Petals & Twigs

I’ll preface this by saying that I’ve worked at a very popular and busy flower shop, so I may have a bias when it comes to service/​product quality.
My boss tasked me with finding something for a small corporate event, a thank you gift if you will, and there are very few floral shops in the downtown core. Well, few that were within walking distance and had good reviews. I went by the store in the mall, which was wretched, before heading over to Petals & Twigs.
First off, the store is on the third level of the Toronto Life Building (AMC Theatre building, 10 Dundas) and its very easy to spot but has a rather unassuming presence in the otherwise busy food court area. It’s a very small store, very few pre-​done arrangements (which is likely because there’s little to no cooler space to house them). They seemed to have a LOT of vases and containers but not many flowers on display and a LOT of jewellery, which didn’t seem to make sense to me.
There was no one in the store (or so it seemed) when I first arrived and after a few minutes, a staff member came out of the back but didn’t seem terribly helpful. I had to approach her in order to ask her what they had in terms of what I was looking for. Very little selection in terms of plants, they had a ton of bonsai trees, but at $ 150 a pop, that was way more than my corporate budget would allow for.
I was looking for something potted that could be kept on a desk in someone’s office rather than fresh cut flowers. When there didn’t seem to be anything, I asked the girl if she could do a floral arrangement in foam, to which she said no and pointed at a vase arrangement (which was very nice but not what I was looking for). I don’t know many good floral shops that don’t offer arrangements in floral foam (like a big sponge that you can stick flowers into that’s full of water). They’re easier to transport and they don’t spill all over the place and allow for easier arranging. I spotted a orchid plant and asked if it was for sale instead of an arrangement.
She told me that it «wasn’t new» and that it would normally go for $ 45 but she could give it to me for less and then proceeded to call someone to confirm the price. After that, she wrapped it up (and did a very nice job with cello, tissue paper and some pretty accents inside the pot) and I paid. However, from the time that I said I wanted the arrangement, I waited at least 25 minutes for her to find out the price, wrap it and cash me out. She had difficulty with the wrapping and the cash, it seemed and I would have rather she told me that she’d have it ready for me in half an hour or something so I didn’t have to stand around awkwardly in the store waiting for her.
For a last minute thing, this store would do. But the unkempt appearance, the dirty surfaces and vases and the dead flowers on the main counter were dismaying. I wouldn’t shop here again if I had the choice, but given the location, I may be forced to.

Petals and Twigs is located on the 3^rd level in Toronto Life Square. As soon as you get off the escalator, you can’t help but being drawn to this beautiful little flower boutique.
I needed a bouquet of flower for a house warming party that afternoon. I had never ordered flower from Petals and Twigs, yesterday was my first time. They have fantastic selections of beautiful, good quality flowers. The lovely, cheerful and bright bouquet created for me (while I was waiting) was beautiful and elegant. Our friend loved it.
Customer service was great; very helpful and friendly.