Sussex County Florist

I didn’t start this business. Bought it from someone else, then basically gutted what it was. Cleaned it up. Opened the floor plan. Changed the whole feel of the place. Now when people come in, they stick around. They talk. Sometimes for way too long, but that’s okay.

The Fairytale Thing
People say the shop looks like a fairytale. Fair enough. Multiple Christmas trees, all decorated, all year long. The silver winter one never comes down. My mother’s Valentine’s tree sits in its own spot. Every morning I turn on all the fun lights. Yes, all of them.

The Music (and the Mood)
Music situation: completely random. Depends how I wake up. Could be mindfulness meditation stuff. Could be puppy meditation (that’s a real thing). Get me on a busy day and it’s techno. We literally stop and do squats when it gets overwhelming. Helps more than you’d think. Disney when we’re annoyed. Don’t ask me why, but Disney fixes the mood every time.

Funeral Arrangements Aren’t Depressing
Weird thing to say? Maybe. But I put everything into funeral pieces. The families feel it. I’ve cried with some of them. Can’t help it. When someone’s telling you about their dad who loved the Cowboys and collected vintage saddles and wore the same boots for 30 years, and they want something that shows all that… you make it happen. I’ve done arrangements on actual horse saddles. In cowboy boots. Made baseball diamonds out of flowers. Football shapes. Whatever helps them through it. Ferguson’s and Pinkle’s, our two funeral homes, they send families to me. Not because I asked them to. Because families went back and told them what we did for them.

Just Me, Mostly
I work six days a week. Run everything myself 99% of the time. My daughter does all the marketing. She’s in school for it, getting her master’s. Smart kid. During Valentine’s and Mother’s Day, friends come help answer phones. I get a couple people to deliver. But the designing? That’s all me. What this means: you tell me what you want, I make it. No telephone game. No confusion. No “oh, the designer interpreted it differently.” You talk to me, I create it, done.

Flowers That Don’t Die in Three Days
Fresh shipments twice weekly. At minimum. I’m picky about what goes out. Processing matters. Keeping things clean matters. That’s why people come back and tell me their roses lasted two weeks. Had one lady stop in just to say she got two weeks out of them. Made my day.

Stories That Stick
The COVID wedding couple. They’d booked everything with us. Both got sick, couldn’t have their wedding. So I made them a small arrangement and drove it over myself. My own time, my own gas. They got married sick at home. Year later, when they finally had their big farmstead wedding? Called us again. Still have their thank you card with the photos. Got brides who’ve framed their wedding pictures for us. Crystal Springs ladies who come for every luncheon centerpiece. One older woman last week picked up a single centerpiece for her lady friends’ lunch. The way her face lit up—“Oh my god, that’s so beautiful!” Just one arrangement. But she was so happy. That’s what keeps me going.

We’re small, we’re local, we know everyone’s name. The store’s on Route 23, attached to a jewelry store. Easy to find. But people don’t come back because we’re convenient. They come back for the vibe, the personal connection. I’m not trying to just sell flowers. This is about more than that. Always has been.