Appleblossoms

Four years ago, Greg made a career change. With a background in IT, he was sick of sitting at a desk all day. When the opportunity came to buy a flower shop with Bart, he took it. We're married, so we've been together forever, but working together in the shop is a different story about four years now.

The partnership works well. Bart's been in floristry for 30 years, starting right out of college. He brings deep floral expertise to the business. Greg handles the front, bringing his IT abilities to streamline operations. He handles the phone system that automatically turns on at 9 when we open, after starting the opening process at 8:45 with music and candles.
Our team includes a part-time designer who works about 15 hours a week, three or four hours a day, a few days a week. She mainly helps with design but can also work in the front and ring customers out. We have another person working about 20 hours a week who shadows Greg and can handle all the front-end operations, deliveries, and even sit with funerals to take orders. We have two drivers, plus a student from high school who helps out.

Our connection with Winston Flowers in Boston sets us apart. They depend on us to do all their Central Mass deliveries. When someone orders through Winston for delivery in our area, we're the ones creating and delivering those arrangements. The quality we send out mimics what you see on the Winston website—typically pretty high-end stuff.

That Tatnuck Country Club wedding stands out. Everyone was involved—everyone helped deliver, everyone helped set up. Weddings that size are rare around here. We've adapted by using Square's scheduling system where brides pay a $100 non-refundable consultation fee to meet with Bart, which can be applied to their wedding flowers.

But we never let budget prevent us from helping families. When one family came in after their small child died, we donated the casket piece and gave them other pieces at a discount. We work with anybody, any budget, especially for funerals. The funeral homes know this Morin's Funeral Home in Spencer, Pillsbury Funeral Home with their various locations, and Sansoucy Funeral Home in Southbridge all partner with us.

The shop breaks florist stereotypes. Yes, we process all our flowers (which some shops don't do), ensuring they last longer. We triple, quadruple check everything that goes out. But we're also a gift shop. We carry candles, crystals, gems, home goods, toys for kids, chocolates—all kinds of different things for everybody. You can't really survive just on flowers.

Last summer, we took all the employees out on a nice boat ride down a river—a chance to hang out outside of work. We were recently named top three florists in Central Massachusetts at the Community Choice Awards in Worcester. We didn't win (our nemesis won again), but top three is still an achievement.

We regularly donate gift cards to schools, especially anything involving kids—sports teams, raffles. We deliver across a 20-mile radius for under $10. We're here every day, with our phone system greeting customers starting at 9 AM.
This is Apple Blossoms: where an IT professional and a veteran florist created something Spencer hadn't seen before.