Florista

03/09/2024

This basket was designed for a client who is a commercial realtor and ordered one for his client as a Grand Opening gift! Apparently it's one of the new Boba places in Pearland close to Costco! Isn't it so special to be able to design something for a local business! Wishing them the very best future can hold!

24/08/2024

Fresh flower garlands we made for a wedding this past week. We used Roses, Cushions, Eucalyptus and accessorised with traditional bells and beads. A gold shimmer thread was wrapped around the white cushions. It might be hard to tell from up close but that glitters when you see it from a distance.

We will be rolling out a webpage for garlands on the website soon making it easy for our clients to browse our gallery and order their customized garlands. Give us a try and we will make your day extra special.

20/08/2024

Stopping by for a quick hello as it's been a while since I posted. The heat is quite relentless but we are having a steady bloom of Sunflowers and the Basil is going pretty strong. The Lillies are struggling, but kind of hanging in there .

New farm updates: Started moving things to the new farm. We were able to make some progress on the access & we got electricity. Yey! Almost had it before the hurricane came through and power restoration takes higher priority so it took a bit longer than planned but that's okay. We have to tackle the Bayou clean up in the next week or so.

11/08/2024

Embrace the beauty of tradition with our handcrafted garlands, perfect for celebrating cultural and religious occasions with the start of "Sravana masam". "Masam" is a term used in the Hindu lunar calendar to refer to a month. Sravana Masam is a time for spiritual reflection, devotion, and connecting with the divine, making it a sacred month for many.

Each garland is custom-made with a variety of fresh flowers and foliage and adorned with exquisite accessories, ensuring your deities are worshipped and decorated with the utmost devotion. Our garlands bring a touch of elegance and spirituality to every ritual.

07/08/2024

We were able to make this at the very last minute for our client who wanted a garland in honor of his grandfather who lived a very vibrant life. In this traditional and elegant garland we used some florist grade roses with cushions/mums and foliage. While the roses obviously stand out I'd like to take a minute to showcase the underdog, the foliage used here. The small, oval, gray-green leaves inbetween is sweet Marjoram. In my native language Telugu we call this "Maruvam". It is an aromatic herb & is known for its sweet, citrus-like flavor, with a slightly floral and earthy aroma. Its multi-purpose uses in medicinal, culinary, cosmetic & cultural applications make it a versatile herb. You just need a little bit for the fragrance to permeate.

Do you grow sweet marjoram?

05/08/2024

A joy to work with our summer interns! Meet Archer and his lil friend Bob that he made at Florista !

We are coming close to an end of the incredible summer program with 7 of our interns. More pics and post details to come..

02/08/2024

We offered some French fragrant bare root roses in the spring this year. We are growing some too. They established well and put out some blooms. The one showcased here is Earth Angel . It's known for its strong fragrance and beautiful blooms, is a popular variety in rose gardens. It features old-fashioned, cup-shaped flowers with a lovely, soft pink color and is known for its high disease resistance and vigorous growth. The Earth Angel rose is particularly cherished for its delightful, fruity fragrance, making it a wonderful addition to any garden or a cut flower bouquet. This one is just so perfect, blooming in a spray and each flower is so uniform in size.

If you got some from the sale please share a picture so we all learn about these beautiful roses that we could grow in our landscapes. Aren't we tired of those knock outs??

27/07/2024

This year has been a complete opposite of what we had last year weather wise.. Rain is welcome, just twiddling my fingers and waiting for it to clear. Hopefully next week we can get some work done.. meanwhile the last of subscription bouquets that went out today.

Sign up for late summer subscriptions. Short and sweet. 6 weeks, with a minimum of 5. Price stays the same.

https://floristaflowers.biz/product/floral-subscriptions

26/07/2024

Like every series on TV we have a season 2 tooo!

Embrace the last month(or 2) of summer with our 6-week late summer floral subscription, starting soon! Perfect for easing into the back to school routine. Enjoy a minimum of 5 beautiful, fresh seasonal cut flower bouquets to brighten your days after the summer holiday rush. As I always tell, seasonal subscription is the best bang for your buck.

Sign up now and make the end of summer something to look forward to!

https://floristaflowers.biz/product/floral-subscriptions

24/07/2024

What's blooming on our urban flower farm this week ????

The beautiful Sunflowers! Some of them Beryl swept but still resilient with arched stems.

23/07/2024

We deliver to all the hospitals in our neighborhood. Flowers play a vital role in uplifting the spirits of patients and their visitors. The vibrant colors, delicate scents, and natural beauty provide a soothing presence, bringing a touch of nature's tranquility to hospital rooms. This is a recent delivery made on behalf of a client in Conroe to her mother-in-law who was recovering at a local hospital. We simply connect people through our flowers.

21/07/2024

Wrapping Up Our Summer Subscriptions!

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed our 8-week Summer subscription of seasonal cut flowers! We loved bringing the beauty of fresh blooms, dry flowers, seed pods, and vibrant foliage to your homes.

Our subscriptions offer incredible value, with weekly bouquets delivered to homes at a very reasonable price. It truly is a win-win situation for the flower-farmer and the subscriber. The variety changes with the seasons, ensuring a unique and stunning arrangement each week.

Stay tuned for our upcoming subscriptions and continue to fill your homes with gorgeous, seasonal flowers. Sign up and experience the joy of Florista all year round!

This season, I really appreciate the help from my son, Varun. He took on the delivery, we just had so much going on with he new farm I could take all the help that came my way. Along with the delivery he has also shouldered the responsibility of communicating with the subscribers. Thank you so much for your patience as he is learning the trade. That's also a reason why we don't have as many pictures as we typically do.. :) work in progress there!

19/07/2024

Introducing hair accessories, also called Veni/Gajra ..

We have these available for this weekend.

Introductory offer at $12 (approximately 6") + tax. Pickup only.

*We will roll this to the website shortly, please DM for orders until then.

14/07/2024

Day 1 cleanup ..

Haven't had much luck in getting any of the tree trimming services over so we started getting as much as we can today. Waiting on some tools to be delivered.

It might take a bit before we start posting the pretty flowers! Bear with us please.

Follow us along as we build our flower farm ..

10/07/2024

A very long post ...

A lil flash back.. About 3 years ago we started our farm search, to scale Florista . Our criteria was simple (so we thought!) , we want to be closer to home, we wanted it to be manageable (under 2 acres), a water feature would be a bonus. It has to be facing North-East quadrant. We didn't have an agent, just started driving around and almost thought we found a place in Pearland and pitched our idea to the city.. of course there were a million reasons why they would not approve it, let's not go into those details. Totally dejected, had to get back to the drawing board..6 months gone by, still nothing. I remember that Sunday in Brookside Village Farmer's Market so vividly. A lady with her kids walked up to me and introduced herself. She knew a few common friends and she told me she was quite amazed at what I was doing in such small space and that I should really scale up. I told her we've been looking but honestly I didn't pay much attention. I was trying to sell as many bouquets as possible at the FM that Sunday and I wasn't willing to get into a conversation with a realtor. She gave me her card and I forgot all about it. A few months later we were still driving around , worked with 2 other agents and it was either out of budget or no leads. Clearly the frustration was growing. I was driving back from work from downtown and I found her card in my SUV and called. She immediately answered and she recognized me, like she knew me well. She heard me patiently, assured me that she will be able to help me. That was Bincy Jacob and together for the next 2.5 years my husband and I saw several properties with Bincy, put an offer on at least 2 other and got outbid. There were times when I felt so down (not showing it outwardly) but yet times when I strongly felt we will turn around. As I was going through this rollercoaster emotions Bincy stood strongly by us, never disappointed, never tired, never rushed, just always there and always responded to my gazillion lame questions. It didn't matter where I was in the world, I would see every notification that Bincy setup. I would see the same listings over and over again, reading every detail just in case I nissed. I was on vacation with family last December in India. I was at my hometown that morning at moms place and as usual I saw the email and I scrolled over 2 new properties that caught my attention. One property literally checked every box I had. It was close to home, it was under 2 acres, it was bang North facing..plus it had a water feature... I jumped on Google maps, studied it closely. I knew it had potential. But I was in India and it was going to be at least 3 weeks before I get back. I had so much travel scheduled there is no way I could negotiate a deal from there. I watched that listing every single day (I didn't tell my husband ) checking to see if it went on contract..I literally checked it even when I was boarding the flight. I had both my mom and MIL flying back with me, so it took me a couple of days to settle in and give Bincy a call. She set us an appointment right away. I liked the first property, my husband didn't like it at all . Then we drove to the nexr one with Bincy. As we stepped in, I knew we were getting close to our end of search. There were beautiful tall trees, we walked a bit inside and there I saw the bayou.. it cut across the property.. not too big just like a small creek . Bincy called it a gem! Truly it is. I could envision rows of flower beds across the bayou. Trees that are maybe at least 50/60 years old.. The front part was clean, well maintained the back was rugged terrain with a lot of potential. My hunt was over. My husband and Bincy just worked at breathneck speed to put in an offer and negotiate. Between the 3 of us we probably exchanged 100's of messages over the last 2.5 years.. discussing so many itty grritty things . This was unknown territory for us, it was not like we were buying a home. It's something that we want to develop to scale up our farm. I am so thankful for Bincy and how patient she was in our search. The deal was through in March and our dream came true. Florista is no longer going to be squeezed in 2000 SFT ! Florista now had big big wings to spread and stretch ! We are going to scale up. A dream come true! Our target to start planting at least 1/4 acre for fall after all clean up, irrigation, power and beds ready. A very aggressive target that I was working towards.

From that point on I was contemplating on how I should share the news. It was big, really big for me to share with you all. Several of you know me or met me personally, cheered me, supported me. I just wanted to do it right, absolutely right. I thought I will do a FB live.. I never did one before and it freaked me out. I thought I will record a video but starting Feb until June we had such a busy season, it didn't allow me time for a planned video shoot. We were also working on getting some of the trees cleared, getting electricity to the property. I kept pushing the announcement. June was my husband's milestone birthday so I took a couple of weeks just to focus on his surprise. We had just got done with it and I was like it's high time I record a video this weekend... And I start hearing about this hurricane in Cancun likely to come onto Corpus. I kept telling myself it it shifts north we are in the path. Then I heard it's a tropical storm.. somewhere hope that it's going to be mild.. Alas.. not after the destruction I saw yesterday. I was speechless. Honestly, after all the clearing we did over the last couple of months, this looks like ground zero.. we've made 2 steps forward and probably pulled back a dozen. I don't know how far this will put us out but there one thing I know. We will recover and rebuild. I am sharing pictures of before the storm, ground breaking, clean up and post Beryl.

Bincy, my heartfelt gratitude and thank you to you for finding Florista this gem! We will rebuild!

This post is long and heavy. If you are still with me reading this, thank you. Namaste.

Love & Peace
Florista

09/07/2024

Hope everyone is safe. We are doing alright. The howling winds were something, thankful that it passed and didn't linger on. Like almost everyone we have fence damage. Our shade structure went down and the Sunflowers bed took a hit. We moved the crates into the patio, so that was a good call. We could save all the Lilly buds and they are ready to bloom.

The other bitter-sweet news I've been putting off was about the new property we purchased recently to scale the flower farm. We haven't been able to go there yet after Beryl passed but from the pictures neighbors shared there is a lot of tree damage. The property has very very tall trees (probably 50/60 years old) and also features a small bayou that runs through the property.. eventually it's going to be very beautiful but right now it's one hot mess! Starting off at ground zero!

01/07/2024

Do take a minute to read our 2nd blog post by Archer a rising 7th grader. He chose a very important topic to write about! I am absolutely amazed at these young minds.

https://floristaflowers.biz/2024/07/01/why-local-vs-imported-flowers

Please share the blog post with your friends and family for 2 reasons..

1. To encourage our young writers for their brilliant contribution !
2. To support our small business and help spread word about our locally grown seasonal flowers!

Have a wonderful week!

By Archer, Rising 7th Grader Most flowers sold in the US are imported to us from the Netherlands, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico. The disadvantages of importing flowers are that they use a lot of pesticides and other artificial chemicals. They are harmful to plants and flowers that can cause curled,....

28/06/2024

Meet our amazing summer interns at Florista!

This season, we're thrilled to have 6 dedicated interns (plus a fantastic backup!) bringing their energy and curiosity to our urban flower farm.

Every week, they join us bright and early, working together to harvest, water, clean the beds, seed & plant. Their enthusiasm and smart, flower-filled conversations make our mornings vibrant and productive.

We love the interesting questions they ask about flower farming, showing their eagerness to learn and grow. Plus, they have the opportunity to write a blog post on our website each week. Please read their posts and encourage them as they share their insights and experiences! 🌿✨

Here's to a blooming summer with our exceptional team!

https://floristaflowers.biz/blog/

22/06/2024

Wow.. I haven't posted in over 3 weeks. Just so much happening. We took a vacation right after Memorial Day. The weekend with my mom and me to NY to attend a family event and then on to DC where the rest of the gang met up.. We took a train from NY to DC, it was sooo good!

So, what are the odds this could happen.. I plan to go to NY, make a reservation in a hotel convenient to both the event place and for a day of sightseeing with mom, our flight gets delayed and we didn't get into the hotel until early hrs so I really didn't notice anything much around. The morning as I stepped out of the hotel the full street on either side was full of flowers and plants. I was like... Wait a min, where am I? ! I had no clue that I made a reservation in a hotel in the flower district of Chelsea! lower Manhattan. I've never seen so many orchids, literally thousands, cut flowers, dried flowers and floral supplies. Name it, it was there. I told this to a dear friend and she said "it's meant to be!"

For some farm news, summer interns started off right after we got back. A bunch of 6+1(backup) enthusiastic bubbling middle/high schoolers start at 7am at Florista helping with farm tasks. Very productive, very efficient! Will share more in my next post.

I've also been putting off some very exciting news.. coming soon!

29/05/2024

Phew.. we dodged the storm a second time.

A cooler full of fresh harvest...Is this a good problem to have??

We are still harvesting lots of Lisianthus, the Echinecea (cone flowers) and Zinnias are starting to pick up..

Arn't those colors stunning!

27/05/2024

Happy Memorial Day! Hope you are having a nice long weekend! We were out at Galveston yesterday and it was super packed, super windy and super awesome! I love going to Galveston, the seawall Blvd reminds me of my home town Vizag in India. I lived 3 mins away from the beach so I'm always a coastal girl at heart! Memories of waking up to the thuds of the waves is simply an unforgettable experience ..

Now for some farm news, we updated this week's availability of Peonies. Also, we have lots of Lisianthus. If you need some fresh flowers to kick start your summer, let us know!

Also, thank you for the summer internship submissions. Looks like we have a team. Varun is the summer internship coordinator and he is doing a great job in pulling together all submissions, combing through them and responding to the selected candidates. We will be announcing the team soon!

24/05/2024

Flying off the cooler! Those buds are huge, their fragrance is a light airy scent that's perfect for any occasion. These are some timeless beauties! Just so glad to have an opportunity to bring them in, the effort is just so worth it even if it's for a very very short season.

23/05/2024

Graduation bouquets! Celebrate your loved ones achievements with these beautiful hand tied bouquets, they truly deserve a special celebration for all the hard work they have done and wishing them a bright future!

Shop our website for a market bouquet and leave a note saying it's for graduation. We will make it and wrap it extra special!

https://floristaflowers.biz/product/market-bouquets/

21/05/2024

Sorry for the back to back posts ..

Kinda urgent.. we have graduation leis with Orchids!

We are short of time to roll out the webpage. Will have to do it over the phone or Zelle.

Please comment below if you need.

$50/Lei + tax. Pickup only.

21/05/2024

Ta-Da! They are here...

If you haven't ordered your bunch yet, here is the link

https://floristaflowers.biz/product/peonies/

17/05/2024

Happy Friday ya'll! A lot going on the farm side and personal front. Today will be my extended Mother's day celebration with my daughter coming back home from her trip! Can't wait to see her but I have to wait till my son's Tennis banquet is done tonight.. so excited! The SCHS Tennis team is AMAZING! Can't tell enough of the coaches and kids..OMG, they work so hard.. Plus, my husband's unwavering support and coaching for Varun's Tennis, he deserves a lot of credit too! Both dad and son make the best Tennis duo combination. Their energy is at a whole different level when sport comes into play.

On the farm side, we have lot blooming. Those champagne colored Lissies are so drooly.. I like how the lavenders, pinks did their thing and as they are slowling down the Champaign colored ones are picking up. So much to learn on how we can time these specialty cuts .. The Rudbeckia is starting as well but the stem length isn't that great. They will work well in arrangements, but we do have a hack to make them work in bouquets as well..

*** Peonies Pre-order page live
*** Summer Subscriptions start this weekend







.. Totally loving the tags!

16/05/2024

Peonies pre-book is now live on the site.

Use link below or navigate to site > Shop > Early Summer Favorites

https://floristaflowers.biz/product/peonies/

We released pick up dates for next week. Please help us to streamline the order processing.

Also, summer subscriptions start this weekend

https://floristaflowers.biz/product/floral-subscriptions/