No more Teddy Bears....Zombie Plush Toys?

For a recent order, I was tasked to find an over-sized stuffed bear. It was amazing how few were to be found in stores. I haven't been in Toys R Us in, well,... ever. Just how out of it I am came home when I discovered that in place of the traditional teddy bears were aisle upon aisle of stuffed zombies.

 

I especially like the touch of having detachable limbs. Authenticity is crucial, no?

Green Weddings at the Green Bride Guide

We are a part of a very cool consortium of wedding professionals who specialize in green/eco-friendly weddings and celebrations. Check us out on the Green Bride Guide, along with other vendors who are similarly committed to helping couples celebrate their values within their wedding ceremonies.

Tiger Lily by Encke and Tiger Weddings on the Green Bride Guide:
http://www.greenbrideguide.com/vendor/tiger-lily-encke

Bird feeder sunflower thrives in Teaneck

Breaking news: A solitary sunflower seed somehow escaped the sparrows at the bird feeder outside of Tiger Lily, and its glorious progeny is now in bloom.  We'll collect the seeds and see if we can make it happen next year. (It's been a slow month around here....)

Wedding photos from The Liberty Warehouse, Red Hook, Brooklyn

Here are some great photographs from one of Tiger Lily's weddings from last summer. This wedding took place at the newly renovated Liberty Warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn - a converted warehouse space first built on New York Harbor in the 1850s.. Owned and operated by the City Cafe, this gorgeous new venue is the coolest place in which we've had the chance to work.

 The main attraction is an unparalleled view of the Harbor. The Statue of Liberty is looking right at you (actually over your shoulder towards her beloved France...)
The table centerpieces are manzanita branches with miniature cymbidium orchids affixed to the branch ends. The bases are composed of peonies, white gerberas, antique hydrangea, and vintage pink roses. The effect was not unlike cherry blossoms.

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).

Don't be a Christmas cactus assassin...

Tiger Lily's Guide to Care for Your Christmas Cactus

This is one of Tiger Lily's favorite plant specimens at this (or any) time of year. The blossoming of Schlumbergera bridesii or Zygocactus is a much anticipated event in many households where their owners have learned to care for them. In other, sad homes, they sometimes don't last the winter. We're including some information here so that you don't join the cohort of Christmas cactus assassins. 

The first thing you need to know is that this plant is a succulent native to the South American jungles. Christmas cacti are quite different from other cacti and succulents – they are tropicals, not desert plants. They require more water and don't adapt well to drought conditions. Other differences are their preference for mixed rather than direct sunlight and relatively cooler temperatures.  It is therefore best to keep these plants away from heaters, fireplaces, radiators, furnace ducts, and other heat sources. Place the cactus in a sunny location while indoors and if outdoors during the summer, find a place that has a sun/shade mix to prevent the plant from getting burned. Watering this type of cactus is sometimes a problem because folks tend to treat them the same as they would a regular desert cactus. Underwatering in this way will stress the plant if it doesn’t kill it outright. Others make the opposite mistake and overwater, causing the plant to rot at the roots. If your plant came to you as a gift and it is still in a lined basket, replant it immediately in a garden pot with a drainage hole.

The best way to be sure your plant is getting just the right amount of water is to wait until the soil is dry on the top and still a bit moist toward the bottom. Then water the plant until the soil is saturated. Drain off any excess water that accumulates on the bottom. Never leave this plant in standing water or with runoff sitting in the overflow tray. Don’t water again until the top half of the soil feels dry to the touch. Well-drained soil is very important. You should purchase potting soil that is designed specifically for cacti. If you can't find cactus potting soil, you can mix two parts regular potting soil with one part sand.

Wholesale growers usually time these cacti’s blooming cycles to peak just before the holidays. To ensure that your cactus will bloom in time for Christmas, you will need to give the cactus a 3 – 4-month rest period. You will want to cut back on the watering, leaving only the top of the soil moist. Stop watering the plant beginning in October, and then begin watering again (don’t saturate) in November. To stimulate the budding process, relocate the plant so that it is in darkness at night and relatively cool temperatures for at least 14 hours per day. The new location should be totally dark for at least 12 hours – no artificial light. Once the buds form, they can take from 10 to 12 weeks to fully bloom. Also make sure the air has enough humidity so the buds don't dry up and fall off.

After the cactus blossoms out and the blooms fall off, you can prune your cactus so that it bushes out instead of becoming vine-like and unmanageable. You'll also find that the cactus will bloom better the following year. As new growth appears in the spring, put a diluted solution of liquid houseplant fertilizer 2 to 3 weeks after the start of the new growth. The cactus should be repotted every 2 to 3 years depending on how depleted the soil is. Repotting should be done in the spring, but if the plant is at risk of dying because of its potting condition, then repotting can be done anytime of the year as needed. 

With the proper care, the annual blooming of the Christmas cactus can be a spectacular event at your home, too. 

Season's Greetings, Y'all

Greetings from the Shameless Commerce Division of Tiger Lily! The subject of today's post: how to advertise without being part of the seasonal inundation of toxic advertising? Just finished a mass email trying to let folks know what we have in the shop that's new, and I'm feeling sideways guilty about it. What's really a drag is when people you know in other social contexts write back to you with the dreaded UNSUBSCRIBE in the message header.

I would like to thank American Express, the proud sponsors of Small Business Saturday (if you missed it, it was the day after Black Friday, two days before Cyber-Monday). We had our slowest Saturday in months. Was this an anti-Amex backlash?

This capitalism thing can be a conundrum. So, any ideas about how to advertise the Tiger Lily lifestyle without actually advertising?

I'll think of something to send to the best answer. It'll be cool, I swear.

Tiger Lily leads a benefit instrument-making workshop at Chabbad House in Teaneck

Last month our friend, Rabbi Michoel Goldin invited us to Chabbad House in Teaneck to conduct a benefit instrument making workshop with his teen group. In advance we prepared kits for the construction of 35 mbiras (aka kalimbas or thumb pianos) to be donated to the children staying at Shelter Our Sisters - Bergen County's network of shelters for victims of domestic violence and abuse. A speaker from SoS gave a very moving talk about her own experience of domestic abuse while the group worked on their mbiras. Congratulations to Rabbi Goldin for his outstanding work in the community, particularly with this group of teens. Several came to the shop later in the week to help us finish up the mbiras that needed more work. This was a great example of Tikkun Olam ("repairing the world") in action.