by tomboesen on April 19, 2012
Your Mother: The woman who soothed your nightmares, washed your smelly socks, baked you a cake for your birthday, and eased you through your traumatic teenage years. Buying her flowers and taking her out for brunch never seems sufficient – and yet, she’s perfectly tickled and happy with that show of affection!
Where did Mother’s Day start? Originally, “Mother’s Day” wasn’t focused on human mothers, but rather was a celebration of goddesses. The earliest historical record of worshiping a “mother” deity is the Egyptian goddess Isis, who was considered the mother of all pharaohs.
Europe adopted a different kind of observation in later years. The fourth Sunday of Lent honored “Mother Church”, or the church in which one was baptized. By a clerical decree in the 1600s, England included mothers in the observance, calling it “Mothering Day.” Household servants and track workers got to go home to visit their families, giving all a one-day reprieve from Lenten fasting, as it was traditional to have a family feast with Mom as the guest of honor. She was showered with cakes and flowers with all of her children around her.
The first traditional American Mother’s Day was celebrated May 10, 1908, in Grafton, West Virginia. Anna M. Jarvis was carrying on the work of her mother, who used Mother’s Day as a way to reunite families and neighbors who had been estranged by the Civil War. Carnations were handed out to all the mothers attending the 1908 celebration, and even today white carnations are used to honor deceased mothers, while pink or red ones pay tribute to those still living.
No matter what type of flower you give or how you honor YOUR mother this Mother’s Day, Boesen the Florist has a design that will truly make Mom feel your love and appreciation!
by tomboesen on March 30, 2012
The giving and receiving of flowers has been a tradition for many generations. It used to be that your local florist knew your name, your wife’s name, and her favorite flower – so YOU didn’t have to worry about remembering! But as time has progressed, local brick-and-mortar flower shops have become more and more scarce. People are turning, instead, to 1-800 and online “warehouse” ordering to send flowers to their loved ones.
The lure of what seems to be a larger selection is what sucks people in to these call centers. They think they are calling a HUGE floral warehouse with dozens of people standing around, just waiting for their order to come in so they can build it and send it immediately!
The reality, of course, is much different. When you call these “warehouse” florists, you are getting a call center. ONLY a call center. There is no flower warehouse. Just lines of cubicles filled with people answering the phone all day. Most of them probably couldn’t tell you the difference between a daffodil and a daisy. Once they get your order and your money, whoever you spoke with has nothing to do with you or your order again.
What happens when that order doesn’t get to the right place or at the right time? What if that order gets lost in the shuffle and doesn’t end up anywhere? Who carries the responsibility to make it right?
When you call your local florist, you KNOW you are talking to a knowledgeable person who knows plants and flowers and values YOU, the customer! If you aren’t sure what type to send or what colors to use or what’s in season, you can rest assured that the person on the other end of the line will have the perfect suggestion! Your local florist is just that – a florist who cares about your satisfaction! A florist who recirculates your dollar in your community 8 times as opposed to only a possible 4 times with a call center. YOUR money goes back to work in YOUR community to help keep other local businesses – run by your friends, family, and neighbors – in business!
Next time you need to send flowers, call your local Boesen the Florist! Local florists work and live in your community and CARE about the reason you’re sending the flowers in the first place! You can rest assured that if anything goes wrong and you aren’t completely satisfied with the quality of your order, Tom Boesen will stand behind his work and will do everything in his power to make it right for you!
Europe adopted a different kind of observation in later years. The fourth Sunday of Lent honored “Mother Church”, or the church in which one was baptized. By a clerical decree in the 1600s, England included mothers in the observance, calling it “Mothering Day.” Household servants and track workers got to go home to visit their families, giving all a one-day reprieve from Lenten fasting, as it was traditional to have a family feast with Mom as the guest of honor. She was showered with cakes and flowers with all of her children around her.
