Language of Love: Valentine's Day at Zelek Flower Shop

by Kelly Boyer Sagert

Red roses are the classic symbol of romance, with more than 224 million roses, on average, grown annually for Valentine's Day bouquets. At Zelek Flower Shop, located at 1001 Reid Avenue in Lorain, second-generation owner Mary Zelek and her dedicated team are hard at work as they plan for their stunning arrangements—ones that often come with balloons, chocolates, wine, stuffed animals, cards, and more.

Zelek Flower Shop—1001 Reid Avenue, Lorain, Ohio

photo by Jen Navarro

“You really can express your feelings through flowers,” Mary says, “and I’m often asked what each flower symbolizes. The reality is that there are traditional meanings and there are also personal meanings that uniquely exist between the gift giver and recipient. So individual taste matters, too.”

During the 19th century Victorian Era, people who wanted to follow the complicated rules of etiquette would subtly share messages through the language of plants and flowers. From this came the more traditional meanings of flowers.

Zelek Flower Shop—1001 Reid Avenue, Lorain, Ohio

photo by Jen Navarro

For example, a man in love might prepare a “Tussie-Mussie,” which was a small handheld bouquet. Also known as a nosegay, it would contain fragrant herbs with a single gorgeous flower in the center. When the suitor handed a Tussie-Mussie to the woman he adored, the meaning would have been clear. If she took the bouquet and embraced it towards her heart, she loved him in return. If she pointed it downward, the answer, alas, was “no.”

Zelek Flower Shop—1001 Reid Avenue, Lorain, Ohio

photo by Jen Navarro

When focusing on roses, red shared passion while pink meant affection. Yellow flowers indicated friendship, while white flowers signaled purity.

“Today,” Mary says, “some people embrace traditional meanings of flowers while others focus more on what a specific person might want. Younger men often stick to red roses when sending them to a woman while couples who have been in a long-time relationship may send something different, such as yellow daisies, because they know the other person’s tastes well. Nowadays, people also send flowers to their children—even to themselves!”

Although men are more often gift-givers, here’s one big change from Victorian times: Women also send floral arrangements.

Plus, Mary notes people of all ages send them.

Zelek Flower Shop—1001 Reid Avenue, Lorain, Ohio

photo by Jen Navarro

“I love when people come in to send their very first bouquet,” she says. “They’ll often ask for advice, and so I share thoughts to help them send what’s in their hearts.”

Thanks to the debut of the Internet, some people make uniquely customized requests. They may pick out a bouquet from Zelek’s website and then ask for a change in color or flower.

“Requests range from bouquets with candy to ones with junk food and beer.”

Valentine’s Day in 2022 lands on a Monday, the day after the Super Bowl, making it a busy weekend, indeed. Valentine’s Day is, in fact, the second busiest day of the year at Zelek’s, with only Mother’s Day being more hectic.

So when should you order your bouquets?

“We’ve already received orders for Valentine’s Day,” Mary says, “and it’s always better to order earlier rather than later. That said, we’ll be prepared for same-day orders with half a dozen people out making deliveries. We’ll also be open on Super Bowl Sunday to take Valentine’s Day orders.”

In 2020 and 2021—and now in 2022—more supply chain issues exist than typical, especially with fresh items like flowers. This is another reason why ordering early can make sense.

You can stop by Zelek Flower Shop during business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. through 3 p.m. on Saturday); call 440-244-5259; or use the website at zelekflowershop.com.

Zelek Flower Shop—1001 Reid Avenue, Lorain, Ohio

photo by Jen Navarro

The flower shop opened in 1951, long before Internet orders existed. Mary’s parents, Pete and Sylvia, opened the original shop at the corner of 12th Street and Reid Avenue in a former gas station. The couple, now deceased, actually met while working at a florist shop —and, when Pete shared that he wanted his own store, Sylvia was all in and continued to work by his side as Pete’s lifelong Valentine.

Their business was so successful that they needed to have more space, so they built the current florist shop in 1966 and 1967. The shop truly was a family affair with young Mary, her two brothers, and one sister watering flowers and polishing leaves. After Mary studied business and marketing administration at the University of Dayton, she came back to the family’s shop and never left. (In fact, she’d always planned to return!)

Zelek Flower Shop—1001 Reid Avenue, Lorain, Ohio

photo by Jen Navarro

Although Valentine’s Day is clearly a huge day for Mary and her team, they provide plants and fresh flowers all year long in traditional and contemporary arrangements for a wide variety of events—including at weddings for couples who started out by... you guessed it: sending one another lovely flowers for Valentine’s Day!

Zelek Flower Shop—1001 Reid Avenue, Lorain, Ohio

photo by Jen Navarro