Flowers for a Memorial Service

It must be heart wrenching to get a call about the passing of a loved one. Even if the event is expected, when it happens, the feeling of being left behind by a loved one just hits the heart and it hurts. Many times, we get calls by bereaved relatives for flowers for the funeral service or the viewing and the Rosary service. We try to be very patient and sympathetic and helpful. A lot of times, the caller is at a loss for what to order, and so we try to determine what the family desires are, and then we make suggestions.

We also direct them to our catalogues or for them to browse our website at http://www.avanityfairflorist.com

How to Keep Your Flowers Longer

You receive a beautiful floral arrangement and you want to keep it looking fresh and beautiful longer; how would you do that?

The first thing to remember is that flowers must have an immediate and continuing supply of water, once they are cut, to replace the life giving foods and fluids of the plant on which they grew. This water must be fresh, but not cold.

Florists "condition" the flowers they get from the wholesalers. they first cut the stems at an angle with sharp knives or shears then immediately place the flowers in warm water with conditioning solution for an hour or two before using the flowers in an arrangement. The buckets of conditioned flowers are then moved into their display coolers.

Cleanliness can reduce wilt

Florists try to use immaculately clean containers and pails and vases at every step. They scrub their containers with hot soapy water to eliminate the decay of foliage that hasten wilt. After the soaping, containers are thoroughly rinsed. Traces of soap usually damage the the flowers as much as the bacteria would.

Avoid hot or drafty locations

The same rule applies to prolonging the life of flowers from your florist. If possible, put your bouquet where the temperature will be as even as possible - out of drafts, away from the heater vents. Always place your bouquet where you will enjoy it most. Add water once you receive your bouquet. as leakage could occur during the trip from the florist to your home. You need not change water daily, but add as needed to make up for evaporation loss. Keep your bouquet fresh by removing and replacing the faded flowers and leaves. When a good number of flowers have wilted but others are still fresh, do another arrangement on a smaller scale and extend your enjoyment.

Sunny Skies from Sacramento florist

Beautiful Orchids

Orchids are instinctively synonimous to the island state of Hawaii. The exotic orchids have a lot of species, and some of the smaller orchids are native to Hawaii, and most of all the orchids today have been introduced by Polynesians arriving in Hawaii a long time ago, then the orchids have been hybridized by farmers experimenting and adding thousands of various species.

Most orchids need little more than moisture-laden air to survive. Masters of adaptation, orchids grow in semi-arid desert, marsh and swamp, from the sub-arctic to the tropics.

If beauty can hypnotize and inspire perfection, the orchid must be oe of the proofs. Under the tropic sun, nourished by moist humid air, it is an elegant tribute to the image of Hawaii-as-Paradise.

Send one to someone as a gift, a gesture of appreciation, or for any occasion.

My Job as a Florist

Owning a business in this economy has been a challenge. During summer, business is somewhat spotty. For flowershops, summer is a period for a little rest from the hectic days of spring when there are holidays like Mother's Day and Easter, school dances, graduations, and weddings. And for established florists, the corporate accounts and weekly standing orders help keep the business afloat, and the website helps put us on the map too. As a florist, we not only arrange flowers, we are also advisers to people who have no idea of what to send, for a birthday, or a new baby, a get well or a sympathy. We are also Planners - we plan what flowers we need to purchase, what supplies we are low of, other items such as plants, balloons, plush, etc. to buy and which suppliers to use. In a small shop, sometimes all the jobs are handled by one person, the owner; jobs including cleaning, display design, marketing, sales, customer service, web maintenance, bookkeeping, etc. The most rewarding is the ability to practice the art of flower designing. There's a satisfaction in seeing the result - a happy smile from the recipient of the flowers.

Earth Day!

Way before Earth Day was established, my mother has been an avid practitioner of recycling and we were not about to break that practice. When we were very young, she collected brown bags, those small ones used for brown bagging school lunches. Those types of brown bags used to be the bags used by vendors for packaging small amounts of whatever one bought at the marketplace. Nowadays, the normal packaging are plastic bags. Anyway, after Mom has collected a good amount of these bags, and on one of her trips to the market, she went to her favorite vendor (suki in our dialect) of salt and exchange the bags with salt to the value of the bags. Because of the number of children in our household, including cousins, we would have a lot of cans of milk collected. The only milk we knew then was the Carnation evaporated milk or condensed milk which probably was 12-16 fluid ounces. She used these cans to propagate plants, mostly cactus and succulents. Seasons when people were expected to visit our city, she'd take these plants to a plant retailer in the market and sell it to them.

Aside from raising us kids, she raised chickens, pigs, and sometimes goats. For the pig food, she would send one of the kids to collect leftovers from neighbors who had student boarders. We also went to the vegetable market and collect the cabbage leaves or any other greens taken off from their merchandise of vegetables, thus helping the vendor get rid of their garbage of greens. She would cook the greens mixed with the leftovers collected from the neighbors in a huge pot using wood we collected from open spaces, mostly fallen branches from pine trees.

Mom came from a farming family. She had the green thumb. But her secret came from the use of a lot of things available for free. She collected the chicken dung and put these aside until these have broken down enough to use in her garden, same with horse manure. She had spanish tomato tree, banana trees, chayote, and sweet potato (camote) in her small yard. We had a good supply of spanish tomato jam (tasted like strawberry jam), fresh bananas that we shared with a lot of people, fresh chayote shoots and sweet potato shoots. Some of us kids collected/picked bottles; when we've collected enough, we sold these to buy movie tickets. We collected newspapers and magazines so that we can get money for comic books.

Our house was small, but my parents managed to house not only the 7 kids but also 2 to 3 cousins, several relatives and 4 roomful of student boarders. And to top that off, the smaller kids always got hand me downs.

Everyday was earth day to us and the practice of reuse, recycle, waste nothing helped us immensely and in our own small way preserve nature in the space and time we were and are in. Happy Earth Day!

April Flower of the Month

It's April and the flower of the month is the daisy. This flower is so unpretentious and uncomplicated, it means innocence. The daisy is commonly known as Transvaal daisy, Barberton daisy, African daisy, Veldt daisy. The gerbera daisy comes in three sizes, miniature at 2-3 inches in diameter, standard at 3 -5 inches in diameter, and giant at 5-6 inches diameter. The gerbera daisy comes virtually in every hue except for blue-green, blue and blue violet which has made it a favorite flower with flower lovers. A perennial favorite, this April birth flower is perfect in floral bouquets and it is usually made the focal point specially if the gerbera used is the standard size or larger.

The gerbera daisy is a native to South Africa, thus, the name African daisy.

A Very Sweet Reminder

Flower of the Month Of March - Daffodils

Daffodils come out early in March, that's probably why these were designated as the flower of the month of March.  The botanical name for daffodils is Narcissus and the common name is Daffodil, Jonquil or Paper-white.  All Daffodil blooms have petals emanating from the base of a trumpet-shaped cup (corona).  The single flower variety have six petals; the double flower variety have 12 or more. The blooms are at the top of the stems and when open, face perpendicular to the stems. larger varieties sport a simgle bloom per stem, and the smaller variety sport clusters of blooms per stem. The stems of the Daffodils are hollow and leafless. They come in several colors, the most abundant of which is yellow; other colors are orange, peach, pink, white, and cream.
Before florists arrange these flowers into a beautiful bouquet, the stems are cut about half an inch off the bottom and kept in separate container for at least 6 hours. Daffodils exude a slimy substance that is harmful to other flowers. After 6 hours, the harmful sap will have leached and the flowers can then be arranged or placed with other flowers.  Like most bulb flowers, daffodils have short vase lives.

A Very Memorable Birthday

When I was young, we didn't have much. My parents had 7 girls, all were in Catholic schools, so we didn't have birthday parties. My mother then made sticky rice cake, bought some cookies and prepared hot native chocolate drink to celebrate my younger sister and my birthday together. The only birthday party we celebrated at home was my older sister's 18th birthday because she had finished college and had a job.

On my second year in college, Martial Law was declared by then President Ferdinand Marcos. The administration started rounding up student activists including my younger sister, myself and another girl who was boarding at my parents house. We were detained at a military camp called Camp Dangwa. While in detention, I became ill in the camp, and later was taken to the hospital; and that was where I spent my 18th birthday. Imagine the anguish my mother felt when two of her young children were taken away and detained for months and then seeing one of them in the hospital on her 18th birthday. I had no idea what my mother felt and went through at that time.

This year, should be a very memorable birthday for me, one that would never be ever forgotten, a real celebration of life, and real greatfulness for the good Lord's power.

The day before my birthday, I called my son to ask where he was when I stopped by his house. He was already at work, and informed me he rode his bike to work. He uses our other car which was at his house but we needed it for valentine flower deliveries. He told me to go ahead and take the car and that he'll see us on Tuesday to help with flower deliveries.

At about 1:30 am on February 13, the phone rang, and I thought it was a prank call; then my cell phone rang, but I didn't pick it up because I was trying to get to sleep so that I have energy for a busy day. After several rings, I finally got up at 5:30 to pick up the call on my cell phone. It was a social worker from UC Davis Medical center. She informed us that our son was in a very bad accident, he is serious, but calm and collected and was able to give our business phone, home phone and my cell phone. The other passenger was more seriously injured with broken back, eye and head and leg injuries and at first was not expected to live.

At the end of his shift, it started pouring rain so his friend offered him a ride, will drop him off by his friends apartment which is halfway to my son's house and he will ride his bike home from there. It was a ride he won't ever forget. His friend drove too fast for the weather condition and lost control of the car, hit a tree and then another tree. It's a miracle my son survived - he had a cut on his chest, broken sternum, broken tibia and a day later, they found that his hip was broken too. It was a shock to be awakened with such a terrible news. I can't express what I felt; I just fell on my knees and prayed for my son and the other passenger and for the driver who lost his life that dark, ominous morning.

I called my helper to come in early, informed my daughter of the news, and then rushed to the hospital. My son was in the operating room when we got there and expected to be in there for a couple of hours. We went to work and got busy with valentine orders. We informed his employer of the accident, and I sent a text message to one of his roommates.

After not getting any news, my husband went back to the hospital and found our son in recovery but was sleeping. About 10 of his friends were in the OR waiting room - my husband told them to go home because they are not yet allowed to see him while he was in ICU recovering. When we got back to the hospital at around 6 pm that night, he woke up and had the guilty look in his face and apologized. It was such a rough day seeing my only son all battered, bruised, in pain, and hooked up with mask-like breathing instrument. etc. and can't barely move.

This particular birthday, I am grateful for the gift of life, I feel so blessed and thank the Lord my son is alive.

February is - Black History Month

On the second week of February in 1926,"Negro" History Week was establshed. Dr. Carter G.Woodson, who originated this event, chose the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of two Americans who greatly influenced the lives and social condition of African Americans: President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass. Woodson also founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Black History month should be a time to honor those whose struggles, accomplishments and contributions brought us to where we are in this country. We could start by learning and discovering who Dr. Carter Woodson is and his accomplishments.

In Sacramento, the local libraries are presenting a variety of cultural programs for all ages in all its 28 locations throughout the month of February. Programs include art displays, arts and crafts hands-on projects, story telling, geneology workshops, drumming and dancing, cooking and much more.

February is the Month of Love and Romance

Valentine's day is on February 14th. It's time for expressing our love and affection for those who are most important to us. And naturally enough, sending flowers is one of the best romance ideas of all. Not only that, studies show that there is a link between flowers and the emotional health.
Anyone, of any age who is presented with flowers elicit a geniune smile.

For Valentine's Day, roses are the most popular flower that express love and romance and the favorite flower men order for their loved one. Professional florists offer lots of choices of roses and spring flowers and many of these flowers have a very sweet scent.

If you've decided to send flowers for valentine's, consider sending your flowers on Monday, February 13th, especially if they're being delivered to a place of work so they can be admired and enjoyed for several days more.
Don't wait until the last minute….call or visit us soon and let Cupid's arrows fly. Your local florist - A Vanity Fair Florist, can help you express your feelings of love and romance with flowers.

February is the month of Violets, Amethyst and Aquarius

It's February and today is my sister's birthday, and my niece's too. What a birthday gift, a blessing to my sister on her birthday to give birth to a beautiful daughter 25 years ago. Here's wishing them both a blessed day as they celebrate this day apart, a continent apart, and yet just a click and a phone call away.

The flower for the month of February is the African Violet and the birthstone is Amethyst. Violets represent chastity, humility and faithfulness.

February's purple birthstone has been found among the possessions of royalty throughout the ages. The intense violet hue of Amethyst appealed to early monarchs, perhaps because they often wore this color. Amethyst is also symbolic of spirituality and piety. It has been used to ornament churches and crosses used in religious ceremony, and worn in rings and on rosaries by bishops and priests.

For the Aquarian, enjoy this month's segment of a Gregorian Birth Stone Poem:

The February born shall find
Sincerity and peace of mind,
Freedom from passion and from care,
If they, the amethyst will wear.

Before the Golden Age

What do you call the period of time before the so called "golden age" - the time period when one is about ready to retire (from work) but yet have to continue working to be able to pay bills, and also continue fulfilling family responsibilities like caring for an aging parent.

Working in a flowershop, I get to work a lot on flowers for funeral services, flowers for grieving families, or flowers for gravesites for loved ones who passed a long time ago. When working on flowers for people I know, it becomes a personal "mission". It is very sad to note that last year I learned of the passing of high school classmate, and early this year, the passing of a college friend. They are my age, and I realize and I'm thankful for each day I wake up, alive!

Bringing Beauty and Hospitality In Your Home

During this holiday, you get to be invited to friends' and relatives' homes. And when you enter a house and are greeted by the sight of fresh flowers, you know at once you are in a home where beauty and hospitality are important.

The familiar phrase - "Say it with flowers" - becomes meaningful because flowers do say special things - often very hard to find the right words.

Flowers are very pleasing to the eye and when set on the dining table, help whet the appetite, and express that the meal signifies a very special event, a celebration of frienship, the bond and love of family, and on this holiday, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So many of the things in the world today are mass produced, but the flowers that adorn the table are usually hand arranged individually by a florist near you.

Golden Angel Centerpiece

I am very Thankful For Special People and Places

1) My late parents - they who even in poverty and limited education were rich with love, were wise in raising their 7 children, all girls, in a God loving and fearing home. They worked hard, emphasized work ethic into their children, and encouraged us to get educated. They sent us to Catholic school even if they had to scrimp just so they can pay our tuition.
2) Humble beginnings - that molded us into the person that we are to be able to survive whatever challenges we are faced with, such as the current economy.
3) My Siblings - strong women, very loving, helpful, supportive, very generous and very motherly to us the younger sisters.
4) My Cousins - they are like our siblings, having grown up together, our fathers being the only 2 males in their family.
5) My Spouse - my rock, my best friend, my strength, my partner and lover.
6) My Children - my favorite beautiful people, my hope for the future, the most precious priceless gift of all
7) My country - the land I chose for the opportunites it provided for me and my family
8) The Land of my birth - a beautiful country, a beautiful city - Baguio City was called the summer capital, the city of pines where I learned to love life, have fun, work hard and get educated. It is where a lifetime of friendships have been formed. This is where I learned the value of hard work from watching my parents and my relatives, good education from Catholic nuns and priests who also taught us morals and values and nurtured our spiritual growth.
9) Good friends from near and far - who remind one of the joy of their companionship, their support and their love.
10) Good Health - so far, so good and one that definitely makes one so greatful.
11) The Good Lord - Psalm 30:12 ESV That my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

A special Centerpiece

To A Dear Classmate

When one hears of a death of a friend, the initial reaction is of disbelief, it can't be, "she's too young." And then you learn that she's been ill for quite a while. For loved ones, when death occurs, even if there's ample time to accept to the eventual end, it still comes as a shock. Loved ones can be overwhelmed with anguish and deep grief. For most of us who have religious beliefs and faith, when death finally comes after a prolonged period of illness,we say "It's a blessing, she hasn't had a meaningful life for a long time." And we believe God has called her to rest. But for the rest of us that are left behind, we get the sobering fact that we are mere mortals, that we will eventually die. And for me, I feel so sorry I have not known my classmate was living and working in a city next to mine, that I have discovered where she has been upon her death. I am sad for what could have been.
Good bye Myrna Ray Orduna Amis and may the Lord bless and keep your family and friends you left behind.

A Practical Guide to Choosing a Local Florist

Searching for a Local Florist
When searching for a florist online find and contact a local flower shop or florist in the city where you need the flowers delivered. This way, you'll get the most value for your money.

Local florists will gladly serve your flower and rose deliveries with ease. They know the area very well and can help you with your order. If you have your favorite florist in your town, they will gladly find and send your order to a reputable florist where you need your order delivered.

Avoid online florists that appear to be local florists. Most online florists only provide toll free number and no physical address. These are middlemen or order takers - they take your order then turn around and call it in to a local florist. By using the florists that appear to be local florists, you can end up spending more for less flowers .

Ordering Advice:
Be ready with the name, complete address and phone number of the recipient. If it's going to the workplace, give the company name and department the recipient works for.

Keep the order as general and open as possible. Because flowers are usually better in some seasons and not others, and some flowers are more readily available in some places than in others, it is wise to allow the florist to pick the types of flowers used so they can give you the best quality.

In addition, not all colors are available for all types of flowers. While you can specify the overall color or colors of the arrangement (i.e., spring colors, fall colors, pastels, etc.), it is wise to allow the florist to pick the individual colors and flowers so they can give you the best quality.

The same is true with plants specially if you require plants that are in bloom. Let the florist know what houseplant you prefer or ask what plants they have in stock.

Autum Delight

Making your Bouquet of Flowers Last - Flower Care

How to care for your bouquet of flowers

You just received a beautiful bouquet of flowers, maybe for your birthday, a special event or occasion, or perhaps it is a single flower. You want these to last as long as possible, make the memory last.


Here are tips and instructions to help in keeping your flowers last as long as possible.


Remove any leaves that will be under water in the vase.

WIth the end of the flower stem under water, cut about an inch off the stem with a sharp knife. Cut at an angle. This will open the veins in the stem to allow more water to pass through.

Mix floral preservative to fresh water at room temperature or slightly warm water as indicated on the package. It comes with most floral arrangements intended for vases.

Fill a clean vase about 3/4 to the top with water and preservative mixture.

Arrange your flowers as you prefer. Then leave them in a cool, dark room for a couple of hours to allow them to settle into their new home.

Always display your floral arrangement in a cool area.

Keep them out of direct sunlight.

Keep the water fresh. Add the water daily and change the water in about 3 days.

In the evening before you go to bed, place your floral bouquet in the coolest place in your home, perhaps the garage. But, do not leave them in any area which could reach the low thirties or freezing temperatures.
Enjoy your bouquet, and for a longer period of time!

Did you know?

Flowers do not like Ethylene gas. Sources of Ethylene gas include ripening fruits and vegetables, cigarette smoke, and car exhaust.

Basics of Floral Arranging

The best reward for our work as florists is when we get a compliment from our customer or the recipient of our floral bouquet. The best compliment is getting a repeat order for our work.

The basic guideline we have followed for years is the following
- Always place larger flowers first, the smaller flowers can be used to fill the form of the design.
- Flower color influences the visual balance of the design. Darker flowers are usually placed at the base since they appear heavier, soft colored flowers are placed along the perimeter since they appear lighter.
- Maintain a proportional balance.
- Add filler flowers and foliage after the main flowers are in place.
Delightfully Spring

In Loving Memory of a Loved One, Delivering Flowers to a Gravesite or Niche

When a loved one passes, the grief and the feeling of loss stays for a long time after the funeral service. Relatives leave to go on with their lives and friends' calls and visits fade slowly. For close relatives who live far away from the burial place, it makes it difficult for them to make the trip to visit the gravesite.

Florists like us offer the service of delivering flowers for those who can't make the trip. We have a few customers who rely on us to deliver flowers on holidays, the loved one's birthday, or some choose to have flowers once a month. We then send the picture of the flowers we delivered at the gravesite for them.

Florists like us are grateful that we are able to help express the loving memories of those who our customers miss dearly.

The cemeteries we deliver to are:
Sylvan Cemetery District which is located in Citrus Heights and the oldest District cemetery established in 1862 serving Citrus Heights, Rio Linda, North Highlands, Natomas, Orangevale, Carmichael and Fair Oaks.
Calvary Catholic Cemetery at 7101 Verner Ave., Sacramento, CA 95841
Eastlawn Mortuary and Sierra Hills Memorial Park at 5757 Greenback Lane, Sacramento, CA 95841
Eastlawn Memorial Park on 43rd and Folsom
Sacramento Memorial Lawn at 6100 Stockton Blvd.
Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery
Sunset Lawn Memorial Park at 4701 Marysvilee Blvd.

July weddings and other Stuff in Sacramento, CA

As a small business in the floral retail industry, the months of May and June are usually the busiest months. Schools have the high school prom, senior dances and graduation. We also celebrate Mother's Day in May. June is full of weddings - big and small, planned and last minute. This year, July has been unusually busy with weddings and we are booked until the end of July.