ARTISTIC FLOWERS OF OCALA

Prior experience with this florist gave me some hesitation in using them, but they're the only one in the area and we hoped for improvement from the skimpy, overpriced arrangement we got 18+ months earlier. Unfortunately, things are no different today. For the price paid - which would have been even more had we involved a wire fee (they're a Teleflora network member) and/or delivery - the arrangement was again skimpy. Three roses, 3-4 lilies, a half dozen carnations, greens and filler and that was about it. This was the "medium" size for the arrangement requested! When picked up the staff admired their own work saying how much they like the arrangement (stems in a vase) and I thought otherwise but wasn't in a frame of mind to challenge them. Although tempted to ask them to "beef it up" I resisted, picked up the vase and walked out. When I got to my car I realized I had nowhere to safely set the vase that wouldn't put it at risk of tipping over. I took my chances and wedged it behind the driver's seat and sure enough, one turn later it tipped on its side and water poured out onto the floor. I drove on to my mom's, hoping for the best. A couple of the greens looked a tiny bit bruised but the arrangement was intact. This begs the question, "Why was I not offered a box or bag of some type to transport the arrangement safely?" The vase was heavy with water, cold and sweating, and no one gave it a thought. Oh well, I won't have to worry about such things in the future since I don't intend to allow history to repeat itself. If you're OK spending good money for average flower arrangements from very pleasant folks, this is your place. If you want better quality and more creativity in flower arranging for your dollars, keep looking. I will be.