5 of the Prettiest Autumn Bouquets to Send In Canada

Well, it's that time of year again. Even though much of Canada's eastern half is currently experiencing pretty warm temperatures (24 degrees in Charlottetown today? Wowsers!), much of the country has already experienced some cooler-than-seasonal temperatures. And as the calendar flips over from September to October, it's inevitable -- Autumn is here.

We've seen great response around our Autumn-styled bouquets around this time of year, and this year is no different. Many of these bouquets feature colours that mimic the changing of the leaves and gorgeous flowers that can bring a charming, rustic look to any room in which they're placed. Plus, with Thanksgiving coming up in a couple of weeks, many of them would make for a perfect adornment or centrepiece for your dinner table.

We all know winter will be here before we know it. Instead of battening down the hatches and going in to hibernation mode, let's make the best of this season that, from coast-to-coast, is an emphatic reminder of how beautiful of a country Canada really is.

Here are 5 of our favourite bouquets, designed especially for this season.

BURST OF AUTUMN


Price: $29.95

This assortment shines for its simple palette, yet it is a beautifully complex arrangement. The Autumn Burst arrangement features  roses, daisies and orchids in all the colours of the season.

AUTUMN GERBERAS

Price: $39.95

Gerberas continue to be a trendy, popular choice with our customers, and part of their popularity can be chalked up to their versatility. In this arrangement, yellow, red and orange 'Gerbs' are contrasted by an assortment of rustic greenery. 

AUTUMN GLORY


Price: $44.95

This arrangement is just the perfect blend of traditional and contemporary styles. Classic Sunflowers and Chyrsanthemum is offset by the popping colours of Gerbera Daisies and Roses for an elegant, lovely bouquet.

AUTUMN RUSTIC

Price: $49.95

The Autumn Rustic bouquet might not be what's expected, but it's a fresh take on the rustic theme, with unexpected splashes of colour complimenting traditional reds, yellows and oranges.

ARTFUL AUTUMN

Price: $69.95

This bouquet is an eye-catching work of art. Beautiful Sunflowers serve as a pastoral, picturesque focal point, complimented by shades of burnt orange, red, and backed by assorted greenery and filler. Just perfect for a Thanksgiving dinner centrepiece, and in fact, dazzling for any occasion. 

Sunflowers: An Incredible History and Interesting Facts

Sunflowers are one of the more popular flowers in North America. Their bright, vibrant appearance brings light into any room, and their ability to grow to massive heights in a wild environment make them one of the more rewarding flowers for gardeners or cultivators.

Sunflower photo from Creative Commons user
L. Shyamal

Sunflowers have a rich history and interesting history and a variety of practical uses in everyday life. But their history stems back much farther. They were used as a symbol of worship by the Aztecs; they were a crucial ingredient in 18th century Russia; and they have been brought back and forth between the "Old World" and "New World" so many times throughout their history.

Let's take a journey through some interesting facts and information about this beloved plant (beloved by everyone but farmers, that is!)


-Sunflowers are thought to have been first cultivated in what we now know as Mexico. But even prior to that, they were likely used by primitive peoples as a readily available source of fat.

-They were eventually brought back to Europe, and in the 18th century, became wildly popular in Russia, as it was a way to skirt around the Orthodox Church's insistence on not consuming oil during Lent (sunflowers were not "on the list" as they were exotic and foreign at the time.) Here's a great link if you're interested about the fascinating history of the sunflower.

-Oil from Sunflowers has been extracted for hundreds of years, and is a trendy alternative in modern Western society as a lower cholesterol alternative to other cooking oils like Olive Oil and Vegetable Oil.

-The middle portion of the sunflower always grows in the same spiral pattern, and there is even a mathematical formula to express the specific formation of the growth.

- Sunflowers are a part of the Guerrilla Gardening movement, where people plant flowers in public spaces,

Sunshine Sunflower bouquet.

usually without permission or direction, in an effort to beautify typically run-down urban landscapes. Since 2007, every May 1 is International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day, and over 5000 people signed up for the event in 2010.

-Other historical and modern uses for sunflowers include: animal feed, eating the seeds as a snack food, removing toxicity from compromised soil, the making of paper.

-The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas, and the national flower of  Ukraine.

We have a variety of Sunflower bouquets available in our store online if you're interested in sending some to a loved one.

If you love these bright and cheerful plants, here's a great way to learn even more about sunflowers. Enjoy!

5 Coffee Baskets to Send in Canada

What could be better for the coffee lover in your life then to be surprised with a gift basket chock full of 'joe,' and accompanying treats?

If you're looking to send coffee in Canada, Bloomex is the best option around. Coffee makes for a unique gift, stays fresh through delivery and is a product that the recipient will undoubtedly make good use of. Many of these arrangements include lots of delectable snacks and treats. With so many options, you might want to even treat yourself!

Check out some of our coffee gift baskets, with links to their product pages on bloomex.ca. Click on the products' names to check out the details.

Classic Coffee Basket$29.99

A thoughtful assortment that won't break the bank but will definitely bring some morning joy.
Contains 7 Items

Coffee & More

$34.95
A similar assortment to the above arrangement but includes some Truffle Chocolates and Cappuccino.

Contains: 

-Premium Imported Expresso Coffee 

-Napoleon Private Label Coffee 

-Golden Pack of Flavoured Coffee 

-Pack of Imported Instant Coffee       

-Cappuccino Coffee 

-Chocolate Candies 

-Dark Chocolate Bar 

-Coffee Cookies

Extra Large Coffee Lover Basket

$49.99
What an awesome assortment of products, all for less than 50 bucks.

Contains:
Napoleon Coffee, Assorted Flavoured Colombian Coffee, Private Brand Bloomex Coffee, Cappucino Coffee, Extra Large Cappucino Coffee pack, Instant Colombian Coffee, Italian Expresso Coffee, Assorted Sampler Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Extra Large Pack of Ground Colombian Coffee.

Joy of Java 

$64.95
A mix of treats that will have the joy delivered right to the recipients' front door.

Contains:

Gourmet Coffee

Gourmet Expresso Coffee

Premium Green Tea

traditional Orange Pekoe Tea

Coffee Candies

Tuscany Crackers

Pepper Blend Crackers

Premium Crunchy Candy

Cafe Latte mocha drink mix

Premium Fudge

Premium Chocolate Waffers

Delicious Cookies

Savoury Snack Mixture. 

Extra Large Coffee & Chocolate Basket
$69.99
Hey, we've all got our vices. And if coffee and chocolate are some of your special someone's they'll be absolutely thrilled to receive this incredible assortment.

Contains:
Extra Large Assorted Chocolate Box, Large box of Truffle, Extra Large pack of European Cookies, Milk Chocolate Bar, Hazelnut Chocolate, Assorted Gourmet Sampler pack Coffee,  Premium Colombian Expresso Coffee, Private Brand Bloomex Coffee, Mozart Napoleon Coffee, Golden Flavoured Colombian Coffee, Instant Coffee Jar, Cappucino Coffee and Premium  Extra large pack of Imported Ground Coffee

Follow Bloomex On Social Media

We love to keep in touch with our valued customers. Make sure you follow us on our social accounts. Here's the information:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloomex

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bloomex_canada

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/bloomexflowers

What're you waiting for? Follow us for info on Bloomex products, special offers and exciting contests to come!

Press Release: Bloomex Has Served Over 1,000,000 Customers

An e-commerce success story: how a small Canadian Start-Up grew into Canada's Largest Florist -- and changed the game along the way

Bloomex, Canada's largest florist, has served over 1,000,000 customers since launching in 2006. The company, whose main site is located at www.bloomex.ca, is heading into another Christmas season with business booming thanks to its quality products, on-time delivery, centralized model, being first on the scene with a new business model, and low prices.

The story of Bloomex begins in 2006. With the boom in new technologies, and Internet access becoming available to virtually every Canadian, many industries had undergone rapid change to cater to this new world of the web. From music and movie rental stores to the postal service, there were few corners of Canadian business left untouched by the influence of the Internet.

But for every example of the way that society quickly adapted and changed their consumption habits under the mantra of “cheaper, faster, better,” just as many industries were slow to react. Take the venerable local flower shop, for example, which had remained more-or-less unchanged for a century. And in an industry that’s estimated to be worth over $100 billion worldwide annually, it’s easy to see why the local florists were somewhat resistant to change. Even as consumers began to turn increasingly toward e-commerce in Canada, and these shops began to dip their toe in to online waters, their old-school models of existing florists fulfilling orders through wire services remained successful – for the florists.

They were less of a success from the consumer perspective, though. The cost of supporting their online operations and a physical storefront drove up overhead for the florists. And the fact that it took an importer, a wholesaler, and the florist themselves to get the flowers from the farm to one’s door only added to the end cost for the consumer, and didn’t jibe with the way things were moving in the fast-paced, online environment.

That’s what made Bloomex, a scrappy Canadian start-up founded in Ottawa in 2006, a game-changer – maybe not a revolution, but certainly a significant evolution, eschewing the traditional florist models in several ways. For one, the convoluted chain of middlemen, each taking their own cuts, was abolished in favour of a simplified direct-from-grower approach. The idea of a costly brick-and-mortar storefront, which only added to overhead costs for local florists, was replaced by a website and a centralized customer service model.

Almost immediately, the new model paid dividends for Bloomex. With the proof of concept in place, the early success of the company allowed them to open production/distribution facilities in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.  That put them at a competitive advantage, spreading their footprint wide throughout the country and providing shipping points within a short radius of the vast majority of Canada’s population centres. The introduction of the centralized model also meant the business was easily scalable for international operations, with the company opening production and fulfillment facilities in the United States and Australia.

The success of Bloomex’s model has inspired others to join suit, but being first on the scene in Canada has paid off for the company. While e-commerce now accounts for over $120 billion of sales annually in Canada (2012), in 2007 e-commerce sales were less than half of that.  It was a calculated risk, but with great risk comes reward. And with other sites working out their growing pains, Bloomex has become a mature business with over 20 employees working out of their Ottawa headquarters, and fifty more scattered throughout the country and internationally. Bloomex has now served over a million customers, and can rightfully lay claim to being Canada’s largest florist – largely because of an e-commerce gamble that’s paid off big time.

Great Reasons to Use Bloomex

With many options out there for your flowers -- from local florists, to online competitors -- Canadians are spoiled for choice. So we thought it might be a good idea to lay out all the reasons why Bloomex offers the highest quality flowers at the best prices you'll find.

So...

Why use Bloomex?

Let us count the reasons...

WE OFFER THE HIGHEST QUALITY FLOWERS IN THE COUNTRY:

• We buy our flowers directly from growers, so they don’t go through a lengthy chain of middlemen to get here.
• We assemble our bouquets and arrangements at our own production facilities.

WE DELIVER... ON-TIME:

• We ship directly to your doorstep.
• Our facilities are located strategically in eight major Canadian cities – allowing fresh, on-time delivery to the overwhelming majority of Canadians.

WE OFFER THE BEST PRICES IN THE NATION:

• We cut out the importers, wholesalers and local florists, eliminating all the fees, margins and markups that go along with the ‘traditional’ florist model. That’s bad news for them… but good news for you.
• Our successful business model has afforded us tremendous buying power. We pass those savings on to you.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU TELL ME?

• Our corporate offices are in Ottawa, Ontario, where the company was founded in 2006.
• We have production facilities in the following Canadian cities: Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. With this national footprint, we are able to deliver on-time to basically any place in Canada.
• We also have production facilities in Miami, Florida and Sydney, Australia.
• We’ve served well over 1,000,000 customers since 2006.
• Click here to check out what we call the “F3” advantage – with even more information on how we do business.

Still have questions? Give us a call today at 1-888-912-5666, or click to CHAT or CALL via Skype with one of our customer service representatives.

7 Fascinating Facts About The Iris

The Iris is a popular flower with Bloomex customers and it’s easy to see why. Versatile and beautiful, the Iris is generally hardy and able to grow in cooler climates. It also doesn’t require a large amount of cultivation, generally more able to survive and thrive without human intervention than many other delicate-looking flowers.

The Classic Blue Iris Bouquet

They’re found naturally in most parts of the world, and in fact can be found growing on every continent except for Australia. The flower has a rich history, from Ancient Greece, to Ancient Egypt, through colonial-era France and into modern times. Likely due to its toughness, the Iris has persisted as an exotic, gorgeous flowering plant that today makes for a well-admired flower as part of bouquets or a garden.

Here are some more interesting facts about the Iris.

1. Irises are named for the Greek Goddess Iris, due to the many different colours that they come in; Iris is the Greek word for rainbow, and the Goddess was the personification of a rainbow.
2. The Iris is a state flower of Tennessee, and the town of Greeneville in that state holds an annual Iris festival.
3. The fleur-de-lis, an emblem of Quebec and Cajun culture is a stylized version of an Iris. The Iris is also the official flower of the province of Quebec. As well, a fleur-de-lis is the symbol of the New Orleans Saints NFL football team.
4. Other stylized Iris’ used in symbolism include the flag of Brussels, Belgium, and the coat-of-arms for the Ukraine.
5. The Yellow Iris is used in water purification systems, where the roots of the plant is planted in lava-

   

   The provincial flag of Quebec
   features stylized Irises. 

   stone.
6. Irises are used in oils for modern aromatherapy, was commonly used in perfumes and medicine during ancient times, and are used as flavouring in some brands of modern Gins.
7. The Iris species consists of upwards of 300 variations, divided generally into 6 subspecies for the sake of classification.

Check out our Iris page and send some for less today, with on-time delivery and low prices available throughout Canada, the United States and Australia.

Celebrate World Gratitude Day With Bloomex!

Have you heard? September 21st is World Gratitude Day.

You can be forgiven if you haven't heard of it before. It's actually been going on since 1965, and there's a bit of an interesting story about its history.

Here's the scoop, from thegratitudelist.org:

A Brief History of World Gratitude Day: World Gratitude Day was launched in 1965 at the International East-West Center in Hawaii during a Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by meditation guru Sri Chinmoy. Those in attendance, including delegates and high-ranking officials from more than a dozen countries around the world, pledged to celebrate gratitude and to count blessings from their home country every September 21 following. Chinmoy, director of United Nations Meditation Group, celebrated Stateside. In 1977, the UN Meditation Group celebrated nine world leaders for their generous spirits and philanthropic works. Chinmoy, who passed away in 2007, worked to foster peace, compassion, and gratitude throughout his life and work.

It's really a nice message, and a chance to show how grateful you are to that special someone in your life.

What better way to show your gratitude than with Bloomex? Allow us to humbly suggest a few ideas to honour the spirit of the holiday this Saturday.

• Here's a post from our blog on 7 Great Ways to Say Thanks.
• Half-Priced Bouquets...To Make Someone's Day. (The recipient doesn't need to know that it was half-price -- it's the thought that counts :))
• And here's one more post on 5 Amazing Foods to Send for Under $50.
• Browse our entire collection of "Thank You" Flowers and Gifts

Bloomex featured in Ottawa Business Journal

Check out this article from Mark Brownlee of the Ottawa Business Journal that mentions Bloomex, and features a photo of our founder and president, Dimitri! Here's the relevant passages: 

Ottawa-based online flower shop Bloomex will always take responsibility if a customer isn’t happy with their product, said Dimitri Lokhonia, the company’s president. That includes cases where a customer has filled in their address wrong on the form.

But that can only go so far. Even though it’s only a very small percentage, Mr. Lokhonia said he’s seen cases of customers trying to steal from the company by asking for their flowers to be replaced even after they arrived as advertised.

The company receives about 20 online complaints out of the 200,000 sales it does every year, he said. That’s one of the reasons why he refuses to change how the company operates just because one or two people aren’t pleased.

When asked if he had any advice to businesses dealing with negative reviews online, Mr. Lokhonia said: “I would just do my job. The satisfied customers…(are) the people who will bring you business.”

Photo © Cole Burston, Ottawa Business Journal.

Dimitri Lokhonia is president of online flower shop Bloomex.

Bouquets that are Blue, Perfect for You

Got a case of the blues? Know someone who does?

It's pretty natural in Canada for a lot of people to feel glum as winter begins to hit its stride. Bloomex offers a wide assortment of bouquets, including several that feature blue as a primary colour. 

These gorgeous bouquets just might brighten someone's day with some cool shades that add a certain calmness to any room. 

BEAUTIFUL IN BLUE  - $39.95:

This gorgeous bouquet features White Lilies and Chrysanthemums, paired with Yellow Chrysanthemums, Eucalyptus, Limonium, Cream Roses. 

BLUE AND WHITE JOY - $84.95

3 Delphinium Stems and 12 White Calla Lilies provide a pop of gorgeous colour in any setting. 

BLUE IRIS BOUQUET - $24.95

This vibrant assortment proves you can't go wrong with a little Iris in your life. 10 tall, beautiful Blue Iris are sure to make a great impression, and make for a beautiful arrangement that's as unique as it is pretty.

PURE DEVOTION - $34.99

Cream roses with splashes of button Spray Chrysanthemums, White Dahlia and Snapdragons make for a lovely arrangement. Stems of Huckleberry complete the look for an unforgettable bouquet that shows your devotion in spades.

6 Cities That Claim to Be Flower Capitals

Flower Fields in Lompoc, California. Photo from here.

Last month, we covered cities that claim to be the Rose City, or some such extremely close variation. With so many cities across North America, it's a wonder that more of them don't strive to have a more unique nickname for their little slices of land.

Why be a mere flower city when you can be a capital? Some of the following might be slightly dubious, but noteworthy all the same…

Lompoc, California - The Flower Seed Capital of the World
Lompoc is located in Southern California, in Santa Barbara County. It’s home to Camp Cooke, an army training camp, and later was a test site for ballistic missiles. More notably, it’s home to the Valley of Flowers, a massive stretch of flowered fields, and according to this, over half the world’s flower seeds are grown in these fields. Today, the city is known as the City of Arts and Flowers.

Crested Butte, Colorado - The Wildflower Capital of Colorado
This charming town of about 1,500 is a popular spot for outdoor sports like mountain biking, hiking and skiing. In fact, the town lays claim to have invented mountain biking, and is home to that activity’s Hall of Fame. The area is also home to the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, which is held every July. Since 1990, it’s been officially designated as the Wildflower Capital of Colorado, by the state legislature.

Hearne, TX. From Wikipedia Creative Commons.

Hearne, Texas - Sunflower Capital of Texas
Hearne is a small city of about 4,500. The Texas State Legislature designated it as the state’s sunflower capital in 1997, owing to its history as a home of commercial sunflower production. According to this, the nickname has beendownplayed in recent years in favour of going with the “Crossroads of Texas,” due to its location between major cities Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

Temple, Texas - Wildflower Capital of Texas
Temple, located in Central Texas, is home to about 65,000 residents. It was formed as a railroad town in the 1880s, and has had produced such luminaries as football legend “Mean” Joe Green, and actor Rip Torn. The city’s nickname is simply due to the large amount of wildflowers that grow in the area.

Tyler, TX, the Rose Capital of the World. Image from
Wikipedia Creative Commons.

Wasco, California - Rose Growing Capital of the World
Wasco has a well-earned nickname, as upwards of 55% of roses grown in the USA are grown in or around the city. The city is home to about 25,000 people, and also home to a large state prison.

Tyler, Texas - Rose Capital of the World
Tyler is a city of just under 100,000, which is home to the annual Texas Rose Festival. Former NFL Running Back Earl Campbell was nicknamed the Tyler Rose.