By Lauren Anderson
My name is Lauren, and I am a fourth-generation flower lover. My grandmother used to work with my great-grandmother on her farm, my mother used to help my grandmother in her plant nursery, and I grew up helping them all in their gardens. I was blessed to have experienced all four generations together for the first 20 years of my life. Gardening together formed some of my most peaceful memories. When the COVID quarantine went into effect in 2020, our daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. She had to go into a seven-week quarantine where we couldn’t see her in person. In order to stay sane, I rekindled my love of gardening. I planted our whole garden in sunflowers so that she would have something beautiful to come home to when she got out of the hospital. Once that was all over, and our girl was healed, I decided I wanted to provide that peace and joy to others around me. I wanted to continue the flower-loving legacy of my foremothers so I opened Late Bloomer Flower Shoppe.
I started out with a little two horse trailer that I had converted into a mobile flower shoppe. Many farmer’s markets, pop ups, and events later, I opened our storefront on Harrison Avenue which is a full service florist including weddings and events. I had so many amazing people help me along the way, the support system and excitement was humbling. I decided I wanted Late Bloomer to be more than just a flower shoppe, I wanted to provide that peace and joy with more than just flowers. So, we added a gift shoppe and have used it to support so many local vendors and businesses. Everything from jewelry, chocolate, art, candles, homeopathic beauty products, seeds and more are provided by artisans right here in our community.
We also decided to start hosting our own small events and classes. We offer Floral Happy Hours each featuring a different theme. You can come and enjoy a glass of wine or beer, have a round table discussion with one of our local speakers about anything from confidence classes to floral design, leave with a bouquet of flowers and hopefully feel a little lighter. We have a live and dried Build Your Own Bouquet Bar every day of the week where you can let your creative hands go to work or one of our girls can help you put something special together. All of these things culminate in a beautiful and creative environment that we love to share with everyone that comes through our door.
I also wanted to show our gratitude by contributing beauty to our community. We’ve volunteered our time and floral installations for multiple events from FLLuxe Art Festival to Red Fish Film Festival and more. We look forward to continuing to grow and provide beauty to our surroundings.
Come visit us at 556 Harrison Avenue in Panama City’s Historic Downtown or give us a call at (850) 215-4192. Follow our Facebook and Instagram to see our classes and events, and see what we’re up to next! Find us @LateBloomer850.
