Sisters Return to Floral Business After Retirement
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
How long? “About two weeks after we sold Anderson Greenhouses,” Wonderly said Thursday in their new store, Maple Avenue Flowers, causing both sisters to burst into a loud laugh.
“We were laughing earlier because we said the love of flowers is rooted in us,” added Wonderly, who with Weaver is a third-generation florist with 65 years of experience between them. “It’s in our blood, you know, it’s just in our blood.”
They spent a year in retirement after selling Anderson on North Detroit Street in Warsaw before buying the former Maple Avenue Florist, 403 N. Maple Ave. They changed the name a little to avoid confusion, and got the 85-year-old business a new phone number: 574-376-4045.
The old number is still in the phonebook, Wonderly noted, and they can’t repaint the sign out front until weather allows. But they opened Monday and, aside from a little more merchandize they’re expecting, are ready for business.
The sisters are keeping many of the features Maple Avenue customers enjoyed, such as operating as a full-service florist with same-day delivery and offering the “Cash and Carry Rose Prize” – a dozen roses for $25. The shop still sells flowers, green plants and custom silk designs.
And they plan to restore features the shop hasn’t had for several decades, such as rebuilding the greenhouse in back in order to grow bedding plants for spring.
New features they’re bringing to Maple Avenue, some transplanted from Anderson, include membership in FTD wire service and offering Root Candles, Fanny May candies and DeBrand chocolate.
Chocolate and flowers is a natural fit, Wonderly observed.
She also noted that selling Anderson and retiring last year seemed like the best thing to do at the time.
“Now we realize maybe it wasn’t,” Weaver added.
“We missed the flower business, so when this became available we grabbed it up,” said Wonderly, remarking that they missed working with flowers, seeing customers who became friends and seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they delivered to them.
“We are looking forward to serving Kosciusko County again with flower deliveries, and would love all our old customers and friends to come see us,” she said.[[In-content Ad]]
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How long? “About two weeks after we sold Anderson Greenhouses,” Wonderly said Thursday in their new store, Maple Avenue Flowers, causing both sisters to burst into a loud laugh.
“We were laughing earlier because we said the love of flowers is rooted in us,” added Wonderly, who with Weaver is a third-generation florist with 65 years of experience between them. “It’s in our blood, you know, it’s just in our blood.”
They spent a year in retirement after selling Anderson on North Detroit Street in Warsaw before buying the former Maple Avenue Florist, 403 N. Maple Ave. They changed the name a little to avoid confusion, and got the 85-year-old business a new phone number: 574-376-4045.
The old number is still in the phonebook, Wonderly noted, and they can’t repaint the sign out front until weather allows. But they opened Monday and, aside from a little more merchandize they’re expecting, are ready for business.
The sisters are keeping many of the features Maple Avenue customers enjoyed, such as operating as a full-service florist with same-day delivery and offering the “Cash and Carry Rose Prize” – a dozen roses for $25. The shop still sells flowers, green plants and custom silk designs.
And they plan to restore features the shop hasn’t had for several decades, such as rebuilding the greenhouse in back in order to grow bedding plants for spring.
New features they’re bringing to Maple Avenue, some transplanted from Anderson, include membership in FTD wire service and offering Root Candles, Fanny May candies and DeBrand chocolate.
Chocolate and flowers is a natural fit, Wonderly observed.
She also noted that selling Anderson and retiring last year seemed like the best thing to do at the time.
“Now we realize maybe it wasn’t,” Weaver added.
“We missed the flower business, so when this became available we grabbed it up,” said Wonderly, remarking that they missed working with flowers, seeing customers who became friends and seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they delivered to them.
“We are looking forward to serving Kosciusko County again with flower deliveries, and would love all our old customers and friends to come see us,” she said.[[In-content Ad]]
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