Flowers By Merle

Flowers by Merle has been serving Edmonton since the mid-1960s, which makes it one of the oldest florists still trading in the city, and the shop leans into what that buys you: a room full of tropicals and cut stems that feels like somewhere else entirely when it is dark at four in the afternoon and frozen outside. It is a family business with its own designers, built for the two jobs people trust an old shop with — a wedding or corporate event planned months ahead, and a funeral tribute that has to be right tomorrow.

What to come here for

Weddings and corporate events are the declared specialties, and both start with a designer consultation rather than a catalogue: the shop’s pitch is to let its designers plan the whole look of an event, from ceremony pieces to the tables. The everyday side is fully stocked too — birthdays, anniversaries, congratulations, new baby, thank-you, and the roses that get bought without an occasion. Standing orders are a real line of business here, weekly flowers for an office lobby or for a home, and there are flower subscriptions for people who would rather set it up once.

Sympathy and funeral work is a large, clearly organized part of the shop: pieces for the service, casket sprays, memorial table arrangements and flowers sent to the family’s home. Because sprays and wreaths eat a lot of stems, the shop asks for about two days’ notice on those to guarantee the date.

Delivery and urgency

Everything is hand-arranged in the shop and delivered by the shop’s own people across Edmonton and the surrounding area; orders for other cities go out through the florist network the shop belongs to. Merle makes a point of the difference from national ordering sites that ship flowers unarranged in a plain box — here the recipient is handed something that was built by a designer that morning.

Hospital deliveries are their own puzzle: most wards will not take plants or strongly scented flowers at all, so the shop advises phoning the hospital before ordering rather than discovering it at the front desk.

If something arrives damaged, or wilts within a couple of days, the shop asks for a photograph sent through its contact page.

Highlights

• More than half a century in one trade. Family-run since the mid-1960s, one of the oldest florists still working in Edmonton.
• A tropical room in a winter city. The shop’s own description of the place.
• Sourcing it will name. Growers in Hawaii, California, Florida, South America and British Columbia, rather than a vague nod at “imported”.
• Events are the specialty. Weddings and large corporate work planned with a designer, not picked off a page.
• Subscriptions and standing orders. Weekly flowers for an office or a home, set up once.
• A Teleflora member that lists a top-25-in-Canada placing. Their claim, but it explains the volume of out-of-town orders.
• Permanent botanicals and decor. Silk arrangements and home pieces for people who want the look without the water.

Where the flowers come from

Fresh cut stock comes from growers in Hawaii, California, Florida, South America and British Columbia, and the shop trades on the breadth of that list rather than on one country. The practical consequence is the exotic end of the range: tropicals, orchids, garden roses, ranunculus, anemones, peonies and dahlias in their weeks.

The shop, the service and what else is on the shelves

The place is a proper storefront with room to walk around: a wall of cut flowers, tropical foliage, a cooler you can look into and designers who will talk through a custom piece at the counter. Beyond fresh flowers there are blooming and green plants, dish gardens, permanent botanical arrangements and home decor, gift baskets, gourmet and fruit baskets, candles and occasion cards, so a single visit can cover the gift and the card that goes with it. Consultations for weddings and events are booked rather than walk-in.

When to come and how to get there

The shop sits just west of downtown on the edge of old Glenora, in the gallery-and-boutique belt on the city’s west side, and it has its own generous parking, not a given in that part of town. The pressure dates are the usual ones: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, graduation season and December, plus the wedding block from June through September when the design bench is committed weeks ahead.

Questions and answers

How far ahead should a funeral wreath be ordered?

About two days for sprays and wreaths — they need a lot of flowers, and that lead time is what lets the shop guarantee the date.

Can I send flowers to a patient in hospital?

Check with the hospital first. Most wards refuse plants and strongly scented flowers, and the shop says so up front rather than delivering into a refusal.

Can they deliver on a Sunday?

No — the shop is closed Sunday and closes early on Saturday, so weekend gifts are arranged on Friday.

Do they deliver outside Edmonton?

Around the Edmonton area directly, and elsewhere in the country through the florist network they belong to.

What if the flowers arrive damaged or wilt quickly?

Photograph them and send the picture through the shop’s contact page within a couple of days; that is the stated policy.

How early do wedding flowers need to be booked?

As far ahead as you can manage, and by consultation — weddings and corporate events are the shop’s specialty, and the summer weeks fill first.

Can I order the same flowers every week for an office?

Yes, standing orders and subscriptions for businesses and homes are a normal part of the business here.

Is there anything for people who don’t want cut flowers?

Plants, dish gardens, permanent botanical arrangements and home decor, plus gift and gourmet baskets.

Opening hours