Ro$e$ are green
Published 6:52 pm Friday, February 11, 2011
Audrey Barnes will celebrate her 25th Anniversary Monday.
Not a wedding. It will be the the 25th Valentine’s Day that she’s survived as a florist.
Barnes said the Valentine’s Day blitz has been in full swing since Thursday evening with her and the staff working to 10 p.m.
She expected to work until midnight Friday and Saturday will start a two day ambush that will likely see Lindsey’s Florist and Gifts staffed nearly around the clock.
“It’s crazy for a little more than a week,” she said. “We hope we get to go home some this weekend, but we’ll just have to see.”
Barnes said Lindsey’s expects to make upwards of 120 deliveries Monday and expects for the walk-in traffic to be steady for last minute gift-buyers.
“Monday, we’ll have about 40 walk-in that either waited to the last minute or forgot,” she said. “It’s amazing that so many people either wait or forget.”
In preparation, Barnes has solicited extra help and Lindsey’s will open for extended hours Sunday.
Red roses, once again, are her top sellers with Lindsey’s expecting to push out more than 50-times their regular order of the famed Valentine flower.
“We start planning a little after Christmas,” Barnes said of working to secure the appropriate number of roses. “We’ll place our orders with the vendors well in advance of February.”
Valentine’s Day and its orders, Barnes said, represent nearly 10 percent of Lindsey’s business, but not all come from the hunt for red roses.
“This year, I have a lot of orders for lillies,” she said, noting the flower’s beauty and fragrance. “Roses are the biggest seller but lillies are in second.”