Valentine’s Day is the busiest holiday of the year for florists. Mary M’s Walnut House Flowers started preparing over a month and a half ago.
Mary M’s is a third-generation family-owned business serving Bloomington for over 50 years. The flower shop has been at its Second Street location for 46 years.
Preparing for Valentine’s Day is the same routine each year, said owner Jamie Sciscoe. It consists of getting the flower orders and preparing the roses for sale. That means stripping them of their leaves and thorns. Preparation also includes setting up Valentine’s Day decorations in the store and making more floor room for walk-in traffic, Sciscoe said.
“Organized chaos is pretty much what it is,” she said. “So that's not really anything scientific to it. We just kind of go with the flow. We know what's coming, and we try to anticipate as best as possible.”
Despite Valentine’s Day being the busiest holiday for florists, demand is down for this year, Sciscoe said. That’s because the holiday falls on a Saturday, when sales are traditionally less. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days for sales, she said.
Sciscoe said she ordered 9,000 roses this year, 1,000 less than last year.
“Traditionally, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are not fantastic Valentine’s (Days) because they fall on a weekend,” she said. “So people make other plans. They don't necessarily get flowers. They may go out for dinner or go on an excursion.”
As of Monday, the flower shop received 100 orders. Most orders will come in Wednesday and Thursday, Sciscoe said.She had a total of about 550 orders last year.
Most of the flowers come from Ecuador, Columbia, Canada and Holland, meaning there are tariffs. But costumers will not see a price change from last year at Mary M’s. At Mary M’s, a dozen roses purchased in-store costs $29.99. Other flower types can be purchased by stem and there are also pre-made bouquets.
After holiday, the roses go back to their regular price of $14.99.
Sciscoe said the store has tried to absorb tariff prices on flowers and not put it on the consumer. Customers may see price increases on other products coming from China like angel and lantern decorations.
“We can't eat everything, but the flowers, we've been trying to because they're kind of, you know, they're something that people don't have to have. They’re like a luxury item, but people enjoy them,” Sciscoe said.
Sciscoe said she is looking forward to seeing the smiles entering and leaving the store.
“Just hope everybody has plans for the weekend and that those include flowers and everybody's happy,” she said.
