Thursday 26 December 2013

see you january 7th, 2014

It has been a hectic holiday season, filled with the usual hustle and bustle, and punctuated this year with lots of snow and ice. In spite of the challenges, we still managed to be together, to laugh and commiserate, to eat and drink and appreciate one another.

I would like to thank all of my customers, friends and family for your patronage and support this past year, and for helping to make this little flower shop on James Street North so very special.

So now, I will be taking a few days to rest and plan the course for 2014.  
i fiori will be closed until january 7.

Have a safe and happy new year, and see you in january!

Thursday 12 December 2013

it's beginning to look a lot like...

Well, you know the song, and it is looking wintery and woody and natural in i fiori, not to mention the combined scents of lemon cypress, norfolk pine trees, armloads of eucalyptus and BC cedar boughs, paperwhites in bloom and lavender. This is truly my favourite time of year (once I get past the chapped hands and heaps of twigs and cuttings on the floor)

The holiday season is in full roar, and every week, every trip to the greenhouses brings something new and yummy.

stunning amaryllis and ilex berries

Tomorrow the hellebores arrive en masse. Grown in Ontario - they are fabulous through the winter in your house, and then you can transfer them outdoors in the spring. (just try doing that with a poinsettia...)

luscious white hellebores

And next week, new anthuriums and orchids will arrive,

potted anthuriums


For small gifts, to give or keep for yourself,  we always have a wide selection of succulents and airplants. Almost irresistible in small hanging terrariums... or artfully arranged in what could double as a candleholder...


Give the gift of l-i-v-e flowers and plants

We have paperwhite bulbs ready for you to force - or you can purchase them already started,

paperwhites for that tease of spring

New this year are crocus and muscari bulb kits - they contain everything you need to start growing these fabulous flowers indoors.
The amaryllis bulbs are available individually, or in a gift-pack kits. Amaryllis could be the ultimate feel-good flower at this time of year - huge blooms, long lasting, dead simple to grow... what is not to like? They are in the shop in red, white, pink and red/white bicolour and pink/white bicolour.


And thanks to the number of requests, I was able to get more of the Micro-salad Grow Kits and the Sprout Grow Kits - certified organic and ready to plant in cute little boxes!

And don't forget Weirs Lane Lavender products - already done up in gift packs (how clever).

I promise to post more often, time just disappeared in November with the last of the weddings and the workshops. Speaking of which - the holiday workshops were great fun - I will be posting some photos, and now I am organizing the upcoming spring workshops (also makes a great gift...hint hint).

And what does the fiorista want for Christmas? Another day in the week, another 2 hours of sleep smuggled somehow into every night, a dry capp in my travel mug from Mulberry every day, and every bouquet that walks out the door.
Happy December!
Bev