In 2016, Vesna Backo-Trickett and her husband, Jason Trickett, decided to combine his horticulture and flower background with her passion for home décor and opened The Flower Market Waterdown, a flower boutique that’s also filled with beautiful gifts and fashionable home accessories.
Unlike a typical florist where you place an order and then have them delivered, at The Flower Market Waterdown, the flowers are right in front of you.
“The way we work in our shop is we have everything ready to go when you walk in. We call it market-style flowers," explains Backo-Trickett. "You walk in and see what we have available, so it’s much easier to pick and decide on."
When it comes to Valentine’s Day, she says that roses are definitely the number one choice.
“People don’t like to get away from tradition, and red roses specifically," she said. "But we’ll also do a lot of mixed bouquets with all sorts of different flowers. Mason jar arrangements are also really popular for us. We just got in some potted roses for people who want to do roses but don’t want them cut. That’s a good thing for a co-worker, friend, or parent if you don’t want to hand them a bouquet of roses.
For Valentine’s the shop also does up tulip bouquets for people who like something a bit different. They also have plants in Valentine’s Day pots that feature a
mix of tropicals or kalanchoe, "which is like a coloured flower plant for people who don’t want flowers and may want something that’s more long-lasting," says Backo-Trickett.
"But I think that’s what makes flowers special—they’re so beautiful, but they’re so fleeting.”
Local products on offer
If flowers aren’t your style, the Flower Market Waterdown has plenty of other great gift ideas. They try to carry as many local products as they can and put signs on products to let people know which are local or Canadian-made.
Of course, chocolates are a perennial favourite for that sweet someone in your life. Walker’s Chocolates and Christy’s Gourmet, both from Burlington, and anDea Chocolates from Ancaster are all available.
Other gift ideas produced in Canada include candles, jewellery, and body care creations.
“We’re different from a regular florist that specializes in flowers. We are a full boutique, so you can come and get flowers, but you can also select other things. You can even get home décor for your house while you’re at it,” says Backo-Trickett, noting that M=many people come in for flowers but end up shopping for pictures, pillows, vases, candlesticks, dish platters, napkins or wine glasses.
“We live in Waterdown, and being part of the community is a big part for us,” says Backo-Trickett. “We like having a place like this in our community. It’s nice to get to know everybody. Even when customers walk in, they know each other, and they have little conversations in the shop. It’s really nice to see."
