With Valentine’s Day around the corner, the on-campus flower shop Irish Gardens has been preparing for one of its busiest weeks of the year.
Irish Gardens is completely student-run and located in the basement of LaFortune Student Center. The shop is open Monday through Saturday and offers delivery service for Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s campuses.
Senior manager Tess Brennan says that Irish Gardens was established in 1982 and currently has 19 employees and more than 5,000 flowers.
“We got our flowers this week and we’re processing all of them. We have special flowers for Valentine’s. We have lilies and hydrangeas, which are great, and roses — every color of the rainbow,” Brennan said.
Senior manager Amelia Forrest said they get the flowers from a florist supplier who imports them to South Bend.
For Valentine’s Day, Brennan said that employees have been doing a lot of preparation and have been working long hours.
In the past, Irish Gardens has received more than 500 online orders and 200 walk-in orders around Valentine’s Day.
Junior employee Lauren Gascon said that employees have been coming in during the mornings, nights and between classes to work on all of the orders.
“It’s a really good bonding experience, and by the end of it, you feel a lot more connected. We’re preparing the flowers, making sure, for example, with roses, we’re de-thorning them. It’s a very methodical process,” Gascon said.
Brennan said that they are hoping for more walk-ins than usual since Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday. In years past, the line had been out the door, and they are hoping for that same turnout again.
“I think we’re a little different than other flower shops because we do accept walk-ins on Valentine’s Day and other people close it down, which is understandable, but we’re ready to take over,” Brennan said.
People can order special Valentine’s bouquets through their online order form. The cheapest bouquet is the “Sweet and Simple” at $13 wrapped and $17 with a vase. The most expensive is “You are My Valentine” at $100 with a vase. There is also an option to order singular roses at $5 wrapped each and $9 with a vase.
In comparison, at Trader Joe’s a dozen roses are $9.99, with premium bouquet arrangements from $14.99 -$19.99 and small bouquets from $3.99 - $4.99.
Forrest said that so far everything has been going well, and that it has been a fun time with the employees.
“My favorite, and probably most challenging, part is figuring out how to respond to unexpected obstacles, especially the weather. We’re delivering all over campus, and even to Saint Mary’s, so it’s a lot of logistics and constantly adjusting plans to make sure everything gets where it needs to go. It can be hectic, but it really pushes you to think on your feet and strengthen your problem-solving skills,” she said.
