Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 19, 2007

HAY RIVER - Gayle Croucher says being a florist involves much more than many people realize.

Croucher, the florist at The Woodshed Gift & Garden Centre in Hay River, said she laughs when she thinks of a customer who once said, "All you do is throw flowers in a vase."

Gayle Croucher is the florist at The Woodshed Gift & Garden Centre in Hay River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Instead, she said flower arrangement is an art form.

"There has to be a personal style," she explained.

A florist must have - or learn - an eye for colour and a sense of balance, she said.

"I can sometimes see the finished product before I begin," she said. "It's like an artist with a canvas."

And, while most people ask for flowers in a vase, there are other ways to display them.

"There is so much more to flower arrangement," Croucher said.

Displays can incorporate driftwood, rocks, moss and much more, and can use moistened foam in a container instead of a vase.

Croucher studied to be a florist at Olds College in Olds, Alta.

Her education began in 2002 with a seven-day course on the principles of design and technical aspects of being a florist.

After that initial training, a person works in the field for a year, and can return to the college for additional week-long courses.

The second course deals with retail and marketing, said Croucher, who has taken that course.

She is planning to go back for more courses, which cover such topics as high fashion.

"It keeps it fresh. It makes it fun," she said. "The course itself is extremely informative."

From 2002 to 2006, Croucher owned and operated The Garden Path, before moving to The Woodshed Gift & Garden Centre in mid-2006.

While many people might think the rose is the most popular flower, Croucher said it has actually been the Gerbera daisy over the past several years.

She said it is a large, flat-faced daisy that comes in many vivid colours.

"By far that would be the favourite flower," she said.

Some men are beginning to realize that the Gerbera daisy is popular with women, Croucher said, adding that occasionally a man walks into The Woodshed and asks, "What's that big daisy called?"

The rose also remains popular, she said. "The rose is still the classiest flower."

Other popular flowers are the stargazer lily and the orchid.

Croucher said the busiest time of the year for a florist is Valentine's Day, followed by Mother's Day, Christmas and high school graduation, when there is high demand for corsages.

Croucher, 43, said she enjoys working with flowers.

"Every time I do an arrangement, I'm proud of it," she said. "It gives me a real sense of satisfaction."