A rose by any other name — still won’t impress Colby Midgett.
“I hate roses,” says Midgett. “They are just so normal, you know. It’s like the go-to for all flowers. But there are so many other beautiful flowers that people just overlook.”
As owner of Premier Flowers, Midgett says she still uses roses every day. Over the years, she’s used them in hundreds of floral arrangements, including one that took 500 roses. And she’ll be using more this week for Valentine’s gifts. Valentine’s Day is “a rose holiday.”
Midgett recently moved her florist business to 2095 Madison Avenue after almost eight years downtown. As far as she knows, she may be the first full-scale florist in the history of Overton Square.
She just got tired of what was going on at her old shop at 10 North Second Street, No. 105. “The shop had been broken into three times over the course of five years,” she says. People vandalized cars parked near the shop.
Midgett also had problems when she’d “try to beautify the outside of the store” with plants. The pots were damaged or stolen and the plants got “pulled out of the pot.”
“It was always just something,” she says, adding, “I just got tired of investing money in that location. It started to have an effect on my pocketbook.”
Business also wilted after the pandemic and people began working from home instead of their downtown offices. “It just got weird downtown. Downtown just started to change.”
She decided to close when her lease was about to come to an end last October. She began selling her equipment. “Every piece of refrigeration equipment I owned. The walk-in alone was probably worth about $12,000, but, of course, I didn’t get that.”
A property investor from LPI Memphis, who was buying some coolers and other restaurant equipment from her, told her about Overton Square. “He said they would love to have us over here as a pop-up.”
She moved to the new location last November. A native Memphian, Midgett says,“What prompted me to open a florist shop, I would say, was love for flowers and plants and just nature. I love designing. I have a passion for it. I come from a crafty family. My mother and grandmother, they were gardeners. So, I’ve always loved gardening and designing.”
She began her floral business out of her home. “And then it quickly grew,” she says. “I opened my first brick and mortar at Poplar and Tillman.”
Midgett stayed at that location in Chickasaw Oaks for about a year until she moved downtown. “I just needed more space. That business rapidly grew. When I moved downtown, my business grew 47 percent.”
She wasn’t sure at first if moving downtown was the right decision. “I was hesitant initially, but I’ve always loved downtown. And the space was beautiful. An old building surrounded by windows. I was hesitant, but I stepped out on faith and did it anyway.”
But parking was terrible. Customers kept getting tickets. And, she says, “The shop got broken into the first year I was downtown. They kept coming in the same window on the alley side.”
Premier Flowers is now a six-month pop-up in Overton Square. “We’re just trying the space out. Just to get a feel of the market over here.” But, Midgett says, “It’s like starting a business all over again, really. What I like most about it is they have their own security. And you always see them.”
She also likes the fact that Gould’s Salon Spa-Overton Square is on one side of her shop and Golden India restaurant is on the other side. “We have a backdoor — we didn’t have a backdoor downtown — that looks out into the courtyard.”
Midgett feels welcome at her new spot. “They’ve been wanting a florist over here from what I’ve been told.” And, she adds, “Business has picked up a little.”
Her regular downtown customers are loyal. “People love our work and our designs. So, I feel like they’ll support us no matter where we are. But the walk-in traffic was a little bit more over there because people are always out walking.”
Asked what describes her style of floral arranging, Midgett says, “We may do a whimsical, airy design, and maybe pop in an orchid. I may throw in some dried palms or just something to give it a unique look. Not like the usual florist sends out.”
She uses “fresh flowers. We don’t do any silks.”
Hydrangeas — “a Southern favorite” — are popular, she says. She may use hydrangea flowers with some tropical greenery, eucalyptus leaves, and “maybe some curly willow or some pussy willow or some green dianthus. Something that gives it a different look. I don’t like to use a lot of low-end flowers like carnations or alstroemeria, or daisies or anything like that. But we do use those.”
As for who makes up the majority of her customers, she says, “We get more men.”
Midgett may hate the flower, but she hopes now in her new Overton Square location — with security and more peace of mind — everything will be coming up roses.
