We were arrested by the sight of a cherry orchard blooming in the window of Flowers of the World and had to step inside. The company began with Peter, the CEO, whose father owned a flower shop. Peter got his start doing window displays - “he is through and through a designer,” the director of sales told us. By building relationships with corporations and clients and maintaining an exceptionally high standard, Flowers of the World became extremely successful in its field. Now, fifteen years later, many of their floral designs can be found in hotel lobbies and spacious business offices as well as at large corporate events. They maintain a blossoming retail counter, however, for anyone who walks into their shop.
Flowers of the World's specialty is keeping things monochromatic. All of their magnificent floral sculptures are assembled in one shade and one shade only. The designers tend to stay away from "common" flowers such as roses, daisies and carnations, since they are firmly based in educating their clients in the "best flowers available." They focus on "rare and incredible" flowers, and blooms that last a long time. “Roses are a dirty flower,” the director of sales mentioned, after explaining the wasteful way that roses use water. She then pointed us towards the amaryllis, stating that it is a flower with more beauty and longevity.
As the name of the store suggests, the blooms are sourced from all over the world, but the staff tries to buy locally when they can. On the early spring day when we walked in, it was almost peony and hydrangea season in the Flower District. The store receives a delivery from overseas everyday, but they also frequent the flower markets early in the morning so that they have stems in stock for regular clients making last-minute requests. Before most businesses have opened their doors, the flowers are sorted into different colors and quickly arranged into works of art. One counter holds the weekly color palate - on the day of our visit, it was orange and yellow - and another held a dazzling array of pink flowers. Every petal is completely free of rips and tears.