Chris McCann, President and COO of 1-800-FLOWERS, America’s largest florist and online gift shop, goes undercover to find out what its like  outside the corporate boardroom, in hopes of gaining a glimpse of what 1-800-Flowers employees day to day looks like. The conclusion of  this episode will force him to reveal his true identity on this seasons finale of Undercover Boss. 

Chris is the younger brother of Jim McCann founder of 1-800-flowers.com.

It’s been said that while the older Jim McCann was busy building a successful floral business the younger Chris joined the corporate ranks much later focusing much of his attention on the company’s structure and balance sheets. 

The entire expirement  for the younger McCann allows him to get a better understanding of not only the customers his comany serves but also to get  an understanding of the lives of his employees.

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The Cherry Blossom in DC is home to The National Cherry Blossom Festival (501(3)(c) non-profit). The festival is a two-week, annual event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the long lasting friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. The event begins March 27th through April 11th, with a parade on Saturday, April 10th beginning at 10am.

Prior to this intangible peace treaty, 19th century imperialism drew clear lines of separation between these two great nations. Through it’s strict policy of isolation, Japan remained untouched by western ways until the Treaty of Amity (1854). Although, feelings of mistrust and resentment continued to ride due to early U.S. Naval Leaders gunboat diplomacy upon Japan. In order to lessen tensions and restore peace, mutual Cherry and Flowering Dogwood tree offerings were given.

DC Attractions include multiple festivals, museums, monuments, and more. The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization that coordinates, produces, and supports creative and diverse activities promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty and the environment, and community spirit and youth education. It’s also begins peak season for an influx of tourists to Washington, also brought in by the thousands of historical landmarks, museums, and other buildings. Some of the most popular DC Tours include Hop-On-Off Double-Decker Bus, Discover DC Segway Safari, & Arlington Cemetery, and Washington DC After Dark.

The National Museum of Crime & Punishment, located in Washington, D.C. contains excellent depictions of historically famous crime scenes along detailed information concerning past wars, forensics, organized crime, and more. Feel free to stop by our website and get a preview of some of the most notoriously famous crime scenes in U.S. History. There’s plenty of information on featured exhibits in our crime library along with a vast amount of Crime Data at our Forensic blog.

It’s Tulip season in the Netherlands. Several acres of land dedicated to the cultivation of tulips transforms a mundane landscapet  to brilliant streams of purple, yellow, blue, white, pink, red, and lavendar.  This Ducth Tulips farm provides a magnificant array of color as far as the eye can see.

After planting their bulbs in late October and early November,  these tulips are now ready to be picked and sold as cut flowers at florists and supermarkets. The Netherlands has produce more than nine million bulbs a year.

Globally more than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of them are shipped to the U.S. and Germany in time for the spring floral season.

Now is the time for Easter and Sping Flowers. How do we know? Check some online florist sites. Popular bouquets that represent the begining of spring include tulips, Easter lilies,  hyacinths, dasies, carnations, daffodils and violets.

Blooming spring flowers represents the changing season and an exciting time. Colorful bouquets of vibrant colors make gift giving and home decorating fun. Spring and Easter flowers are exciting and a welcome change.

For those celebrating Easter you can save as much as 15% -30% off for geting your Easter/Spring flowers early for Easter which is on April 4th. Easter/Passover floral gift giving is the fourth most popular Holiday for giving flowers after Valentines Day. Lilies are the most popular bouquet  representing about 52% of the flowers purchased for Easter. Tulips, Daffodils and Irises are highly favored flowers for Easter as well.

Spring flowers are a great way to decorate your home and wow your house guest. Place a bouquets of lilies in your home hallway or a bouquet of fresh cut tulips on your dinner table to add the essence of Spring to your dinner party. Place a bouquet of fresh spring flowers on your bedroom nightstand and awake every morning to the site of  fresh cut spring flowers.

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Although still elegant and beautiful, flowers are just flowers if they aren’t assembled in a vase!

Flowers have always been a great way to celebrate a special occasion or holiday, but how much attention do you give to the vase you select. A decorative flower vase can, and will add personality to an ordinary set of blooms. Flowers in a vase is how most blooms are displayed anyway - so you can’t go without one.

Flower shops will sell you the just the flowers if that’s all your budget can afford, but the vase can outlive the flowers and add to the decor of your home or office  indefinetly and can be a keepsake to remind you of the flowers.

Calyx and Corrolla has a spectacular display of Vases & Cachepots that can turn any ordinary bouquet into a floral masterpiece with their decorative flower vases.

Here is sampling of vases from Calyx and Corrolla. Just click on the image for a larger view:

If its about decorating then a simple fish bowl clear vase will not due.

If you need additional inspriation check out the Julie Mulligen PictherPerfect collection of arragments in decorative flower vases. She usually has more than the normal vase as she incorporates everyday themes from movies to sports to make flowers unique and inspriring.

Calyx Flowers is renowned for the exquisite vases and cachepots which they find to complement there luxury floral gifts.

Send one of these lovely vessels as a special gift, or treat yourself to a grand display for your next handpicked bouquet.

Browse and find some great decorative vase for your flowers and see how they make a difference with your home decor.

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OrganicBouquet created plenty of online and television media buzz this past Valentines Day when their “World’s Tallest Roses” appeared on ABC’s “The View”.  

The roses which can measure any where from 4 to 6 feet in height engendered so much curiousity for the company  throughout the day Organic Bouquet was the #1 search on Google by the afternoon.  The Views  average audience size is 4.2 million viewers so it’s not hard to image.

OrganicBouquet is the nation’s leading supplier of eco-friendly flowers and gifts.  Your purchase of these  roses incidentally make a positive impact on the environment by removing harmful chemicals from our environment, in addition to helping farm workers in developing countries support their families.

“Each purchase helps provide education, medical care and jobs with livable wages for growers and artisans. In addition, certified sustainable farms employ over 60% female workers-providing job opportunities where there once was none.” according a release from the company.

Here is a video with the CEO Robert McLaughlin talking about OrganicBouquet’s eco-freindly gifts.  

What are your impression of the roses? Would you buy them?

Roses are a very popular flower for celebrating Valentines Day. It’s a given that if you are going to give flowers, the choice you can not go wrong with are roses. Pick your size, color, vase shape, long stem or short stem, roses have and always will be the flowers for Valentine’s Day.

In recent years we’ve seen some unique escapes from the usuall rose with the genetically altered types including the rainbow rose and also the blue rose.  But don’t expect to find them at your local florist or at one of the online florists any time soon. These types of roses aren’t mass produced yet and will likely come at a hefty price if you can find them.

Yet if uniqueness is your aim you can still find some unique roses for Valetine’s Day  and do it organically – no mad scientist needed.

Introducing the Worlds Tallest Roses. These spectacular roses which measure as high as 5-6 feet in height are grown on an Ecuadorian farm nestled between two volcanoes at more than 9,600 feet. These amazing red roses grow naturally tall in their native soil – no genetic alteration involved. The roses reach their height due to days of prolonged sunlight and cool nights which allows them to flourish beyond expectation.

What’s even more incredible about these elegant roses, is each stem boasts a large head which opens to an astonishing 3-4 inches in diameter, creating a sea of lush red rose petals that stay fresher longer.  Now that’s a rose!

These roses are found at OrganicBouquet.comthe premier organic florist online offering eco-friendly bouquets and gifts. In addition to getting flowers that are probably taller than you,  Organic Bouquet will give you a free pair of professional shears to help care for your roses.

Check them out for yourself if you are looking for something unique this year for Valentine’s Day!

New Years Flowers and Plants for the New Year

New Year’s day is an occasion for looking forward and wishing family and freinds the best in the new year to come.  People around the world will be celebrating and cheering as the clock strikes 12:00 am.  It’s also a time of reflection in looking back on goals accomplished and some never started.

In comes our new years resolutions. Resolutions are our own personal way of declaring new goals and finally addressing old ones.  Don’t just make a mental note of the things you would like to do and see, write them down and read them everyday – out loud even – and soon you will see yourself accomplishing those goals and more.

Make giving to others apart of your resolution as well. There is a saying “No man is an island, entire of itself…”, so as you give and help others you can expect others will do the same for you. It’s a guiding principle that has propelled many to reach their goals and accomplish great things.

Gift giving is not an essential piece to bringing in the New Year but a great way to mark it’s beginning. New Years Flowers and Plants are an excellent way to say Happy New Years. New Years Flowers will not only last for several days commemorating the day but also remind you how you started the year.

Here are some New Years flower ideas.

Bonsai Plants - Offer someone a great bonsai plant like the Juniper Bonsai for New Years. The Juniper is one of the most popular bonsais in the US since it is great for bonsai beginners or experts alike. The Juniper Bonsai features rapid growth and long, trailing branches that add beauty to any décor. Get a great looking bonsai plant to for the New Year for yourself or as a gift to someone else.

New Year Floral Bouqets – Just adding a celebratory bouquet of New Years flowers to your home decor to celebrate the occasion or sending them as a gift to someone far away is also a great way to bring in the New Year.  The Toast of the Town  bouquet is a mix of fresh white flowers such as roses, miniature gerberas and cushion spray chrysanthemums – accented with greenery, plus a silvery mask and stars, delivered in a silver-toned urn.

If one single plant or bouquet will not due then New Years Gift baskets provide plenty of opportunity to share and revel in the celebration. The Taittinger® Champagne & Truffles Gift Set looks to be an elegant way to bring in the New Year. If you know someone who would enjoy a little bubbly then  this gift set that comes with a sophisticated, keepsake box that’s perfect for preserving New Year’s souvenirs.

Happy New Years!

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