Flowerama Pittsburgh preparing for Valentine's Day rush
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- From the roses to the chocolate strawberries, heart-shaped balloons and more, the experts at Flowerama are ready for Valentine's Day.
"We love it, we love it that flowers help people express their love and emotions," said Flowerama owner Patti Fowler. "We have something for everybody and pretty much in every budget as well too."
Fowler is successfully navigating 32 years of Valentine's Day business now. So, she's prepared with two 52-foot refrigerator trucks. She tells KDKA-TV they started production heavily on Sunday and they will not stop through Wednesday.
"A lot of that's just because we're asking the growers to create so many stems right after another red holiday called Christmas," said Fowler.
For customers, buying their special someone flowers comes with a feeling of joy and it's a message of love, sent from a place of beauty. "It smells really good, it's beautiful in here and I'm excited to look around and see what they have," said customer Kaylee Freeman.
To each customer, the cost is worth it, even if it's more expensive this year. According to Statista, American consumers plan to spend approximately $2.6 billion on flowers for Valentine's Day this year. Finder.com also reports a dozen roses costs about 12 percent more in 2024 when compared to weeks leading up to Valentine's Day in 2023.
It's an expensive holiday, but Flowerama has your deals, with a single rose being $7.99 and one dozen roses costing $59.99 this holiday. The flower shop has 16,000 roses prepared to sell in just one week, so volunteers and workers are bringing their A game.
"It's fun, it's a lot of fun, and it's a very well-oiled machine," flower designer Dina Dodd said.
"I think it's the environment here, how pretty and colorful and beautifully smelling everything is," said Angie Robertson, a volunteer at Flowerama.
It's a positive space for a day of love, with flowers from around the world, ready for the community in Pittsburgh.
"We always make sure we have plenty of product for everybody coming in. They can feel free to walk in the door Wednesday afternoon and have a lot of beautiful choices," said Fowler.
