Fresh floral arrangements can denote so much; they can express love, a heartfelt sign of sympathy, or an expression of congratulations. Each bloom, whether it’s in a bouquet delivered to a loved one, or a larger part of beauty designed to transform a space for a special event, can clearly illustrate curated messages of hopes, dreams and wishes.
Flowers lift the spirit, they draw the eye and capture the imagination and emotions of the recipient as told by the giver, and the designer creating each bouquet. Any special event, whether it’s a wedding, corporate gala or atmospheric decor for your company, is made much more welcoming with beautiful floral arrangements. This is the expertise of San Remo Florist.
San Remo has earned an iconic space in the floral industry through a consistent availability to create elegant and thoughtful arrangements. The shop’s name comes from the famous Italian city of flowers and began as a family-owned business in the quaint Italian community of St. Clair West.
Owner Jim Edwards and his family are long-time residents of the beautiful Beaches neighbourhood where they have many clients who receive bouquets and special-occasion deliveries.
San Remo has earned itself a trusted role in Toronto as the preferred floral studio for many top venues, event planners (namely The Estates of Sunnybrook, Oliver & Bonacini Events and Catering), premier retailers and exclusive private members’ clubs and the most prominent charity galas in the city (Sick Kids Foundation, Campfire Circle and UHN). The offices of Grace & Co. have also hired San Remo to provide the gorgeous greenery and florals that regularly adorn the outside entrance.
San Remo’s design team will work with clients to create colourful solutions for any situation, from a small corporate gathering to get-togethers and luxurious events. Trust them to transform your venue into a vibrant, dreamlike and inviting space. Their attention to detail delves deep; including their ability to match corporate colour schemes that appear in refined subtle touches and show-stopping centrepieces to set the mood.
Spaces for an event become transformed dramatically far beyond the floral arrangements San Remo has become so well known for. The team is also able to create and acquire custom-painted backdrops, unique props, live performances – or whatever is called from a client’s imagination that will make the event a stunning success.
Many of the blooms owner Jim Edwards selects come from growers in the Niagara Region – although at times when quantity and availability are tight, they will outsource from other producing countries such as New Zealand, Ecuador and Holland.
For homeowners and those wishing to deliver beautiful bouquets that send a heartfelt message, Edwards says that people have a strong desire to purchase natural and/or locally grown products and opt for designs with a more relaxed feel rather than compact (less formal-looking) designs. “In past, (it was) what we would call flower on flower, so not a lot of greenery with it,” he says. “Now, they’re more asymmetrical kind of designs. There’s a little bit more greenery, more movement in the flowers so you can appreciate each bloom rather than be gazing at a tight collection of flowers.”
Compared to the home décor industry, which banks much of its business on the “Colour of the Year,” Edwards says florals are instead closely tied to personal tastes in bouquets that can accent someone’s home. “I would say still at the top is greens and whites. More of a neutral palate,” he says, noting that the same is currently true for special events, where white and green is already a common colour choice this year.
Seasonally speaking, spring brings tulips, hyacinths and daffodils, while early summer offers peonies, and then unexpected combinations, sizes and textures of mixed wildflowers, which is one key trend to point out for the year. Wildflowers are also a natural way to embrace sustainability within the industry. The availability of wildflower bouquets is in the heart of summer, a time when you may reflect on your childhood, picking collections of blooms from a field, and anticipating giving them to your mother or a childhood crush.
Caring for fresh bouquets is easy, with a few tips in mind. “What’s important is first trimming the stem,” Edwards says. “Then, the container you put them in must be clean. Fill the container with cool to lukewarm water.” The last step in ensuring their longevity, he says, is to change the water every other day. “It’s all about caring for them properly when you receive flowers,” says Edwards. “Generally we say cut flowers should last seven to 10 days. If you’re buying cut orchids, you may get two to three weeks (because of the type of stem). Most flowers will likely only live for seven days.”
For 74 years, San Remo has proudly created purposeful customization of florals for all occasions. Designers take the time to think about the sender and the receiver, and the emotions that the gift of a fresh bouquet might stir up – “and capturing people’s emotions and feelings. We want it to have some sort of significance to the receiver.”
For more information, visit sanremoflorist.ca