Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary: Haute 5 Florists in Los Angeles

With spring comes cleaning, birds chirping, shorter hemlines, and season finales.  It’s also the first time in the calendar year when you sincerely, desperately wish you could set an “out of office” reply on your work email whether your jetting off or not.  With these winds of change and warmer weather also comes the want, nay, the need, to infiltrate your home with beautiful, colorful, aromatic flowers.  What better way to forget the doldrums of winter than with a spectacular bouquet sitting just next to that portrait of you on the mantle?  In LA, there are any number of places to get a presentable arrangement, but you don’t do presentable.  These haute 5 florists are maestros in the world of floral masterpieces – they’ll help you take your tulips to the next level.

The Empty Vase

West Hollywood’s classic outpost of beautiful floral arrangements, The Empty Vase is home to your next favorite bouquet.  They know just what your Sunday Brunch will need, they know how to get husbands out of the doghouse, and they’re very well versed in the world of square vases, round vases, tall vases, short vases, and the flowers that would look their best in each. From their Everyday Collection, spring for a “Lover’s Wild” or send someone the right message with a bouquet called “Just Friends.” Get orders in on the early side for something special, as these are the go-to-guys, you can imagine they’re quite busy.

The Empty Vase is located at 9033 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood (310) 278-1968

Rolling Greens Nursery

They may not be florists in the traditional sense of the word, but the people that run Rolling Greens Nursery on Beverly Blvd know their plants.  Their “Arrangement Bar” is perhaps the most fun place to put together a beautiful centerpiece, a hanging plant bouquet, or a housewarming present – rather than tulips and petunias, Rolling Greens offers up some more exotic options for your floral pleasure.  In their shop, you can also procure beautiful home décor items to go with your sophisticated arrangement like vases, lamps, vintage outdoor furniture, and pottery culled from estate sales, artist studios, and bazaars around the world.  You’re so unique.

Rolling Greens Nursery is located at 7505 Beverly Blvd in Los Angeles (323) 934-4500

Gillyflowers

Catering to your every floral whim, Gillyflowers in Silverlake is a local favorite.  Their arrangements are eclectic, bountiful, and most importantly, they employ the aesthetic uses of flowers not found in your grocery store.  With an array of weddings and events under their belt, the people at Gillyflowers know how to tie together a theme.  So you can go in and tell them that you’d like for your pied-a-terre to look (and smell) more like a real Paris apartment and they’d hit the nail on the head or you can go in and ask them to create arrangements for a 200-person Mayan themed dinner party and they’ve got your back.  Silverlake’s not just for hipsters, it seems.

Gillyflowers is located at 3936 Sunset Blvd in Silverlake (323) 953-2910

Century City Flower Market

When you say you got your flowers from the “flower market,” it just sounds more authentic.  Little does anyone have to know that you went to the Century City Flower Market, which is basically a gorgeous, bright, open flower shop where they do all the work for you.  Choose a color scheme, flowers you want to avoid, a vase, and any other particulars and voila, your perfect bouquet is staring you in the face. Take the “Lush,” for example.  Who doesn’t want to come home and see those beautiful long stemmed roses wrapped in over-sized leaves staring back at you.  Century City Flower Market gets creative with their vases, too, utilizing colorful tea pots and small boxes as the base for your bouquet.

Century City Flower Market is located at 9551 Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles (310) 277-6737

The Velvet Garden

The name alone could make any flower-loving-sucker want to head to the W 3rd St shop.  Their floral collection is, as you can imagine, phenomenal.  From pink and white roses in a sterling silver vase to a rectangular arrangement of bright red and orange flowers, the green thumbs at the Velvet Garden know just what that mantle of yours needs.  The great thing is, they can also teach you to know how to brighten up that mantle in their private classes.  If that sounds like too much work (you’re not teaching them how to crunch numbers in return), consult with them on creative and décor needs or hire them to make that bar mitzvah even more special.

The Velvet Garden is located at 8327 W 3rd Street in Los Angeles (323) 852-1766