Flowers Bring Cheer in a Stressful Time A bouquet of purple stock, blue delphinium, lavender liatris (tall spiked flower), roses and hydrangea.
By Paula Baroff
Even with simchas being postponed because of COVID-19, event florist Joan Rubenstein of Flower Design by Joan still manages to have her hands full arranging flowers. Rubenstein, the sister-inlaw of Balloons Over Atlanta’s Gail Rubenstein, decided to focus on home deliveries during the pandemic. “What I’ve done is decided I would be doing individual arrangements for birthdays and parties at home, ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES
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baby namings, Mother’s Day – whatever’s going to be happy,” the florist said. “Because flowers bring joy to everybody. Just to have a bowl of flowers in the house cheering you up, especially at a time like this, I think is delightful. But of course, I’m prejudiced!” Rubenstein advertised a bit for Mother’s Day arrangements, and it was a big hit, she said. She had many orders and was able to get the flower arrangements to clients by either delivering to their homes – with safety pre-
cautions including wearing a mask and using hand sanitizer – or people came to her door and picked up the flowers. “That was the one really big change,” she said. For all her arrangements, Rubenstein said she uses premium flowers bought directly from specific wholesalers. “I know that when I do that, they’re absolutely fresh,” she said. “They come from all over the world, the flowers. … It’s a very interesting market.” Flower arranging includes
artistry, and Rubenstein loves choosing flowers that convey different feelings and colors. “Sunflowers are very, very popular, because they just smile at you,” she said. “Hydrangeas are loved by everybody.” Peonies are another popular flower. “People love peonies. But they only flower now, like May and a little bit in June,” she said. “It’s really the queen of flowers.” Rubenstein also talked up a lesser-known flower, called stock, that she enjoys adding to arrangements to complete the
