Cactus with an Attitude

I love cacti.

There is something about their cute look and their deadly spikes. They make me want to touch them, it's almost impossible to look at them and suppress the urge to touch them. I know it's not just me who feels this way. I brought these little ones to Queensberry this Saturday and there have been numerous people staring at them and they all eventually touch them and go "ouch!". Yes, I am people watching at my shop and it's quite interesting.

Despite their simple appearance, cacti are very sophisticated creatures with many features that enable them to survive in a dry environment. According to wikipedia, the reason why they are shaped like a sphere or cylinder is because they achieve the optimal shape - a combination of the highest possible volume and lowest possible surface area - so that they reduce the surface area through which water can be lost by transpiration. Very impressive, indeed.

They are also flowering plants. I remember my mom's cacti. She started off with one cactus she got from her mom, my Grandma. And it started to grow and reproduce at a really rapid pace. So fast that five years later, her sun room is full of baby cacti. One day, we noticed that there were tube-like things growing out of these cacti. A few days later, these tubes became beautiful purple flowers. Their color was so vivid and striking, it was hard to believe that they came from the rather boring looking green domes of cacti. To be honest, I don't know what these little cacti will grow up to be... what color are their flowers? How big are they going to be? It's a secret only their new owners will get to experience...

Flowers for Johnny Weir

I had no idea who Johnny Weir was until two women from Japan came to my shop the other day. They travelled all the way from Japan to cheer for Johnny Weir at the Olympics and they wanted big bouquets of flowers. They wanted the flowers to be "cute" which made me very confused... why do they want to give a man a "cute" bouquet? Do they want to let him know how cute THEY are? So, I chose to use Polo white roses which in my opinion are quite cute with their round shape. I also used Hypericum berries to add a subtle cuteness to the bouquet. The result was a cute Queensberry style bouquet and the Japanese ladies left satisfied. After I got home from the shop that night, I made sure I watched Johnny Weir compete for the USA in Free Style figure skating. Only then did I understand that my so-called "subtle cuteness" was not enough. A surge of regret came across me. I should have gone "ALL PINK", I should have used sparkles! Lesson learned...the customer is always right!

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day

Up until today, Queensberry was filled with color. Pink, Yellow, Orange in our mini Berry bouquets were so lovely, not to mention the beautiful purple color in my favorite spring blooms such as Hyacinth and Anemones. BUT! from today, it will be dominated by one particular color, which clearly represents three important dates that we are welcoming in Vancouver in the next few days... "RED"!!! Red for Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, and the Canadian flag. What an exciting time it is to be in this city right now.

"Freedom" red roses are one of my favorites. Its deep red is elegant and classy, and the shape of the flower is a work of art. If you take a look at our Freedom Roses, you will probably agree with me.

We have fresh Freedom roses just for Valentine's Day. We will be open on Saturday Feb. 13th & Sunday Feb. 14th, so come pick up our gorgeous Freedom Roses for your loved ones (or for yourself!) before they are all gone! We'll have our regular Berry Bouquets and Queen Bouquets as well as Flower Cubes, all dressed in Valentine's Day color, waiting for you! See you at the shop!

Queensberry welcomes the world!

We had an exciting moment today and I thought writing about it would be a great first blog post to kick start Queensblog! Well, we were just about to close the shop when we were approached by a group of young women wanting to purchase "Lucky Bamboo". They all selected their bamboo carefully and had them wrapped to take home. They were very courteous and friendly, thanking us for staying open for them. I asked where they were from, since they were wearing matching track suits. It turned out that they were Finnish hockey players! Olympic athletes at my shop!?? I couldn't help but to with that my lucky bamboos bring them good luck during these exciting times.

As we are located in the heart of downtown, we see athletes and volunteers and other people that are visiting from around the world. The number of people using the Skytrain is ever increasing and the inevitable sense of excitement is intoxicating!

Be sure to stop by the shop to check out our Olympics-themed products following Valentine's Day. We will welcome the world with flowers!

Why don't you bring in luck to your life with our "Lucky Bamboo"?

1 stalk: $5

3 stalks: $12