EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – An El Paso florist said a fluctuating economy and inflation have been making what is usually one of her busiest and strongest times of the year into something more challenging.

Miriam Meneses, owner and designer for flower shop Life in Bloom, says she is facing challenges because of the economy and is seeing customers less inclined to purchase higher quality flowers this Valentine’s Day season.

“However, this year, I do see a lower amount of sales due to inflation. So now clients are more inclined to shop for flowers maybe at retail stores such as Albertsons or other places,” Meneses said.

Meneses has been operating her flower shop for five years and at one point was leasing space for her shop. However, she said that with continuing rising supply costs, she had to scale back down to a home-based operation.  

Life in Bloom provides premium quality roses from Ecuador which appear more vibrant and last longer, Meneses said. This, however, requires her to order roses in bulk from wholesalers ahead of time with a fixed cost and no guarantee that she’ll make a profit. 

And with the roses being imported from foreign countries, there are even more risks that can’t be controlled. 

“For instance, there were issues with Ecuador, which is our wholesaler. They did have problems with the exportations this year. So that was something that we were dealing with, something that we were a little bit scared of in that aspect of the flowers.” Meneses said.

Despite the challenges of having foreign roses imported and having to navigate the fluctuating economy, Meneses has never lost sight of what she says makes her product stand out.

“I really take pride in making something different — differentiating my product from the rest through the designs, through the waterproof paper, through the different boxes that you won’t really find in El Paso,” Meneses said. 

Life in Bloom will be temporarily operating from the El Taco Estrella location on the corner of Rich Beem and Edgemere in far East El Paso through Feb. 15 or until they sell out. 

With just a few days away from Valentine’s Day, Meneses shared an urgent reminder for couples. 

“I know the Super Bowl is this weekend but don’t forget about your lover and get her some flowers,” Meneses said.