Top Five Philly Florists
Malvern: 222 Roberts Lane
Wander into Heather Potter’s flower shop and you’ll feel like you’ve stumbled across an enchanted forest. A small fountain babbles just inside the front door; tiny moss-covered birdhouses dangle from the branches of a tree in the center of the store. One wall is papered with the pages of an antique book; Rex Begonia, the resident cockatiel, chirps gaily. Among bird-centric and vintage home accessories—far chicer than your average flower-shop fare—you’ll find the likes of lilies of the valley, pansies and grape hyacinths. Arrangements are typically $35. Potter’s favorite request: “Just give me what’s most beautiful today.”
Go here for: Custom window boxes the neighbors will envy.
Flowers & Company
Rittenhouse: 119 South 19th Street
The aesthetic of this corner shop is so evocative of a rom-com that you half-expect to see a young Meg Ryan behind the counter. A dozen or so grab-and-go bouquets, arranged like artwork each morning by owner Nadine Louw, sit among metal buckets of cut stems (six-foot gladiolus! Sunflowers! ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ peonies!) that spill out onto the front stoop. Buy a bouquet—or ask for a custom arrangement—and Louw will swaddle it in brown paper and secure it with a snipping of twine, in romantically old-school style.
Go here for: Bunches of stems to take to that fancy dinner party.
Fleur
Manayunk: 4254 Main Street
Owner Chai Kanchanahoti’s laugh tinkles through his Main Street flower shop, a tiny space packed with more than 50 varieties of blooms. Discover cheery citrus-hued ‘Cherry Brandy’ roses, a rainbow of gerbera daisies, and a wide assortment of orchids from Chai’s native Thailand. While you can buy stems here, opt for Chai’s gorgeous, long-lasting custom bouquets, most around $50.
Go here for: Sleek modern arrangements.
Floribunda
Doylestown: 83 South Hamilton Street
Urbanites will remember this shop from its time in the Rittenhouse Hotel; now it’s a popular spot for surburban “townies,” who pop in on First Fridays and sip wine at the expansive center counter with owners Dave and Donna Zaborowski. When it comes to such exclusive happy hours, you could do far worse: The shop, tucked on Hamilton Street, is redolent with the sweet perfume of David Austin roses, lilacs and peonies, which Dave turns into exquisite English-garden-esque arrangements starting at $40.
Go here for: Hard-to-find out-of-season blooms.
Sullivan Owen
Queen Village: 510 Bainbridge Street
The owner of this eponymous floral boutique used to work for Anthropologie, and it shows: She creates divine vintage-touched arrangements of combos like French anemones, garden roses, hyacinths and peonies (beginning at $60). Owen’s light-filled studio is equally charming, the kind of space that makes you want to flee nine-to-five existence for the green-thumbed life.
Go here for: Dramatic tonal arrangements.
