13 Things your florist WON'T tell you!

I came across this on my Yahoo Home Page...I loved it! Enjoy!

1. If you want more flowers for your money, find a florist in your recipient's town and call him directly. But it's harder than you think: some florists in the yellow pages and at the top of your Google search are national businesses masquerading as local ones. They even buy local phone numbers. So make sure you look for a physical address in town.

2. Our smartest customers ask for a bunch of those packets. Most of us will gladly give you extras.

3. Put away those scissors, which can crush the stem. Instead, use a sharp, non-serrated knife to cut a quarter of an inch off the bottom of stems, at an angle. While you're at it, cut off those leaves below the water line. They breed bacteria.

4. Looking for a way to jazz up your red roses? Try pairing them with purple statice or heather. Or ask us: "What can you put in that will really make her roses stand out?"

5. Believe it or not, weddings are not that profitable for most of us, mainly because of labor costs. But we're banking on your future business. Once we do a wedding for you and do it right, you're a customer for life.

6. Thanks for continuing to buy flowers, even in this economy. We really do understand why you're choosing floating bowls instead of $50 centerpieces for your wedding. And why you're sending your wife a mixed bouquet every week instead of the $50 roses. But that's part of the reason our business is down by 8 or 9 percent.

7. What's trendy? Tropical flowers in a geometric vase without a lot of greenery, mounded arrangements of just one type of flower, and woody branches with fruit or berries.

8. Speaking of Valentine's Day, how about thinking outside the box? Lots of women would love a vase filled with red tulips still in the bulb.

9. A box of dead flowers for your friend's 40th birthday – ha! – that's funny. But you'll have to look somewhere else. Come on, my name goes on that.

10. Do you like cold baths? Neither do flowers.

11. Do us a favor and choose your bridesmaids' dresses before you come to us about your wedding. But after spending an hour with you picking flowers, it's a bit of a drag to do it again six months later because you ended up picking different color dresses.

12. Don't buy your wedding flowers at Costco then ask me to design them for you. Would you buy your steaks there, then bring them to the caterer to prepare?

13. Call to complain because your flowers died after just three days, and we know you probably didn't even add water to the vase.