On the Job: Kitty’s Flowers
Valentines Day is February 14th and if you don’t have anything for that special someone yet, Kitty’s Flowers might be able to help you out. This week 47 ABC heads to the flower shop to create the perfect, wonderful smelling, bouquet of flowers that will leave your Valentine feeling all sorts of wonderful.
As soon as you walk through the doors of Kitty’s Flowers, you’re instantly hit with aromas of roses, hydrangeas and Calla Lilys. It’s enough to put anyone in the spirit of the holiday. One specific occasion coming up? Valentines day.
Robin Gravenor owns the shop with her brother. Her grandmother, Kitty, started the business in 1950 and Robin has been running the business for 25 years. Robin says this time of year, is her busiest. Her store makes approximately 1,200 bouquets for Valentines day, but she says they have a lot of fun with it.
Robin’s arrangement room is filled with flowers and smells like you’re walking through an enchanted garden. The room is filled with vases, ribbons and lots of flowers. There are rose petals and stems and leaves everywhere all over the floor, but there’s a reason behind it.
Robin tells 47 ABC, “My grandmother actually always liked for us to throw stuff on the floor, all the trash goes on the floor because if you keep it on the table good stuff a lot of the times gets in with the bad.”
So where do all her flowers come from? Robin says a lot of her roses come from South America and others come from a wholesale house in New Jersey.
One special arrangement that is a popular buy at the shop is the “Loving Memory” bouquet. It consists of oriental lily’s, roses and genestra. Robin says when prepping roses, you must peel off the outer petals, or what robin calls the shipping petals. Next we arranged another bouquet called the “Indulge Her”. It consists of a small glass pyramid shaped vase with one large hydrangea and a few pink roses.
Robin says not only does her store offer flowers but they also offer candy baskets, teddy bears, Dolley’s chocolates, small trinkets and jewelry. So no matter what you’re shopping for, Kitty’s most likely has you covered.
Next week 47 ABC heads to McDonalds to learn how to make the famous Big Mac and serve a few customers at the drive-thru window.
