Stop In and Smell the Roses

Florists share their favorite Valentine’s Day arrangements

By Rachel Pasche | Feb. 3, 2024

More than 250 million—that’s how many roses the Society of American Florists estimates are produced for Valentine’s Day in the United States each year. Red roses take up the biggest piece of the floral-giving pie (65 percent), but other flowers and houseplants are rising in the ranks as a way to celebrate your love. (Love fern, anyone?)

As we approach Valentine’s Day, local florists gave us some insight into one of their busiest days of the year and offered suggestions for gift-giving for those who want to think outside the bouquet box.

Lilies of the Alley

Libby Hogan, the owner of Lilies of the Alley since August 2021, came into the flower business because she was looking for ways to get more involved in the Traverse City community.

After moving to Traverse City post-college, Hogan worked in the luxury event space, a job that gave her the opportunity to work with florists around the state and country. When she heard Lilies was looking for a new owner a few years ago, she jumped on the opportunity to put her own spin on things. Today, Hogan and her team continue to work on dozens of weddings—at least one a week during the busy season (April through November) and sometimes more during the peak months (September and October).

“Our shop is known for more unique and bespoke arrangements,” Hogan says. “Our designs tend to lean more modern and garden-y and are a lot less traditional than what you might find elsewhere.”

She says the shop does a lot of custom orders, matching the arrangement or design to the specific preferences of the recipient. Lilies of the Alley also boasts a huge dry stem bar (nearly 30 feet long) with over 170 stems to choose from. Customers can create their own dried arrangement and pick out an accompanying vase; the dried flowers won’t ever spoil and make for a great decoration.

For the impending holiday of love, Lilies of the Alley has nearly 3,000 stems of flowers coming in, some of which were ordered in December. (Fun fact: The owner also celebrates her birthday on Valentine’s Day!) Hogan suggests some gifting options for anyone you want to feel a little extra love.

“We see a lot of people buying Valentine’s Day gifts for their significant others, but also picking up something for their friends or kids,” she says. “Something on the smaller end that’s perfect for yourself or for someone into self-care is our eucalyptus shower bundle ($20). It adds a really fun element of aromatherapy to your shower and takes it to the next level.”

In the higher price range, a gift that would be good for Mom or a close friend is the Little Luxuries basket, which has everything needed for some TLC and pampering: a tin candle, a glass jar of matches, a bag of rose petals, an everlasting dried arrangement in a bud vase, and optional rose toner. These baskets can be customized to match the recipients’ preferred colors and style and start at $102.

And then, of course, there is the classic bouquet of roses.

“For roses, people can pick their color palette—with the choice between red, soft, and florals—and we arrange a bouquet with roses within that palette,” Hogan explains. “They can choose from one of our vases or opt for paper-wrapped if they want to deliver it to someone at work.” (The paper wrap has a water source that keeps the roses good for up to a day and is easier to travel with than a vase arrangement.) Rose bouquets start at $130.

Want to say “I love you” with a different flower? The shop’s Time for Tulips bouquet, made of specialty tulips of all colors and textures, is particularly popular and described by Hogan as “a very jubilant flower arrangement.”

Find Lilies of the Alley at 227 E. State St. in Traverse City, or online at liliesofthealley.com.

Northwind Blooms

Morgan Lake started a cut flower garden on her grandparents’ farm in Kewadin in 2018, selling her blooms at a roadside stand and the local farmers market. She started working out of her home shortly afterward, and the demand for year-round florals gave her plenty to do. Most recently, she signed a lease in May of 2022 for a downtown Elk Rapids storefront.

Northwind Blooms is more than just a flower shop—it’s a floral boutique that sells bouquets and arrangements alongside jewelry, accessories, and women’s apparel. Lake takes pride in offering products primarily made by women or from women-owned businesses.

She also puts personal emphasis on taking the time to make each bouquet and arrangement special to ensure each is unique and tailored to the customer. Lake says Northwind Blooms works with any price point to create custom bouquets or arrangements, and even offers little “flower bears” for kiddos.

For the gift that keeps on giving, sign up for their biweekly flower subscription, which gets you a beautiful bouquet delivered to your door every other Friday if you live within 30 miles of Elk Rapids.

One of the shop’s specialties is offering Hat Bars, where guests can come and select a hat and then decorate it with a variety of ribbons, decorations, and dried stems. These pop-up events started last year and have been wildly popular, selling out each time.

As for what to expect this Valentine’s Day, Lake says, “While Valentine’s is one of the biggest holidays for Northwind Blooms, Mother’s Day has it beat for flower sales!”

Find Northwind Blooms at 114 River St., Suite B, in Elk Rapids, or online at northwindblooms.com.

Leelanau Plant Co.

If you know your special someone isn’t a dozen-red-roses person but loves all things green and growing, look no further than Leelanau Plant Co.

Owner Natalie Lindsay views herself as a designer and plant artist more than a florist. Her business started with “a passion for plants and design,” that now operates as an event florist (with some micro-wearable art, too). They’re known for their DIY plant bar pop-ups at wineries, moss art, and bespoke wedding florals. Lindsay says they tend to get a lot of “brides who want to step out of the box into the whimsical world.”

Leelanau Plant Co. has deep roots in environmental conservation and sustainability. “Since we flow with the seasons here, I tend to offer just dried floral options in the winter months,” Lindsay tells us. “We grow and work with local nurseries and flower farms during the summer to harvest and grow flowers that preserve nicely for these cold winter months.” 

Leelanau Plant Co. operates out of a design studio and gardens. They don’t sell fresh bouquets at this time, but hope to expand into a greenhouse and farm stand in the future. (The business does offer dried floral bouquets that come in two sizes, ranging from $32-$42.)

Some of the unique gifting options from Leelanau Plant Co. include wearable dried florals in the form of flower crowns, hair combs, rings, and clips. “Our floral clips you can clip on anything,” Lindsay says. “My favorite is just to add a little floral to your car visor or your favorite felt hat.”

Find Leelanau Plant Co. online at leelanauplantco.com. (Bonus: They created a coupon for free shipping for orders over $45, just for Express readers: LOVEISEXPRESS)