Athens, GA –  These “snow days” may be good for students, but florists are wondering why the bad luck fell on them. Because even with the ice and snow, Valentine’s Day will still be here in two days. You didn’t forget did you?

Courtesy: Adam Greene – A full shop ready for V-Day:

Adam Greene had to get creative. He lives right across the street from his shop, Athens Floral Boutique on Baxter Street. And he has four wheel drive. So…what does a devout florist do on the week of Valentine’s Day? Greene’s answer: get your employees and have a sleepover. Greene says he picked up his employees this morning and six of them are staying at his house tonight and tomorrow. They need today to do prep work for their orders, and they can’t afford to waste time.

The snowstorm two weeks ago did not fall on such an important week, which is why Greene closed his shop then. But today, there is no way they were closing. He says there is too much to do.

The same goes for other florists in town, like Donna Cochran, owner of Flower and Gift Baskets on Prince Ave. Her employees spent all of yesterday preparing what they could and they were unable to get to the shop today. She does not live close but instead, is taking orders from home. Work will resume tomorrow, she says, if they can get there safely.

Desiree Goetz, a Holland native used to snow, trekked through the ice today to get to her flower shop: Always Always Flowers. But it wasn’t easy, and she only did it because of the holiday:

She is happy she lives so close but today, she’s the only one there. She’s glad she went, since ten people have already called her for new orders, which is surprising, she says. Yesterday her employees were able to finish the pick-up arrangements and the orders for Thursday. With fresh flowers and a lot of them, there isn’t much time to sell them, she says. She is hoping that tomorrow will be better so the Valentine’s arrangements can be made.

The general consensus: if this wasn’t Valentine’s Week, these shops would be closed. But it’s a big day for florists. Not even the ice can stop the passion of love (or flowers). The other good side, if you still need to get that special someone some flowers, you’re still be in luck.

Alexa Knowles, reporting.