Gainesville Nursery Notorious for Lending a Hand

Some of Grandiflora/San Felasco's past community service activities:

• Our retail wing, the Plant Shoppe, donated flower arrangements to the Harn Museum and Performing Arts Center
• Helped clean-up the I75/Newberry Road Overpass
• The Plant Shoppe sponsored the Weekend Gardener (Gary Brinen Show) and Victory Garden on local Public Television
• Loaned plants for decorating the Thomas Center for the City Beautification Board Awards Program
• Loaned plants for the Children’s Home Society annual fundraiser, “Putting on the Ritz”
• Loaned plants for numerous high school proms, Women’s Club functions, and school ceremonies
• Ellen Shapiro co-founded the Gainesville Junior Women’s Club Festival of Trees
• Donated Christmas trees for the Festival of Trees and decorated the hall
• Organized the “Secret Garden Tours” as a fund raiser for Kanapaha Botanical Garden
• Donated plants for the new Rose Garden at Kanapaha and helped find a major benefactor
• Helped organize the Garden Party Fundraising Auction for Kanapaha’s Summer House
• Procured donations of plants from local growers to re-landscape the Ronald McDonald House in November 2007
• Donated plants for the new Children's Garden at Kanapaha in 2007

Grandiflora (San Felasco) Works with Local Horticulture Clubs and Plant Societies

Alan and Ellen Shapiro and Grandiflora (San Felasco Nurseries) have always supported and worked closely with local horticultural clubs and plant societies – the Orchid Society, The Rose Society, the Gainesville Camellia Society, the Gainesville Bonsai Society, the Water Pond and Koi Club, the Gainesville Garden Club, and the UF Environmental Horticulture Club.

Grandiflora (San Felasco Nurseries) has won several local and statewide awards for recycling.

The Alachua County Commission presented San Felasco Nurseries with a Commisioners' Challenge Award for its recycling efforts. A few months later, SWANA also recognized San Felasco at its annual meeting for its strong recycling efforts.  

More recently, Grandiflora was highlighted in a 2008 cover story in a national horticultural trade magazine, Grower Talks,  for its recycling efforts. The story was entitled "Grandiflora Gets It", and included many pictures of the nursery and its employees.

Nursery Owners Support North Florida Botanical Society

The Shapiro’s are strong supporters of the North Florida Botanical Society which oversees the operation of Kanapaha Botanical Garden, the state’s second largest botanical park. Grandiflora (San Felasco Nurseries) has donated plants, supplies, a golf cart, and hundreds of hours of volunteer time to plant installation, maintenance activities, and fundraising for the Garden. Alan was one of the founders of the Spring Garden Festival and is still active on the committee that brings 15,000 visitors to the park in two days each March, providing a good share of Kanapaha’s annual operating budget. The Shapiro’s also have donated profits from San Felasco’s Annual Perennial Field Day to the Garden.

San Felasco Nursery Participates in the Morningside Nature Center Native Plant Sale
Local nursery aids in the Morningside Nature Center Native Plant Sale that raises money for the Nature Center and raises awareness of native plants

Grandiflora (San Felasco Nurseries) has been a participant in the Morningside Nature Center Native Plant Sale that raises money for the Nature Center and raises awareness of native plants. The nursery is also a supporter and member of local, state, and national native plant groups like AFNN and FNPS. For the last few years, San Felasco has worked with members of the Exotic Pest Plant Committee to help educate and stop Florida nurseries from growing invasive species.

Grandiflora (San Felasco Nurseries) donates plants and expert advice to numerous Alachua County schools
The company has donated plants and expert advice to numerous county schools for projects ranging from butterfly gardens to native plant demonstration areas to Arbor Day memorials.

Grandiflora (San Felasco) is a Partner in Education for the Alachua County School System. The company has donated plants and expert advice to numerous county schools for projects ranging from butterfly gardens to native plant demonstration areas to Arbor Day memorials. Alan has also spoken to many classes on the importance of plants and trees.  

 Local Nursery Participates in United Way Drives

Since 1999, employees of Grandiflora (San Felasco) have been participating in United Way Drives, contributing thousands of dollars out of their paychecks for community charities. As part of the 2000 pledge drive challenge, Alan swam the retention pond after the company’s goal was met. For 2001, the supervisors took pies in the face for each employee contribution.

Last year, Alan agreed to have his head shaved if the company goal was met. It was, and all the conributing workers each had a turn with the scissors, snipping off Alan's locks. For 2008, a Nursery Olympics competition was held with employees participating in games of skill for valuable prizes. Over $2500 was raised for United Way, a nursery record.

Grandiflora (San Felasco Nursery) Teams Up with the Keep Alachua County Beautiful Program
Local nursery donates crape myrtles for medians

San Felasco has been working closely with the Keep Alachua County Beautiful program, supplying plants for their Plant Bank and Crape Myrtles for the NW 39th Avenue medians and other landscaping projects.  

Making Gainesville a Beautiful Place
Grandiflora (San Felasco Nurseries) works with the Gainesville City Beautification Board to spruce up Gainesville.

For many years, San Felasco Nursery worked closely with the Gainesville City Beautification Board. Alan served as a member of the board and was involved with the annual Azalea Sale, the Dogwood plantings along Eighth Avenue, the City Beautification Awards Program, and early Neighborhood Clean-ups. San Felasco also donated plants for Paint Your Heart Out Gainesville, Habitat for Humanity, the Thomas Center landscaping, and the landscaping of Downtown Gainesville.

  Grandiflora Decorates the O’Connell Center for the SCC Fantasy Event

Grandiflora (San Felasco Nurseries) has decorated the O’Connell Center for the Stop Children’s Cancer gala fundraiser since 1999. Each year, the party is planned based on a different theme. One year the landscaping and props were designed to look like a street in New York , the next, the scenery and plantings were of Paris, complete with the Eiffel Tower. The picture at left was taken the year that the theme was "An Elegant Evening in the Swamp". The Shapiros brought in plants and trees that gave guests the illusion that they were in a north central Florida swamp.

Alan and Ellen also serve as Fantasy Event committee members, helping with the planning of the party which raises thousands of dollars yearly for cancer research.

 In 2005, Ellen was asked to join the Board of Directors of Stop Children's Cancer.