Purcellville Floristto celebrate 50 Years

By Liz Tenney Jarvis

As Purcellville Florist approaches its 50th year, owner Sherry Rose Garrison sits in her workspace preparing orders and contemplating the years. Having just completed the prom juggernaut last weekend for students at Loudoun Valley HS, Garrison and her team get to work on a wide array of corsages and boutonnieres for the prom at Woodgrove HS. This is just another busy week for a business that has stood the test of time.

Garrison has been creating floral designs since she was 15. Flanked by shelves of a variety of vases and ribbons of every color and texture, she reflects on the decades she has been in the flower business, “There used to be three local florist shops, in Leesburg, Berryville and in Lincoln. They were all owned by Mr. Holmes Gregg and since my sister was doing the bookkeeping at the Leesburg shop, I was able to work part-time there.” It was Garrison’s flare for design and her interest in art that initially got her the job, but she quickly caught on in terms of the wide variety of tasks required by a florist.

Garrison continued to hone her floral arranging skills taking a job with a big florist (Fuqua and Sheffield) in Richmond while she studied Health and Physical Ed at Virginia Commonwealth University. She returned to Purcellville, got married and as the three aforementioned florist shops had been sold, she was then managing the Leesburg location. When the opportunity came to work in a shop in Purcellville, Garrison went for it as she knew the new owner, Evelyn Thompson, from her days at Hilltop Florist in Lincoln. 

Purcellville Florist was at first located in the “breezeway” which is now home to local businesses such as Purcellville Pub, Belly Love brewery and several others. Their initial space was small until they moved up to a larger space (where Petite LouLou is now located). Garrison speaks of how all of the business owners would get together to decorate the breezeway, making it a wonderful place for Townspeople to gather.  

From that location they moved to Maple Avenue (where Finn Thai is now) and stayed for 15 years. Purcellville Florist then moved to the spot where they are currently located on Main Street at the west end of town. Garrison indicates that they have been there for about 13 years.  

When asked what her favorite flower is, Garrison says that one would think it would be the rose as that was her maiden name. “I guess I was destined to work with flowers with that being my name,” she says. But her favorites are flowers that come in white like tulips, peonies, ranunculi, hydrangea and roses. 

People’s preferences have not changed much since the 1970s but the Internet has altered customers’ ideas for arrangements. Rather than leaving it up to the florist to create a design, many present an image they’ve seen online and ask for that to be reproduced. Garrison indicates that she misses the days of always being asked to come up with interesting and creative designs. However, there have been amazing requests over the years.  “Oh, we’ve done a bus, a baseball, an elephant, an American flag, and we do angels,” says Garrison.

One misconception in the floral business is that the customer has contacted the local florist directly. There are many “order gatherers” out there who most people do not even realize they have contacted.  

The price of the order then contains a “middle-man” expense. Moreover, if something is not satisfactory, there is often no recourse because the customer was not in direct contact with the florist. Garrison advises to always make sure the website and the phone number belong to the actual florist. That is the best bouquet bang for the buck as well. 

Purcellville Florist being a longtime part of the business community also means that the owner and family are part of the fabric of the town. Garrison says,
for example, she coached local softball for 18 years. She also donates unused flowers from the week to area churches.  

Thinking back on Purcellville Florist’s five decades, Garrison says, “We are so appreciative of the Purcellville community and beyond for their support throughout the years. We would also like to thank local artist Pat Taylor Holz for her artwork on our 50th Anniversary Clock.”   Standing the test of time indeed.