Hannah's Flowers Behind the Scenes

Diving into the World of What Makes Hannah's Flowers

Hannah's Flowers is flower shop that thrives on crafting the most beautiful and exquisite florals with attention to detail and spreading joy through blossoms and blooms. From fresh cut flowers to preservations of floral memories and gorgeous resin jewelry, Hannah's Flowers is your one stop shop for all aspects of the floral world. Many people are unaware of what flower shops look like behind the scenes and all the different elements that come into play to create your gorgeous arrangement. We thought it was important to showcase what our days look like and the processes that unfold to put together such amazing pieces. 

A Trip into Our Flower Truck
Our bi-weekly flower truck is a fantasy floral machine on wheels. Stepping into the DWF flower truck is one of the ways florists in the area have access to the variety of bountiful blooms in your bouquets. Whether it's pre-ordered or hand-picked on the spot by Hannah, there is intention behind every floral plucked from the truck. Our DWF floral provider and driver, Ron, was helpful in answering some questions we had that our customers may be curious about. Ron shared that he has 23 customers that are splits between two days on the road, with majority of floral orders being pre-ordered.  When asked where and how DWF obtains these florals, Ron remarked, "We order from Canada and California mainly, with some vendors in Miami as well. (DWF) gets three trucks from Miami a week, and those flowers come from Ecuador and Columbia." When asked how much he sees spent a week with all customers combined, Ron stated that "$18,000 to $20,000 is normal and holidays are typically around $80,000 a week." Ron notes that every flower shop he comes across varies widely in practices and preferences, and no two shop is ever the same. 

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What Flowers Come from Which Parts of the World
It's no secret that the beautiful flowers you see in our arrangements aren't grown from our backyard, well, some of them aren't at least! "It takes the whole world to grow your bouquet," Hannah said when asked about the flowers across the globe that are used to build daily arrangements. Here in the Great Lakes state, our colder climate is perfect for growing plenty of beauties including hyacinths, zinnia and sunflowers. That makes us the main provider of these lovely flowers to other florists all over the map. In the U.S. Alaska is very well known for harvesting perfect peonies, and Hawaii is the epicenter of all orchids!  However, we rely on other countries for a lot of the florals we use in the day to day. For roses, our main supply is shipped out of Ecuador, where growing conditions are pristine due to the consistent hot climate and natural sunlight to truly flourish. Some florists or big box flower suppliers will use Columbian roses as their choice, as Columbia also has a similar climate that allows them to produce beautiful roses and have a big role in the global floriculture. Our up north neighbor, Canada, is our go to supplier of beautiful mums and ranunculus. Beautiful Holland is literally called the 'the land of tulips,' and are famous for producing these striking and beloved blooms. Holland also exports gorgeous delphinium, lilac, and poppies! Check out the graphic below visualizing the amazing floral beauties that blossom throughout the world!

Hannah has her hands full of her hand-picked winners of the day. Each floral is inspected for top quality with attention to detail.

Buckets full of gorgeous blosoms and blooms wrapped up and ready to go for florists. Hannah will pick her favorites or have pre-ordered bundles set aside to grab.

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Note the differences in roses grown in different countries. Optimal conditions like Ecuador and Columbia provide the best roses in the world.

Beautiful, luscious fields of orchids in Maui, Hawaii. A sight that's on Hannah and Alina's destination list!

A behind the scenes look at the floral processing set up. The flowers are in the cardboard boxes and buckets of water are ready to go.

Cut, Clean, and Care are the fundamental '3 Cs' of processing florals prior to arranging them. This is the not so pretty and showy aspect in the world of floristry that many people might not be aware of. When we first get our florals from the truck or wholesaler, they're dry packed in plastic and haven't been in water for weeks on end. This is because they've been expediated from all over the world, via boat, plane, or both. The first step is to unpackage them all by taking them out of boxes or freeing them from their plastic packages. The next step is to put the thirsty florals into buckets of water, making sure they are sorted correctly. It is absolutely necessary to take this step into account, as only certain florals can go together. There is different bacteria from all over the world that is not meant to intermix, as it can result in harming the flower immediately. Another rule of thumb is that fillers can't be stored with flowers and must have a separate water bucket. The third step in the processing plan is to cut all the stems at a 45-degree angle, de-thorn if necessary, pull off unnecessary leaves, then put florals back into their respective bucket and into the cooler. 

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Florals That Need a Little Extra Care 

Tulips are beautiful and unique florals that are a little bit trickier when it comes to care. Tulips require daily care including daily fresh cuts and checking to make sure that water levels are high enough in the vase. When first prepping tulips, a vertical slit needs to be below their head to prevent them for drooping. Something that a lot of people might not know about tulips, that they will continue to grow when placed in a vase arrangement. These blooming buds will spring up a good 1 to 2 inches in a day, potentially towering over other complimentary flowers. 

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  Hydrangeas are another gorgeous flower that requires a lot of attentiveness when it comes to safeguarding their flourish. Unlike other flowers, when hydrangeas are first brought into the shop, they must be submerged upside down on their head into water. This is because hydrangeas are able to drink from both their flowers and head! This method hydrates the head and protects the flowers, which are very sensitive and a crucial step to keep the longevity of the flower. These super dramatic beauties require a fresh cut every day. When heads begin drooping, it is necessary to spray the heads with water. With proper management and correct water measures, hydrangeas should last 10 days to two weeks. 

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