The LA Flower Market bustles with Mom's day shoppers
Mother's Day is the Super Bowl of the flower business and this weekend the California Flower Mall is hopping with shoppers looking to get mom that special bouquet, at a decent price.
One vendor at the market, Liz Gomez, says Mother's Day is busier than Valentine's Day for flower sales. She said they've been busy for two weeks, working 13 hours a day, and all the vendors are bracing for the final push as the market stays open for 24 hours into Mother's Day.
Gomez said the trend this year is roses and peonies – and pink is the color of choice. But the demand is so great, really anything fresh and colorful goes.
"Usually Mother's Day, you can sell anything, any kind of flower. Valentine's Day is mostly only red," said Gomez. She's already sold out of pink, as of Saturday, but there are plenty of white roses .., and for two dozen roses, Gomez said her price is $22.
Another vendor new to the market this year, Evelyn Esparza, said she may have underestimated the supply needed to meet the demand, her cart has noticeably empty space.
"Yesterday (Friday) was such a busy and hectic day, we have no more roses left," said Esparza. And her sunflowers on display, they've already been sold.
Yvonne started shopping at 5:30 Saturday morning for just the right flowers, she had a bouquet for her daughter's mother-in-law and a basket for her best friend's mom.
And what's the best way to navigate the flower mart? Yvonne had some tips. "Get here early, try to find your parking and go to at least 10 vendors to do your research and pricing before purchasing the first thing you see," she said. "You can negotiate, and I would recommend to bring cash."
One shopper started at 5 a.m. and had purchased a large bouquet of sunflowers wrapped with Louis Vuitton logo tissue paper. "She really likes sunflowers, especially Louis Vuitton, so we bought this. Anything for mom," she said.
And pro-tips for flower shopping, Esparza says to look for the flowers that aren't fully open.
"I would suggest, I know you might see something fully bloomed and open, but like the tulips you would want them a little bit closed so they will last your mom a little bit longer. Same thing with the lilies, I know they look closed and you might not see what they look like, but they will probably last up to two weeks," said Esparza.
The California Flower Mall, located at 824 S. San Julian Street is open 24 hours Saturday, May 13, into Mother's Day and will close May 14 at 7 p.m.
