Palm Beach's Flowers of Worth Avenue still going strong after 50 years in business
Business is blooming at Flowers of Worth.
The floral boutique, at 205 Worth Ave., has been in an island fixture for 50 years, with three owners over the decades. Eight years ago, Faith Murray saw an ad that the business was for sale and bought it.
“When I came to Palm Beach it was like coming home. Worth Avenue is such a heavenly place,” Murray said. “The shop is a family affair. We live and work on the island.”
Murray runs the day-to-day operations with her daughter Devin. When other daughter Erinn, who lives in Vienna, comes home for a visit, she too works in the shop. Husband and avid golfer, Howard, (“Howie”), is occasionally enlisted to help with deliveries.
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Originally from Philadelphia, Murray spent her summer vacations working in her uncle's New Jersey candy store — George's Candles in Ocean City.
She graduated college with a fine arts degree, had a successful career as a graphic designer, painter, and before ultimately running her own firm, Murray’s Marketing and Design. She also worked as a floral designer in Cornwall-on-the-Hudson and always grew flowers.
Murray and her husband lived in Germany for three years, which gave them the opportunity to visit famous gardens in France, Holland, England, Denmark and Italy.
“I am the type of person who loves to work,” said Murray. “I am very comfortable with high echelon clients, fashion houses and the corporate world.”
Her clients along Worth Avenue include Christofle, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chanel, Gucci and Akris. Elegant floral arrangements are part of their corporate ethos. When new couture collections are introduced, color charts are sent to Murray so that she can coordinate floral arrangements to compliment the merchandise.
“In Palm Beach, the No. 1 seller is flower arrangements made up of roses, hydrangeas, ranunculus, freesia, sweet peas, veronica, anemones, lisianthus and peonies when is season," she says. "My roses are imported from Ecuador. I am very particular about the roses I use because I was a rose gardener myself. I like a 60-petal count blossom, that with care, will last for 10 days and open fully. I also specialize in garden roses, especially David Austin, Constance and Kiera because of their soft, lush coloration and ornate patterns that are reminiscent of peonies.”
She advises cutting the stems on roses at an angle — so that they will take up the maximum amount of moisture — and changing the water every two days.
Restaurants, jewelers, boutique hotels, fashion shops, brokers and real estate agents are regular customers. They send their clients holiday, thank-you and get-well flowers, Murray said.
She also supplies flowers and plants to island estates, where arrangements are constantly being refreshed.
“COVID turned out to be a boom time for our business,” said Murray. “People were sending flowers to friends and family throughout the pandemic. We got to know our customers on a personal basis. They would call us to thank us. I really had the feeling that we were doing something important for people.”
Flowers of Worth Avenue
Where: 205 Worth Ave.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Contact: 561-514-0660
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach's Flowers of Worth creates arrangements for Gucci, Chanel
