Late nights for florists stem from holiday

When Ruth LaHue hires extra help for Valentine’s Day, one of the things she’s looking for is people who can maintain a good disposition with little or no sleep.

LaHue and her Valentine’s Day staff will pull an all-nighter on the eve of the holiday, arranging flowers for one of the busiest days of the year.

The crew at My Secret Garden on N. Ninth Street worked late into the night since Friday to prepare the Valentine’s Day deliveries and pickups. LaHue was at her store until 3 a.m. Tuesday, and she didn’t expect to sleep at all Tuesday night.

“We’ll be lucky to be able to go home and change clothes before we open,” she said.

The Society of American Florists estimates that 189 million roses were grown for Valentine’s Day last year, and LaHue handled her share. This year, her designers offered several arrangements of roses under the “fairy tale romance” theme.

A couple of hours after the store closed Monday, many of the employees were still working in the back room, and many had been there since 8 a.m. In one corner, employees used knives to de-thorn yellow roses; in another, workers wrapped dozens of roses into bouquets. In yet a third corner, workers arranged flowers in colored vases to match the requests of the invoices piled at their sides.

MU junior Lisa McGill concentrated on a floral arrangement called “The Kiss” that included a pair of chocolate lips.

Rose petals, thorns, leaves and twigs littered the brown carpet under her feet.

“It’s a jungle in here,” she said.

A little after 9 p.m., the employees tired of the New World music that has been playing all evening and changed it to Justin Timberlake. The arrangers in the back begin to laugh and dance. The main area of the store was now cluttered with decorative grass and green tape, and several college-aged women sat in a circle and prepared grass for arrangements.

About an hour later, delivery drivers were sorting 70 orders for early-bird Valentine deliveries on Tuesday. LaHue hired 10 extra drivers for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing her total delivery staff to 13.

Jenny Roberts expected to begin her deliveries at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, continuing until she ran out.

“It’s its own little personal high,” she said, describing how she enjoys the idea of watching faces light up when she makes her deliveries.

Tara LaHue, Ruth LaHue’s niece, was finishing her second arrangement of roses at 10:30 p.m. Monday. She had been on the sales floor from 8 a.m. until the shop closed at 5:30 p.m.

“I just learned how to do this yesterday,” she said, explaining how more experienced arrangers can finish in 15 minutes. “It’s fun to create something.”

By midnight some of the floral assistants began sweeping the leaves and stems to put in the overflowing trash compactor.

“It’s weird seeing solid ground now,” McGill said. “I’m used to walking on flowers.”

Soon the six designers were the only employees left in the building. The clock approached 1 a.m., and Ruth LaHue began work on a table arrangement for a Valentine’s Day dinner party.

The tired designers left one by one, but LaHue stayed until 3 a.m. to perfect her final arrangement of the night.

“We just try to make sure every bouquet that goes out is perfect,” she said.