If you know me then you know that I am someone who loves flowers and plants. No matter the season, flowers are always in my home. They are bright, welcoming, and please so many senses. While I am happy to grab a bunch now and then from my local grocery store or farmer’s market, when I have an occasion to send flowers, I want to send something beautiful, something special.
If you want the best flowers then you should go through an area florist directly instead of the big internet sites. Doing so not only supports local businesses (often women-owned businesses), but it guarantees you will get more value for your money and better customer service.
Big internet companies like 1800Flowers, Telaflora, and Avas Flowers aren’t actual florists; they are order gatherers. They have mastered SEO (search engine optimization) and use their well-honed marketing strategies to dominate most online searches, but they don’t actually know or handle flowers. They insert themselves between customers and the actual florists, charging a hefty fee (and sometimes even charging the florist a finders fee). The result is that you may think you’re ordering an $80 arrangement, but by the time the middleman takes a cut, the amount the actual florist in the area receives might only allow for the arrangement to be worth $50. Everyone is disappointed, except the order gatherers.
Florists are creative artists who know their trade. They know what’s fresh, what’s seasonal, what looks beautiful. They know where their product comes from. They know their area hospitals, funeral homes, and wedding venues. They know their neighborhoods and their neighbors. It is worth your time to dig a little to find brick-and-mortar shops in the area where you are sending flowers. Avoiding the big businesses listed above, I use google search, google maps, and then I read reviews. From Seattle, to Vermont, to Florida, to Tennessee, this is how my family and friends get their beautiful flowers.
If you are looking for a florist in the Haverhill, MA area, I happen to love Welcome To Floristry. It’s become my happy place and my absolute go-to for gifts, seasonal decor, and of course flower arrangements. You can find them online at https://www.welcometofloristry.net/ and on Instagram and Facebook.
View From Our Summit 