When Joyce Hicks took a trip to a New Orleans garden store back in the early 1990s, there would have been no way for her to know how fateful that trip would become – but as it turned out, that visit gave her the inspiration to open what is now one of Hattiesburg’s longest-standing establishments.
Thirty years after that excursion to The Big Easy, Blooms Company, which specializes in floral items, garden decorations and various gifts, celebrated three decades of doing business in the Hub City with a March 20 ribbon cutting and garden party at its current location of 301 McLeod Street in downtown Hattiesburg.
“(Hicks) fell in love with that shop (in New Orleans) and just said she never wanted to leave,” said Adrienne Hicks Garanich, Hicks’ daughter and co-owner of Blooms with Hicks. “When she came back, she would dream about it, and she would dream about it, and she dreamt about it for probably a full year.
“Dreaming about it, allowing God to do this – he orchestrated everything, from the building that she purchased originally, to the people that worked there, to the vendors – everything just fell into place. So I think for her, the motivation was that she experienced some things (at the shop in New Orleans) that she wanted to continue. Then beyond that, it was the faith and the spiritual side of it, where it was ‘this is the thing that God is calling her to do.’”
The March 20 anniversary celebration was kicked off with the ribbon cutting, followed by festivities throughout the rest of the day. Customers were treated to 30 percent off of select items, and the first 30 patrons received their choice of a Blooms T-shirt, hat or tote.
The flower bar featured half-price stems during the event, and customers were offered the chance to meet with several featured artists from Mississippi.
Giveaways and refreshments were provided courtesy of downtown businesses. Participants also celebrated with “Let There Be Cake,” during which unique cakes from local vendors displayed.
“We are so grateful (for Blooms),” said Andrea Saffle, executive director of the Hattiesburg Downtown Association. “They had an option when they moved out of (the Buschman Street location) to move somewhere else, and they chose to stay in downtown, just in a different building.
“We’re just so grateful to have them, because they are truly one of the big anchor merchants for downtown. The (turnout for the celebration) was phenomenal – it was such a big crowd, and it was heartwarming to see all the people that came out in support of Blooms.”
Hicks opened the original Blooms location in 1994 at 1315 Hardy Street, which is now the current site of the Keg & Barrel. In 2004, she sold the shop, after which point the location changed three times during the tenure of the new owner.
The Hicks family bought the business back in 2010, when it was located on Buschman Street, near the train depot in downtown Hattiesburg. The store then moved to its current McLeod Street location in 2020.
“Back in ’94, it took a lot of courage and bravery, but it was something where when (my mother) would pray about it, she said that God would say ‘allow me to do this in your life,”’ Garanich said. “So first and foremost, our faith and our spirituality and knowing where it comes from – and knowing that (God) is the one that continues it – that’s first and foremost.”
These days, customers of Blooms can find a wide variety of gardening items, including heirloom flowers and plants, wind chimes, garden design options and plant containers, among many other choices. Floral arrangements include bouquets with flowers such as roses, anunculus, tulips, peony and kale.
Blooms also offers event planning and renting, as well as styling and design for those endeavors. Gifts include Mississippi-made products such as pottery, dishware and figurines.
“I think that as we have built the business, we have built it slowly,” Garanich said. “So I think building slower and opening smaller – and growing each year, where your revenue increases – growing at that pace has allowed sustainability.”
For the future of Blooms, Garanich sees continued success and prosperity.
“Somebody said just a little while ago, ‘gosh, the store just gets better and better, and prettier and prettier,”’ she said. “I think we’re in such a great place, because the building that we’re in gives us so much stability for growth.
“When we moved (to the current location), we carved out spaces because we wanted it to be a gathering place. We wanted for people to be able to come and gather to shop, but also to experience life and to be together. And we’ve kind of creating areas in the shop to make experiences, so we do the floral classes and the flower bar, so we’re really opening ourselves up to opportunities where people can gather in this space.”
For more information on Blooms, call (601) 584-9200 or email hello@bloomscompany.com.
