Flower City NC

Our children will inherit  a planet not in as good of shape as the one I inherited from my folks. They will have to deal with shrinking ice packs and dirty air. The funeral industry is also a big contributor to this pollution.  So how can we do better and have a truly Green funeral?

A Green Funeral is one which consists of two components: it employs no embalming fluid in preparing the body and utilizes a biodegradable casket with no grave liner in the cemetery. Not widely sold by the funeral industry because this costs them lots of lost profits and revenue!

In Green Funeral practices there is no use of embalming fluid. Instead, the body of yourself or your loved one is temporarily preserved by use of refrigeration and, if elected, dry ice. This is the method we have used for many years in home funerals and is still very viable today. A body kept at 55 degrees can stay presentable for several days.

Also in Green Funeral practices, the use of a biodegradable casket is engaged. Such caskets include those that are solid wood with minimal metal nails, hinges, etc,, banana leaves, wicker, or a form of paper mache. The body may be simply shrouded and buried directly in the ground as well. No metal caskets, concrete vaults, metal vaults or other non biodegradable materials allowed!

Often when families choose a Green Funeral they will also wish to have a Green Burial. A Green Burial occurs when a biodegradable casket is buried without the use of a burial vault. It is important to note that not all cemeteries will allow Green Burials to occur at their facilities. They lose money!  We have one cemetery in Wake Forest that advertises “green funerals”. The cemetery should be kept in it’s natural state, no artificial green lawns, no concrete markers, no clear cutting of all trees. The graves should be hand dug not dug by a back hoe. All country funerals, Jewish burials and Muslim burials are all green and without vaults and have been for years with little problem.

If you are interested in pre-planning a Green Funeral and/or Green Burial, or would like more information regarding the details that make a funeral or burial “green”, please contact us at Natural Endings. We offer several lines of green caskets as well as recommendations on how best to negotiate your wishes with the area funeral homes. We do want to leave a better planet for our kids!

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. Be sure you read between the lines when comparing florist offerings. If a rose vase description does not specifically say “long stemmed” roses, there is a good chance the roses will be less than 12 ” in length usually in an 8″ vase rather that the standard 9 3/4″ to 10″ vase used in true long stemmed rose arrangements. Roses are sold by length with the 40 cm being the shortest and least expensive, 50cm to 70 cm being the premium grades. The longer the stem length, the better the quality the rose head will be.

Also, look carefully if there is filler flowers included other than greenery such as babies breath or limonium or just twelve roses thrown artfully in a vase. The photographer can make 12 roses alone look good for a picture but delivery drivers often do a poor job of arranging after loading and unloading that same vase!

Lastly, beware of ordering flowers in a box. Fed Ex deliveries are not shipped in temperature controlled planes or trucks. During the wacky weather at this time of year, you can easily get frozen roses or overheated roses. Remember too, most Fed Ex drivers do not even ring the doorbell when they leave a delivery, they just dump it on the front porch. I didn’t notice my shipment for three days because I always enter my house through the garage!

If you do need to send flowers out of town, be sure you order directly from a local florist not an order gatherer “locally owned and operated in Phoenix, Ariz” not actually in your city you are sending. They often add a fee for themselves, then send through another network like Teleflora or FTD who take an additional 20 to 30 % off the top before it gets to the real local florist. You spend over $100 and they get less that $70. If the order is too small, the local florist will reject it. We see many orders enter “computer nowhere land” this time of year and never even get filled. Not much of a Valentine if you took the time to order but they never get delivered ! You will get your money back but that is little consolation to your loved one!

Lastly don’t wait til the last minute to order this year. It will be a crazy busy year with Valentine’s Day falling on a Monday. Make sure you make those delivery arrangements well in advance!

Enjoy this wonderful holiday of Love this year!

Take a look at some of our wonderful Christmas arrangements and gorgeous poinsettias!
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Well, OK, this isn’t the beginning of our flower shop. We were Flowerama of Raleigh for five years, before leaving the Flowerama chain and becoming Flower City NC. We also moved the shop about 100 yds. from our old location, to the same building as Jason’s Deli, but around the back. We love our new shop and we’re still the highest quality and most affordable flower shop in Raleigh. Come see our great new location! You can check out our “About page“.