Friendly Flowers Florist and Gifts opens in Milton
Friendly Flowers Florist and Gifts, which just opened in Milton, isn’t your average corner flower shop.
The shop can design entire outfits out of flowers, such as the flower dress owner Josh Fredo showed off at the Milton store’s Oct. 21 grand opening.
The dress, being made for a charity event, was only half-finished after six hours of work. Each individual petal has to be cut and fitted onto a frame. When it’s all said and done, Fredo said, the job will take 15 to 20 hours.
Located on Route 1 next to Brumbley’s Family RV Park outside Milton, this is the second Friendly Flowers Florist in Sussex County. The original location is in Millsboro.
Fredo started the business online in 2015 before opening his first brick-and-mortar store in 2016. He also operates a warehouse in Rehoboth Beach.
Fredo said he opened in Milton because he is looking to expand the company’s footprint in Sussex County, with the ultimate goal of covering the entire county. Friendly Flowers Florist delivers all over Sussex and into Kent County as far north as Dover.
“Hopefully we’ll take the whole state in a few years,” Fredo said.
He said he became a florist 25 years ago, almost by accident.
“I was bored. My grandparents had a garden spot and I would walk away because they would watch the garden grow, which is kind of boring. But then I walked into a flower shop and that’s kind of where things started,” Fredo said.
Friendly Flowers Florist sells giftware, floral design and custom arrangements.
“We order our stuff directly from growers as opposed to wholesalers. We get a fresher product that way,” Fredo said.
That product includes tropicals, flowers from South America and orchids from Thailand. Customers can come in the stores, order online or order by phone. Fredo said in the spring, greenhouses will be erected at the store.
The store will also carry consignments, Christmas trees and wreaths, and jewelry and signs.
The Milton store is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Flowers can be ordered from the Milton store online at www.floristinmiltonde.com or at www.friendlyflowersflorists.com, or by phone at 947-4100. Friendly Flowers Florist can also be found on Facebook.
