Laurel’s On Whyte

Another 5 star experience ordering over the phone! Thank you again to Jill and Laurel’s on Whyte!

Ordered over the phone, for a dear relative who lost her husband suddenly and tragically. The person I spoke with was absolutely wonderful — caring and efficient. She made the experience as positive as it could have been. She was lovely, and very respectful of the sensitivity of the situation. I told her the general idea of what I wanted to send — calm, beautiful, peaceful, maybe white and green — and she understood perfectly. I have not seen a picture of the arrangement, but the recipient said they were beautiful.

Oh Laurel’s. I have such mixed feelings about this place! Allow me to explain.
I stumbled upon this shop one day while wandering down Whyte Ave with a friend. It was like finding a pot of gold to me. We spent over an hour exploring every nook and cranny of this whimsical little shop, and I was so delighted by every little thing. I have really taken to plants this year, and have been exploring different options for bringing my plants inside for the winter. On this first visit the lovely young lady working there was able to help me find exactly what I was looking for. She even made a new little arrangement for me in a glass globe and allowed me to pick out all the little details myself. She even sent me home with the fishing line to hang it, to boot! What an amazing customer service experience. I wish I knew her name, because she did such an above-​and-​beyond excellent job.
On visits since, I have ordered about 8 more similar arrangements. On some occasions I have phoned in, and on other times I have brought new friends with me to introduce them to this fun process. I have been so incredibly disappointed with the customer service since my first visit. The staff have been no-​where near as friendly or helpful, which has kind of spoiled the process for me. Instead of feeling like a valued return customer, I feel a little bit like a nuisance with my recent orders, which have been the same as the first.
Today when I arrived to pick up the two terrariums I had ordered as gifts, I noticed there was no fishing line included, which is a necessity for hanging the globes. This has come up in the past, as I always expect it to be included (it’s just fishing line right?) and have asked for it when it isn’t, which seems to be no big deal. However, this gentleman proceeded to tell me that they didn’t have any fishing line (which, of course, they did), and was not very pleasant when I explained my previous experience.
This is such a magical little shop, and it is a shame that the consistently poor customer service can put such a damper on it. I haven’t seen the lovely young lady working since my first visit, but if you do drop by I suggest talking to her if she is in. I am currently looking into finding another local business who can do similar work for me, as I would like to continue gifting these wonderful arrangements to my friends and family, but I am not so happy about being a return customer with Laurel’s who continues to have disappointing experiences!

nice, reasonably priced flower arrangements. the small arrangements are lovely… and they were really quick to make something up for me on the spot!

John was a joy to work with and he really delivered. I work with florsits all over North America, and the arrangements created by Laurel’s on Whyte were truly some of the best I’ve seen.

Beautiful shop with unique flower selections. I visited Laurels and was so surprised by the selection if wonderful goodies they have from bouquets to single flowers to Farm House Fresh body products. Then I was going to leave I noticed an open door way to the basement that is full of wonderful things for your home and garden! The staff are very knowledgable and friendly, I adore this place and support them as much as possible!

I stopped into Laurel’s today during the 2014 Unilocal Shops Local event and was totally dazzled. The bouquets were colorful and the arrangements were stunning. Anything from here would make the perfect gift for that someone special or help to jazz up the table at home with a much needed splash of color during the cold grey winter months. The pre made things we looked at ranged anywhere from twenty to eighty dollars which is pretty typical of most flower shops.
If flowers don’t tickle your fancy Laurel’s has other offerings like ornaments, jewelry, and skin care. My favorite part of the store today though had to be all the Christmas things. I picked up a cute little old fashion metal Christmas sign that I plan to hang near our tree and I couldn’t be happier. The staff were really friendly and the gentleman working was kind enough to dig out some samples of hand cream that I had been contemplating for me. (I think he could tell the price made me leery of purchasing without being able to sample first lol)
Even if your from the North side like myself Laurel’s is one place worth visiting the other side of the city for. Don’t just take my word for it though go see for yourself!

I’m sad to be writing this review. For years I’ve loved Laurels & their flower design skills. I feel like I get the shaft from them when I order flowers, though. Knowing it was my fave flower shop, friends have ordered birthday bouquets for me from there. Both times I got sub-​standard flowers. I always get gerberas, A beautiful, happy looking & long lasting daisy-​like flower. Both times I’ve picked up the bouquet only to be disappointed by wilting flowers, brown spots all over the petals or a significant number of petals missing (as though bad petals have been pulled out) so that the flower looks like a butterfly than a circle. This is so disappointing as I love flowers, but instead of enjoying them when I look at them, I see only how poor the quality of the flowers is. Each time I’ve complained & each time I’m given an excuse (I should have pulled out the bad flower or I shouldn’t have bought flowers when it was so hot or at least I should have a refrigerated truck to transport them home). Laurels doesn’t seem bothered by the fact their flowers look crappy after 3 days while flowers I’ve bought from the grocery store have lasted for weeks. They never apologize & this time they asked me to bring the bouquet all the way back (store is 50 mins from my place) to see ‘if, maybe we can do something. But I’m not sure we can.’ My view is, if you screw up, you should own up & apologize & offer replacements. I’m unfollowing them on twitter, unliking them in Facebook, and finding a new favourite flower shop.

I liked this store and my husband and I bought flowers frequently from here. However, about a month ago we were looking for a present for a friend and the employee was incredibly rude. He never greeted us or asked if we needed help. The only time he spoke to us was to tell me that I shouldn’t be snapping the lids on the perfume containers back on but screwing it on. It would have been okay if he was polite about it but his tone was so rude that my husband and I left what we were going to buy and exited the store immediately. Although I am born and raised Canadian, I was speaking to my husband in Japanese so it made me wonder whether he thought we didn’t understand English or recognise how rude he was.
Not coming back, which is too bad because I did like the flowers.

Now, not to be ‘that person’ but Laurel’s is definitely a flower shop that caters to women! I am not saying men won’t love the personalized service, staff that truly knows their business, the amazing selection or the attention they will get from the person for whom they are purchasing flowers but ladies will love the flowers, love the gifts… this store is truly a hidden gem.
It is shops like this that prove that locally owned businesses can provide quality products, remarkable service and still offer a very competitive price.
If you are looking to be remembered for your gift — flower or other — choose Laurel’s on Whyte.

I love floral shops. Flowers, plants, amazing arrangements, fragrant bouquets and fabulous fauna just makes me happy. I could spend hours touring flower markets and be a very content little Jennie. What is the one place I may just love shopping in, next to floral shops, that is? Well that would be home décor shops… And guess what; Laurels entire bottom floor (and part of the main) is a wonderful space with adorable gifts galore for the home. I’m not sure whom «Laurel» is, I’m thinking it may just be a ruse, but the Charles-​In-​Charge, is a wonderful man whom I credit dearly for making my Winter Holiday musts, such as pine bows, etc. perfect. I will most certainly be back! Again and again.

I am so glad we discovered this treasure during the November 30 «Shop Local» event — it’s going to bring me back to this area more often. You will find something you just can’t resist, either for yourself or for gift-​giving, and don’t miss going downstairs for even more items. The staff was both helpful and fun, both with us and with the other customers — you really feel they go out of their way to assist you and share a smile before you leave. There’s jewelry, garden items, delicious candies, seasonal décor, and of course their lovely flowers. When we told John we were Unilocalers, we left with lots of Unilocal swag as well!

Came to Laurel’s on Whyte today for the first time as part of Unilocal Shops Local.
We were totally blown away by the adorable shop with a secret hidden additional basement store!
Laurel’s offers up fresh custom flowers, adorable knick knacks, one of a kind jewelry, and seasonal décor ranging from affordable to high end.
My toddler picked up an adorable «boingy» bouncing snowman and my Mom picked up some delicious ginger candy! Seriously — best ginger candy EVER! Jon (or maybe John) the shop owner was kind enough to let us sample a few candies and even gave my daughter a special butterscotch candy given that ginger wasn’t really her thing.
The staff were friendly, professional, and offered assistance cheerfully.
I will definitely think of Laurel’s on Whyte again in the future for a speciality gift or seasonal decoration to add to our ever growing collection.

I’ve loved Laurel’s flowers for many years, and used to stop here regularly on special occasions when I would want to get flowers for loved ones. The bouquets were always dramatic and beautiful and would last much longer than flowers purchased at a grocery store (as they should). Whenever I would purchase bouquets, I would get instructions on how to take care of them, and they were always packaged well for the trip home.
When the time came for me to start looking for a florist for my wedding, I was really excited to see that Laurel’s also does wedding services. I decided I wanted to do all the florist appointments in one weekend, so I called about ten days ahead of time to book a consult. They don’t do wedding consultations on Saturdays and Sundays, but I was given my choice of times in the evening on the Thursday or Friday prior to the weekend, so I selected the slot that worked best for my schedule.
The day of my appointment the shop called to tell me that the wedding consultant had come down with the flu and they would have to reschedule my appointment. I was disappointed, but I can’t fault someone for being sick. What caused me to be more upset is that the next available appointment slot was three weeks from my scheduled appointment. I feel like I was bumped to the back of the queue waiting for a consult, with my rescheduled time being over a month from when I first called the shop. It’s fully reasonable to assume that they are very busy this time of year, but if appointments are that difficult to get, it made me worry that it would be a struggle to schedule follow-​up visits if I did hire Laurel’s for my wedding. In the end, I hired a different florist and cancelled my consult. I’ll still be a customer for the occasional arrangement, but unfortunately, not as a bride.

Over the last year i have began to make a diligent effort to shop local and support shops that make doing so a pleasure. Laurels is one of those places.
Lori told me tricks to keep my flowers alive, what is special and different about shopping at local flower shops rather then supermarkets and the best ways to cut flower. This in itself is a reason to stop in.
Another and really the main reason, is the flowers are amazing, fresh, great selection and never boring. If you are looking for a creative, unique look this is the place, modern and classy!
I have purchased for everyday home flowers, mothers day, birthday gifts and was happy to recommend them to a friend who is using them for her wedding.
side note, they have the cutest shop dog.

If there is one thing that I have learned during the wedding planning process, it is that «fit» is one of the most important elements when selecting a wedding vendor. We were very happy to find Lori at Laurels Flower and Garden shop (also know as Laurel’s on Whyte). She listened carefully to our needs but also made excellent suggestions along the way. She was friendly, down to earth but also very professional. After our consultation, we had no doubt that we had found the right florist! I have visions of beautiful bouquets bouncing around in my head and we can’t wait to see her beautiful creations!

I’ll preface this review by saying that I’m not really a flowers person. I can tell you what a rose looks like, I can tell you what a callalily looks like, maybe some baby’s breath, and then I’m stumped. I really like flowers, I just don’t know them all too well.
But I am a dog person, so I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted at Laurel’s Flowers by owner Lori and her weimaraner dog, Ellie May. Both were very friendly and loved ear scratches (no, just kidding, that would be weird).
The shop is really beautiful, and Lori mentioned that they’ll be moving around the corner in July to a bigger space. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when they open up there!
Lori spent an hour with me, going over all of the flowers I might need for my wedding, and she really listened to what colours and style I wanted. She also provided tons of helpful suggestions (she’s been in the biz for a while and definitely knows what she’s talking about) but there was no pressure to take them.
I’m really happy with the flower combos we came up with and can’t wait to see what they look like on the big day! Thanks Lori!