KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Flower shops across the Kansas City metro are gearing up for one of their biggest holidays of the year, but the winter weather storm put a thorn in the delivery plans.
It's petal to the metal for Tobler's Flowers in Kansas City.
"Keep on making, working and grinding away," floral designer Brea Oglesby said.
But Wednesday morning's snowfall kept the petals indoors. Tobler's Flowers had to reschedule all their Wednesday deliveries.
"[Wednesday] was a little too winter weather heavy so we were like let's just call it off for our drivers' safety," Oglesby said. "We've been prepping for [Thursday] to get back on the roads. Our drivers do this all the time so they're really good about driving."
Florists are taking extra precautions to get the flowers out safely for Valentine's Day orders, like wrapping the arrangements in plastic to create a humid dome.
"Flowers generally don't mind the cold temperatures but when it gets below freezing they just immediately die so you have to protect them," Oglesby said. "It's been challenging but we make the best of it and utilize the time we have to make sure that we better prepare for the coming days."
Up in the Northland, Dianne Fortner got her deliveries out early on Wednesday but still ran into trouble on the road.
"This morning you couldn't even see what lanes were what," Fortner said. "They were snow-packed, most of them."
Dianne and her husband, Steve, have owned their floral business since 1985, Steve's Floral Shop.
"He makes the flowers, I do the deliveries," Fortner said.
Steve and Dianne used to have a shop in downtown Kansas City but transitioned to their home garage after COVID-19.
"You can keep your doors locked here as well as you can downtown," Fortner said. "We just moved home and we don't have to pay rent downtown or worry about parking."
Dianne knows the safest routes for neighborhood deliveries, even in bad weather.
"I was going slow," Fortner said. "People were a little upset with me but I'd rather get there than have somebody come get me out of a ditch."
Unlike roses, Dianne and Steve's love and business have lasted more than 40 years. That's why Dianne isn't expecting a bouquet from her husband this year.
"We see flowers all the time," Fortner said. "I'm like, buy me a margarita instead."
Tobler's Flowers is still accepting Valentine's Day flower orders.
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