Freytag’s Florist Blog

If we haven’t bragged about it before here we go…

We have four generations, count’em 4, here at Freytag’s almost every day. From Ken’s mom Alice through to the newest member of the family Avery, we span 93 years.

It was a joyous occasion this last Friday as Avery turned one! Of course there was a party and flowers…

How can you add playful elements to your floral designs for a youthful look?

A little sparkle can go a long way to add festive flair to flowers… Glittered Ting Ting plays up the princess vibe with bling!

Bright and cheerful colors with whimsical design elements such as a grass wrap add a playfulness to arrangements.

Bright and cheerful colors with whimsical design elements (such as a grass wrap) add a playfulness to arrangements. The Hitomi workshop our team attended a few months back illustrated the fun of mixed textures, vibrant hues and artful use of armature …

Think outside the box with flowers… Pintrest is a great place to brown fun DIY ideas for parties. I dare say the party search is my favorite, so many great ideas! Check out our party ideas I’ve curated from Pinterest here.

It’s their first birthday… such an important year for family, friends and Avery too!

Another idea that will grow with the birthday girl or boy is a plant, but how can you silly that up?

I have to admit I visit this corner of our front shop daily. I love to check in with my cute little friends to see if they’ve been “adopted” yet… A small little 4 inch plant can grow over time with your child, just like those notches in a door frame!

What’s her favorite color?

Knowing your loved one’s favorite color can be a great testament to your affection and how well you are paying attention. With all the fresh cut flowers available from Freytag’s our monochromatic arrangements get their style from the designer’s blend of textures and scale. Personalizing arrangements can be intimidating because you can’t see the final product on a web site but trusting talented, experienced designers do the work for you always results in stunning arrangements.

Of course the classic deep red is traditionally associated with romance.

See our web site link for more colorful meanings:

http://www.freytagsflorist.com/meaningRoses.cfm

image pulled from our TUMBLR blog here:

 http://austinflowerblog.com/

So, you can’t afford a BOAT LOAD of flowers?

Freytag’s is offering free Valentine’s deliveries on Monday the 13th for the smart early birds. Why fret all day over when your flowers will get there? Why not let them enjoy your gift all day long???

Like one of our customer’s today said:

“It’s just more special when it’s delivered!”

As always, your in store purchases that you take with you, of plants or loose stems will be half off…

There’s something for everyone here and if you’ve waited this long you might just want our designer’s help too!

Blooming and green plants have been designed in decorative combinations to serve a wide array of loved ones! Bears, chocolates and local, hand dipped, gigantic chocolate covered strawberries are also available through our shop, either in store or as a delivery. We try to make it easy on you by providing top notch products that can be combined to reflect your budget!

 With all the pressure to impress that special someone getting experts on your side is not a bad option.

With Freytag’s Florist you have 30 years experience!

 

 I adore the simplicity of these hand stenciled bottles full of wheat stalks because it incorporates reuse, and adds warmth with texture and color to the room.

 

Even if you bake your desserts from scratch these vintage looking  cans make perfect containers for simple DIY arrangements. Multiple containers of the same size creates a nice focal point for all your guests at a long, narrow table.  

 

 

I am in love with all the DIY ideas out there but tend to gravitate towards wedding designs, probably because I see so many beautiful photos showcasing weddings every day. I find it leaves my decorating options open and I always throw a little tribute in to celebrate that particular holiday. The bright, cheerful palette from this wedding translates for any festive event and the grass runner is just brilliant.

 

 At Freytag’s we love to see you in our shop! If you select individual blooms that you arrange yourself we give you 1/2 off, really boosting that DIY budget! Something as easy as these mixed goblets with blooms and candles can dress a buffet, dessert or even dining table up for any occasion.

 

…a truly INSPIRED idea from One Fine Day Events in Lake Tahoe:

For Thanksgiving I would try oranges or tangerine under the glass, maybe even apples or pomegranates. I have the perfect desk with a glass top that already doubles as a serving station…

Use risers not the fruit to support the glass to avoid a disaster!

 

By now hopefully you are all familiar with the breast cancer awareness movement led by our very own Austin Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Did you know that thanks to last year’s fundraising efforts, the Komen Austin Affiliate will provide its largest single community investment of $1.139 million in local community grants for our five county service area this year. In addition, more than $450 thousand will be directed to the national Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Award and Research Grant Program?

Freytag’s works with the foundation on many levels, including our Helping Hands program and donating flowers for events. Today we are gearing up for Sunday’s big race preparing roses for participants and girl howdy there are a LOT of you!!! Check out the tip of the iceberg in our coolers today:

Since 1999, the Komen Austin Affiliate has provided more than $10.5 million in funding to LOCAL community clinics, hospitals and health care organizations for breast screening, diagnosis and treatment, and research for the cures.

Seventy-five percent net funds raised LOCALLY stay LOCALLY. The Komen Austin Affiliate provides funding to LOCAL non-profit healthcare organizations for breast health services for the underserved men and women in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties. The remaining 25 percent funds the national Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Grants Program, which funds groundbreaking breast cancer research.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure^®

Susan G. Komen fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul. Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation. That concern for others continued even as Susan neared the end of her fight. Moved by Susan’s compassion for others and committed to making a difference, Nancy G. Brinker promised her sister that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested nearly $1.5 billion since inception in 1982. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, we’re working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®, and generous contributions from our partners, sponsors and fellow supporters, we have become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

This year’s race is this Sunday, November 13th but you can STILL REGISTER TO RACE THROUGH 10pm TONIGHT! Start here to be a part of something spectacular this Sunday:

http://austin.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/AUS_AustinAffiliate?fr_id=2282&pg=entry

So far there are 16,547 participants including teams, individuals and families. The Race is a 5k (3.1 miles), and also offers a 1 mile family walk. Not into the running/walking aspect but still want to get involved? There are still volunteers needed this year! Sign up here to get involved this weekend:

http://austin.info-komen.org/site/PageNavigator/AUS_volunteersignup

 

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has a special spot in their hearts and on race morning for Survivors!

Please join us on Race Day at the Survivor Tent for a delicious breakfast buffet, fun giveaways, as well as other great activities and goodies. The Survivor Tent is open from 6:30AM until 11am. Survivor breakfast is from 6:30am-9:30am. Hey Cupcake! will be serving from 9:30am-10:30am. Entertainment is at 7:30am and 9:30am. The Survivor Committee respectfully requests a limit of 1 guest per Survivor in order to accommodate as many Survivors as possible for a special Race Day breakfast in our tent. Survivor group photos will be taken at 7:15 and 7:45am.

Freytag’s is in complete awe of survivors, families, supporters, racers and volunteers. The Komen Foundation’s devotion to bringing the community together around such a worthy cause humbles us, and we are so grateful to them that we get to be a part of this tremendous event. Thank you!!!

All photos are our own.

All information taken directly from: http://www.komenaustin.org/

Melanie is one of our newest designers here at Freytag’s, joining us in November 2010, but she fits right in with award winning style! Her texture rich centerpiece arrangement wowed our Facebook fans and took the prize in our recent design competition:

 

 

 

 

Fit for a painting, pops of purple, using Iris and a dyed, dried Tuscan sponge mushroom keep your eye moving around this piece like Matisse’s masterpieces…

 

 

 

Using brilliant yellow mini Calla Lilies(instead of Matisse’s lemon) to warm up the palette also pulls those tones out in the succulents and hanging Amaranthus.

 

Inspired by classical piano music but more likely to hang a Warhol on her wall than a Matisse, Melanie strikes a perfect balance between contemporary pop and traditional romantic.

 

Growing up in Michigan, Melanie arrived on the Austin scene in July of 2010 with her hubby & French Bulldog Sprout. Her husband is what keeps her laughing at home, but we asked her to get us giggling here at Freytag’s:

What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?

Nacho cheese!

To keep warm going in and out of the coolers all day Melanie prefers her hot pink hoodie lined with FAKE baby sheep … looks like Sprout could use a hoody too for those ears!

Although she’d rather be on the water than anywhere else, we keep her busy all week designing fabulous florals for you! When she does get a break for lunch around here she goes for Thundercloud. That’s how we know she’s home… an honorary Texan in an Austin original shop. Thanks Melanie for sharing you’re story and creating inspired designs!!!

Where does the phrase as  ”fresh as a daisy” come from? Why isn’t is as “refreshed as a rose”?
Or “vibrant as a tulip”?

The coy little ladies are named daisy after the Old English saying  dægesege,from dæges eage meaning “day’s eye”. Daisies open their petals every morning to the sun just as we humans open our eyes to that sun sneaking in through the drapes. As the sun sets and temperatures drop petals tuck the daisy in for a good night’s sleep. Smart people know they need beauty sleep to keep that rosy hue. These girls have clearly been resting themselves when the sun goes down, just look at them blush!!!

In scientific circles this action of opening and closing is known as Nyctinasty, and it looks as cool as it sounds! Check out this time lapse of African Daisies opening and closing:

African Daisies sleeping

This action is associated with the flower’s light receptor (known as the phytochrome) as well as the circadian rhythms of the flowers that sync up to diurnal light patterns and temperature changes. There are also biochemical factors that drive the flowers to open and close. Just like people, sleep is a complicated thing for flowers!

 

 

It won’t surprise most floral fans to hear that Gerbera, commonly known as Gerber daisies, are among the most popular cut flowers today. With an infinite variety of colors  they always add character to any floral arrangement, and are often requested as featured blooms.

 

 

Perhaps the boldest character of the Gerbera family is the capitulum, or flower head, which appears as a single flower, but is actually composed of hundreds of individual flowers. The macro photo below shows the incredible details of the capitulum. These flower heads can be as small as 7 cm (Gerbera mini ‘Harley’) in diameter or up to 12 cm (Gerbera ‘Golden Serena’). They can be a contrasting color, the same as the outer petals, or a striking combination like the flower below with yellows nestled in pink. This versatility puts them at the top of the designer’s list of favorites as well!  

Daisies are part of the Asteraceae or Compositae family which is the largest family of vascular plants. They are found all over the world except the extreme Arctic and Antarctica, but the most beautiful truly seem to congrgate in our shop ;)

 

 

Many popular flowers are part of this family including Dahlias, Sunflowers,  and Chrysanthemums… stay tuned for more in depth posts divulging the details of these cousins.

 

 

 

 

Let us know which flowers intrigue you most and we’ll do our best to feature them in future blogs!!!

 

 We would like to thank Wikipedia for being such a great resource for just about everything!

All photos with the exception of the Gerber close up are taken from flowers available today at Freytag’s.

The fabulous macro shot comes from Microscopy-UK. There are tons of amazing shots of Gerbers here:

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artmar07/bj-gerbera.html

We love this great shot of Coldplay with sunflowers! It inspired us to hunt

down more photos of ACL 2011 artists with flowers…

 

 

We found a Bright Eyes

poster starring these nostalgic sepia sunflowers.

…and  Suzanna Choffel donning origami with flowers in her hair, how utterly Austin of her!

 

 

Flowered wallpaper counts right? This dusty rose vintage

 wallpaper can’t hold a flame to our Uchi’s glamorous

 vibrant giant floral patterned walls. But then again those

 bartenders and servers don’t quite sing and play like

 Arcade Fire, at least not that we know of?

 

 

 

No picture can embody Stevie Wonders voice so we wanted to remind y’all of the classic album

“Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants” with Power Flower 

Have a great ACL weekend everyone!

Who needs reality TV when we’ve got the real deal here on our design floor? Freytag’s turns up the creative heat this month by encouraging our designers to create individual arrangements embodying their personal style…. but of course there are rules!

Rule #1: In this economic climate we are not trying to break the bank! While we allowed the designers complete access to our amazing selection of fresh plants and flowers they had to work within a $100 allowance. (not including labor and container)

 

Melanie

went for a magnificent  

mix of succulents and flowers

in this modern design.

Compact and brimming with texture,

this is a true conversation piece for

 any table!

 

 

 

Rule #2: Because what we do here is very time sensitive and timing is crucial in handling flowers we count down 40 minutes for each designer to create their masterpiece.

 

 

Here’s Courtney’s

 glamorous,

 all white

showstopper!

40 minutes from scratch

to totally fabulous

with a little sparkle thrown

in for good measure. Now

THAT’s a photo finish.

 

 

Rule #3: Because seeing is believing but our true concern is how our customers will feel about the arrangement in real life we limit the designer to a two minute photo shoot… no retakes for these natural beauties!

Eve’s funky, fun arrangement adds a little whimsy with organic shapes and dreamy tropicals.  Doesn’t everything look better in the Tropics?

Check out Jessie’s sleek and sophisticated green and purple design:

 

 

This palette

featuring vibrant

greens with a pop of

purple and soothing

white is super

stylish!

 

Carman’s statuesque

design reminds us

fall is right

around

the corner…

Butterflies return on

the cool breezes

as barren branches

reach for the crisp

fall sky. Can you

feel it yet?

 

 

 

And of course with fall around the corner we’re already rallying around the Longhorn football team!

Jacquie’s spectacular

 windowbox design

 in a UT color

 scheme inspires the

 team to another

victory!!

Will it lead her to the

 victory podium and

 a sweet bonus at

Freytag’s?

 

Only your

vote can decide that!

To vote for the design that delights you visit our Facebook page by Monday, September 19th:

http://www.facebook.com/Freytags

“LIKE” the arrangement of your choice, right under the post made by the designer. The designs with the most “LIKES” come Monday the 19th will be featured, along with the artist, in our next blog post.

Prom is an exciting time for high school students.  From dinner to dresses, a lot of thought and planning goes into this night.  During all this frenzied preparation, it’s important to remember prom corsages and boutonnieres.  Flowers are the perfect accent to any outfit and are a great way to add an extra touch of individuality.  Whether you want a classic rose corsage or something a little more unusual, we can custom make any design to match your perfect prom vision!