With the fall commencement right around the corner, business is booming for people across the Sun City. If you have ever been to a high school or college graduation ceremony, you know that there are carts set up at every corner around the venue so that people can pick up something special for their cherished graduate.  

While this can range from teddy bears wearing mini grad caps to individual roses to celebratory aluminum balloons, there are always quick items to grab before heading into the ceremony. However, some businesses can be booked for their goods and services multiple weeks in advance.   

Flower shops in particular get extremely busy this time of year with all types of special orders and arrangements being called in. Whether it is coming from loved ones or even the school hosting the event, these shops have a good perspective on just how impactful graduation can be not only for the graduates, but the community around them as well.  

One flower shop in El Paso spoke a bit on how this time of year affects its business and what they look forward to during the season. Blossom Shop sits on one of the busier streets in El Paso, Texas with massive windows used to display their store for the people driving by.   

When it comes to the type of orders that come in for graduation, the preference varies from person to person.  

Rachel, an employee at Blossom Shop, listed just a few of the things that people typically order for their loved ones.  

“On flowers we get everything, a lot of people like roses as a gift,” Rachel said. “We do wrapped flowers, we do bouquets in vases, we deliver to the homes, people pick them up to present to people at graduation. We do everything really.”   

In terms of planning ahead for the influx of orders, Blossom Shop manages to beat the rush by keeping its inventory stocked. Unless, of course, it is for more unique orders.  

“We generally keep a nice stock of flowers on hand,” Rachel said. “But with graduation and UTEP, they focus mainly on the orange, blue and the whites. So, if you give us plenty of time the owner will definitely go out of her way to get beautiful orange roses, orange lilies, blue delphinium, blue iris, and white, really any white flower.”  

Blossom Shop is a family-owned business located at 1922 E Rio Grande Ave. and is available to make floral arrangements for virtually any type of event. Whether you need a podium or center pieces to complete your celebration, you can visit their website at theblossomshopflorist.com or call 915-544-5818.   

Another shop in the Sun City that specializes in floral arrangements and also offers sweet treats is The Gift Box Flower Shoppe. Business owner, Rudy Rivera, gave his input on how this establishment preps for the graduation season and the type of presents they offer.  

“We just order when graduation is going to come by,” Rivera said. “As far as the date, a week before, we order all our flowers from out of town to get all the flowers ready. Sales wise we do a lot of wrapped roses or wrapped flowers depending on the school. UTEP being blue and orange, we do a lot of specialty wraps for that occasion. We have a special kind of rose that we do blue and white, and orange and blue. They are custom-made roses that we use for graduations for UTEP.”  

However, this business does not only offer flowers for its customers to choose from. They also have a wide range of edible selections.  

“Our shop differs from other shops and that’s since we try to do a lot of themes,” Rivera said. “So, if it’s the theme of graduation we go that route. We do the chocolate covered Oreos, we do the chocolate covered strawberries, we do wine baskets, we do fruit baskets with those colors (orange and blue).” 

The Gift Box Flower Shoppe is located at 2700 Montana Ave. and has a variety of gifts to choose from that can be made to match the theme of your event.  

If you are in the market for a floral arrangement, refreshments or something sweet, you can visit the website at giftboxep.com or call 915-532-3322.  

The graduates this fall have worked years for this moment, if you are able to gift them with a bright floral arrangement, it might be the perfect gift to mark the date.   

Congratulations to all those graduating in December, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Go Miners.  

Meagan Garcia is the arts & culture editor and may be reached at [email protected].