how hot it’s going to be when they get in their cars to go home, complaining about their summer wardrobe and emphatically stating that the flowers just don’t like it!

That's one patriotic pooch!

Like it or lump it, it is what it is. The Dog Days of Summer are here, but autumn’s relief will arrive soon enough and we may find that we miss summer’s verdant hues and that devastating feeling of passing out as soon as you step outside.

Elliott is looking good in his floral anklet!

Sherman is stylin' in his collar of black-eyed Susans!

It's hot out! Stay inside and pamper your pooch with 
peonies and a PETicure (wow, that was a cheesy pun even for us).

Jah Rastafari!

For those hot summer weddings when you 
ask, "why didn't we get married in the spring?"