BY KEVIN MCCONLOGUE

Valentines’ Day is quickly approaching. The time of romance is one of the busiest times of year for florists. For Wyoming County flower shop owners, that is no different.

This is the first Valentines’ Day for Blossoming Stems Floral, located at 1 Kim Avenue in Tunkhannock. Owner Lovey Tyler opened the shop in May of 2020, and is looking forward to what business the holiday will bring.

“I honestly don’t know what to expect,” Tyler said. “Valentines’ Day and Mother’s Day are the two biggest holidays for the floral industry, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Along with flowers, Blossoming Stems also sells gift shop items and candles, that Tyler said will make great gifts to go along with flowers. The shop is also running some Valentines’ Day specials as well.

“We are doing a giveaway for a dozen red roses,” Tyler said. “In our gift shop section, we have little teddy bears and if you buy one, you get a free long stemmed rose. We are also doing free delivery throughout Wyoming County.”

This is also the first Valentines’ Day for Holt Wiggins of Mayflower Florist, located at 74 Bridge Street in Tunkhannock. He also is preparing for some big business.

“The shop is prepping a lot of orders, hopefully it’s a good season,” Wiggins said. “This past year has been pretty rough on us, but this year we’ve been turning it around a little.”

Mayflower Florist prepares all types of arrangements, but roses are definitely the most popular arrangement request. Red, pink, and white seem to be the colors of choice for most couples.

“Sales have definitely been starting to pick up, I expect them to pick up even more as we get closer,” Wiggins said. “We’ve also started a feature where you can order online at our website, www.mayflowerflorist.net, and the shop delivers too. We’re trying to make it easier for everyone.”

This isn’t the first Valentines’ for Monzie’s Floral Design, located at 27 E. Tioga Street in Tunkhannock. Owner Monica Hughes has been in business since 2012, and she notes this year has been particularly busy with filling orders.

“My girls have already prepped a lot of orders,” Hughes said. “We’ve been busy filling orders for the week of Valentines’ Day, and have also had to keep up with all our other orders too.”

This year, Monzie’s is collaborating with other local businesses to add some little extra treats to go with your flowers.

“We have a couple different flower packages that we’re featuring this year,” Hughes said. “We’re working with other local businesses to add gift cards for massages, some locally made chocolates, and lots of other goodies that couples might like.”

All three flower shops are hoping to get a boost from Valentines’ Day sales, as the last year has been tough on florists, like it has been on a lot of local, small businesses.

“All of the things that we would be making stuff for like weddings, graduations, proms and recitals have all been canceled in the past year,” Wiggins said. “Slowly those things are all starting to come back which is going to be a boost in business for us.”

Flower shops were not considered essential businesses, so they had to close completely for six weeks during March and April of last year. But the owners agree that the community support helped them get through it.

“Monzie’s has been really busy since we reopened,” Hughes said. “We’ve been very fortunate to be one of the businesses that has actually grown this year. I couldn’t be more thankful.”

Also this Valentines’ Day, the Dietrich Theater is selling Valentines’ cookies in collaboration with area bakeries, including: Antonio’s, BuzyBee Baker, Granny Brown’s Old Time Bakery, Sweet to Taste Bakery, and T&C Grille 420. You can call 570-836-1022×3 to order. Pickup is Saturday, Feb. 13, noon to 3 p.m. at the Dietrich Theater.