New Canaan Florist Brings Local Charm, Quality To New Location

NEW CANAAN, CT — Customers who enter New Canaan Florist at 10 E. Maple Street, next to New Canaan Cleaners, will immediately find themselves surrounded by the sights and smells of roses, orchids, wreaths and more as friendly faces offer them a warm greeting. It is the type of service one can expect from a store with more than half a decade of local history behind it.

According to owner Doug Pippitt, the store has existed in one form or another in town, under a couple different names, for over 50 years. The business recently moved from its longtime location on Route 123 last summer in hopes of being closer to the downtown area and offering customers more convenience in regards to size and parking.

"This location gives people the opportunity to walk in from town," Pippitt said. "It has more of a neighborhood vibe. Now people walk by on their way to the library or the cleaners, or going to and from restaurants. They like to walk around here."

It's something Pippitt knows firsthand. A New Canaan High School graduate, he was raised and educated in town, as were his children. (To sign up for New Canaan breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

"New Canaan is just home to me. It’s where I grew up," Pippitt said. "I love this town. People have said it’s changed a lot over the decades, but it’s still a pretty quaint town. It’s just gorgeous, and they’re very welcoming to local businesses."

Though he spent 25 years in the real estate business, Pippitt has always been an entrepreneur, having previously owned other stores as well as two restaurants in Florida. He purchased the flower shop five years ago and has been working ever since, alongside a handful of employees, to give the store a friendly local business atmosphere.

"People like to do business with local family-owned businesses," Pippitt said. "We want it to have that old-fashioned feel here, because that’s what people relate to. We want to connect with our customers, which is rewarding to us, so we’ll take the extra step for them."

The store does a lot of container gardening, offering spring, summer, fall or winter containers, however their biggest sellers are still fresh cut flowers.

"We buy flowers everyday," Pippitt said. "We buy what are considered the best roses in the world: Ecuadorian roses. They’re grown at altitudes higher than 10,000 feet. So we buy daily and we buy the best quality we can offer."

As an added bonus for New Canaan residents, the store offers free delivery for local online orders. In addition to flowers, customers can also find a selection of candles, lotions and jams.

The store also has a wedding business, which requires a lot of preparation and offsite work. According to Pippitt, those orders are usually placed six months to a year in advance and are a mix of local and non-local ceremonies.

"It takes you days, sometimes weeks to prepare for a wedding," Pippitt said. "It could be in New York City, or it could be in Westport or at Waveny."

The store recently made it through Valentine's Day, one of it's busiest times of the year, and is gearing up for its biggest rush in May for Mother's Day.

"We make deliveries for Mother's Day all week long, because people might want their mom to have it on Wednesday or Friday instead of Sunday," Pippitt said, "so volume-wise it’s just a busy week."

Amid that rush however, Pippitt finds constant reminders of his favorite part of the job: the joy his flowers bring to customers.

"When you’re giving flowers, it’s usually from a husband to a wife or a daughter to a mom, whatever the occasion may be. People are always smiling when they receive a floral arrangement," Pippitt said. "That’s my favorite part when we deliver flowers: people are always happy."

For further information or to place an order, check the store's website.