Nancy VanDyke, center, poses for a photo with her daughters Kim Oden-Bryan, left, and Michele Gibson Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at Longview Flower Shop. (Les Hassell/News-Journal Photo)

Mother’s Day shopping can be a stressful experience for procrastinators. But for Kim Oden-Bryan and her sister, Michele Gibson, their Mother’s Day planning began months ago.

Oden-Bryan, owner of Longview Flower Shop on East Methvin Street for the past 14 years, said she starts scheduling additional delivery drivers and designers as soon as Valentine’s Day is over.

Her mother, Nancy VanDyke, who works at the shop, adds that supplies such as ribbons, special containers and potted plants also have to be ordered well in advance of Mother’s Day.

VanDyke should know. She owned the business for 55 years after buying it from her great aunt, Gifty Francis, who opened it in 1935.

Gibson, who owned her own flower shop in Tyler before returning to Longview, said she and her sister grew up working in the store and learned about the business from VanDyke.

“I started out working on Saturdays doing the all the sweeping up and watering the plants — all the menial stuff,” Gibson said.

Oden-Bryan said they started to learn the heart of the business by making corsages and worked their way up to learning about flower arranging and how to take care of the types of flowers the store uses.

The 88-year old business sells fruit baskets, candy, balloons and stuffed animals along with flower arrangements. But VanDyke adamantly says, “If we don’t have it, we can go get it.”

“She also taught us a lot about customer service,” Gibson says about her mother.

VanDyke adds: “I always told them, ‘Don’t ever let anyone leave without some flowers.’ “

Oden-Bryan said Longview Flower Shop will serve more than 500 customers for Mother’s Day, and while walk-in customers and phone orders make up the bulk of that business, orders placed through wire services from around the globe account for almost 40%.

All three family members agreed that it’s a lot of work, but there is a sense of accomplishment.

“We celebrate Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day,” Oden-Bryan said, “but we’re tired.”

And what do you get the mother whose passion for flowers has been passed onto her daughters? The mother whose floral arrangements have brought joy and happiness to countless other mothers over the years?

“Well, we don’t give her flowers,” Oden-Bryan said with a laugh. “She loves flowers, but she’ll get perfume this year.”