Pollie’s Flowers

Pollie’s Flowers is a south-side shop that Edmonton has been phoning for half a century, usually when the flowers have to reach a hospital ward, an office or a funeral home the same day. It is a family-run retail florist with its own counter and its own delivery route, not an order-taking website: you describe the occasion to a person, and the arrangement is built here.

What this shop is for

The week here is the ordinary business of a long-established neighbourhood florist: birthdays, anniversaries, new babies, get-well bouquets for the city’s hospitals, congratulations, apologies and standing gift orders from south-side offices. Fifty-odd years in one city means a lot of repeat custom, and the shop works that way — say who the flowers are for and roughly what they should feel like, rather than picking a catalogue number. Weddings are taken on as custom work, and sympathy pieces for funerals and celebrations of life are a routine part of the order book.

Delivery and timing

Same-day delivery is the core of the service and the practical rule is simple: order in the morning. The shop publishes the hospitals, care homes and funeral homes it delivers to across the city, which spares you the awkward call about whether a ward will accept flowers at all. Beyond Edmonton the van goes out to St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Nisku and Spruce Grove; for a weekend delivery, phone rather than assume, because the delivery days are built around the working week.

In an Edmonton January the delivery instruction matters as much as the bouquet. An arrangement left on a doorstep at minus thirty is a lost arrangement, so give a workplace, a reception desk or a time when somebody will genuinely open the door.

Worth knowing

• Trading since 1972. More than fifty years as a retail florist in Edmonton, family owned and operated.
• Hospitals and funeral homes. The institutions on the delivery route are listed publicly, so you know before you order.
• An out-of-town ring. St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Nisku and Spruce Grove as well as the city itself.
• Succulents among the flowers. Unusual succulents and gift items sit alongside the cut stems.
• Built to a description. The arrangement is made on site, not shipped in finished.

Where the flowers come from

The shop publishes nothing about its suppliers or its buying schedule, so there is nothing to report beyond the fact that arrangements are assembled on the premises.

The space and what else is on the shelves

A working counter shop rather than a showroom: cooler, wrapping bench, and a shelf of gifts and potted things including the succulents the shop is known for. It suits a quick decision; for a large custom piece, ring ahead so the flowers can be set aside.

When to come and how to find it

The shop sits on the south side, in the Strathcona part of the city, with parking at the door — a stop on the way somewhere rather than a trip of its own. The crush is Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, the June run of graduations and weddings, and the week before Christmas; two or three days’ notice then is the difference between choosing what you want and taking what is left.

Questions and answers

Can I still get flowers delivered today?

Usually yes, if you order in the morning on a business day. Ring the shop to confirm you have made that day’s run.

Do they deliver outside Edmonton?

Yes — St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Nisku and Spruce Grove are on the list.

Can they deliver to a hospital or a funeral home?

Yes, and the institutions served are published. For a service, give the name of the funeral home and the time of the viewing, and order early in the day.

Is this a real shop I can walk into?

Yes. There is a retail counter and a cooler, and the arrangements are made behind it.

Do they take weddings?

Yes, as custom work. Summer dates in Edmonton book out early, so start the conversation months ahead rather than weeks.

What should I ask for in deep winter?

Do not ask for the flowers to be left outside. Give an address where somebody can take the bouquet indoors straight away, and let the recipient know it is coming.

Opening hours