L&M Flower Shop is community’s choice for beautiful blooms
Harold Smith, owner of L&M Flower Shop, celebrates his fourth consecutive win as best florist at the 2022 Best of the Best awards gala.
Amy and Harold Smith, owners of L&M Flower Shop
L&M Flower Shop owner and designer Harold Smith assembles an arrangement, beginning with the greenery
Since it's Feb. 16, pink, red and white blooms are plentiful in the shop. Mother's Day is the busiest holiday, but Valentine's Day is the busiest single day of business.
Harold Smith's hands are rough and calloused from years of trimming and cutting flowers. He's quick and efficient at snipping the ends.
Some ready-made bouquets and arrangements sit in the cooler at L&M Flower Shop.
The offerings at the small yet cozy store change based on the seasons.
Spring and Easter are just around the corner now that the rush of Valentine's Day is behind L&M Flower Shop.
L&M Flower Shop, right in the heart of Canonsburg, smells magnificent, but owner and floral designer Harold Smith wouldn’t know.
After 40 years of working with flowers, he’s a little nose blind to the blooms. Some seasonal flowers available only for a short time, or something significantly more fragrant, might break through. Still, for the most part, the scent of his shop is like the comfortable background noise of a bustling coffee shop: eventually, it just blends seamlessly into the very fabric of the place.
At 42 W. Pike Street, the business has been a community staple for years. Smith has owned it for 13 with his wife, Amy, and worked with the previous owners for an additional 16 years. He’s also the winner of the best florist at the Observer-Reporter’s Best of the Best awards for four years running, a testament to his commitment to customer service and satisfaction.
“I’ve been a staple in Canonsburg,” he says.
We sit down just two days following one of his busiest days, Valentine’s Day, but he seems unfazed, just as cheerful and welcoming as if it were any other season. Valentine’s Day, says Smith, is the largest volume day. Though Mother’s Day is the bigger holiday, deliveries can often be spread out a couple of days on either end. Valentine’s Day bouquets don’t offer the same wiggle room.
Canonsburg has been busy lately, and Smith says he’s been working with the borough’s economic development director, Lisa Scarmazzi, to brighten up his storefront and give it a fresh, new look. Smith credits Scarmazzi for working to bring new businesses to Pike Street and the surrounding area, making Canonsurg a destination for foot traffic once again.
Of course, anyone in the same profession for decades must enjoy it. Smith says he appreciates each facet of the work but especially likes seeing a wedding come together for a happy and blushing bride.
Smith adds that he confirms that any arrangement that leaves is one he’s proud of, and ensuring his customers are satisfied is most important. Smith enjoys getting to know his repeat customers. Getting familiar with their preferences makes for lasting relationships. We all have our favorites and dislikes, so remembering that one person isn’t a fan of carnations, can’t have lilies in the home because of cats or loves the color purple makes those bonds last.
Just like clothing and music, flowers and floral arrangements, too, come in and out of style, and Smith has seen it all in his time. The vases are now back in. For funerals, memorial blankets used to be the main item to send to a grieving family, but windchimes have recently replaced them in popularity.
COVID impacted each business a little differently. Fortunately for Smith, the pandemic brought an uptick in sales that has not since leveled out. People were eager to send flowers to friends and loved ones when they were sick, and a porch dropoff was simple. During the height of the shutdown orders, customers were also itching for a little bit of beauty while stuck inside their homes. Smith says he closed for a couple of weeks, handling every element of the operation alone, from answering the phones to delivering and designing arrangements. Now, Smith employs six and is still looking for another designer to supplement his work.
A significant change Smith has witnessed in his decades working in a flower shop is the gradual increase in social media and online ordering. Corporate partners like FTD and Teleflora help drive orders to a business, but they also constrain creativity. They offer premade bouquets and arrangements with a set recipe, this many of this type, this many of that flower, this kind of vase. Smith says that to get more for your money, call a florist, give them a price point and a color scheme and leave it to the professionals. You can often get a better value than premade, formulaic bouquets available online. Or, use the internet for inspiration and let the designer work from those ideas.
Even though most orders come from online avenues, Smith would still prefer a conversation with a customer on the phone. Those one-on-one interactions, especially compliments on a well-crafted arrangement, keep Smith loving what he does.
L&M’s delivery radius covers Washington, Venetia, Canonsburg, McMurray, 84, Cecil, Muse, McDonald and parts of Hickory. Visit landmflowershop.net or call 724-745-9330 for details.