DALLAS — Jeff Neighbors begins his day around 4 a.m.
He’s the owner of All Blooming Florist on Oak Lawn Avenue in Dallas.
Building and designing the floral arrangements for the day takes time. All the orders need to be finished – and sanitized with sanitizer spray – before delivery trucks start arriving to pick them up between 7 and 8 a.m.
“Especially now with COVID, there's so much stress in peoples' life that if you can bring a little bit of happiness, I want to be the one to do it,” Neighbors said.
Neighbors goes out of his way to learn as much as possible about his customers. That way, he can tailor each arrangement to each person.
“I want them to know that I'm part of the arrangement they're getting, and that they receive something special made just for them,” Neighbors said.
Many of Neighbors’ recent customers have been loved ones of COVID-19 victims, who are ordering flowers for funerals.
During one week in January, Neighbors made flower arrangements for at least five COVID-19-related funerals.
During these sad times, the Dallas florist hopes his arrangements heal.
“They can look back and say, 'My florist really helped take my mind off my grief for one moment,'” Neighbors said.
Creating so many funeral arrangements can weigh on Neighbors, too. That’s why this year, he’s looking forward to Valentine’s Day more than ever.
He knows the February holiday is going to be busy. He’s already got 15 drivers lined up for that day. He believes this year will be even better than last year because “people need more happiness.”
The key is getting all of his Valentine's Day orders delivered by noon, he said.
“The more people that see [the flowers] in the office and go home and beat their boyfriends and husbands up or whatever. [Then] they call me and order more,” Neighbors said.
Owning a business during a pandemic has not been easy. But even COVID-19 can't diminish the power of a flower.
“It means even more to me when I get that phone call or that note in the mail saying that I made their event or their occasion spectacular,” Neighbors said. “That makes me want to work harder and do more.”
All Blooming Florist, is located at 2615 Oak Lawn Ave., St. 103, Dallas, TX 75219.
The below video is from Feb. 14, 2019.