Local Shop Flowers the Area with Valentine's Day Love

Most women kiss and hug their special someone to thank them when they receive beautifully arranged flowers on Valentine’s Day. But really those hugs and kisses and thank yous should be directed at the florist who did all of the work. That special someone of yours paid for those flowers and granted he remembered it was Valentine’s Day so that always scores some points. But really the florist is the one who made the arrangement and sometimes selected the flowers and wrote the card.

on State Street in Media was bustling with customers on Valentine’s Day. Mostly men would enter the shop and just stare at the colorful bunches filling the shop with a dazed look. Some of them had Hallmark bags in tow or chocolates and their next stop was the flowers.

"They all come in like lost puppies," shop owner Monika Rehoric said. "And they say, 'can you help me.'"

Rehoric has worked at Kenny’s for 32 years. She started working there part time when she was in high school. Years later she had the opportunity to purchase the store from the original owner and has continued as the owner for 18 years now with her husband, Z, and children.

She said Valentine’s Day is busy because it’s a one-day holiday. Christmas and Mother’s Day are probably busier than Valentine’s Day but because this holiday is really the focus of one day, it makes things a bit hectic.

Rehoric, her husband, and her daughter Desiree work in the shop full time. But their younger daughter, Elise, also helps out on busy holidays.

On this Valentine’s, the three women ran around the shop, making pre-ordered arrangements, taking phone orders, handling customers at the register and then of course assisting those lost souls walking into the store hoping to have that perfect flower appear in front of them that would suit their Valentine.

In the front of the shop, beautiful arrangements fill the shop with a lovely floral scent and the many colors would make any room brighter. But in the back room, where the arrangements are made, looks more like organized chaos of flower stems and petals on the floor, vases and roses and babies breath all lined up on the work station, large containers filled with different types of flowers, and then stacks of order forms all lined up putting a price on how much you love someone on Valentine’s Day.

Rehoric said they used more than 150 dozen roses by the time the Valentine’s holiday is over.

"That’s just roses. Not cut flowers or arrangements," she said.

Over the years, Rehoric said she has seen it all from wedding proposals where they hide the ring in a rose to questions about extramarital affairs to even actual stalkers sending flowers anonymously.

"I’ve seen a lot through the years," she said.

Rehoric herself isn’t the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day personally. She said years ago before her husband was involved with the shop, he would give her flowers for Valentine’s Day.

"I would be like, are you serious, why did you get me a rose. I’d rather have chocolate or jewelry," she said.

She said after dealing with flowers all day and having her hands get cut up from rose thorns, flowers are the last thing she wants to see when she goes home at the end of Valentine’s Day. Now that her husband is working at the shop too, he knows better, she said.

"I don’t feel he needs to tell me he loves me on this one day. I'd prefer he tell me with a rose maybe in the middle of July," Rehoric said.

So while Rehoric waits for her Valentine in July she helps everyone else feel warm and fuzzy and loved on this Valentine’s Day.

Around lunchtime there was a small line of customers walking in to the shop, picking up arrangements or making plans to pick up an order after work. Rehoric said at 5 p.m. the line would be out the door.

"After work, everyone just wants to grab and go," she said.

Rehoric interacts with all her customers and even on a stressful, busy day like Valentine’s she still finds time to joke and laugh with her regulars while making an arrangement or helping decide which color flowers are best.

Tom Delaney, of Middletown, came in to order flowers for his wife of 25 years and joked with Rehoric and her daughters.

"Is it possible to get fresh roses today," he asked sarcastically as he was surrounded by roses. "Do you have fresh roses?"

Delaney said he comes to Kenny’s as often as possible and said the Rehorics are the nicest people and always helpful.

One woman came in to buy a simple plant and was about to leave with her purchase when Desiree, whose worked in the shop since she was 13 years old, noticed it wasn’t "perfect" and needed a little more TLC.

"I can’t let it leave without it looking the way it needs to look," she said.

Desiree said she enjoys the flower business because she leans toward the artistic side.

"Not everyone can do this. You need to be artistic," she said. "It has it’s moments like any job would but for the most part, yeah, I like it."

The Rehoric women definitely know the flower business and they are always there to help those lost souls choose something special for their Valentine.

"I love when they call and say 'you gotta bail me out,'" Rehoric laughed. "Sometimes I think we should be called the, 'Save Your Ass Florist.'"

Kenny’s Flower Shoppe will be open until 7 p.m. on Valentine’s Day so hurry up and don’t forget that special someone this Valentine’s Day.