It's hard to have a bad day when you're surrounded by flowers.

No matter what's going on in his life, a shift at the florist shop always helps settle Davin Anderson's mind.

"I didn't realize how much plants and roses and flowers can change your mindset," he said. "The aroma can make your day a little better. Sometimes I'd come in here sleepy or stressed about getting things done, and by the time I leave, I've forgotten all about it."

After his mother's flower shop was forced to leave its previous space at the Gene Snyder Federal Building due to increased rent, Anderson helped her find a new location at 2001 W. Broadway five years ago. Now, he owns and operates DN Surprise Florist in the Russell neighborhood and its decorating and catering offshoots while he continues to learn flower arranging from his mother, Sherrell.

And while it's just the two of them operating the business, Anderson has big goals for DN Surprise's future.

DN Surprise — named for Davin and his brother Nicholas — sells a little bit of everything, from roses and lilies to hydrangeas and other flowers, in both real and silk flowers. Flowers are available for any type of occasion: birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, funerals and even "because it's Wednesday."

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Anderson said along with "thank you" and "get well soon," he's seen people get more creative in recent years, sending flowers for all kinds of reasons, including "Hey, I might not make it to dinner tonight, but I'll see you at home."

"COVID-19 taught people they have to be creative," he said. "Instead of calling to say I can't make it, someone would send some roses and say 'hey, at least I can put a smile on your face.'"

The busiest holidays for Anderson are exactly what you'd expect: Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, followed by Memorial Day and Teacher's Appreciation Day.

"Valentine's Day is not just one day, it's more like Valentine's week," Anderson said. "It's high-intensity because people wait until the last minute to order. During Valentine's week, we get here at 7 or 8 a.m. to prepare the flowers, clean them, cut them, put them in fresh water, check online orders and phone orders. Then we have to make sure delivery orders have the right zip codes...then we send them out."

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Anderson said he does about a quarter of the arrangements and Sherrell does the rest. It's a lot more complex than it seems: there are a hundred kinds of roses alone, plus dozens of kinds of greenery and fillers for arrangements and color theory that works differently than it does with clothes.

"You really should order flowers for Valentine's Day two or three days in advance so we can have it ready," Anderson said.

"For Valentine's Day?" His mother chimed in. "It's better to order a week or two in advance. A lot of people forget and call on the same day. If you call same-day, you have about 50 people ahead of you. We try to get everything done as fast as we can."

DN Surprise mainly sells roses for Valentine's Day and offers one dozen for $50, two dozen for $90 and a florist's choice for $45. The shop offers arrangements at a variety of prices and colors as well as a "Florist's Choice" arrangement if you don't know what you want.

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DN Surprise also offers catering, decorations and other event-planning services alongside its flowers. Ideally, Anderson wants DN Surprise to be able to offer everything you'd need for an event in one convenient place.

"I want to be one of the best flower shops in Kentucky, providing flowers to pretty much anyone on any occasion," Anderson said. "I want this place to be around for another 80 years. I want it to be a place family and friends can depend on to get good quality service. And we can always find something to match your price range."

Most people don't realize it, but flowers drink the same amount of water as the human body needs in a day, Anderson said. To make your flowers last longer, you should be changing the water at least once a week and trim the stems every few days. You can even mist them to keep them extra hydrated.

Anderson and his mother are particular about each of the arrangements they work on. They even give back to their community through a partnership program with local churches to offer a discount code to parishioners. If the church helps promote the shop and parishioners place an order, the church gets a cut of the sale.

Sherrel said she knows when she's gotten an arrangement right when the order "pops."

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"Nothing goes out of this shop if I don't like it," Sherrell said. "Even if it means I have to put an extra rose in, to brighten it up, then that's what I have to do. "

Call 502-202-2509 or visit facebook.com/dnsurprise.1 to order flowers.

Reach food reporter Dahlia Ghabour at dghabour@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville man, mom create custom arrangements at DN Surprise Florist