BUSINESS IS BLOOMING Award-Winning Wellington Florist Celebrates 30 Years In The Community BY M. DENNIS TAYLOR
J.P. Varvarigos was born and raised in the floral business. As an adult, he runs Wellington Florist, recently voted the best florist in Palm Beach County. The third generation in the business, his grandfather was a florist in Queens, N.Y. His parents, Dean and Melinda Varvarigos, met as young adults in Fort Lauderdale while working for Buning the Florist. After their marriage, they ran their own shop for a decade before moving up to Palm Beach County. The couple opened a small shop in Wellington 30 years ago, and Wellington Florist has since grown into a community institution. “We moved to Wellington when there were still cows in open fields,” Melinda recalled. “When my husband came up to look at the property, he saw someone ride their horse up to the Burger King to get lunch.” They were excited to learn more about the fledging community. “We knew immediately that this was where we wanted to be,” she said. “It has grown so much over the years.” Melinda, who has earned the highest accreditation a florist can achieve from the American Institute of Floral Designers, is semi-retired nowadays and chooses to work only during very busy rush periods. Dean, one of the founders of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, passed away in 2017.
Wellington Florist owner J.P. Varvarigos with a European hand-tied bouquet. wellington the magazine | july 2021 45