To mark Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 14, Lawn Love ranked 2023’s Best Cities for Local Flowers.
The study compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on five floral categories. Included in the study was access to flower shops and specialty-cut flower vendors, consumer ratings, and even the number of flower festivals, among 10 total metrics.
Listed are the 10 cities where the floral scenes are blossoming and 10 that have the most room to grow.
Blooming Floral Cities
New York, NY came in first, followed by Miami, FL in second. Ranked third was Philadelphia, PA; then Chicago, IL; and San Francisco, CA at number five. Santa Rosa, CA was number six, followed by St. Louis, MO; Baltimore, MD; Los Angeles, CA and rounding out the top ten was Honolulu, HI.
Budding Floral Cities
Those cities needing to grow their flower businesses the most include Surprise, AZ; Port St. Lucie, FL; Peoria, AZ; Garland, TX; Laredo, TX; West Valley City, UT; Mesquite, TX; Brownsville, TX; Montgomery, AL and McAllen, TX.
Key Insights
Flower empire: New York flourishes at No. 1 with a nearly 13-point lead ahead of the next-best city, Miami. NYC has an iconic flower district and boasts the highest number of flower delivery services.
Cut Flower Capital: California produces 76 percent of the flowers grown and sold in the U.S. It’s no wonder that 36 Golden State cities sprout in the top half of the overall rankings, with San Francisco (No. 5), Santa Rosa (No. 6), and Los Angeles (No. 9) budding in the top 10.
California cultivation: Santa Rosa is No. 1 in Vendor Quality and claims the most members in the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG). Los Angeles germinates the biggest number of plant nurseries and garden shops, and has the nation’s largest wholesale flower district.
Urbs in Horto: Chicago lands at No. 4, living up to its motto meaning “city in a garden.” The Windy City ties with several cities for second place in the number of ASCFG members and cultivates the second-highest number of flower delivery services.
Garden gateway: St. Louis (No. 7) blossoms with the sixth-highest overall Vendor Quality. Mound City anthophiles can buy bouquets in the historic Florist Row, where flower shops and nurseries cluster in the Gate District neighborhood.
Petal parties: Honolulu (No. 10), Philadelphia (No. 3), and Lancaster, California (No. 77), tie for hosting the most flower festivals out of all the cities in the rankings. This year marks the 75th annual Floral Parade in Honolulu. Philly is home to the nation’s largest annual flower show, and Lancaster hosts the California Poppy Festival.
