It's time to take another look at your local flower shops. While you may be used to ordering flowers online or over the phone from national companies, the brick-and-mortar flower scene has undergone a renaissance, with florists taking more risks and opening their bouquet repertoire to species that have regained favor after decades of being ignored (we’re looking at you, carnation). For their part, consumers are taking a step away from one-size-fits-all online retailers and demanding more creative and unique arrangements. With countless florists posting daily Instagram inspirations, the botany bar has been raised. Best of all, local florists can work with you to design arrangements, giving you a level of customization that's not available online. No matter where you live, it’s an exciting time to be a bloom lover. Below, our selection of seven top local flower shops around the country.
1. Flowerboy Project
824 Lincoln Boulevard, Los Angeles
310-452-3900
flowerboyproject.com
A rising star on the Los Angeles design scene, Sean Knibb (best known for his garden design and interior work at The Line Hotel in Koreatown) opened his first retail space—Flowerboy Project (pictured above)—in Venice in the summer of 2015. The boutique offers a medley of lifestyle goods, from vases to coffee and face cream, in addition to a wide selection of flowers delivered daily and available as bouquets or in prearranged jars. Inspired by his grandmother’s flower shop in Jamaica, Knibb’s curation is equal parts free spirit and bloom expert. The shop's downtown branch opened in the Freehand Hotel in 2017.
2. Solabee Flowers & Botanicals
801 N Killingsworth Street, Portland, Oregon
503-278-9077
solabeeflowers.com
Friends and co-owners Alea Joy Bessey and Sarah Helmstetter opened Solabee in downtown Portland around six years ago. Their mission statement was simple—to use the fresh botanical gems the region had to offer in interesting, unexpected ways. The formula has proven successful, and Solabee now occupies a light-filled shop located in a charming former drugstore from 1910 and offers its expertise for events and weddings as well as in-house interior greening consultations set to turn even the most urban of apartments into a secret garden. Bonus points: The shop sells one-of-a-kind pots and wares hand-made by local artisans. They also have a location in Northwest Portland where Alphabet District residents and visitors can pick up one-of-a-kind bouquets and rare plants.
3. Putnam & Putnam
120 W 28th Street, New York
917-671-6847
putnamflowers.com
When Darroch and Michael Putnam became a couple, they were working as a photographer and an interior designer, respectively. Fast-forward to 2014 and the two had become business partners as well, launching Putnam & Putnam on New York’s Fifth Avenue (pictured above). Their über-romantic, daring approach to pairing blooms, as well as their large-scale foliage installations, quickly brought them a loyal fan base (with clients including everyone from Dior to Barneys New York to Vogue). And while grand event and editorial arrangements are their specialty, custom-made bouquets combining fresh daily market picks can be ordered on their website for under a hundred dollars. If you're looking for a gift that lasts longer than a flower arrangement, the duo has also launched a line of candles combining floral, fruit, and herbal notes.
4. Emily Thompson Flowers
142 Beekman Street, New York
212-882-1384
emilythompsonflowers.com
After a childhood spent in picturesque Northeast Kingdom, Vermont, Thompson studied art and earned an MFA in sculpture from UCLA. While flower arranging was always a hobby, in 2006 she turned it into her full-time gig, opening an eponymous studio whose clients have included the White House, the Museum of Modern Art, Jo Malone, and MAC. Thompson opened a light-filled shop in 2014 in Manhattan's historic South Street Seaport (pictured above) and her approach to arranging is all about organic pairings that use in-season blooms alongside fruit and foliage. A series of striking, whimsical papier-mâché vases done in collaboration with artist Mark Gagnon have brought her added acclaim. Thompson recently teamed up with Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, opening a shop within Roman and Williams Guild in SoHo.
5. Studio Choo Florists
701 11th Avenue, San Francisco
studiochoo.com
Cofounded by San Francisco friends Alethea Harampolis and Jill Rizzo in 2009, Studio Choo is a one-stop source if you’re looking for something a little wild. Big fans of incorporating budding branches into seasonal arrangements (for spring, the women favor ranunculus, anemone, dogwood, foxglove, iris, and lilac, among other species), the Choo look is never overly precious or styled. In addition, Harampolis and Rizzo are authors, having published the Flower Recipe Book in 2013. The studio offers flower arrangement classes in San Francisco. Rizzo opened an East Coast branch in 2015 in Newport, Rhode Island, and the shop hosts private classes and on-site workshops, in addition to blooms for deliveries, events, and weddings. The West Coast shop, helmed by Harampolis, is set in a shared space with Yonder SF ceramics studio.
6. Farmgirl Flowers
901 16th Street, San Francisco
855-202-3817
farmgirlflowers.com
In 2010 Christina Stembel launched Farmgirl Flowers with $49,000 of her own savings out of sheer frustration at the limited, expensive (and often cheesy) selection available on conventional delivery sites. Today, the 38-year-old Indiana native is running one of the most successful bouquet delivery businesses in the country, with millions in revenue, 61 employees, and a 7,400-square-foot space in the San Francisco Flower Mart that serves as the hub for her operation. The secret of her meteoric rise? Taking the guesswork out of ordering (each daily, rustic-style bouquet is a surprise to the person receiving and ordering) and hand-selecting elegant, unique blooms that come delivered in a signature burlap wrap. San Francisco customers can pick up their bouquets from Farmgirl HQ or have them delivered by bicycle or car courier.
7. Eric Buterbaugh Florals
8271 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles
323-651-9844
ebflorals.com
To say that Eric Buterbaugh is an institution in the floral world is no exaggeration. As the resident florist-to-the-stars at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, he’s created some of the city’s most memorable blooms in his nearly two decades in the business. Side projects have included regular arrangements for Dior, Cartier, and the Chateau Marmont, not to mention personal bouquets for the likes of Tom Ford and Jessica Alba. His newest boutique, Eric Buterbaugh Florals (pictured above), is a bit different—there are actually no flowers here, but it’s worth a stop for his line of floral-inspired candles and seven unisex fragrances composed by Buterbaugh and his business partner, Fabrice Croisé. Visit his shop at 7001 Melrose to see his exquisite arrangements.
