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Bloomin’ Brilliant

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

halloween
Owner Toni Reale in her Roadside Blooms truck, dubbed “Ramblin’ Rosie”. Photographs (2) by Ruta Elvikyte

October 23, 2013


Bloomin’ Brilliant
Bringing the buy-local movement to the floral industry

written by Erica Jackson Curran

It’s not uncommon to see food trucks puttering around Charleston, leaving behind trails of mouth-watering aromas. But if you pass Roadside Blooms’ 1971 British Bedford van, you might notice another scent in its wake: that of fresh-cut flowers. Toni Reale launched the biz in May 2013 as an offshoot of her and business partner Lori DeNicola’s eco-friendly event planning company, Blue Planet Green Events. Both outfits promote the use of locally grown blooms, an increasing rarity in today’s market.

“Typically, flowers are grown in foreign countries with little to no environmental or labor regulations,” Reale says. In contrast, the flowers you’ll buy from “Ramblin’ Rosie” are fresh off a Carolina farm like Rosebank, Thackeray, Yuri Hana, or even the plot Reale maintains with her husband and business partner, Adam MacConnell. Because they’re working with seasonal availability, the selection varies from week to week. If you order a bouquet online for delivery, you never know what you’ll get: select the size, delivery date, and where it’s going, and they’ll handle the rest.

To learn more about ordering online, click here.