A Picnic Favorite! by Nancy Schramm

Not fried chicken, potato salad, hot dogs or hamburgers, this picnic favorite hits your sweet tooth. Cold and juicy, green and red, it's the Watermelon that I am talking about.

Watermelon season is here once again and my family loves it. Yes, there are the seed spitting contests, which I haven't won in years. There are the decoratively cut watermelon flowers and melons themselves (my favorite is one carved like a shark's head complete with watermelon rind teeth). And, there are the beautiful and delicious fruit arrangements that Flowers to Eat makes that include this yummy melon.

Watermelon is actually healthy for you. It has high levels of vitamins A and C, and a good level of vitamin B6. The Doctor's Book of Healing Foods says that eating just one serving of watermelon a day can reduce a man's risk of developing prostate cancer by 82%! For those of us fighting the battle of the bulge, 2 cups of watermelon chunks contain only 80 tasty calories.

Watermelon.org suggests that you 'spoil your appetite' by having a slice of watermelon before your meal. Being 92% water, it will help curb your hunger while satisfying your tastebuds.

When you have a chance, please go to our website, www.flowerstoeat.com, and under the 'arrangement' tab, see the nice selection of bouquets that feature watermelon as a key ingredient. We love that sweet, juicy watermelon is again available.

Flowers to Eat website

RNC Small Business Directory Interview by Nancy Schramm

August will be a very hectic and exciting month for businesses, large and small, in Tampa, Fl. In case you have been media deprived over the last few months and did not know it, the Republican National Convention will be held here. Like most small businesses, we at Flowers to Eat are looking forward to putting our community's best foot forward welcoming all the visitors who may be making their first trip to the Tampa Bay Area.

Recently the Host Committee published their Small Business Directory. Over 500 small businesses of all types are included in the directory, making it an excellent resource for event planners, hosting hotels, restaurants, committee members, delegates, the media and everyone else associated with this major event.

Bay News 9 interviewed Flowers to Eat on the day that the availability of the Small Business Directory was announced. When you have a chance, please click on this link to watch the interview. Thank you Bay News 9.

http://baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/video.html?clip=http://static.baynews9.com/newsvideo/bn9/arc/RNC_Small_Business_Directory.f4v