On Feb. 14, the sounds of continuous ringing phones will be heard throughout Loudoun County.

Armies of delivery trucks will circle towns and neighborhoods, making stops at homes and offices, surprising lucky ladies with bragging rights for their desks.

And, forgetful boyfriends and husbands will bombard florists with last-minute requests.

The key to surviving the madness, says Purcellville Florist owner Sherry Rose, a 47-year veteran of the industry, is preparation and a well-stocked fridge of roses.
Rose has owned Purcellville Florist for 25 years.

It takes a month to prepare for one of the single busiest days in the floral design industry, Rose says.

“It’s the busiest day because it’s one or two days. You have to be prepared and do everything in that short time period. We’re constantly busy making sure we’re prepared,” she says.

A month out, Rose’s team orders vases, red and pink squares or heart-shaped pieces of glass, that will hold a variety of flowers.

Two weeks prior to the big day, Rose begins to make prototypes – arrangements that customers can easily pick from rather than ask for a custom designed arrangement – although her team can certainly accommodate those as well.

The business’ reputation to deliver attracts procrastinators, the team jokes.

“We’ve been in town so long, they know that if they come in with a request last minute, we can get it done,” said Katelyn Gaumer, a floral designer with the business for five years.
And the experience shows. The designers can throw an average-size arrangement together in 10 minutes, Gaumer said.

>

Times-Mirror Staff Photo/Beverly Denny Katelyn Gaumer, floral designer for Purcellville Florist, prepares roses for a Valentine’s Day sample arrangement at the shop Feb. 3. Preparations for their busiest time of the year begin weeks in advance.

A week prior to Valentine’s Day, the designers start to “green up” – preparing green filler in vases, because the foliage has a longer life-span. The flowers themselves arrive only days before Feb. 14 so they’re fresh for bouquets, but it makes for long-working days for Rose’s team.

Customers like variety in their Valentine’s Day arrangements, Rose says, but the favorite is still the red rose.

“That will never happen,” Rose says with a smile. “Roses are still our biggest order.”

The designers take pride in their work and will stay extra hours to get an arrangement perfect.

“We’re our own worst critics. If it’s not done right, we’re not happy,” said Rondi Benac, a floral designer who has worked for Purcellville Florist for six years.

The business, which recently moved to a new location in Purcellville at 701 B W. Main St., is known for its custom design work. Rose once designed a floral bus to accompany the funeral of a bus driver.

“We do a lot of custom design work and that’s what we like to do,” Rose says.

But the sagging economy and the emergence of more Internet-savvy customers has wilted not only some of that creativity, but the business’ bottom line.

Flower producers and wholesalers went out of business in the economic downturn and the popularity of online ordering through sites such as FTD and Teleflora took a bite out of local businesses’ pockets, Rose says.

Florists pay a fee to have Internet orders directed to them. Once the Internet proprietor collects their fees, they funnel money to the local business to pay for the arrangements.
But local florists can’t always accommodate since they’re not fully stocked with every flower available.

In addition, Rose says, Internet providers don’t give locals money for delivery and in a rural area like Western Loudoun, that can mean more dollars out of their pockets.

“We can’t always do the arrangement for the money that they offer,” she says. “They can’t always be filled for people because the florist can’t accommodate. The order gatherers are also great at taking an order and not giving you enough money for a delivery fee … We can’t accommodate that, not with the way the gas prices are today.”

Still, the team at Purcellville Florist will try their best to accommodate any request – Internet-based or otherwise.

And for Valentine’s Day, they’re ready. Even for those last-minute requests.

“When they’re happy, we’re happy,” Rose says.