Redlands Bouquet Florist Builds on 56-Year Legacy With Daily Fresh Flowers and Custom Designs

For more than five decades, Redlands Bouquet Florist has helped families celebrate, grieve and honor life’s biggest moments — one carefully designed arrangement at a time.

Established in 1968, the shop is now owned by Jamison and Sylvia Barrera, who have spent the past 13 years expanding its reach, modernizing its operations and strengthening its reputation as one of the Inland Empire’s premier florists.

The family-run business has grown to three locations, offers same-day delivery and online ordering, and operates through a centralized Redlands hub that serves customers across the region.

“We had no social media when we started,” Sylvia Barrera said. “So we had our son Jordan come in and he elevated our search engine optimization and helped us grow the business.”

That shift helped the shop rise from limited online visibility to becoming one of the top-ranked florists in the cities it serves, she said.

Today, the Redlands location has about 433+ Google reviews and a 4.9-star rating — a point of pride for the Barreras, who say customers often tell them they called because of the shop’s strong reviews.

“Honestly, we just have really great designers,” Sylvia Barrera said.

Those designers are central to the shop’s success. Jamison Barrera said the staff includes floral designers with decades of experience, including one who has been in the industry for more than 34 years and another with more than 32 years of experience.

That experience matters most when customers are ordering flowers for weddings, funerals and other moments that cannot be redone.

“For weddings and funerals, you only have one shot to make it right,” Jamison Barrera said. “I like to make sure we take care of them.”

The shop handles daily arrangements, walk-in orders, same-day deliveries, weddings, funerals, graduations and community events, including work connected to the University of Redlands and local schools.

Much of the business is driven by repeat customers and referrals, including families who return during both joyful and difficult seasons.

“You did my mom’s funeral, now it’s my dad’s,” Sylvia Barrera said, describing the kind of repeat calls the shop receives. “They’re so happy with what we sent out the first time.”

Jamison Barrera said those generational relationships are among the most meaningful parts of the business.

“You see generational things,” he said. “And that’s nice because those are the best referrals. Better than any reviews you can ever get.”

Freshness is another defining part of the operation. Unlike some florists that receive flowers once or twice a week, Jamison Barrera said he goes to the flower market daily to keep inventory fresh and give designers more options.

“Some flower shops only get [flowers] once or twice a week,” he said. “I do go daily. So not many shops do that.”

That daily access helps support one of the shop’s most popular offerings: designer’s choice arrangements. Customers provide an occasion and budget, then allow the designers to create something custom.

“They let the girls do what they want to do,” Jamison Barrera said. “They say, ‘You guys are the professionals.’”

Sylvia Barrera said customers often request arrangements that are bright, cheerful and memorable, with sunflowers currently among the most popular flowers.

“Everybody wants sunflowers,” she said. “A big request is something bright and pretty — bright and cheerful.”

The Barreras said they have worked to keep prices fair despite rising costs affecting flowers, supplies and other parts of the business.

“Our prices are really fair,” Sylvia Barrera said. “We get good quality flowers. We’re so busy, but we get fresh flowers every day.”

As Mother’s Day approaches, the shop is preparing for one of its busiest weeks of the year. Jamison Barrera said the shop handles about 350 orders for Mother’s Day and about 500 for Valentine’s Day.

“It’s all hands on deck,” he said.

Preparation includes processing large flower shipments, greening vases, building arrangements and coordinating deliveries across the Inland Empire. His recommendation for Mother’s Day customers is simple: order early.

“Order now,” Sylvia Barrera said.

Jamison Barrera said many customers request morning deliveries, but those become harder to guarantee when orders come in at the last minute.

“We try to accommodate everybody,” he said. “But we have to go in order of preorders because that’s only fair.”

The Barreras also encourage customers to order directly from local storefront florists rather than national call centers or third-party services, where a portion of the sale is often taken before the order reaches a local shop.

“When you order from a 1-800 or any other florist service, they take their cut,” Sylvia Barrera said. “Whatever money is left over is for the arrangement.”

For the Barreras, the shop is also a family effort. Their sons have worked in the business, relatives return during holidays to help with deliveries and orders, and employees are treated as part of the operation’s extended family.

“We’ve been blessed to have had all of our boys work for us,” Sylvia Barrera said.

After 13 years of ownership, the Barreras say the shop’s growth has been fueled by experienced designers, fresh flowers, fair pricing and personal attention.

“I think the personal attention we give to each and everybody,” Jamison Barrera said. “You’re still getting a good quality product and a fair price.”

For a shop that has been part of Redlands since 1968, that approach continues to keep customers coming back — one birthday, wedding, funeral, graduation and Mother’s Day at a time.

Redlands Bouquet Florist is located at 702 W Colton Ave., Unit A, Redlands. Call them at (909) 793-2553 or visit redlandsbouquetflorist.com.