It Will Burst into Bloom

‘It Will Burst into Bloom’

Natalie Gilliland opened Poppies Flower Shop in Tempe last October. She and her shop will move to Norterra on September 1. (Photos by Pablo Robles)

Poppies Flower Shop blossoms with boutique fl owers By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Europe. You walk in.  ere are a lot of loose

Natalie Gilliland has always loved stems, not a lot of premade stu . Customers  owers because of their beauty and can pick and choose what they want.” the creative ways in which she can Traditional  owers like daisies, roses and arrange them. carnations will be aplenty, but Gilliland will

A er she and her husband, Michael, retired specialize in novelty  owers like sweet peas, from their commercial landscaping business, peonies, blushing bride protea, ranunculus the goal was to open a  ower shop. and irises.

Gilliland couldn’t wait. “You get the traditional roses with the

In October 2019, she opened Poppies Flowbaby’s breath,” she says. “I want to keep the er Shop in Tempe. Nearly a year later, on Sepusual stu . I have gorgeous white snapdragtember 1, Gilliland is moving it to Norterra ons right now—the stu you can’t pick up at to be closer to her Anthem home. the market. When you come into my store, I

“I had always wanted a retail store,” she want you to have an experience. says. “I have always loved  owers and plants. I’ve played with  owers for as long as I can remember. It’s a creative outlet for me.

“I’ve wanted a boutique  ower shop, something that wasn’t a traditional type of  ower shop. You can pick up a dozen red roses,  ll out a card and leave. But I wanted something more boutique, like in a very small town in

Traditional fl owers like daisies, roses and carnations will be aplenty, but Poppies Flower Shop will specialize in novelty fl owers like sweet peas, peonies, blushing bride protea, ranunculus and irises.

“ e girls and I are well versed in the different types of  owers and how long they’re going to last. Some  owers and plants are fussy, some like direct sunlight, some like partial sunlight. We’ll show you how to care for them and when the change out the water.”

Aside from fl owers, locally sourced gifts will be available at Poppies Flower Shop. (Photos by Pablo Robles)

Poppies Flower Shop

The Shops at Norterra 2450 W. Happy Valley Road, Suite 1147, Phoenix 480-649-7100, poppiesfl owershop.com

Gilliland’s goal is to educate her customers because, then, everyone is happy. She’s especially interested in o ering tips about succulents, such as water them infrequently and keep them out of the sun and heat.

Poppies will also have a small garden area so Gilliland can get the “best of all my worlds.”

“We’ll have small plants and small succulents,” she says. “Customers can pick out succulents and pot them here if they like. We can also help them pot it or they can take it home and make a mess themselves in their kitchen.

“We have all di erent varieties of eucalyptus and all the di erent greens you need to put together an arrangement. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience. It’s like you’re strolling through those shops in Europe. You can walk out holding 20 loose stems of whatever you want.”

Poppies Flower Shop arranges  owers for events, namely weddings and corporate a airs. Locally sourced gi s will be available at the store.

“It goes naturally with if you’re coming in to get  owers for a girlfriend, you can pick up a book or a candle, or things like that,” she says. “We’re featuring all local vendors, with the exception of books. I couldn’t  nd local vendors for books.  is makes it really unique and special, versus going into a big-box store.”

Gilliland grew up in Southern California and moved to Arizona a er high school. She recalls, during her childhood, hearing stories about her grandfather’s dog, a ectionately named Poppy, hence the shop’s name.

“I love poppies,” she says. “I love the red poppies because I love red. But Poppy was my grandfather’s dog’s name. He died when I was young, so I don’t really remember, but my mom would always talk about my grandpa’s dog.

“When I was coming up with the name, I thought about my favorite  owers. I love sweet peas, but then I came across poppies. My grandfather was an entrepreneur.  at’s all of his entrepreneurial genes in it.”

In Gilliland’s signature line of her email is “Isaiah 35:2.” A line reads, “It will burst into bloom.” Her faith is going to help her make Poppies Flower Shop a success.

“We’re Christian,” she says. “Whenever God has a plan for you, you just roll with it.  at’s how the  ower shop came about. I can’t stop. You just have to roll with it.

“Owning a business is stressful, especially when COVID hit.  e event market died.  e blessing in all of that was it allowed us to focus our time on the retail side and opening this store.”

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