Patience’s 3 keys for inspiring Mother’s Day success

Patience Pickner AIFD, PFCI, SDCF, is on a mission to bring fresh flowers to everyone’s table for Mother’s Day—and every day. “I want my customers to need flowers,” confides the owner of The Picket Fence in Chamberlain, South Dakota, “to enjoy them so much that when they don't have a bouquet on their table, they feel something is missing!” [rev_slider alias="3-keys-first"] Patience’s ‘Garden Gate’ design was chosen as the Most Inspirational Mother’s Day Design OASIS Floral Products Inspire Floral Design Showcase 2017. Patience shares with us her holiday hints for creating arrangements for Mother’s Day and other floral events that bring both profits and pleasure. Smithers-Oasis Floral Design Director Kevin Ylvisaker recreated Patience’s design and variations for 2017 print advertising in North America featuring new OASIS Floral Products for 2017. Kevin offers additional ideas in the photos below for using mesh as an armature.

Picket Fence Style

  [rev_slider alias="3-keys-second"] “Beautiful blossoms have always been a part of my life,” says Patience. Her love of flowers blossomed early, while she was a child playing in her mom and grandmother’s beautiful gardens. Patience combines her love of family gardens and picket fences using OASIS Floral Mesh to create a bright and sunny design featuring an imaginative ‘Garden Gate.' She fills a gold-painted LOMEY® Design Bowl with a small piece of OASIS® Floral Foam. Then she positions a length of mesh to one side of the foam by slightly bending the form into a curve and pressing it into the foam. She completes the design by adding fresh flowers with a few stems reaching through the mesh, just as they do on a real picket fence. Patience understands that combining creative form and on-trend products helps to create the type of unexpected designs that set you apart from more traditional designers. Her clever mix of decorative mesh wire and minimal number of insertions created maximum visual impact, significantly increasing the perceived value of the design.

Growing up in grandma’s garden

“I spent a lot of time with my grandma during my childhood summers,” shared Patience. “Gardening was the focus our days. From morning until night Grandma seemed always to be tending her gorgeous flower beds or seeding her vegetable garden.” “Grandma would pick cucumbers for her famous pickles while my sister and I played dragons and princesses with her snapdragons and fuchsia plants,” remembers Patience. Those memories inspired her life’s work. Patience loves to create organic designs in her soft and romantic signature style, but knows that it’s imperative to maintain profitability. She prefers the ease of using simple designs reminiscent of the garden to connect with her customers. OASIS Floral Mesh is an excellent design element for updating this natural look.

Using floral mesh as an armature

[rev_slider alias="patience-3-keys-to-success"] In floral terms, an armature is a decorative or supportive framework used in an arrangement. Floral Mesh can be used for both purposes. In the orange container design, the curved dome of OASIS Floral Mesh adds dimension by expanding the space within the arrangement. The green vase design features an armature of mesh over the mouth of the vase. In both arrangements, flower stems are inserted through the mesh for support. In the third arrangement, the OASIS Floral Mesh is used as a decorative element wrapped around each of the individual clear glass vases of the design. All three designs are like a well-planned garden.

Three keys for growing a business like a garden

“Successful holidays are all about planning, preparation and execution,” says Patience. She grows her business using the same steps her family uses for growing their gardens. Planning—planting the seed, preparation—preparing materials for growth, and execution—harvesting the results. Patience shares holiday hints for organizing a profitable holiday. “We analyze every aspect of the holiday, from accepting the order to making the delivery.” Organizing each step of the process and preparing design materials in advance helps save time and money.

• Plan design specials months in advance.
• Select vases that complement the designs.
• Feature the freshest, most plentiful seasonal flowers available.
• Prep containers, make bows and ‘green’ vases ahead of time.

This attention to detail continues as the design process begins.

• Salespeople upsell using descriptive words that create visual images for customers.
• Each designer is given one to three specials to fulfill, depending on their skill level.
• Multiple designs are created at the same time to use materials efficiently.

Hopefully, our flowers will evoke memories of the recipient’s own mothers and grandmothers.

Sharing her love of the family garden

“My mom's yard resembled my grandma's, always blooming brightly from spring to fall,” Patience reminisces. “My dad, who is in his 70s, still loves to plant his garden every year. He is teaching my youngest daughter, Magdalyn, the joy of planting, growing and harvesting.” “I hope this design brings a smile to others who have special memories of spending time in the garden with their mother or grandmother,” says Patience. “To this day, I cannot smell a garden rose without thinking of my mine!” What favorite flower garden memories can you share with us?