Vote for me. I will make your wildest dreams come true.

Napoleon Dynamite is one of our favorite movies. We shamelessly copped this line.

These stunning Ecuadorian "Rosita Vendela" roses are some of the finest we've found anywhere. They are guaranteed to make your wildest dreams come true.* (*See disclaimer below.)

*DISCLAIMER: While it is true that our roses have been known to enhance intimacy and inspire great feelings of love and affection, we cannot guarantee in all instances that said roses will have the desired effects. Your dreams may be wilder than average, and therefore we cannot be responsible for disappointing results where expectations exceeded the limits of reason or reality. I mean, come on, they're flowers, for God's sake...We're designers, Jim, not miracle workers.
If you are under a doctor's care for heart conditions or other serious health problems, please consult your physician before applying these roses, as they may cause an unsafe elevation in heart rate and respiration. And always use safe sex practices when under the influence of roses.

Tiger Lily Flowers (Tiger Lily by Encke) will be delivering Saturday and Sunday before Valentine's Day, in addition to the big day itself. We're open extended hours all weekend, so there's no excuse. Visit us at 569 Cedar Lane in Teaneck or online at Tiger lily's website. 

Man, I love tulips.

Having just gotten our latest shipment of tulips from Holland, I'm ready to fight anyone who doesn't like tulips. 

It's easy to see how the world's first speculative bubble was created in the Dutch tulip market in 1637. I have to admit, I would have lost my shirt - or wooden shoes.

The hues of these flowers are so deliciously intense you could just take a bite out of them. 

Come visit our tulips at Tiger Lily Flowers on Cedar Lane in Teaneck or visit us on our Facebook page.

Thinking about Valentine's Day... already

Everyone who is remotely involved in the flower business is thinking hard about Valentine's Day. We're in the thick of it - reviewing last year's numbers, making predictions for this year, pricing and ordering roses. Tiger Lily is also busy training some new designers. Jennifer, the newest member of our team is shown at left perfecting the subtle art of the dozen rose vase arrangement. Not bad for a nube! (A bit heavy on the baby's breath, though...)

While it looks like prices for roses will be higher than ever, we have found sources for farm-direct shipments of the most exquisite Ecuadorian long stems we've ever found. Ponte Tresa is our favorite Ecuadorian rose farm, carrying both Fair Trade and organic certifications.

It may seem a bit far off, but consider ordering your Valentine's Day arrangements early. It helps to ensure that your arrangements reach your intended early in the day, and gives our designers time to do their best, rather than doing last-minute work with sleep deprivation.

Stay tuned: we will be posting our updated version of "The Man's Guide to Valentine's Day," as well as some new coupons for the February 15th Knucklehead Special Rose Sale (with a 50% mark-up for those who didn't order their roses in time.)

Tiger Lily by Encke and Encke Flowers are both located in Teaneck, NJ and deliver the highest quality organic flowers to Teaneck, Hackensack, Englewood, Bogota, Ridgefield Park, Leonia, Fort Lee, and most parts of Bergen County and northern New Jersey. Call us for your Valentine's Day deliveries! (201-287-1800).

Celebrating our favorite national holiday... Happy Birthday, Martin.

Photo credit: Benedict. J. Fernandez

"An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We join with millions of people worldwide in celebrating the life of a true soldier for justice and warrior for peace.  

Circa 1955: Encke's Greenhouses on Fort Lee Road in Bogota, NJ.

Encke Flowers, circa 1955.

This is a photo of our old location on Fort Lee Road. Under a layer of snow, you can see the greenhouses in the background. The Encke family started the business in 1906 and sold flowers in Manhattan's flower district - chrysanthemums, carnations, sweet pea, spray roses and other flowers that were in demand during the early part of the twentieth century. Through the window of the greenhouse in the foreground you can see large spider and football chrysanthemums.
During World War I, Encke's extensive greenhouses were commandeered by the US Army and used as barracks. The greenhouses are now gone, and Encke Flowers has moved around the corner from Bogota to 281 Queen Anne Road in Teaneck, New Jersey. The flowers once grown in Bogota are now imported from Colombia and Ecuador. The retail end of our business still thrives. If you are ever in the neighborhood, be sure to stop in at Encke and ask Jennifer to show you our photo collection from back in the day.
We are proud to be continuing the tradition of New Jersey's oldest, and we think, best floral retail business. We've expanded our reach and our mission with the opening of Tiger Lily Flowers in the heart of Teaneck's business district. Through so many changes we do our best to bring art and science together in providing northern New Jersey with flowers for the cycle of life.

"The Last Minute" Is Officially Here! For your last minute Christmas shopping...Flowers!

 

If, like me, you are paralyzed when it comes to deciding what to do for the famously "hard-to-shop-for" people on your list, allow me to make a suggestion: How about "Flowers for a Month?" Or better still, "Flowers for a Year?" Have your friends, your great love, your family know what it is like to always have fresh flowers in their home. 

For the monthly program, Tiger Lily will create 4 superbly designed (OK, all modesty is out the window...) floral arrangements in consultation with you or your recipient and deliver it to their home each week of the month on the day of your choosing. Or, send 12 arrangements, one per month for the entire year. These programs are deeply discounted and include free delivery. We use only organic flowers and Fair Trade certified roses.Call us soon so that we can make the first delivery for you in time for Christmas. There's still time! But not much...

The Botany of Desire

 Having run through most of the Netflix catalogue of films that I have either seen or dismissed, I was recently piqued by a documentary first released by PBS entitled, "The Botany of Desire," based on the book of the same name by Michael Pollan. In short, this brilliant doc elegantly demonstrates how four plant species have manipulated human beings to serve their evolutionary ends. "Little Shop of Horrors'" Audrey II turns out to be more terrestrial in origin. Not so blood-thirsty, either, but from a plant's point of view, just as greedy and self-serving. The apple, the tulip, the potato and cannabis are all thriving species by having developed strategies to disperse their genes by appealing to our species' aesthetic, gustatory, economic, and hedonistic desires. (Wiley lil' devils...)
The film is so well done, you'll forget you're watching a documentary (or PBS), and you'll come away with some great trivia about such things as 1. Where did apples originate? (Answer: Not the Garden of Eden.) 2. What caused the world's first capitalistic speculative bubble? (Answer: The Tulip, 1634.) 3. What plant changed human history more than any other? (Answer: The Potato. Providing enough calories in a half acre to sustain a family for an entire year.) 4. What research has been profoundly advanced by pot? (Answer: The neurophysiology of memory.)
I confess, it is the first time that I have thought about being manipulated by a plant. And I'm a florist.

You will really enjoy this film.
View "The Botany of Desire" online...