Just because it’s summertime does not mean there aren’t more floral sales to be had. All that is needed is a little creativity to attract customers into our floral departments. Here are some ideas:

June. More than likely there is a mega produce sale planned this month and there are several ways floral can tie in with that.

• Add buckets of single-colored flowers to enhance produce displays like yellow daisies, green spider mums, or orange Gerbera daisies to match the vegetables or fruits that are on sale.

• Have arrangements with slices of lemons and limes lining the inside of a clear vase.

• Add whole lemons and limes to an arrangement or into the vase water.

• Watermelons are a favorite at any picnic, so enhance the picnic table with watermelon boat flower arrangements. They are fun, unique and will be a conversation piece at any gathering.

July. Offer a special on roses to take advantage of their lower prices in July.

• Sell single stem roses for 50 cents or $1. Colors sell better than red in the summer.

• Go big — don’t just buy 250, try 2,500 or 5,000.

• Create a theme for the sale, such as “A Bed of Roses” or “A Secret Garden.” Decorate your shop with props, like a fountain from the general merchandise department to help create your “garden.” A fountain creates sound and movement and it will attract attention. Turn the fountain into a wishing well that customers can toss coins into, and then donate the money to a charity.

• Have half-dozens and dozens made up and ready to walk out the door. Create unique names for your arrangements.

• Encourage customers to buy extra roses by offering to deliver the extra roses purchased to a local retirement home, veterans or children’s hospital. Not only will it brighten the day of those receiving the roses, you just might attract the attention of the media and get some free press out of it.

August. It’s sometimes called the “dog days” of summer.

• Have a “cutest dog” contest. Not much to do with floral, but people are crazy about their pets and love to show off their pictures. Post the pictures in your floral shop and have customers vote for their favorite. Maybe award some flowers to the winner. It brings customers into your department, thereby giving you a chance to talk to them and sell them something. Also, partner with the general merchandise team to cross-merchandise your display.

• Gladiolus is in season so invite customers into your department with a “Glad To See You” sale. Have baskets of various colors set out and let customers make their own 10-stem bunch.

• Ice cream is always a favorite during hot weather, so use carnations to build floral “ice cream cones” or “sundaes.”

Summer is coming — we can’t avoid it and shouldn’t ignore it, we should have fun with it. With a little extra creativity we can beat the summertime sales blues while having fun and bringing excitement to our floral shops.

Cindy Sulzman is assistant vice president for floral operations at Hy-Vee Inc. in West Des Moines, IA. She can be reached at [email protected].