It is officially ‘WOW’ flower season as Battle Ground’s Main Street Floral Company is well underway towards an anticipated 300-plus flower arrangements for Valentine’s Day, said floral designer Marilyn Schweizer Moeser.
While Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching for those seeking to buy flowers and reserve a table at an area restaurant, Cupid’s arrow has been aimed at Main Street Floral since November. Schweizer Moeser said the process towards creating and selling hundreds of floral arrangements all for a single holiday begins with a price list and pre-order notifications from suppliers, while the height of Christmas is just beginning.
Once the new year begins, Schweizer Moeser said they utilize the slow business month to their advantage.
“January is historically slow for all businesses, so we use that to our advantage,” she said. “So January, we spend breaking down our Christmas displays and changing them over to Valentine’s Day. We go through all of our supplies, and we make sure we have enough candy and candles, and we start ordering all that stuff in too so that by the end of the month, we’re pretty much ready.”
Once extra staff is on the schedule, extra items are in reach, it’s show time for the florists.
This time around, the floral business is navigating its biggest holiday, right up there with Mother’s Day, with the loss of designer Frank Blanchard, who passed away from a medical emergency in October.
“That’s left a huge, huge void here at Main Street Floral Company,” Schweizer Moeser said, adding that many designers have contacted the business about joining the team, but they are not ready to replace Blanchard any time soon. “I think when we first learned of his passing, we all were just done, you know. How is it even possible? How are we going to manage without him? But we had to honor him. And Valentine’s Day is going to be really different. We’re going to really, really feel that void.”
While managing a major floral holiday without Blanchard's hands crafting arrangements, the absence will be felt keenly. In the spirit of Blanchard’s creativity, the business will flourish through the guidestones he left behind.
Schweizer Moeser explained the process of creating a floral arrangement as a true form of art.
Before a single stem is placed, florists consider color balance, texture, height and how each bloom will complement its neighbor in the vase. Each design is truly unique and customized when utilizing living plants.
Orders were already flowing into Main Street Floral during the final week of January, giving arrangement designers some extra time to develop custom designs. However, the brunt of the impact will be as close to the holiday as possible.
“It’s a very last-minute holiday, you know,” Schweizer Moeser said. “We’ve done a really good job over the years as we’ve built our customer base on really trying to let our customers know how important it is to get those orders in early. Especially if it’s something really specific. And I do have to say that we have a lot of our customers that will order ahead of time, but there’s going to be plenty that are going to be that very last minute.”
While floral design requires adaptability with the living material, customers need to keep adaptability in mind as the closer it gets to February 14 on the calendar.
“We will be able to help you to a point,” Schweizer Moeser said. “But you can’t be specific. You’re going to get whatever we have left available.”
As an arrangement designer, Schweizer Moeser, truth be told, is not a fan of the classic red rose. Over the years, customers have asked for a classic dozen red roses less and less. An inexperienced lover with a first-time Valentine will consider that option, but the more variety the better, says a floral designer.
“What people really want is a mixed bouquet with roses in it,” she said. “But nowadays it can be any color. So we’re not so focused on reds and pinks and whites, which would traditionally be the Valentine’s Day colors, any color goes, and we offer just about any color on our Valentine’s Day product line on our website.”
Main Street Floral Company is located at 717 West Main Street, Suite 118 in Battle Ground, open 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Mondays, and 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, closed on weekends. For more information, visit mainstreetfloralcompany.net, or call 360-723-5365.
